UMich vs. WashU (for CompSci)

Hi everyone!
I’m currently making the hard choice between UMich (OOS) and WashU. I’m planning on majoring in CompSci; the cost would similar, so that isn’t really a factor. Any advice/opinions would be much appreciated! I’m putting my thoughts below.

UMich:
Pros:

  • Accepted to the Honors college
  • Well-regarded for CS, high recruitment from top tech companies

Cons:

  • Large size (potentially overwhelming, hard to get the classes I want)

WashU:
Pros:

  • Very high quality of life (dorms, food, campus, student happiness, etc.)
  • Smaller, so more individual attention from professors/advisors
  • Majority of people double major or add a minor (which I’d like to do)

Cons:

  • From what I’ve heard, not particularly well-known for CS

Bump… I’d really appreciate any opinions.

Yes I too would like to know opinions/thoughts on Washu CS .thanks.

@vayu30 I ended up choosing WashU (and then getting off the waitlist somewhere else, but that’s another story). I talked to a few alumni and current students who had only good things to say about the WashU CS program, as well as the job placement after graduation. I thought you might find this email from their career center helpful (I asked about job placement at top tech companies):

“I don’t have the statistics in front of me right now beyond that, but I can say that we have a very strong relationship with these companies. Google in particular frequently comes to campus (often about once a month), and we have alums at all of these companies who connect with and assist students. We typically do “road shows” to visit companies in other cities over school breaks, and these companies are some of the ones we visit.
While WashU is smaller, it is well known in industry, particularly for our CS program, and the high caliber of our program offsets the size issues. Additionally, while WashU is small overall, I believe we have about 1000 students majoring or minoring in CS now, so that is a big draw for these companies.
Finally, as a CS major, I imagine you will have no trouble finding a job after graduation, regardless of which school you choose. I encourage you to choose the school that is the best fit for you personally, whether because of size, class offerings, location, etc. One strong benefit of WashU in my opinion is the ability to study CS and still have flexibility to study other things and participate in other activities, while not all schools are so flexible. Whichever school you choose, make sure to make good use of the career center, and start early!”

@adinirocks thanks so much for the prompt reply. When you refer to the “email” is that the second paragraph in your post? or both the second and third as well?

@vayu30 No problem! The email is everything in quotations marks, all the way through “start early.” Hope that helps!

@adinirocks thanks. yes that helps. just to be clear you are a current CS major at WashU…sorry should have asked earlier…

Michigan Graduate, but born and raised in St. Louis.

Both schools are great. Michigan is literally good in every department. You’re going to be in the Honors Program, so you won’t have an issue getting classes. (it’s not a true Honors College, which is separate in many ways from a university) I would imagine classes in honors sections can be smaller. I went to a small boys prep school, and Michigan never felt too big to me. I loved the size of the school and saw people I knew all the time.

You will likely have recruiters come to both campuses. Remember, Larry Page is a Michigan graduate, and one of their largest offices is in Ann Arbor.

There is much more happening on and off campus at Michigan. WashU has a beautiful campus, and it’s right across the street from Forest Park, and down the street from University City and The Loop, a collection of bars and restaurants. But it’s not a true college town.

Ann Arbor is the prototypical college town. It’s an ideal place to spend four years of your life, minus the gloomy weather. You will meet so many different students there, and the town literally can shut down for football games; even if you know nothing or don’t care about football, the games are a ton of fun. You have so many athletic and cultural events to attend. (I saw in a period of a year The Grateful Dead, Timothy Leary, Kurt Vonnegut, and the Vienna Philharmonic all come to campus.)

My vote would be for Michigan.