<p>My name is Tim, I'm 18 years old and I currently live in Brussels, Belgium. My intended major is Computer Science.</p>
<p>A few weeks ago, I applied to some universities in the US. I received a few acceptance letters. Here is the list of the school I've applied to and the ones who accepted me:</p>
<p>[ul] [<em>]Purdue University (Accepted but will have to study 1 year in their College of Liberal Arts before being able to apply for Computer Science. This will depend on my grades at the College of Liberal Arts) [li]University of Dayton (Accepted) []University of Illinois at Chicago (Accepted) []Rochester Institute of Technology (Accepted) []Drexel University [</em>]DePaul University []University of Wisconsin-Madison [/ul]</p>[/li]
<p>I have a hard time deciding to which university I should go. This is mainly due to the fact that I live abroad and don't really have someone helping me with the universities.</p>
<p>[ul] [<em>]Purdue University is a great university. I read many comments about this university. Some say it is a great university if you don't mind the teachers not "knowing" you. Others say the teachers are concentrating more on their research than on their students. I've been guaranteed a place at Purdue University. But I first have to go to their College of Liberal Arts and IF my grades are correct, I will be able to go to the College of Science. What do you think I should do about Purdue?
[</em>]I heard that University of Dayton is a great private school in Dayton, Ohio. Their Engineering program is great and I also heard that their Computer Science program is not too bad. Students are happy to be in this University (I've read this on a lot of websites). Also got a $7.5K scholarship from them.</p>
<p>[li]Drexel University. I heard SO many positive comments about this university. Their Computer Science program is great, so is their co-op. I would say that I'm hesitating between this university and Rochester Institute of Technology. What I like about Drexel is that it is in Philadelphia, which for me is a great way to discover a US city (even though I already have been there a couple of times).[/li][li]University of Illinois at Chicago. This is my last choice in my list. It was my safety net incase no university would accept me[/li][li]Rochester Institute of Technology. I'm currently having difficulties in choosing between Rochester Institute of Technology and Drexel University. Both are good and have a great co-op program. [/li][li]DePaul University. I choose this university not because of it's program, but because of its location (in Chicago). Yes, I'm in love with Chicago ! I don't think I am going to study there, but it was still a good backup I guess.[/li][li]University of Wisconsin-Madison. Well, this University was my goal but I guess I have no chances in being accepted there even though I would have loved studying there ! Still awaiting their letter though :)[/li][/ul]</p>
<p>What do you suggest me to do? Which university is better and why? </p>
<p>From the people I talk to that go to purdue it is going in the wrong direction as far as education quality as of late. All the other choices imo are solid. I would say Drexel would be my choice but any one of those may fit depending on what exactly you want.</p>
<p>Big school or small school, doesn’t really matter to me. I want a good education, with a good social life and a good location.</p>
<p>Even though I haven’t receive their letter yet, I would say Drexel is my first choice right now. It’s location is good and it’s education (I’m taking into account the co-op program) is great. What about Drexel’s social life? How is it? </p>
<p>Rochester Institute of Technology is my second choice. Why? Simply because of it’s social life (I heard that it’s not that great, correct me if I am wrong) and it’s location (Rochester). </p>
<p>I would have loved to go to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, but I think I will never get accepted for multiple reasons. </p>
<p>Timur - Drexel is in West Philadelphia, and not the best part of town. Most Americans would feel that Drexel’s location is a drawback for it, but you may mean that Philadelphia in general is a great location because it would afford you access to other Eastern cities.</p>
<p>If you were accepted at Purdue, I wouldn’t think that you’d be that unlikely to get in at Wisconsin.</p>
<p>I am very familiar with RIT. It’s actually my brothers top choice for computer science. I’m from Rochester, and the social life really isn’t that bad. You’re in victinity to many malls and restaurants. RIT also has fun concerts with great bands. I location really bothers you, I’ve lived in rochester for 17 years and have kept myself entertained haha. And I’ve heard amazig things about the co-ops. I don’t know if that’s helpful at all, but I’m just a huge fan of RIT :)</p>
<p>I’m from Dayton Ohio, and my brother is a senior there this year, so I have a good idea of the school and some advice to offer! </p>
<p>First off it is a Catholic school (not sure if it matters to you or not, its not that big of a deal).
It is private, and therefore expensive, but since you have a scholarship there i am assuming cost is not an issue.
The university itself is extremely popular. </p>
<p>It is constantly ranked to have extremely happy students, and from living in the area and knowing many of them I hear nothing but good things about UD.The education is solid, and the teachers actually care about teaching. They have a good computer science program too, my brothers best friend is a grad student in CS and loves the program. Overall the university is a really nice place. The surrounding city, Dayton, was hit pretty hard with the recession. Its not a nice city at all. Many buildings are deserted, and more and more of it is becoming a ghetto. Generally speaking west Dayton is a very unsafe place, but east Dayton is tolerable. UD isn’t in a bad part of town like many schools in the city seem to be. There are a lot of very nice suburbs with lots to do.</p>
<p>There are many places you can get a great education… few are as miserable in the winter as Rochester. If you don’t love the winter stay away from RIT.</p>
<p>@gadad: Thank you for your information about the location of Drexel. I didn’t know that it was in West Philadelphia. </p>
<p>@Willy27: RIT does look like a great school. Is your brother applying for the Fall of 2011?</p>
<p>@cjrrower: I do know that the University of Dayton is a Catholic school. I’m an atheist, do you think it would be a problem? I heard many people saying that it doesn’t matter, but I want to be sure of what I heard.</p>
<p>@UTPG1234: The weather isn’t my biggest concern. Education is more important to my eyes. </p>
<p>I think the best for me would be to go to one of these university:
[ul]
[<em>] Rochester Institute of Technology - ACCEPTED
[</em>] University of Dayton - ACCEPTED
[li] University of Wisconsin-Madison - Waiting for an answer …[/li][/ul]</p>
<p>[ul] [<em>]I think RIT is great because of it’s CS program.
[</em>]I don’t know anything about University of Dayton’s reputation. Is it good or just ok?
[li]I would love to go to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Not only because it has a beautiful campus, good reputation and good CS program… but also because I have family living not to far away from Madison. Does someone know how long it takes for WISC to say if I am admitted or not? It’s been more than a month now that I have been waiting for an answer (not that I am in a hurry, but just to let you know).[/li][/ul]</p>
<p>True - This year, Princeton Review’s student surveys rank it among the top 20 nationally for both “Happiest Students” and “Best Quality of Life.” I’m not sure why that is, but its high satisfaction ratings have always impressed me.</p>
<p>The students at Dayton have always been happy, I guess the administration just knows what to do. As for being an Atheist I honestly do not see it as a problem. I’m an atheist at a catholic school and it doesn’t affect me whatsoever. Kids are pretty relaxed about it and won’t hate you or anything. The entire student body certainly is not catholic, and does not necessarily have any religious beliefs, so I don’t see an issue.</p>
<p>How strong is their CS program at the University of Dayton?</p>
<p>Also, what university would you recommend me to go to? UD or RIT (I’m not taking into account WISC since I have not received their acceptance/refusal letter).</p>
<p>Truthfully I’m not sure how much name recognition UD gets with employers. I know people that say they enjoy the university, and that the academics are good, but I have no clue how it compares to RIT in name recognition. I also know people say they enjoy the program and it is good, but I don’t really know how great their CS program is. I have more experience with their science majors like biology.</p>
<p>The good news is that I’ve been accepted at Drexel University with the Dean’s Scholarship. </p>
<p>Now, the “battle” is between Rochester Institute of Technology and Drexel University. Just as a reminder, I want to major in Computer Science with a minor Business.</p>
<p>Which university is the best ? I’ve searched the Internet and found out that they practically are the same as each other. They both have great Co-op programs and their Business Schools are great. What about Computer Science? Is it better at RIT or Drexel?</p>
<p>You need to think about how much these different places are going to cost you and your family. Run the numbers through this calculator. It is set up for US applicants, but you can ignore the financial aid factors that don’t affect you: [FinAid</a> | Calculators | Award Letter Comparison Tool](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Award Letter Requirements - Finaid)</p>
<p>Happykid’s good friend is at Drexel, and loves it there. She’s not bothered at all by the location, and is enjoying everything that the city has to offer.</p>
<p>RIT is a great university, but I think that socially… it’s not that good. Financially, the Dean’s Scholarship from Drexel could help me and the social life is great from what I read.</p>
<p>What about their academics? Which university has better academics in Computer Science?</p>