Comp Eng/Sci. Please rank with and without costs: U-M $230K, USC $80K, UW-Seattle $110K.
Without cost: UW, Michigan (?) close second, USC third.
UW
12 Undergrad USNews
6 Grad USNews
4 Aggregate of several rankings
http://www.computersciencedegreehub.com/50-innovative-computer-science-departments/
UM
7 Undergrad
13 Grad
17 Aggregate
USC
(Unknown) Undergrad
20 Grad
18 Aggregate
With cost:
UW, USC second, Michigan third at some distance, because (sing it with me) “money, money changes everything.”
USC - #15 Undergrad US News
Why is the Grad important?
Aggregate? I’m not so sure about the QS ranking system. They reference themselves and the “Academic Ranking of World Universities - Computer Science 2012” which independently ranks:
USC #13
U-M #17
UW #21
Thoughts? Thanks for your help!
It definitely depends on whether or not you got direct admission CS/CE at UW. UW’s computer engineering department is generally higher ranked than Michigan’s, but if you’re not a direct admit, you run a high risk of not being admitted to the major. I think UW is somewhat cheaper than Michigan anyways, so with DA I would definitely go UW, then UM, then USC. Without DA, it depends on whether you’re willing to give up the higher ranked department and lower cost for the certainty of being able to major in CS/CE.
Direct Admit + Honors
@CausticKiwi, I agree and presumed DA at UW.
@csce1234, grad is additional data and a general indicator of department strength. “Aggregate” was just a shorthand reference to the authors’ use of four or five separate rankings to come up with their own ranking.
@csce1234, congratulations. Honors adds a certain luster to that UW direct admission. Purple and Gold Scholarship as well?
Or is that UW instate total cost?
UW: $110K/4 yrs in state; Direct Admit Comp Eng; Honors; no scholarship.
UWfromCA: I see different US News Grad stats for Comp Eng:
U-M #6
USC #13
UW #16
So perhaps w/o cost: U-M>UW=USC
What about UW’s huge classes vs USC’s small classes and easy faculty contact?
I was looking at the computer science rankings:
http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-science-schools/computer-science-rankings
They are different for computer engineering, which adds to your data and would make it more like UW=UM>USC, but really, these are not large differences, just preferences. A current student can speak to classes, class sizes and faculty contact for an honors direct admit, and I’m sure the department would be pleased to answer any questions you may have.
Thank you - I appreciate your advice!
@csce1234
Congrats on all three; those are some great CSE departments. Obviously, I’m biased to UW, but I’d rank them as UW > UM > USC.
On top of the general university pros/cons list, here are some CSE department specific aspects you should look into and see how they compare to your interests/needs:
- Faculty (what they’re known for, what they teach)
- Research opportunities
- Recruiting (what companies actively recruit? lots of intern/full time opportunities?)
- Alumni (where do alumni historically head to? e.g. grad school / industry / academia / research / startups)
- Events (hackathons, programming competitions, code jams, conferences)
- Community involvement (student orgs, local companies, local networking/outreach programs)
I wouldn’t worry about rankings; they change every year and are based on factors that may or may not affect undergraduate life. These are three amazing universities and departments.
Go where you feel you’ll grow the most and have the most opportunities for your career.
Also, for what it’s worth, UW’s huge class sizes are just for the intro classes… for example, the first biology class that counts as a medical school requirement is usually about 800 people in one lecture.
CSE classes are anywhere from 5 - 125ish students, where most classes are around 50-70 students. Classes larger than 20 students will also have quiz sections where you can get more 1:1 time with an instructor or TA. The department has made some fantastic faculty hires lately, which means they can keep their class sizes small while expanding the program.
US News Info:
Overall: USC #25, U-M #29, UW #48
CS: U-M #7, UW #12, USC #15
Big tech firms recruit at all these schools.
% classes < 20 kids: USC 57%, U-M 47%, UW 33%
SAT avg: USC 1280-1480, U-M 1260-1420, UW 1100-1360
Also keep in mind the UW honors stats:
Unweighted GPA (middle 50%): 3.87-4.00
SAT (middle 50%): 1950-2200
ACT (middle 50%): 30-33
I can only imagine what the average stats were for the honors csce direct admits on campus!
Good point.
csce1234, would you be willing to post a rough overview of your statistics? I was aiming for many of the same schools/departments you were, and mostly got shut down. I would really like to have at least one data point for UW CS/CE DA admissions to compare myself to. Thanks, and congratulations on your success.
Chose USC. Entrepreneurial CS dept; small class size; easy access to labs/profs; west coast connections. There is a unique fit for everyone.