I am looking for some help to in order to finalize my college enrollment decision. I got into Drexel and Worcester Polytechnic in the US and am pretty happy with Worcester but at the same time I have offers from Boconni University in Italy for Bachelors in Computer Science, Economics and Management - yes all three in one - and University of Twente in Netherlands in Technical Computer Science aka Computer Engineering. The main point for my confusion here is about deciding between Boconni and WPI or in other words US vs Europe. I myself am inclined towards Boconni as the bachelors program is only 3 years and the yearly costs are comparatively quite low and the program I got in is really very exciting, but at the same time friends and other people around me suggest me that I should opt for WPI as the college experience in the States is something not to be missed !
I know next to nothing about the college experience in Italy or the Netherlands, but WPI is a solid, well-respected college in the US that will provide you with an excellent CS education.
Is language part of this question at all? Can you speak and write English and Italian well enough to not have an issue at either college?
Are any of these people the ones who might hire you after you graduate?
Are any of these people the ones who will be helping you pay for your education?
If not, ignore their advice.
Bocconi for three years looks very good. If you really want some US experience, after you get there, ask about a summer or semester exchange.
You’re correct, your two real choices are Bocconi and WPI. Both are equivalent in academic quality, each will have more prestige on their respective continent, WPI definitely has the edge in terms of student Life and learning environment (plus, it’s nothing like Italian redtape) but I’m guessing Bocconi is cheaper. …
Can you afford the difference in cost?
@happymomof1 my counselor is one of those ppl and he suggests that I should go for WPI. @MYOS1634 Financially, I will have to pay WPI around USD 23k and Boconni would cost just 8.5k euros.
Is your counselor also a hiring manager who can put you to work after you graduate? You need advice from people who would hire you for a good job in your own country.
What are your full costs to study at WPI as opposed to your full costs to study at Boconni? Put both into the same currency. Include travel costs to and from your home once or twice each year. From your current figures, it looks like each year at WPI is about twice as much as Boconni. With the additional year for WPI, that comes to a sizable difference that could pay for most (or possibly even all) of a grad program later on.
Actually the process for internationals would be WPI-> OPT for 2 1/2 years (paid job) in the US → graduate school or return to country using US experience.
@MYOS1634 - That is assuming the OP can get an OPT position. Not everyone does. And given the current political situation in the US, there is no guarantee that OPT rules won’t change drastically before the OP is eligible.
Make sure that room and lodging are included in both costs when doing comparisons.
Combining economics and management with CS is not a problem at WPI. The program of studies actually encourages it through the IQP degree requirement. Students often select economics/management courses in preparation for the IQP research (a degree requirement). While the classes are on campus, the projects are generally off campus at no additional costs to you.
"We want every student to be part of a global project experience—including you. Beginning with the Class of 2022, all students will receive a $5,000 Global Scholarship to complete a project at one of WPI’s 40+ project centers across six continents." See https://www.wpi.edu/academics/departments/interdisciplinary-global-studies to better understand how you design these interests into your program of study.
More than half of WPI students do project work overseas. For you, it may be better to select a projects study focus in the US. There are 46 project centers around the globe. Fourteen of these centers are in the US from Silicon Valley, California to Maine. The project centers at WPI in Worcester (and now also on the Boston waterfront) work on many different economic development issues. If you really like business, the Wall Street Project Center may be of special interest (see https://www.wpi.edu/project-based-learning/global-project-program/project-centers/new-york-new-york-project-center).
Take “happymomof1’s” advice and make sure you have all of your costs in the analysis.