University of Virginia vs Boston University for Computer Science

College Search & Selection
1

Intended Major: CS. Possibly a double major with economics or applied math. Ultimately, I just want a job at a top tech company.

University of Virginia (9k in Loans Per Year)

Pros

  • A lot of top companies recruit at UVA so that means better employment opportunities.

  • Highest ranked school that I’ve gotten into.

  • Traditional college experience (campus, sports, etc).

  • Very beautiful campus.

  • Located in a region that I’ve never been to before.

  • LOTS of clubs.

Really good alumni network (better than BU).

Cons

  • It’s in the South and I’ll probably have a hard time adjusting since I’m from the northeast.

  • The student body doesn’t seem as diverse as some of my other options.

  • Heard the food is bad.

  • Greek life seems to be very prevalent at UVA.

Boston University (3k Out of Pocket Per Year)

Pros

  • It’s my cheapest option.

  • Boston is a bustling city with a lot of opportunities.

  • Very close to other amazing colleges.

  • Very diverse.

  • Decent amount of clubs.

  • Food is pretty good.

  • Closer to home.

  • I think I prefer being in a city.

Cons

  • Not sure if many top tech companies recruit at BU.

  • Not as reputable as UVA.

  • Not as highly hanked as UVA.

  • Heard that grade deflation is pretty bad, especially for STEM majors.

  • Heard that the CS department is more theoretical.

  • Overshadowed by Harvard and MIT.

2

I would lean towards BU. BU and UVA are similarly ranked for CS. BU has a good reputation in Massachusetts. There is a lot of tech in the Boston area. I’m sure the top companies recruit from BU. $3K/year is a wonderful deal.

The employment opportunities, alumni network and recruiting will depend on which area you would like to work in. If you want to get a job in the Northeast, stick with BU. If you want to get a job in the Virginia/DC area, stick with UVA. UVA’s alumni network is not going to do you much good in Boston.

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3

I’d go with BU, especially considering the costs. (Check that it’s net costs, ie., without any loan.)BU is in the Boston area ie., a tech corridor, so there are plenty of tech jobs to go around.
I’d only consider UVA if the 5k difference is no big deal in your family’s budget and if you want to work for government contractors/agencies.
If that isn’t in your plans, I’d lean BU.

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4

Wow! Tough choice! You have 2 excellent affordable options. I can say that there are plenty of good companies that recruit from UVA and BU. It’s going to come down to preference. You just have to go with your instincts on this.

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5

Thank you for your insight! Yeah, I’m definitely leaning more towards BU because it’s extremely affordable and Boston has a lot of opportunities.

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6

Thanks! I’m definitely leaning towards BU right now.

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7

Thanks! Yeah, they’re both amazing options, and it’s tough deciding.

8

Which top companies do you think recruit at UVA but not at BU?

Remember that when it comes to a company like Google, they recruit everywhere from MIT to San Jose State. It’s about your skills, not where you attended.

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9

Yeah, I definitely agree. I just want to pick the option that will present me with more opportunities to get a job at those top tech companies.

10

For CS, MIT may overshadow Harvard, but Harvard doesn’t especially overshadow BU.

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11

See if you can find a list of companies that come to recruit on each campus. I suspect there will be few differences that you care about.

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12

https://career.virginia.edu/employers/why-hire-uva/data-analytics

urban college experience versus traditional campus college experience

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13

Recruiters aren’t generally going by CS research rankings.

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14

Yeah, I’ll definitely check it out

15

Neither was I.

16

What are you going by, then?

Here are the median salaries for CS majors as shown on the College Scorecard:

Harvard: $129K/year
MIT: $128K/year
BU: $85K/year
UVa*: $92K/year

  • “Listed as “Computer and Information Sciences” for UVa.
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17

MIT programmers were instrumental in sending the Lunar Module to its landing site and returning its astronauts safely to Earth. For historical, and continuing, reasons such as this, MIT deserves recognition for offering the top opportunities in CS in the Boston area, as well for having among the top few CS programs in the nation. However one might order the excellent CS programs at schools such as Northeastern, BU and Harvard, all reside in a basically similar position in relation to MIT.

Regarding salary comparisons, they don’t adjust for entering factors, of course.

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18

So just anecdotes and opinion, no data. I could reply with anecdotes too (look up the founders of Microsoft and Facebook), but at that point, there’s no point debating any more.

19

@linkyy:
To summarize: choose the most affordable one and, if both are affordable, choose the one you like best. They’re both fantastic, so congratulations for two coveted acceptances. :slight_smile:

Looking at your Cons, I’d say the “real” ones are:
at UVA: not very diverse, prevalent Greek life
at BU: grade deflation
The other things you’ve heard aren’t real or not so important they should really matter. Most of your Cons for BU aren’t “real”, ie., ranking, being overshadowed, if tech companies recruit = all of that is either wrong or only a worry for HS students not employers so I’d lean BU.

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