W&M vs Virginia Tech for CS

[crazedbehisname]

Hello!
I’m currently deciding between W&M and Virginia Tech for my B.S. Degree. So far, I’m really liking W&M a lot more - atmosphere-wise, social-life, fits my smaller school preference and has better diversity stats - and it seems like I can do undergrad research there as much as I can at tech. So in terms of “place I’d like to be at”, I think W&M beats tech (but I don’t think I would dislike studying at Virginia Tech either - but W&M to me seems like more an environment where I’d be able to thrive. Both places seem to r,ank fairly high on student happiness though - though W&M is ten points ahead at #9)
However, Virginia Tech seems to:

1. be regarded with more prestige when it comes to computer science (I was told ‘far better’ by someone who did their grad at Virginia Tech )
2. Has the option for computer science & electrical engineering
3. more total research funding? but I don’t know if that really translates into more undergrad research opportunities or significance - a professor I know has worried about me using research funding as a sign of undergrad opportunity - (esp considering the far greater amount of comp sci students Virginia Tech has)
4. I’ll be able to transfer all of my general education credits over there - converse to W&M, which has a liberal-arts focused education
   On the flipside to those points:
5. For undergrad, I’m not quite sure how much prestige matters? Virginia Tech seems to have a much better ranking than william and mary nationwide (30v70) but rankings are also… inconsistent (William and mary was ranked 144 in comp sci 2021 and ranked 70 in comp sci 2022… and ranked #1 in the state but somehow 40 places before tech nationally? - from my searches)
6. William and Mary, although being a smaller school and thus not recieving as big grants as virginia tech, is also heavily investing into their comp sci program. I feel like I would be able to benefit from that, and especially I would stand out more in a more liberal arts oriented school rather than virginia tech where it would be a lot easy for me to just be “another CS kid” (as advised by my dad)
7. Although a liberal arts oriented education means I can’t solely focus on CS, it also means I would develop the critical-thinking skills and academic work balance to succeed and learn in other subjects

Although I am worried about choosing a school where for the next four years i’d think “i’d have a lot more fun if I was at william and mary…” (not really a fan of blacksburg), I also intend to pursue graduate school and potentially a PhD (my current desired path is CS research) - and I’m worried that there is a potential that the opportunity cost of picking W&M over virginia tech in terms of research is going to mean that I’d be a lot less likely to get into a really good grad program for CS - say Caltech or Princeton - but I also hear that where you go for your undergrad doesn’t matter much, and it’s mostly participation in research (as well as academic excellence)? For which I feel william and mary already has a good enough undergrad situation?

[tsbna44]

It’s cs. You should go where you want. W&M. And not major related but overall you’re the first person I ever heard say Va Texh has more prestige than W&M. W&M is typically thought of on par with the top publics, including UVA but it’s a smaller school and yes US News rates it a bit lower.

In the end, W&M and Va Tech are both well respected.

And both can get you anywhere.

Electrical engineering an interest ? Then Va Texh as you can’t do at W&M.

[IzzoOne]

Your best argument for William and Mary appears to be you think it fits you, and you should not dismiss that. You almost seem to be trying to talk your way out of it.

Total research funding is meaningless in this case. That benefits professors who get the grants and perhaps graduate students, but isn’t a factor in undergraduate. Some may argue it is a detriment to undergraduate education since research can attract more faculty attention to the detriment of undergraduate education. What is important is the opportunity to work closely and be mentored by a faculty member, and get a good recommendation.

If you want to get a PhD, William and Mary has one of the highest percentage of graduates (per capita) that go on to get PhDs, including STEM fields among public institutions. NSF maintains a database and there is an easy to use web site here:Baccalaureate origins of doctoral recipients

You would need to factor for undergraduate enrollment. Virginia Tech has nearly 5X the undergraduate enrollment of William and Mary.

[2Devils]

William&Mary has more prestige nationally, grad-school placement is better, and more importantly for the reasons you describe is a better fit. Go to William&Mary!