I've been losing sleep over this - UCSC for 34k, UDub for 51k or URochester for 57k?

College Search & Lists
1

I really don’t want to run my parents dry but I feel like I worked too hard to end up at UCSC.

My parents make 160k/year and I can make 20k during the summer (all before taxes) in a high COL area. I can contribute 10-15k/year and my parents have agreed to contribute 35k/year totaling 45-50k/year. Note I have enough credits that I can graduate college in 3 or 3.5 years which makes UR or UW much easier to afford—I’d only have to take out 3k/year in loans for Rochester but again, I don’t want to waste my parents’ money.

I’m going to study CS but I already have my foot in the door at some good companies through internships and connections so I don’t need a brand name school. I just want research opportunities, to make connections, to have fun, and to learn as much as I can during these next 4 years.

University of Washington (51k/year)

Pros:

  • Highly ranked for CS (lots of CS research - IDK how hard/easy it is to get a position as an undergrad)
  • Campus is pretty
  • Easy to get to by plane

Cons:

[ul]

[li] Did not get direct admit to CS (although I have most prereqs done dual credit w/ all A’s so I have a good chance)[/li]
[li] Will be more competitive [/li]
[li] Expensive (but I won’t need to take out loans)[/li][/ul]

UC Santa Cruz

Pros:

[ul]

[li] Way cheaper[/li]
[li] 2 hours drive from home - but I don’t have a car so hard to get around[/li]
[li] I like the surrounding town, nearby hiking, and the foresty vibe[/li][/ul]

Cons:

[ul]

[li] Less prestigious / reputation of a stoner school / My ACT is 6 points above their average[/li]
[li] No competitive environment to push me to be my best[/li]
[li] I fear I won’t make as good of connections there[/li][/ul]

University of Rochester

Pros:

  • I LOVE the open curriculum and culture
  • Lots of research opportunities. I got a 5k research and innovation grant to build/research something
  • Nice private school w/ resources; I won’t have to worry about getting classes here
  • Campus is nice - I’d go here if costs weren’t a thing

Cons:

[ul]
[li] Expensive even after 15k merit award (3k in loans/year)[/li]
[li] Remote area / hard to get to / no direct flight[/li]
[li] Bad weather[/li][/ul]

I would much appreciate it if you gave your thoughts/advice. I can’t decide and I’ve been really stressing out about this.

2

The reputation of UCSC is underrated. That’s the school that you got into. But it sounds like you are misguided and want prestige. You’ve already made that decision.
So go to a school that your parents will have to suck up and pay a good chunk of their retirement funds. If they develop health problems, you will be stuck with having to pay those tuition fees.

FWIW: My husband is a Stanford grad, his boss is a CSU grad.
My dd is a SUNY grad, and she manages a UC grad. Seeking prestige won’t get you what you think.

3

@“aunt bea” I phrased that in a bad way, I apologize.

A brand name on my resume is not what I’m going after—I’m not worried about how employers will view my school and I’m not necessarily looking to go into a management position. I’m more concerned about how the school I go to will shape me as a person over the next four years and beyond.

I’m very ambitious and I want to be inspired by the people around me—I worry that without a competitive environment to push me, I’ll lose track of my goals. I’ve been to hackathons at schools ranging from SF State to Stanford and I’ve seen how drastically the strength of the school’s CS program affects the type of projects that its students are capable of building.

4

Looks like plenty of CS research opportunities at UCSC.
https://www.soe.ucsc.edu/departments/computer-science/research
With the difference in cost, you can buy a car! My D is at a school with similar test score ranges and she is plenty stimulated without being overly stressed. Your professors will love you and you may get personalized opportunitues you wouldn’t get elsewhere.

5

Definitely UCSC. It is an amazing school with lots of opportunities.

6

So, you must not be around very many CS students?
Every CS student, that I know of, needs no pushing to get ideas and projects going.

Where you go doesn’t matter as much as what you do for yourself.
My daughter also got into Rochester, and although their program was good, it wasn’t big enough for her. Plus, getting to a nearby airport would be a hassle in freezing rain and snow.
That’s why she went to SUNY (full ride also helped). She’s employed by a big corporate giant now.

You make your education what you want it to be.

7

@“aunt bea” Another concern is that I don’t know if I want to study computer science and be employed by a big corporate giant. I’m still exploring my options and am considering majoring in music. I’d have a lot more opportunity to explore different fields at Rochester than either of those public schools

8

@pleasgod Wouldn’t it be CHEAPER for your parents to buy you a good used car and have you attend UCSC? Not sure about this worked too hard to attend UCSC bit. Don’t know why you kids view college as some kind of prize rather than a stepping stone to an amazing life. UCSC is a great school. Think you are in grass is greener mode.

9

@gearmom Yes, it would be a lot cheaper. I know, I’m not thinking super rationally right now; it’s just been ingrained in my mind all throughout school to work hard to get into the best college I can. Now that I may not be able to attend the best school I got into, it feels bad knowing that every all-nighter I’ve pulled studying might have been for nothing. I realize that UCSC is a good school with many opportunities, but it’s hard for me to look past this

10

From what you’ve written, you’d be a great fit for Rochester, and you seem to have applied for the right personal and academic reasons. Though costs will be a consideration, you’ve devised ways to mitigate them with a shortened time to graduation. Families do pay the full cost of attendance at private schools on a regular basis, so, in principle, to choose UR (at somewhat of a discount in your case) would not be a venture into terra incognita.

11

Be careful - there are lots of factors that influence that.

Stanford, no doubt, has better computer science facilities than SFSU. But Stanford also no doubt admits students who are better prepared in computer science than SFSU, too. The kinds of kids who study CS at Stanford are often kids who have had access to top-flight technological resources since middle school; whose high schools offered computer science classes; who grew up in communities where there were lots of top software developers and engineers to look over their work and inspire them. They likely started coding earlier and were already building simple (or not-so-simple) things by the time they got to Stanford. The kids who go to SFSU aren’t exposed to the same kinds of resources early on. So a big portion of the Stanford CS undergrads’ success is due not just to the fantastic resources on campus but also the excellent (and expensive) preparation they often have before they even step foot on Stanford’s campus.

I’m curious about how you can make $20K during the summer, and how you think you can consistently contribute $10-15K a year. That’s far more than the average high school/college student. Do you have a successful side business or something?

Also, having a certain number of credits doesn’t necessarily suggest graduating early. These colleges also have general and distributional education requirements to satisfy, so sometimes even if you come in with 15-30 credits you still may end up spending four years there. (I entered college with 16 credits, and did not graduate early.)

An average at a school is just that - an average. It, by definition, means roughly half the students at the school have higher scores than it. UCSC says that of its fall 2017 entering class, nearly 70% of students scored a 27 or higher on the ACT. A 27 is in the 86th percentile, meaning that the vast majority of UCSC students are in the top 14% of students wrt their ACT score in the nation. And standardized test scores aren’t measures of intelligence in any case. If you attend UCSC, you’ll be attending with bright, above-average to excellent students. (Besides, UW’s ACT averages aren’t that much higher than UCSC’s anyway!)

You also don’t need to be in a hyper-competitive environment to do your best. It depends on you and your personality, of course - if you need that fierce competition and you know that about yourself, that’s a different story. But what I’m saying is not everyone needs that; sometimes, a more collaborative environment is better, especially if you are very intrinsically motivated.

All of the University of California campuses are good schools and UCSC is no exception. Going to UCSC won’t render all of your hard work “all for nothing.” It’s a fantastic university where you can get an excellent education. I like gearmom’s statement - college is not a prize; it is a stepping stone to opportunities and things, and UCSC is a great stepping stone.

12

If you can make $20K in a summer, you may just want to forego college and start making that $80K per year. You’ll already be far ahead of most college graduates!

13

It looks like your family can afford UCSC, so that’s where I’d go. The number of credits you have won’t affect how long it takes to graduate as much as whether or not those credits meet particular criteria set by the school, so don’t bank on saving a year’s cost of attendance by transferring credits in. The purpose of your high school education should have been to make you a more knowledgeable person. Attending a state school isn’t a waste. There are plenty of smart kids at state colleges. If you require external forces to push you to do your best, then maybe you’re not ready for college.

14

@pishicaca I’ve considered it but I can only get a job in software engineering and I’m already getting bored of software engineering haha

15

@pleasgod That is a high amount for your parents to contribute with that salary. How are they doing that? Out of salary, loans or savings? Do you already earn 20k a summer?

16

It can be a difficult to get musical opportunities at Rochester if you are not a music student. A music teacher warned us about that based on the experiences of her students.

I had a friend who did music undergrad at UCSC and went in to a top notch graduate music program, so I think there are nice music opportunities there.

UCSC seems like such a nice environment. It’s in the UC system and is CS. You will certainly be challenged. UW just doesn’t seem worth the money in comparison.

17

@julliet You make some really great points. Thank you for taking the time to respond, I think I really am starting to consider UCSC as an option now. I’ll visit next week and see how I think about it. I know it’s a good school and it does seem like the logical decision here. Although I have 28 semester credits in very common gen ed/intro classes because I was thinking of transferring from community college (which I haven’t entirely ruled out) and looking into the schools’ policies, it does look like they will be accepted at UW or Rochester

18

@gearmom I already earn $25k (before taxes) this summer and I have $5k in savings from last summer. I might even be able to extend this job into school to make more money. My parents can contribute $35k out of salary and savings

19

@MACmiracle That’s interesting to hear about the music department. On an admitted student day, I talked to some students there who were in music not in Eastman and they said there were lots of opportunities but I guess it was their job to try and draw kids to the program haha

20

If you didn’t do the music major audition process, it is unlikely you would be a music major at schools like UW or Rochester. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t opportunities for non-majors, though. You just have a different set of options than the majors do.

There is a lower-commitment orchestra for nonmajors you can join at UW. Basically you get to be the “learning orchestra” for MFA students studying conducting. I know nothing of the music scene at UCSC, but if that is important to you, definitely ask what opportunities are available before you arrive on campus and are disappointed.

I hesitate to send anybody to UW for OOS tuition that did not get direct admit. Having a lot of the prereqs done before arriving on campus does not necessarily help. Remember, they saw those prereqs on your freshman application and did not decide to give you early admit.