<p>In terms of job opportunities and job placement, I don't know which is better for Computer Science. Illinois is 48k a year while maryland for me (oos) is 40k so which would be a better choice if financially maryland is cheaper but illinois is ranked a little bit higher? I don't want to go to graduate school but my PRIORITY IS JOB OPPORTUNITIES AT COMPANIES LIKE Microsoft, Qualcom(big office in Illinois). How good is Maryland in placing students into jobs compared to UIUC? Thank you in advance!</p>
<p>I think the two would be very comparable in terms of academics and job opportunities. Have you visited both? Do you want to live within 45 minutes of Washington, D.C. or soybeans and corn fields? (I’m a central IL native!) There would be more internship opportunities close to campus at MD, obviously.</p>
<p>There is a significant Tech presence in the NOVA/MD/DC area. All of the big guys and thousands of small guys are in the area in support of the various Federal programs.</p>
<p>When comparing tuition, be sure to factor in that Illinois locks your tuition at your Freshman rate for the four year undergrad degree. At least that was the case for DS who graduated in Civil Eng from UIUC in Dec’11. The big companies WILL come to UIUC for CS and Computer Engineering grads…but I’m sure that they go to UMd also. DS’s friend landed a job in the Boston area (where we’re from) earning $87K with the CS bachelors he’ll get from UIUC in a month. Wow! I’m an Illini alum though, so I may be biased. It is off in the middle of nowhere…but when you’re an engineering student, there is not a whole lot of time for extracurriculars that aren’t resume-enhancing in some way. ;)</p>
<p>I’m in a very unique position to answer this because I’ve attended both schools for CS. I went to UIUC my freshman year, then I transferred to UMD. UIUC is def a good school for CS and I was able to find an internship my freshman year. However, I really felt like the culture didn’t fit me, going from the east coast to the middle of nowhere. UMD is also a pretty good school for CS, and I was able to find an internship this year as well. UMD’s location is also one of its best advantages because it is so close to DC/Baltimore metropolitan areas. In terms of classes, UIUC was definitely harder and the degree requires a lot more classes than UMD, which is probably why UIUC’s CS program is ranked so high. However, the benefit of UMD is that you can easily pick up a second major if you want to. If your top goal is getting a job at a big tech company, then you really can’t wrong with either(companies like microsoft and google recruit at both schools), so choose the place where you think you will be the happiest</p>