@theloniusmonk For goodness sakes, UMass has two local markets, Boston and NY, who snap up CS graduates from UMass. Doesn’t this seem logical. Perhaps Silicon Valley is OP’s target but I’ve read that opportunities for internationals from in India are quite good on the East Coast, and we certainly know plenty. I don’t know OP’s career goal. And perhaps it is regional but UMass is highly regarded on the East Coast.
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That’s not what was said:
“I think the rankings you are citing don’t really capture the industry reputation of UMass (on both coasts) for CS. My experience matches with @MYOS1634, even on the west coast.”
Few schools have a good reputation on both coasts and nationally which is what’s being implied. If UMass Amherst is that good, it cannot be regional and would have to be a top-15 or 20 school in CS and in the conversation as one of the best CS in the country. Is it a good regional school for people that want to be in the northeast or is it Berkeley?
You have been good at criticizing my opinions on this and I’ve been clear where I put the schools. I’m asking where your rank UMass Amherst among the top-20.
^you have to tag people @theloniusmonk if you want to talk to people. Very confusing.
apologies, so @gearmom, @MYOS1634, @PengsPhils where would you rank the UMass Amherst CS program nationally.
The funny thing about this thread is that the OP is an international student. They may not even be allowed to work in the US. I glanced at the OPs threads they never even expressed a desire to stay and work in the US.
@theloniusmonk Based on everything I’ve seen, I’d put UMass at around #25 +/- 3 for US schools. In the same band as Rutgers, Purdue, UWis. That range. But as @MYOS1634 points out OP needs grad school for the OPT route so this is a moot point in some ways because his last school will be the most meaningful. Too bad OP, could not come here and tour because I think s/he would get a great idea of fit upon visiting.
“And what schools would be worth the extra 40K in CS?”
With regard to Stanford or MIT, you have to ask yourself: Do you want to do it?
At some level attending a school such as Stanford or MIT is an opportunity that is only likely to come along once every few lifetimes, if at all. If I really wanted to do it, and if I was in a field (such as CS) where a well paying job after graduation was very highly likely, and the opportunity came along and it would only cost $40k, I would be inclined to pay the extra 40k. This is not because I would necessarily expect to get the 40k back, it is because this is an opportunity that just doesn’t come along very often.
Also, all of the schools mentioned in this thread are very good schools that will get a person where they want to go (assuming that being a professional software engineer is the goal). Any of these might be worth $40k more than some other lesser schools that we haven’t mentioned in this thread.
@DadTwoGirls The great part of this dilemma is that OP has wonderful options.
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@barrons While that was grad school rankings, I think it gave a flavor of the quality of the schools in question.
If climate isn’t a concern for you, UMass is the clear choice for CS. Also consider you will be close to Boston and high tech/biotech is going to be local for you.
@theloniusmonk I would put them at 15-20.
I would UT around 10ish, UWis around 15-20, and Purdue around 30-40. I haven’t claimed anything about CMU/MIT/UIUC not being worth 40K. My only claims are that the schools in this thread are of a similar tier for CS, and Purdue would be the lowest if we had to order them, but by such a slim margin it’s meaningless.
Within the industry? I think quite a few do. The following would be candidates for good CS reputation on both coasts:
CMU
MIT
Stanford
UCB
UIUC
Michigan
Washington
USC
Cornell
UT Austin
Wisconsin
UMD CP
UCLA
UMass Amherst
Brown
Rice
Georgia Tech
Penn
UMass is towards the bottom of those, and I’m sure I’m forgetting a few, but all of those have stellar reputations in my experience.
I think UMass Amherst beats these four by a tier. Again, just for CS.
ASU is on that 25 list you reference as well. I would not count them as a top CS reputation school. It’s a combination of proximity and volume. I suspect Purdue benefits from its engineering reputation.
Where’s the reputation of UMass Amherst in the west coast? Is that from alumni starting businesses or leading product development teams out here? ASU - the reason they do well is not because of proximity or volume though that might have helped in the beginning. SV companies stick with colleges where the alumni do well. If ASU alumni were not contributing, companies would stop recruiting. I think Harvey Mudd, Cal Tech, UNC-CH, Harvard, Princeton, Chicago have stronger CS programs but ok we’ll have to disagree on that.
Would you know the acceptance rate for UMass Amhest CS program, in and out of state? If you’re putting it with UCLA and Georgia Tech, it should be highly selective, like 15%, 1500/34 stats for out of staters.
From the masses of papers in CS research areas that are used all over the valley. Their strength in AI/ML in particular, which SV can’t get enough of. They are #12 in peer ranking for graduate CS according to US News in that specialty, ahead of many schools mentioned in the past few posts.
https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-science-schools/artificial-intelligence-rankings
I’d agree with Mudd and Harvard having better reputations. Princeton and Chicago are close. Still, we’re talking what, a few extra schools? This isn’t the gap you’re trying to claim between those in the thread. These would also bump down Purdue in my mental book. Again, that list was just off the top of my head and may not be complete.
I’d argue you’d find this at most schools regardless of reputation. CS undergrad educations are relatively consistent among competent programs. There are a few programs that have select reputations for their teaching methods and results, but not many. Most big research schools don’t have any special sauce approach. I bet Silicon Valley could find the same results from ASU as they could at UCF - they simply don’t go there because it’s farther and they don’t have any incentive to take a risk.
I believe it is around there, though I can’t find the specific statistic for undergrads. It’s 14% for graduate level according to the link below. That’s much lower than many other schools on that reputation list I mentioned for graduate programs, though admittedly their grad program is more well known due to their incredible research prowess.
Here’s another example of their research reputation, which again, is about the only think rankings are really using here.
Again, check csrankings.org to filter by that research area, which isn’t some random collection of methodology but is strictly focused on research output.
We’re just talking in circles here at this point. Our personal anecdota don’t match up, so it goes. The OP is not benefitting from any of this, and I’m far from the only one here advocating for UMass’s strength in CS at the undergrad level. Your personal experience is not inherently reflective of all reality, neither is mine.
@theloniusmonk please compare UMass to the colleges in the list and not the ones out of this list. I haven’t applied to colleges like ivies or other really selective colleges for that matter. The four colleges which I mentioned are the ones I applied to or expecting a yes . So, they are the only options I have.
Give me your opinion on the four colleges which I mentioned.
@pat07ek Unfortunately, some have corrupted your thread and you have been inundated with information that you didn’t request and don’t need. The real truth is that there is a lot of nitpicking going on here and some defense of turf. All of your choices are good and nobody knows your financial situation as much as you do. You will learn nothing new by hanging out on this thread, but let this inane discussion go on for days and ignore it.
Yeah! Even I feel like it @ljberkow
“@theloniusmonk please compare UMass to the colleges in the list and not the ones out of this list. I haven’t applied to colleges like ivies or other really selective colleges for that matter. The four colleges which I mentioned are the ones I applied to or expecting a yes . So, they are the only options I have.
Give me your opinion on the four colleges which I mentioned.”
Apologies for diverting the thread away from your op. Of the four, I’d choose UT-Austin for not only CS but other programs as well if you want to switch majors or minor in something non-CS. Of the four it has the best programs in management, economics, if you wanted to minor in something like that. It’s also the most diverse campus of the four if that’s important to you and the best alumni network nationally. And it has a pretty strong sports scene, again if that’s important. I’d choose Purdue second for the reasons discussed, followed by Wisconsin, then UMass-Amherst. All are in great college towns though Purdue is more isolated. For an international student from India, you’d be most at home at Texas or Purdue.
“I bet Silicon Valley could find the same results from ASU as they could at UCF - they simply don’t go there because it’s farther and they don’t have any incentive to take a risk.”
They’d go to Antarctica if it gave them a competitive advantage in talent. They take risks all the time, these are not stodgy old companies.
@theloniusmonk I have no idea why you would seem to suggest that an international student would not be at home at Wisconsin or Mass. I am not a Wisconsin expert but Massachusetts as a state goes out of it’s way to be welcoming to internationals. It certainly isn’t any different at the Amherst campus and there are a good number of internationals from India working in Mass. Have you ever personally been to that campus and spoke with CS staff? We have and DH was very impressed with both and spent quite a bit of time reviewing and interviewing the many UMass grads that he works with at his international company in the tech corridor. This conversation really seems to have jumped the shark. I think Purdue is a great school and have suggested it to many kids here especially for engineering. I also think Austin is a great school if money were no object. But I almost think it is irresponsible to push Austin which would mean 50k more additional debt for this family when OP is going to go to grad school and despite your low opinion, UMass is regarded by many as a top school with a quality CS program. Amherst is one of the top college towns in America. And the five college consortium that UMass has offers an elite opportunity to study at some of the very best LACs in the country. @pat07ek