<p>A letter today offers to pay expenses for my son to visit WashU. He had taken it off the list and kept Vanderbilt, neither of which we have visited, for no strong reason, just a need to cut the list!</p>
<p>He will be a computer engineering major (or computer science, or mech e, he's not sure). Any thoughts one way or another re computer engineering or computer science between those two schools? It all seems so arbitrary sometimes.</p>
<p>Both are good schools, but neither are known for those disciplines or have a pipeline to Silicon Valley. By grad acheivements, WashU is better, but both are below their admission stats/Ivy-level. StL is a slightly bigger city. So sure, why not WashU?</p>
<p>
Evil_Robot, a poster on the old forum, turned down Yale, Harvey Mudd, Berkeley (+Regents), and a couple other colleges for a large scholarship to Vanderbilt. He studied computer science, did quite well there, and got a job working for Google afterwards. </p>
<p>
<a href=“Your dream school versus your finances - Parents Forum - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/558534-your-dream-school-versus-your-finances.html</a></p>
<p>I’m sure Wash U is also a fine option. Why not decide after he visits? If he either loves or hates it, that should help with the decision. </p>
<p>Both schools are top notch academically. I feel like they have a different “personality.” Maybe one would be a better “fit” than the other, if you must eliminate one choice. But visit Wash U if they will pay!</p>
<p>I am around Vanderbilt a lot- and you just can’t beat Nashville as a place to live and certainly as a place to go to college. St. Louis (which I also have spent time in) can’t even compare. Wash U is a great school and many kids from Nashville go there, but I would not take Vanderbilt off the list for it. I hope your son can check them both out. While those disciplines are not the highest rated majors at those schools, the programs are strong and your son will have good employment opportunities.</p>
<p>I disagree with the Nashville vs St Louis comparison. Your son should look up the two computer fields to decide which aspect of computers most appeals to him. He should look at the majors and courses at all schools on his list. Neither of these schools may be his first choice for those majors. The overall fit of the campus counts.</p>
<p>btw- son added a computer science major to his honors math major (had some grad level math, likely minimal comp sci). His first job title was software developer, next job he’s considered a software engineer- at major companies. The real world differs from the academic definition.</p>
<p>wis- I admit I am biased towards Nashville, but take a look at ANY recent survey and statistics. St. Louis is struggling in many ways, and Nashville is thriving and attracting many new corporations. It is at or near the top of every list of thriving cities. Plus- there’s the climate and the beauty of it.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the replies! We will work on visiting both and then he can pick one–it’s difficult this fall but maybe in December would be an option. I understand neither of them are necessarily leaders in this field–but we have removed the state schools–Berkeley, UCLA, Texas, Illinois,etc partly because of CC expressed concerns about crowding, worth-it-OOS, and partly because I’d prefer schools with more geographic diversity. I appreciate the input about weighing the departments.</p>
<p>We lived in Nashville for awhile–it is a cool town, and this was before the boom. </p>
<p>Why not apply to both? They are very difficult schools to get into; maybe the decision will be made for you by where he gets accepted.</p>
<p>^^^^^Yep, apply to both and then decide after acceptances.</p>
<p>Kat</p>
<p>Because he already has 11 to 13 colleges on his list. We are trying to keep it to 11.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry about it too much if these schools are at the bottom of his list because most likely he won’t go to either. Apply to one, both or neither. Focus your effort on his top choices.</p>