Help Me Decide! UIUC Grainger CS vs. UCSD CS

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Hello everyone,

We are seeking some realistic, perhaps even blunt, advice from tech professionals and experienced parents. My son was fortunate enough to get two direct CS admissions, but as parents, the current news cycle has us deeply anxious about his future.

With the constant news about AI writing code, massive tech layoffs, and the doom-and-gloom narrative that entry-level software engineers will soon be obsolete, we are seriously worried. Is the pure CS degree losing its value? Will he even be able to find a job in 4 years?

Keeping this “AI threat” in mind, he has to choose between two paths. (Note: With a $10,000/year scholarship from UCSD, our out-of-pocket costs for both schools are essentially a tie).

Option 1: UIUC (Grainger CS)

The Draw: It’s a Top 5 program with elite prestige.

The Question: Does a Top 5 “elite” branding actually serve as a shield against AI? Does Grainger teach CS at a fundamental/theoretical level that AI can’t easily replace, compared to just learning to code?

Option 2: UCSD (CS) + $10k/yr Scholarship

The Draw: Still an amazing Top 15 program. The scholarship is a great honor, and the SoCal location/weather perfectly fits his lifestyle (he is a band guitarist and athlete).

The Question: Given the massive uncertainty in the tech industry right now, and since the financial investment is exactly the same for us, should we prioritize his personal happiness and college experience at UCSD? Or is the entry-level job market going to be so brutal that he must have that Top 5 Grainger name on his resume to survive?

We are just very concerned parents trying to navigate this AI shift. How should we weigh a Top 5 prestige vs. a Top 15 in such an unpredictable era, when the cost is identical?

Thank you so much for your honest insights!

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Congrats on great options!
A few things: Are you CA residents? Have you factored in transportation costs to/ from Chicago vs to/from San Diego? Would that be much of a difference?

These are both great choices with great programs. IMO, since we can’t predict the direction of CS jobs in 4 years , why not let him go where he will be happier? If he prefers UCSD, quality of life is important.

Lastly, you should change your screenname.

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Were these regular decision acceptances or was one off the waitlist. Curious why a decision was not made before May 1.

But agree…the student should attend where they can see themselves being happy for four years.

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Have you visited both? Where does your child think they’ll be happier?

I’d do a deep dive into the curriculum at each to determine which one fits your child’s interests best. Neither school will guarantee a job anywhere in what is now an over saturated market. Pick the one where your child can be happy and be their best self.

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Has your student visited both campuses?

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I think that I will address this point. I will admit that predicting the future is at best an uncertain effort that might or might not work out as predicted.

I think that the point is not to be an entry-level software engineer.

Software engineering is not just about writing code. Software engineering is about solving problems. To avoid being an entry-level software engineer, an engineer should understand the underlying methods that are needed to solve problems.

There is a huge range of problems that computers can help solve, and a lot of these require some knowledge that goes way beyond just writing code. As examples, some problems require knowledge of mathematics. I have used multivariate calculus, probability and statistics, and stochastic processes (ie, more advanced probability theory) in order to write software to solve specific problems. Similarly, if AI is going to be used to write code, someone is going to need to understand what the AI is actually doing. Someone is going to need to verify that it is doing the right thing. Thus understanding how AI and machine learning work is likely to be valuable. There are a bunch of different algorithms that can be useful. Understanding linear algebra, linear programming (not the same thing), dynamic programming, and a few different types of search algorithms might all be useful. The Dijkstra algorithm is used in networking, and is one special case of a dynamic programming solution. You don’t need to know what each of these are, but your son would be better off to learn quite a bit of this when he is in university.

I think that your son can learn this at either of the very good universities that you are comparing.

I think that you are comparing two very, very good programs, and that either one can provide an excellent education.

And I wouldn’t be too surprised if a master’s degree ends up being useful.

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With the rapid pace at which AI is being adopted, there are no guarantees. Like others have posted the best path is to

  1. to gain deeper knowledge than entry level positions AND
  2. expertise in applying to a domain of interest.

Both can be done in either school, but is a bit more straightforward at UIUC. That said, if he is gonna be happy in UCSD, he should go there and use the CS+X curriculum at UIUC as reference to gain domain knowledge in an area of interest.

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Another consideration would be if he is unsure about majoring in CS at this point, which other majors might he consider, and how easy would it be to switch to one of those other majors, if he decides he’d like to do so in the future?

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Ease of double majoring, interest in doing so. Perhaps consider this, too.

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does the “scholarship” from UCSD have a name? (Other than Chancellor’s or Regents, the UC’s don’t offer merit money)

Otherwise, I question the veracity of the post.

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I assume it must be this:

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image1164Ă—630 29.8 KB

The Chancellor’s one is only for local, in-state students, and I’m inferring that OP must be OOS, otherwise full-pay-minus-10K would not be at cost parity with UIUC.

And Regents is 5K/year, not 10K. (Although, Regents comes with priority registration, which is a huuuuge perk at a UC; the Triton Scholar award doesn’t confer any registration priority. I would be pointing this out as a selling point if it were part of the package!)

Re: the reference above to both CS+X and masters degrees, it’s worth noting that the accelerated BS/MS pathway at UIUC CS is not available to CS+X students, only to pure CS majors. UCSD has a similar pathway for CS students.

I don’t think there’s any way to prove or disprove this, but IMHO the reputational difference between UIUC and UCSD isn’t stark enough that the student should override a clear preference between the schools. Actual employability may hinge more on what resume-building the student is able to do during undergrad… so it may be worth comparing opportunities for internships, co-ops, and research roles, to the extent that information is available.

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UCSD does offer scholarships other than Regents or Chancellor’s:

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ahh, thx for the correction

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Good point bout the instate cost (unless they got some incredible aid at UIUC)- I was thinking about the 2 instate scholarships mentioned. Didn’t remember about this additional one.

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UIUC doesn’t offer financial aid to OOS

I think OP mentioned CS, not CS + X.

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Maybe they are instate?? :woman_shrugging:

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I thought they were from California although I may be confusing them with a different thread. My bad.

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I asked if they were instate for CA but they haven’t replied AFAIK.

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Yes, I’m aware - others mentioned the merits of CS+X so I was just pointing out that it’s incompatible with the 5-year masters pathway. Maybe not pertinent to the OP’s decision but a point of information in case the CS+X option was considered a point in favor of UIUC.

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I re-read the OP’s question and I think the right answer is evident in the question.