Hey. I have received my undergrad admission decisions and I have to decide between these colleges. PS- I am a citizen but OOS for all of these.
UMass
Got into for secondary major - Econ but was assured switching to Computer sci will be easy (personally feels slightly risky though). Received 6000k per year Director’s scholarship. Located in a good state. Highly rated grad Comp Sci program (no idea about ug but should be good) and also excited about being ranked #11 for A.I.
Syracuse
Got in for Comp Sci program. Expensive. Bad weather, But like the athletics, school spirit and alumni network. Parent’s skeptical about this one. Comp Sci not as highly regarded.
Rutgers
Got into the SAS. Uncle and aunt live in driving distance. Slightly expensive compared to UMass due to lack of aid. Decent ranked Comp Sci program.
Penn State
Yet to receive decision ( i know its a but late) Good state. Highly regarded CS program.
My top focuses are-
Overall academic reputation
Campus feel and atmosphere
Umass is the strongest for CS and is likely to be cheaper than Penn State.
Can you go visit?
Both are in college towns, both are strong for CS, both will be cold and snowy. Amherst would be a bit closer to big cities and it’s cheaper. So unless PSU makes you a terrific offer, I’d go with Umass.
What about Syracuse and Rutgers NB?
Syracuse is too expensive with CS not better than Umass. Rutgers CS is less good than Umass and you’re oos so no reason to go there.
If Money was not an issue, would it be better to go to Syracuse? In terms of overall reputation, student body and campus?
No, not really. Unless you really liked sports and wanted to pay more for private amenities, or were afraid you wouldn’t get into CS at UMass. (Syracuse is better than UMass for Econ, but UMass is better for CS).
PSU is very expensive out of state. I’d choose UMass as well.
Yeah i figured that out. guess we both will be umass class of 2020. thanks guys.
https://www.cics.umass.edu/ugrad-education/major-change-cs indicates that, to switch to CS at UMass, you need a B+ or higher in the prerequisite courses and a 3.00 or higher GPA overall.
https://www.cs.rutgers.edu/undergraduate/admission.whtml indicates that, at Rutgers, you need a C or higher in the prerequisite courses.
https://advising.psu.edu/entrance-major-requirements-college-engineering shows Penn State’s GPA requirements to enter the CS major (they seem to change year to year).
Do you have any other choices? How much does cost matter?
My other choices include Washington State where I received a 11k per annum scholarship. NJIT and CSU Chico. Cost doesn’t matter much but anything over 41-42k is too much. Also I got into PSU for the 2+2 program (Start at Erie finish at UP).
Now I am leaning towards Penn State.
Why would you pay OOS tuition for a branch campus?
What is the net price of each school? Are they all within that price limit?
lol the branch campus is 19k-20k tution much less than my other options and I am more or less guaranteed a switch to UP in the end of sophomore year. so its no biggie.
the 41k limit is for the tuition. Only Syracuse matches the limit. All others are well below.
