<p>okay, so I majored in Political Science at the University of Florida and graduated in it thinking I'd want to go to law school, but I don't really want to go to law school anymore (not sure if I ever actually did..). I realized this around my last semester, so I wanted to explore other options and I took the intro to programming class required of Computer Science students. I really enjoyed it, and wanted to pursue the field further. So my adviser said I couldn't change my major to comp sci because it was too late, but that I could apply to be post-bacc to get the pre-reqs for the Computer Scicence master's program at UF. I already got accepted into the program (to take the pre-reqs, not the actual master's), but now I found out that as post-bacc I'm no longer getting financial aid except for possible loans. </p>
<p>So now what I'm wonder is..how much does it matter where I take my comp sci classes? If I move back to South Florida, I could try to take the classes at FIU or FAU (or a community college), if they offer post-bacc classes or whatever (which honestly I don't know yet since I was so set on UF) and live at my parent's house so that I don't need to take out as much money. UF is ranked number 39 (tied with a few other schools) in the US NEWS rankings for Computer Science programs, while FIU and FAU are not ranked at all. Does ranking actually matter when it comes to this? Should I go for the possibly cheapest option, or should I go for the better school with some debt (if it matters, I've had to take out exactly 0 loans for my undergrad so far lol). </p>
<p>If you are definitely planning to enter a master’s program in CS, where you do your post-bacc work doesn’t really matter very much. When you apply for jobs, the most attention is paid to where you earned your most recent degree, which would be the master’s.</p>
<p>If you still need lower division courses, see if you can take those at lower cost community colleges before taking any needed upper division courses at a nearby university. Florida’s common course numbering system should make it easier to determine course equivalency between different public community colleges and universities.</p>
<p>FIU and FAU do have ABET accreditation in CS, so they should be at least decent. So do FAMU, FSU, UCF, UNF, USF.</p>
<p>You could try MS CS MOOCs from Georgia Tech cheaply while you have another job. Take some free computer classes for the prerequisites, which you can finish in a faster pace if they happen to be offered somewhere MOOCs. The thing not sure is how well employers may look upon your degree? You could be one of the first to be tested, a guinea pig. Because of the demand, MS CS MOOCs graduates may stand a better chance than other online majors.</p>
<p>Either way, the graduate CS department offering the M.S. degree will make you take at least:</p>
<p>Introductory Programming
Algorithms
Data Structures
Theory of Programming Languages
Theory of Operating Systems
Computer architecture (possibly)</p>
<p>…at the undegraduate level before FULLY admitting you to the MSCS program. Some schools will require graduate versions of the above courses as part of the actual 30/33/36 credit MSCS program…so you will need the undergrad background either at some cheaper 4-year school or at the school of your graduate studies.</p>
<p>The school where you do your post-bacc work may possibly have a slight impact on your ability to get accepted to a graduate program. But given that you already graduated from UF and were already accepted to their post-bacc program, I’m guessing that it wouldn’t be too difficult to get accepted to their MS program, assuming you do well in your post-bacc CS classes. However, perhaps you could contact someone in MSCS admissions at UF to ask that question.</p>