Which would be a better choice for someone interested in CS/CE. In Umich I got admitted to COE while at USC I got admitted to undeclared engineering at Viterbi. Umich would set me back 64 k per year, while USC would approx set me back 75k.
Great choices - beside the obvious weather/location thing which only you can decide what you like and how much that is weighted, I just wanted to mention that coming in undeclared into Viterbi will not have any impact - you will have the ability to major in any engineering program you want within Viterbi. Many that come in move around that first year anyway after they get more math, physics, and the intro engineering classes behind them. So don’t let undeclared be any influence at all. You can change within engineering as much as you want frankly…
I don’t know enough about UMich to compare, I know it’s a great school, but I can say a real plus at USC is being able to double major (challenging with engineering but some certainly do) or to add a minor in something just as science based or something totally random.
Frankly, we are private school people, at least for college years. But then I’ve never heard bad things about UMich and it is a huge spirit school with a dedicate alum like USC.
Have you included travel costs in your calculation? Is one in an area you see yourself working when done?
Yes, both are great schools. Besides weather, Ann Arbor (or A2) is one of the best college towns in the US. The town virtually shuts down for football games. USC is located in a big city. And part of living in a big city, there’s a higher level of crime.
Both have strong alumni networks, although UMich appears to extend to almost everywhere. But it’s a bigger school too. Class sizes will be a bit smaller at USC, but both are big schools.
At UMich you can add a major or a couple minors, like my kid. As long you want to do the work, advisors are there to help you set and meet your goals.
I have zero idea about the grading at USC, but UMich is difficult like Cal or UCLA. In terms of CS rankings, UMich will be in the same high echelon as Berkeley and Georgia Tech.
Lastly, one of the negatives with UMich CoE, for some, is that most of, if not all, of your CS/CE classes will be on North Campus, which is a 10-15 bus ride from Central Campus. Math, STEM (chem, Bio, etc.) and humanities classes will be on Central Campus.