D got accepted to UT CS but is interested in Comp science and business program. Doesn’t want to do core Comp sci program. Got accepted to NE Comp sci & business prg. Looking for suggestions on if taking business minor classes at UT will somewhat cover the aspects of CSB program in USC or Northeastern. Cost is factor to some extent but not completely.
Thoughts on UT Austin:
TX in state
UT CS ranking is higher than NE or USC
cons: It is not CSB prg
Thoughts on NE:
Program D is interested in
Good co-op
Decent scholarship received
Thoughts on Univ of SouthernCalifornia:
Good school reputation
Program D is interested in
UT Austin is a dream school / dream city oh for so many who want to do anything with CS.
For you it also comes at a massive discount.
Undergrad business education (without prior industry experience) is (IMO) is a bit fluffy to begin with and I can’t see how colleges can be pitching programs with a straight face.
She can go to an awesome school, in a city that’s becoming a heart of the new Silicon Valley. She can takes business courses for a minor if she wishes.
And once she gains more experience in the industry, she can then decide if she wants to go to a business school - but then she’ll know what it means.
Don’t worry about rankings. ARWU’s ranking has USC CS rated one spot higher than UT CS, and I’m sure I can find other rankings that have USC CS ahead of UT CS. There is no definitive ranking for CS. They’re usually based on graduate school and research metrics, and in my over 30 years as a software engineer with a CS degree, neither I nor my colleagues ever discussed CS rankings when hiring. Furthermore, NE’s co-op program turns rankings comparisons into one of apples vs. oranges.
I agree that employers aren’t going to care that much about undergraduate business classes. But if that’s where your daughter’s interest is, I’d suggest taking a look at the Texas BA CS program and see how many business classes you could fit in as electives. If you can closely mimic the USC or NE programs you’re interested in, and if your daughter is OK with staying in Texas, then that would work fine. Nothing wrong with any of the schools, though.
All a major or special program is is a collection of courses concentrated in a specific area or areas. You can recreate that anywhere as long as the university in question has similar coursework. The Northeastern program is primarily computer science with 7 required business classes; these are basic business classes that are offered pretty much anywhere there is an undergraduate business major. USC’s program has 9 classes, also courses that are basic business courses offered most places with an undergrad business major.
The business minor at UT-Austin offers pretty much the same classes - management, accounting, marketing, finance, entrepreneurship and microeconomics. You’re only required to take six courses, but once you’re in the business major you can take more if you want. UT-Austin, in addition to having an excellent reputation in CS, also has one of the best undergraduate business programs. When you apply for jobs, no one cares whether you have the ‘special program’ designation; they care about the courses you took and the skills you have, which can be roughly equivalent at all three of these choices if she chooses a business minor. And co-ops are nice, but with a CS major from UT she can do summer internships anywhere and academic-year internships in the very techie city of Austin.
Make sure if your daughter goes to UT she can minor at McCombs. I’m not sure how easy it is, or if you can only get a certificate there.
USC has a combined CS/Bus program in Viterbi and Marshall which is amazing and worthwhile if you can get into as an Honors student. If not, then best off going to UT. Cost is going to be the killer at USC.
NE Coop is highly regarded, however, it’s a pure city school so that may be a turnoff in addition to weather.
My daughter is in BHP at UT and I wholeheartedly disagree with the other posters here. BHP is nationally ranked and she has been able to get internships without issue, including this year as a sophomore for this summer, even though most companies are only looking for Juniors. McCombs is on the map, BHP is just icing on the cake. She is also getting a minor or certificate (hasn’t decided) in MIS and has a strong CS background from high school which the companies have also liked. Austin is a huge tech hub and many companies are coming there from Silicon or relocating altogether. Apple is building a new facility, Dell is there, Tesla is moving there, etc. Her internships btw, are not in Austin but Chicago. It is also easy to get residency in Texas if cost is a factor there.
Your daughter should look at the program that can give her the strongest combination of what she can get for both. CS is very difficult at UT and a lot of students leave it. It is also difficult at times to get into the classes, so I would check that out and ask other parents. My other daughter applied CS there, but applied ED for CS elsewhere so withdrew her UT app before hearing. My son is going into CS but did not like CS at UT so is looking elsewhere.
Either way, it sounds like she will have good options, and if she gets into USC, even more.
@Bluebonnettx : It may help to know that business courses are available online from many outstanding universities. Sometimes offered as part of a certificate program, the course content and assignments tend to be rigorous.
My point in sharing this with you is that your daughter should feel free to select an option based on the best CS offerings & price (COA) rather than on stressing out over the ability to enroll in business courses.
Class formats are usually “on-demand” although many have courses which require virtual classroom attendance & participation.
Close relationships between students & profs do develop quite often.
@srparen15 Are you saying that CS might not be that hard at USC because it is a combined CS & business program.
If CS at UT is tougher then I will ask D to explore which classes are the toughest so that if there is an option she won’t be taking that course if we decide on UT.She did quite a lot of CS in school .
I have a sibling that lives in LA and he has always said that people there don’t find USC as desirable as UT for business or CS, but again, every company can consider things differently.
No, not saying that it’s not at hard, just saying it’s different.
But at UT I have heard that students don’t often get their classes. At USC they have a combined program. But USC decisions are not even out yet. For straight CS I would not pick USC over UT. If given a scholarship to USC and accepted into the combined program, because you’re in the Honors program, then that’s something to consider, but otherwise, for the money you pay at USC, forget it. I have a friend who’s son had trouble getting an internship from the combined program at USC.
I know another person who was an Engineering major at UT. Tried transferring to CS there but it’s near impossible, but was self taught anyway and landed an amazing job at Google after graduating. Austin is a huge tech hub. That is something to consider.
CS will be hard at most places, and harder at the top schools, especially because there will be top students in those programs. Those not meant for CS will be weeded out quickly. But there is also more to CS than being a good programmer/student. I have a son who worked for a company that didn’t hire MIT CS grads. Their skills were not what they were looking for because of the types of problems they couldn’t solve during the interviews. Weird, I know.
I find that hard to believe. UT is viewed as a good school, but USC is uber-prestigious in Southern California. Granted, the further you get away from their home states, the more each is known more for football than academics.
Funny how some of those schools don’t hit the list in other parts of the country as top CS schools, but I guess a lot of it is about fit at the end of the day and what someone is looking for.
I don’t know if this is true, but I have heard classes at UCLA are huge and that it’s very hard to graduate within 4 years from the UC’s. Actually, I know the UCLA thing is true, they told us that on our college visit, I don’t know about the graduating in 4 years thing, as that’s what other parents have mentioned on here.
Yes, this is definitely an issue, but I think if you are IN the major, you should be able to get into the class. Also the crowding effect does make PRIVATE schools more attractive (IF YOU CAN AFFORD IT), as crowding is less of an issue, which raises USC on par with UCs et al.
This is what makes Harvey Mudd so attractive as a school.
But alas - not easy to minor in business there …