<p>I've been admitted to both USC and UIUC for Computer Science.
I've gotten a scholarship from USC which makes it equal in terms of fees with UIUC.</p>
<p>Which would be a better school academically as well as in terms of Future Job prospects ?</p>
<p>20 years ago Illinois was one of THE places to go for computer science. I’m not so sure that’s the case today, but it still basks in that afterglow. </p>
<p>In any event, academically I don’t think it matters where you go. Both universities have good reputations, and I would venture to say that most people in the industry recognize that where you went to school has very little correlation with how good of an engineer you are.</p>
<p>One consideration is whether you want to live in the middle of a big city, or in a smaller college town. It’s up to you to decide which you’d prefer. Logistically, it should be a little easier to find a job if you’re at USC, just because there are so many computer jobs in California.</p>
<p>Ultimately, I’d say go to whichever school you’re more comfortable with. Going to one school isn’t going to give you an overwhelming advantage over the other.</p>
<p>One thing I forgot to mention was that USC is actually one of the best universities for computer science if you’re interested in entertainment uses like games, film, or broadcast applications.</p>
<p>Same question here.</p>
<p>Hey Gulli4! So my daughter was admitted to USC and UIUC this year for engineering and ultimately chose USC due to a better fit overall for her. We went to a LOT of admitted student events for UIUC since she was accepted back in December and let me tell you, nearly all of the alumni that they brought in were either computer science or computer engineering graduates. They raved about UIUC’s comp sci program and basically said with a UIUC comp sci degree, you would not have difficulty in finding a job anywhere. I remember one kid in particular who graduated a few years ago from the program was already working for Motorola and was currently enrolled at Northwestern’s Kellogg SMG. </p>
<p>The program’s are both fantastic, but I would definitely say UIUC is more well-known for their comp sci program than USC.</p>
<p>For me, things like peers, location, alumni network, and the wealth of opportunities available at USC really drew me here. I looked at my entire college experience - where I’d be living and what I’d be doing - for the next four years, and chose USC. I’m a Biomedical Engineer, not CS, but I was in a similar situation when choosing a college - I received a great scholarship from UC San Diego, which was ranked #2 for BME at the time, but I chose USC because all the other factors made it a better overall school for me. I’m very happy with my choice, but it was really tough so I definitely know how you feel.</p>
<p>To give you a little more perspective from a CS point of view, I asked my friend Rob for some thoughts, and here’s what he said:</p>
<p>"Both schools are really great for computer science, for sure. I’m a student at USC, so I can’t provide a lot of perspective of UIUC’s program, but I’ve really relished all that I’ve learned in my time here. We do have a lot of world class research faculty, including Barry Boehm of software engineering fame, Leonard Adelman (the ‘A’ in RSA encryption), and the best games program in the country. Viterbi offers a lot of help in getting internships and jobs, and it definitely helps being in California since a large portion of major tech firms are in So Cal/ Nor Cal / Seattle. I have an internship at Microsoft this summer, which I owe to contacts I made at the career fairs Viterbi has each week. </p>
<p>I definitely think both schools would make a good choice, but from my perspective, USC’s computer science has a great reputation in industry that can’t be beat."</p>
<p>You might also want to check out this cool new video where Viterbi faculty (including many in CS) discuss why they chose to work at USC instead of other top universities, which could shed some light on your own decision: [Why</a> USC Viterbi? Listen to our Faculty](<a href=“http://viterbinotes.usc.edu/2013/04/22/why-usc-viterbi/]Why”>http://viterbinotes.usc.edu/2013/04/22/why-usc-viterbi/)</p>
<p>Hope this helps!</p>
<ul>
<li>Steve & Rob</li>
</ul>
<p>I came to USC from the Chicago suburbs and am myself a reformed computer nerd (did lots of programming on Apples in BASIC back in the day, dialed in to BBSes and the ole Internet UNIX prompt) and had a ton of friends go to UIUC for computer science.</p>
<p>Credentials in mind, I would say go to UIUC for computer science if you’re interested in the strictly analytical aspects of the discipline - if you’re interested in machine code, writing software, etc. - but if you want to do anything remotely creative with computers, come to USC. USC is great for things like video game design (#1 program in the country) and the many offshoots of the film school (where I went) and related creative endeavors.</p>
<p>STEM is UIUC’s strength but with every year of budget cuts, they’ve been gutting everything else - humanities, foreign languages, etc. - but for STEM it remains one of the best schools in the country, if not the world. Most of my friends who had the numbers to go to MIT went to UIUC instead because it was possible to get a top 5 degree in their field for the price of in-state tuition. Out of state it’s not so much of a good deal (same with the UCs here) but in-state for STEM it’s a fantastic deal.</p>
<p>Good luck in your decisions! Both are respected degrees.</p>
<p>What is UIUC’s ranking in USNews?</p>
<p>Sent from my SGH-T989 using CC</p>
<p>UIUC is rated number 5 in computer science engineering. They have very high rankings in a number of engineering disciplines including number 1 in civil.</p>
<p>Seattle, don’t really understand why you would refer to the USNEWS ranking when it is flawed for gauging the success of an academic institution. USNEWS only ranks based on the quality of the incoming students and “buying your way up the ranks on the list” (a factor they use is how much your professors get paid…), not the results that the institution produces such as retention and graduation rates, post-grad salaries, and post-grad acceptances to top graduate schools… </p>
<p>OP, look for a ranking system (not that horrible USNEWS that Seattle likes to brag with) that doesn’t rely on the performance of HIGH SCHOOL students (it really is when incoming SAT scores plays a factor in the methodology…)</p>
<p>Yup, and therein lies the difference between overall rankings and departmental rankings. UIUC is a <em>powerhouse</em> in STEM.</p>
<p>Seattle, Dr. Sample got his BS, MS, and PhD from UIUC in electrical engineering. Rankings for engineering programs are vastly different than those of overall universities, and many of the country’s finest engineering programs are housed in land grant colleges.</p>
<p>I’ve been a programmer for 30 years, and can’t ever recall a hiring decision being based on where someone went to school. I can’t stress enough how little rankings matter in the field. You get hired based on whether you have the technical skills needed by the company or project, and whether you can work with others.</p>
<p>Hey Guys,
Thanks for all your replies.
And frankly speaking, I couldn’t agree more with everything you guys said.</p>
<p>My friends, and to an extent, my family have been telling me that i should take UIUC because it has got a great ranking.</p>
<p>In my opinion, which is one of the things that’d riving me crazy, USC isn’t that far behind. It’s got great location and weather and amazing opportunities
Plus it’s a more all-rounded school.</p>
<p>Would anyone happen to know anything about the average starting salaries of USC graduates ? Especially in CS ?
Also, do companies recruit international students easily and in numbers ?
Basically i just want to know more about the job scenario for international students at USC.</p>
<p>Also, The other thing that really concerns me is the culture out there. USC has been nicknamed “University of Spoiled Children” (no offence to anyone). While I don’t see the reason behind it, i’m a little scared about the type of atmosphere there. I don’t come from a filthy rich family, so my interests aren’t very rich either. I like partying and all that, but only within limits.
So, first of all, is the whole Spoiled Children thing true ?
Will adjusting to LA culture be difficult ?</p>
<p>I’ll be honest with you- I’m not a super-social guy. It’s NOT like i’m anti-social or anything, but it’s just that it takes me a while to make friends and really “put myself out there”.</p>
<p>Gulli4, no spoiled DS in this house. He is a current CS major finishing his 2nd year. He also is similar to you in his social skills. The spoiled children moniker is a holdover from decades ago. It is simply not the case. You will find some very rich kids, but you will also find many just like my DS who are grateful for the educational opportunities that USC gives. Good luck with your decision.</p>
<p>Hey Gulli4, I reread your this thread, I don’t see that you have been to USC? Are you from the midwest? These two schools are very different in terms of environment. Demographics, urban versus rural, they each have their own feel that some love while others don’t…Both offer great educations, you should be looking beyond ranking at this point and be focusing on fit (campus/location/feel). Trying to gauge any part of this decision on starting job salaries from each school has too many variables to get accurate picture. Depends on the person, the job, the company, and an engineer in CA may appear to make more, but look at the cost of living here.</p>
<p>Any other info? I had the same dilemma and ended up choosing USC.</p>
<p>@omgitsme1234: Nothing significant 
People are saying that opportunities at UIUC might be better because of its prestige in the Engineering world. Career fairs and open houses might be better at UIUC too (although i find that hard to believe).</p>
<p>Why did you choose UIUC over USC ? And for which dept ?</p>
<p>@CADREAMIN : I’m from India 
No chance i could have visited either university.</p>
<p>Well, I said I chose USC over UIUC, not the other way around. My reasoning for that was that USC offers a more all-rounded Computer Science experience. If I find that I’d rather incorporate business into my learning, I could easily switch into the CSBA program. At UIUC, I really feel that I will be locked in. I think both schools are fine in terms of CS. Whichever school seems like the better fit is what you should be look at.</p>
<p>Lol, sorry. Careless mistake
Makes sense, USC is a better school overall so all-rounded development will be better out there.
Still, UIUC has a extremely good clout in the CS industry, which is why it seems to be a good prospect .
Well, I’m still confused :/</p>
<p>As I’m familiar with both schools, let me offer a few more thoughts.</p>
<p>USC is an urban private school and is angular towards the arts and the professions, one of which is engineering. USC is the kind of school you go to to get a business degree, a law degree, an engineering degree, etc. You don’t go to to USC to get a philosophy degree, grow your hair long, play rugby, and sit around drinking coffee and questioning the nature of man. There are other schools that do that better, and while USC students get accused of apathy towards the issues of the day, I think that’s because the type of people who come to USC are narrowly focused on that professional degree.</p>
<p>UIUC is a land grant Public Ivy. It’s a great school in a few areas (STEM, accounting, etc.) but otherwise generally good but not great, while USC is primarily very very very good to mildly great (i.e. not Harvard but one or two rungs below). UIUC is in the middle of a cornfield and while at USC everything is 20 minutes away (Santa Monica, Hollywood, Pasadena, etc.), at UIUC everything is at least 2 <em>hours</em> away. The friends of mine who went there went on road trips all the time to Chicago, St. Louis, and Indianapolis. There just isn’t much to do there and what there is to do you do in the first few weeks. After that, it’s study, drink, and partake of whatever cultural events the campus offers. Otherwise – road trip.</p>
<p>The friends of mine who went to UIUC for CS/CE have generally done well for themselves and I’m happy for them. Supposedly Microsoft gets more employees from there than any other school, because they are both very talented engineers and because they still have that Midwestern work ethic and Midwestern values. Two of them were recruited to Seattle by Microsoft and a few others have made their way to Silicon Valley. I don’t know as much about the USC CS/CE folks as I didn’t hang with that crowd but there are a LOT of USC CS/CE grads working for the various computer game companies here. That’s one advantage - you won’t have to leave L.A. if you go to USC, whereas if you go to UIUC you can expect to leave, and after a few months I’m sure you’ll be ready to go. USC has a great alumni base here in L.A. and to a slightly lesser degree in NorCal, whereas I don’t know that UIUC has a big alumni base outside of Chicago and maybe St. Louis, but that’s generally true of any big land grant school. USC, meanwhile, attracts students from all across the country and all across the world, which makes for a fantastic and enriching classroom experience.</p>