My daughter is trying to decide between UVA, NC State (Honors program), Maryland, and South Carolina for Computer Science. She was accepted into the USC Capstone program with in-state tuition, which is significantly less expensive than our in-state option, UVA. Both my husband and I have engineering degrees from UVA, and we have a lot of confidence in their CS program. My husband really wants her to choose UVA but she is very much undecided. UMD has an excellent reputation for CS, but it is a lot more expensive than UVA. I’m thinking that UMD is out, but we are going to visit before we eliminate it. NC State is also unlikely, but she was thrilled to be accepted into Honors and is still considering it. I think the real choice is between UVA and USC. She is highly swayed by the weather, location, and cost of USC. It also seems like they accept more AP and dual enrollment credits than UVA, meaning she can graduate early or do an accelerated BS/MS in four years. We don’t know much about Capstone, but it seems like a positive. Our biggest concern is that the USC CS program is not rigorous, and she will have better employment or grad school options coming out of UVA. All advice is appreciated!
A couple more points of interest. She has been a competitive dancer and aerialist for years and would like to minor in dance. She would love to continue competing if possible. She has no interest in watching football or sports, and is definitely not going to join a sorority.
Here’s my question - and it’s wonderful she factors finances in - but is money an issue for you? Or what’s your budget? You note UMD is likely out because it’s more money - but if for example, she said I don’t want UVA because I want to leave the state - and you were worried about reputation of U of SC in CS, would you foot the bill for State or UMD?
I believe Capstone is an enrichment living and program that’s a tier below Honors at U of SC - an alternative to Honors College if you will. It’s a two year program.
No matter what, she has great options.
I don’t think U of SC excels in engineering or CS reputationally but that doesn’t mean it’s not good. You might ask the career center or CS department for a career outcome report (the one online is combined with engineering and it appears years out).
In the end, you have to want to be where you are - and if your student truly prefers it, she’s the one there four years, day after day, and I’m sure she can have every opportunity for success.
Also I’ve linked the Brown rankings - I wouldn’t necessarily let it make my decision but you might find it of interest. One of the categories is placement.
Best of luck and congrats to her on great acceptances.
PS - one more note - your concern is that U of SC’s program is not rigorous. Why do you say this? Have you reviewed the program, or talked to profs or students? Or are you making a statement based on reputation/rank? Don’t do the latter - many “lesser” ranked schools are more rigorous than higher ranked - program dependent of course.
It’s not based on ranking, but rather on some comments my husband’s friend, whose wife took CS classes at USC, made. We aren’t sure how rigorous the program is, but we have firsthand experience at UVA and there is no lack of rigor there. We would love feedback from someone who is familiar with USC engineering, as I would like to think she would get an excellent education there.
My husband and I agree wholeheartedly. She goes to a public elite that sends lots of kids to UVA. She wants to start new somewhere and not feel obligated to hang out with her old crowd. We’ve tried to convince her that she will make new friends wherever she goes.
Everyone is different, but I always go by strength of program/intended major not by strength of school if money is not an issue.
It is like, do you want degree from MIT in English (if this is the only major and only degree)?
However, CS major is a bit different…
Most people employable anyway.
But I would consider UMD vs. UVA.
UMD is a top choice here unless money is an issue.
If goal is to save money, I would pick UVA.
If she can graduate in 3 years, she can always pursue a masters at a CS “name school” to round out her resume if its needed. If the cost is right and she is ready to spread her wings, I don’t think it justifies UVA on reputation alone. FWIW, DH is in the field at a national media company. He could care less where his employees went to school as long as they can code.
Money is definitely a concern. We don’t qualify for financial aid, and we have a freshman in college studying architecture (7-year program) and a high school freshman. I switched careers from IT to teaching, so I’m not bringing in a big salary anymore. Our kids have part-time jobs and contribute to paying for their education. UVA is doable, but USC would save 60k over 4 years.
Since UVA is doable, take that money and invest it. It will provide an excellent cushion if she needs a master or just a little extra time. Its a fallback unlikely to be needed but that can give some comfort. (Again, since she’d like to go away)
I should clarify that we can afford all these options, but one is clearly more affordable than the others. She and I are both influenced by the money, but we don’t want to be overly influenced by it. We are visiting all four schools in the next month, and we hope she can find the place she fits best.
I think the issue here is - what the students want.
Some parents are steadfast on they will make the decision or impact it (and in regards to finances they should). Others allow the student to make the decision.
So all fair points brought up but maybe not points the student is interested in.
@Ash3s I would advice to keep it open until deadline and let student to decide (among affordable options.) At this age they change opinion often.
My oldest did not want UMD(wanted to get out of MD) then friends commited and she was ready to commit. Then another affordable option showed up and she changed her mind again.
Youngest wanted big school. Then we visited couple small and she said: " I can see myself there. " Yesterday she commented that she loves her small school…Initial condition was that it has to be bigger than her HS. And her college is exactly size of her HS, but with much larger territory…So it feels bigger…
She is interested in all these things and will be the one deciding. It would be helpful if we knew more people who actually are studying CS at USC, so we can ask them about their experiences. We are attending the engineering portion of admitted student day, but it’s always good to get the inside scoop.
Hopefully you can walk the halls and talk to random students. You can always reach out and ask to speak with a student ambassador as well.
Most students, even the ones in the “sell prospective student” positions will be honest.
No doubt the department will have a career report though - so another great place to look.
Best of luck - and hope she likes the campus after visiting. It’s a great campus - much nicer than NC State (IMHO) and without a 2nd location like NC state.
That’s terrific. I don’t think you can go wrong with any of these choices. It’s wonderful that you are able and willing to support her college studies at the school of her choice (some families just won’t do that even if they can). That is a wonderful gift to your daughter.
We were in a similar boat, but different colleges (except South Carolina which ended up being our DDs second choice despite a HUGE scholarship). We also revisited three colleges, and then left the decision up to our student. She made the right decision…I’m sure your student will as well.
Thanks for sharing this. I’m going to go through it with my daughter. One thing I noticed was that I can’t find a single PhD student who did undergrad at USC. I found plenty from the other schools that she is considering. I doubt she will get a PhD, but I do think she may go to graduate school, especially if the job market for CS grads remains competitive.
To me, as an outsider, it’s a no brainer to go to UVA. That’s a great school that so many would aspire to, both parents alums, in state and very strong known CS program. However I get that the student may want to spread their wings. If that’s the case I’d be looking for a little stronger option (NC State honors or UMD may be in the ballpark). I don’t want to knock UofSC, it’s a very good school, and the Capstone program seems very nice, although not quite honors (my kid applied and was admitted and got into Darla and Capstone with a nice scholarship also), but honestly it’s not in UVA’s league for most majors or overall. My kid was denied at UVA. If he had gotten into both, that decision would have been easy to go to UVA and we are OOS. In state seems like a super easy decision, but everyone has different priorities.
The recommendations that people gave us on the CC forum that helped us decide between schools was to look at the outcome reports and visit the schools. We ended up picking the pricier school, even though my daughter got merit money elsewhere. (Also, with UVA, you may want to keep in mind that you are getting a huge discounted value by being in-state. We’re in-state for UVA, and that was something that I thought about a lot. Unfortunately, to our disappointment, UVA wasn’t the right fit for my daughter, so we ruled it out early on.)