Help with college decisions [engineering or computer science]

Applying to College
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I got acceptances from few colleges thus far and would love to hear the good, bad and ugly. I am OOS for all of the below and from west coast. I am trying to get insights into the program and major, reputation and career opportunities. No financial constraints but would like to consider if there are steep differences.

Univ. of Pittsburgh - College of Engineering (no scholarship)

Santa Clara - Electrical and Computer Engineering (no scholarship)

Virginia Tech - College of Engineering (no scholarship)

ASU - CS, Tempe (16k scholarship first year)

Stony Brook, NY - Computer Engineering (11k a year for 4 years)

Indiana University, Bloomington - CS (9k a year for 4 years)

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Can you afford the net costs at all of these colleges? For example, SCU is double the cost of some of the others you have listed when taking your scholarship into consideration.

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Thanks just updated my post. Although I do not have financial constraints, I would like to understand whether it is truly worth paying more than double.

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This financial decision is a family one.

Disclaimer…my kid is a Santa Clara graduate, and we paid almost four times as much for her to attend the school as her least costly acceptance option. As a family, we had no issue doing this. If we had had issues with the costs, we would not have allowed her to apply.

It sounds like you like all of these colleges for different reasons. Really, you probably can get a fine education at any one of them.

So…make some pros and cons lists about each school.

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Stony Brook is very suitcase/commuter so, comibg from the West Coast, I’d cross it out for quality of life reasons (the academics are excellent).
Pitt and VTech are similar in quality: are they the same price? Are there department-specofoc scholarships you can apply to?
Pitt is in a nice neighborhood in a cool city. VTech is in a classic college town and features excellent food. Both will be challenging academically speaking but good work/life balance.
ASU v. Indiana, same idea: city v. College town, with the added difference of close to home/far from home and ASU having financial difficulties so OOS scholarships are likely to be cut (but it’s likely less expensive for your 1st year).
Do you like CS or Engineering? Cs typically offers more flexibility wrt electives or advanced courses and is more abstract, often with more math; Engineering requires a lot of physics and solid math with an interest in their applications.

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ASU is huge - suburban/urban-ish.

Pitt is semi large and in an urban area.

SCU - Jesuit and smaller.

Va Tech - huge - more remote although Blacksburg has everything - gorgeous campus (I think nicest) and top rated food in the country. Food is underrated. @DadBodThor student there now.

SBU - NY is trying to prop up but it’s on Long Island - and it’s hard for people to get off the island :slight_smile: So - yes will be more local.

IU is a great school and has CS - but CS is not engineering. Are you looking to do CS or CE?

There’s no bad name - but what is it you seek? Why did you pick this group of schools?

Given the major, the where matters less - the what’s the best fit for you is what matters most.

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Thanks for the details. I am still a bit conflicted hence I had applied for CS initially to some schools but then felt like computer engineering would be better because I am more hands on and like building things and have taken advanced ap calc bc and now taking ap physics C. I have visited VTech campus other than the no proximity to airport (Roanoke very small airport) everything else there was great. If I just look at costs Stony Brook comes to be the cheapest at ~40k after the scholarships compared to all other schools however I am trying to understand from a reputation and career perspective which college would be better. Thanks

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In both, frosh who applied as engineering and are admitted and matriculate enter as undeclared engineering. However:

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I’m not sure where you go will matter.

SCU is in Silicon Valley…so you’d likely make more if you place there…but you’ll pay a fortune.

I think all the schools are fine.

Money matters - but if you like Va Tech and can afford, it’s great. How often do you need to go to the airport? Tempe is easiest to airport and then Pitt. SBU isn’t far - but many think it’s a suitcase but it’s profile is growing.

Ultimately, you have to make the choice.

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Total costs in order – ASU after scholarship ~38k, Stony Brook after scholarship ~42k, Bloomington ~49k after scholarship, Virginia tech ~58k, Univ of Pittsburgh ~62k.

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My son is a freshman at Virginia Tech this year and is really enjoying it. He also got into ASU engineering… and some other engineering schools. We’re in state for Virginia Tech, so it was the cheapest school he got into (even after scholarships at Michigan State and ASU), which really made it a no brainer.

I put cost as a bigger weight than prestige for engineering schools - for the most part. I would also put fit over presitge – you’re going to be better off at a school where you feel comfortable and get good grades and really learn the material.

I can say Virginia Tech does a good job of preparing their students. I’ve recruited out of there for the engineering fair, and they have a lot of impressive students, but I suspect that’s the case at a lot of schools.

We looked seriously at ASU b/c my wife’s sister-in-law works there and we have a lot of family near there. There are tech companies that recruit out of there, and plenty of internship opportunities.

I think you should be very happy with your acceptances so far, and you can have great success at any of them. If money is really no concern, I’d go with the one you feel most comfortable at, b/c your mental health and ability to do well is super important. After that, you can look up various ranking lists for prestige - but it’s not the most important thing. I’ve heard good things about most of your choices from an ability to get a good education and job prospects.

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These all seem like terrific options – congratulations! If your family is willing to let you decide based on fit (and not finances) and you’ve ascertained how accessible your chosen major will be, maybe look at core curricular requirements, social life, housing availability, sports fandom, etc. A different thread talked about the impact of SAD on students – if you’re sensitive to winter mood shifts you might weight Santa Clara and ASU more heavily than Pitt, for example, which tends to get less sunshine year-round.

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Vtech is an under the radar really good school for engineering. If rank means anything it has that.

So, look at the facilities and faculty. Where were they trained from etc.

Also many students change out of engineering /CS. What school would you want to be at if you changed your major? It happens… Also look /compare clubs and activities you might want to do. Does something stand out?

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Have you lived out east before? Do you want to end up out here? Do you prefer urban? I think UPITT is a nice option and @ucbalumnus had some great intel about the differences between it and UVA (also a good option). Pitt students can cross register at CMU, which is another plus.

I agree that Stoneybrook has a rep for being a commuter school and I might cross it off for that reason.

Is there any particular benefit of attending the California private school in terms of internships or relationships in Silicon Valley? If not, I’d bag it. If you want warm and dry weather, I’d pick ASU.

In any case where you’ve received merit, look closely at what the requirements are to maintain it.

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Santa Clara University is in Silicon Valley. It may have some convenience advantage for both recruiters and students in that travel is not an issue for interviews (no airline flights or hotels needed), particularly at smaller companies that do not have the need or resources to recruit everywhere (the advantage is lowest at the bigger well known companies which recruit widely, anyone knows to apply to, and have offices in many locations). However, with the rise of videoconferencing and the trends in industry consolidation (meaning fewer smaller companies), this may not be as much of an advantage as before.

Other California private schools are not necessarily convenient to Silicon Valley employers, so they may not necessarily gain such an advantage.

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My son interviewed with 20 firms last Fall.

5 offers.

19 were zoom entirely. The 20th was zoom but flew him in.

Even on campus today goes virtually - they just do that school.

This would be no concern.

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Did you feel the name of your son’s undergraduate school helped him get those interviews? For nor cal bay area natives, did he feel competition from the numerous big name schools in california? (meaning, it is hard to compete for jobs if you didn’t go to the big name schools)?

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U of Alabama.
Not on any lists.
You tell me.

You know what companies seek - what they write on the description.

ABET. He’s in a leadership program at an aero company as a manufacturing engineer. They have Michigan, Purdue, Case Western, OSU, Washington but also Akron, W Michigan, Auburn, Bama, Utah.

I personally think the trick to getting hired is the internship - getting one.

My son interned with two Ga Tech kids. He was invited back a second summer. They weren’t. He had what they are looking for.

The intern company called to offer in Feb but he had accepted already. That would have been offer #6.

He had a merit offer at Purdue and acceptances to UMD, Florida and more but liked he could get his own room at Bama and that the campus is really nice.

My daughter had 7 intern offers in DC for the Fall, 5 paid. Sue worked at a top think tank. She goes to Charleston She turned down W&L, UMD, UF, UGA and U of SC Honors.

Both were disciplined. Applied 3 jobs a day using indeed. Prob more than 100 apps each. It works.

People say inefficient. But effective.

Back to your question - I think people WAAAAAAAY overstate the impact of where you go. If you’re a winner, you’re a winner.

Will Stanford give an advantage overall. Absolutely. Not just based on name but also the kid quality it attracts. Will UCD or UCI or others - I’d say not really. It’s my opinion anyway.

I think all the rank is marketing - for magazines to sell and schools to charge and receive higher tuition. But in the real world is it worth it ? Many say yes. My kids chose their schools on like, not money but I’m guessing what I saved will come with little to no sacrifice for them. One is out and it’s certainly the case.

Good luck.

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Computer programmer here. I can tell you it’s not worth spending 2-3 times the tuition to go out of state. Computer “tech” degrees are ridiculously employable. After about 2-3 years experience, employers don’t even ask where you went to school.

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Simple, go to the highest ranked school you can afford.