<p>My kid has admission to the following plces:
1)No aid to UC Berkeley
2)No aid to Georgia Tech College of Engineering
3)10K scholarship for Univ Southern California
4)5k aid for Penn State and
5)UMaryland College Park with President’s scholarship, Honors Gemstones program admission.
At this point she is thinking of majoring in Math and Computer Sci/Engg, going to Grad School for Ph.D. in Math. We will be in state for MD. Where would it be beneficial for her to go to? </p>
<p>If it is UMCP, we will virtually sail home free, as it is in-state as we have another child to pay for in 4 years. As a parent, I want the best for both my kids and of course do not want her to go into debt at the start of her academic training. </p>
<p>1)However, how do the Math/Comp Sci/Comp Sci Engg programs compare at UMCP to the one at UCBerkeley or any of the other schools?</p>
<p>2)What is more important, undergraduate college or where she goes for graduate?</p>
<p>3) Does it matter when it comes to the job market where you got your degree?</p>
<p>4) What kind of careers/jobs can be expected with a Ph.D. in Math or Comp Sci/Engg … if she does decide to go that route?</p>
<p>All of the schools you mention are in the major leagues. You may want to check the US News and World Reports rankings for math grad schools to see where they are for that. Berkeley is one of the top ranked schools which means the upper level math courses should be a good preparation for math grad work. Other schools with good rankings (top 20? 30?) probably will offer good math courses as well. There are jobs for mathemeticians. The math grad school process is brutal- so many top foreign students with advanced work are competing with US students for limited spots (the economy means fewer TA jobsd due to cutbacks in many schools- including California ones, another school choice issue for undergrad). You can check the schools’ math dept websites for info relating to your questions (UW-Madison math dept has a lot of good info, also).</p>
<p>Look at the overall college experience when choosing. She may change her focus and be looking at other fields for grad school. If your state flagship has what she wants, both socially as well as academically, you may as well save your money. No school is perfect. She may get the mentoring with good grad school choices and undergrad experiences by being part of the UMD honors program instead of being just one of hundreds elsewhere. Go with the school she feels most in love with and you can afford.</p>
<p>Yes, you are right, kids change their decisions/majors so often in school. As parents we only want what is best for the kids, it was easier when making the decision for yourself years ago, but helping/guiding your child the right way is a much harder task.</p>
<p>Congrats on having such good options! Most would agree that the school where the student gets the last degree & relevant work/research history is the most important, not which U gave the undergrad degree & in what subject.</p>
<p>Yes, I think my kid has a natural affinity towards an academic career … but then again, I don’t know. I don’t know if things might change in the next 4 years.</p>
<p>I’m a Berkeley alum, and I would recommend taking Berkeley off your list. I don’t think an undergrad education there is worth around $50,000. Yes, Berkeley has an incredible reputation, but that reputation derives largely from its graduate programs. For an in-state student, it’s a different story, at least until they raise the tuition another 30%. </p>
<p>I can only speak to California programs, but the scholarship to USC is worth considering, imo. The school of engineering there is relatively strong, and students have great support. But more important is the enormous, massively committed alumni network of that school. Graduates receive a lot of help landing that first job, or so I’ve heard.</p>
<p>She was very disappointed when she did not get into any of ivies last week, my heart went out to the kid…, she had skipped a grade when in elementary and had enormous no. of ecs, and decent grades, APs etc… but maybe it happened for the best… we would have had to take a lot of loan.
You all have given very nice advice, thank you so much.</p>
<p>Where you go to grad school counts far more than undergrad and neither matters that much after a couple years on the job. You may feel UMDCP is just a state school but it is a highly regarded one, especially in the math/science/engineering and she would have wonderful opportunities in the honors/gemstone programs.</p>
<p>U Maryland would be my choice. Cal Unis will have a lot of financial problems in the next few years. She’ll be in the Honors program at Maryland, which means she’ll get special attention, and the best part is it’s free.</p>
<p>Since she’s considering getting a PHD she has a long road ahead of her with a lot of associated costs. There’s a very good chance she’ll change her course over the next couple of years so I wouldn’t put too much into the anticipated roadmap at this point. </p>
<p>If you’re rich then paying $50K/yr OOS for UCB and the delta at the others vs. $0 at UMCP might be a luxury choice but for most of us it wouldn’t be worth it. Even the $10K at USC only knocks it down by about a quarter so the cost would still be over $40K/yr.</p>
<p>Most employers will pay the most attention to where they obtained their final degree. It does matter to some extent where one obtained their degree. One of the factors is actually the location - i.e. some employers tend to hire more from colleges in the area that they’re more familiar with. Other employers will hire from all over.</p>
<p>Note that CompSci/Eng many of the students end up entering the job market after they earn their BS. The MS/PHD doesn’t always provide a lot of extra value to the employers. In addition, a lot of the CS/Eng students are fairly burnt out by the time they get their BS and are ready for something other than school for a while. </p>
<p>Another thing to consider is that CS/Eng has a fairly high attrition rate where students decide it’s not really for them so they switch into something else. There are so many variables at this point that it’s hard to say what your D will really end up doing.</p>
<p>However - congrats to her for being offered admission and merit aid at a number of very good schools. She’s done well and should be proud of herself.</p>
<p>Thank you, all.
All of you have reallly helped clarify things for me. We have narrowed down our choices to UMDCP and another college. Any thoughts on UMDCP v/s Georgia Tech school of engg? As My kid is considering Georgia Tech too. Thanks, all of you again.</p>