Hi all - so i know questions like this may be highly opinionated but trying to gather some details for my son who has been accepted to both school’s CS programs. Understanding he will need to figure out what type of school he wants to be in (size, location, etc) but curious to get thoughts. I know that rankings tell a story but not sure that should be deciding factor.
thanks!
I hesitate to answer this because CC gets heated around CS, but I will -
Assuming you got into the regular program (starting in Boston in fall), Northeastern would be my choice. Solid program, on an upward trajectory and co-op and Boston-area opportunities for CS are plentiful. Northeastern graduates are highly sought after in one of the most thriving technology regions in the US. “I would take a Northeastern student over an MIT” is what I am often hearing these days.
I would go for UMD based on ranking, cost and location. Unless your son get size-able scholarship, Northeastern will be more expensive. Boston is colder and more expensive to live. In tern of ranking, UMD is ranked higher for CS anyway.
Please don’t refer to the absurd US News rankings. Literally, 0 companies use those for undergraduate majors. Much respect for all else you wrote.
I’m sorta disagree with you about the US News Rankings. I do think it has some merits but it should not be the primary factor. It’s still has some value when it comes to decision to attend school or for employers to hire new grads.
What is the bottom line cost of each school and is that relevant in your situation? If the cost is about the same Northeastern would be a better choice for reasons mentioned by @michaeluwill.
True, but I mean the undergraduate major rankings. Those lists are not meaningful to most applicants (I hope) and are not used by any major recruiters from my experience. You might notice that state schools do quite well in those, far better than in the national university rankings.
Net price and debt at each?
Is Northeastern’s curriculum built around co-ops a desired feature for the student?
Fortunately, cost wont be an issue regardless of school. that said, would be great if my son saves mom and dad a few bucks or two!
A friend of mine who works for a hedge fund here in NYC has said the same thing. basically many of the financial institutions are now loving to see kids coming out of northeastern.
Seems they figured out how to be the right school for the times. Their grads are doing especially well in STEM and business, too. It is cool to see how a less competitive school can become a leader over a 20 year period.
My son got admitted to NEU Khoury, and awaits UMD. Given $25k difference in tuition between the two, what would be the better choice?
Northeastern, but if your financial situation drives you to select UMD - that is also good.
Would the extra $25k per year ($100k total if he needs four years) require parent loans? Or would it be pocket change? Or somewhere in between?
We are in a grateful position that would allow us to pay for it therefore no loans. But not pocket change by all means.
Being a programmer, I can tell you that rankings don’t make any difference. In fact, it’s really a big misconception that’s led tech students into a rabbit hole of debt that could otherwise have been completely avoided.
First, CS is ridiculously employable. This is because there’s an almost infinite variety of specialties, subspecialties, and microspecialties. 99.99% of what you learn will be on the job.
Second, since credentials are based on practical experience, prestige is basically meaningless. In fact, after about 3 years experience, employers don’t even ask where you went to school.
Third, employers don’t generally recruit from big national universities. They recruit locally and regionally because it’s more cost effective that way. That’s why you see these tech hub cites like Columbus, Raleigh, and Austin, and Atlanta. All of them are situated around a university. I, myself, never went anywhere prestigious, but I haven’t had any issues finding available jobs.
tend to agree with most, with a caveat: “unless it’s the very TOP tier” i.e. the very selective colleges: MIT, CMU, UCB, Stanford, Cornell, Princeton some employers do look for another “filter” whatever it’s worth these days …
Cornell is also in the mix but need to wait till April on hearing if he got in. Fingers crossed…
Same decision struggle here with CS major acceptance letters from many schools (UMD, Northeastern, UC San Diego, Stevens Inst of Tech etc.).
Accepted to UMD Honors (CS major) and visited Northeastern and loved it. Also got accepted to UC San Diego. UMD is in-state school for us and Northeastern is about the DOUBLE the cost per year (27k vs 55k) with the aid she was given by Northeastern. Looks like CS program at UMD is rated slightly higher compared to Northeastern, but not sure if that really matters much given she is a CS major. Any thoughts? Little over 1 month to make a decision.
Was good enough for Sergey, as I like saying. 
UMD is such a great school for CS