Large Public School vs Small Private School

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1

I am currently deciding on whether or not to attend Arizona State University or a small local private school. I live in Illinois and plan to major in Computer Information Systems and try to get into honors colleges at both schools. I am also getting strongly recruited by the small private school for D3 baseball. I am willing to give up baseball in order to get a good education, since that is what I am going to school for. I could always play club baseball at ASU. It is hard to decide because I have some questions/problems:

Is distance (ASU is a 24 hour drive) an issue students face? I can pay for flights, but is it a hassle? I will only be able to come home during the winter and summer, maybe spring break at ASU.

Is a CIS degree at ASU a promising degree? Not the degree itself, but coming from ASU vs other schools.

What is the social life like between ASU and a small private school?

Is there a strong scene at ASU for people that mainly focus on academics and not partying? I’m not saying I never party, but school is really important to me and I won’t be going out every weekend.

The private schools is mainly seen as a music and arts school, but they offer my program as well. The location isn’t that great either. But the students and professors seem great. Is ASU in a good location being in Phoenix, and can I get support from school staff and students?

Any other information that can be provided, please do. I am really stuck between these schools. I plan to go to school to focus on school and not partying. I received a 27 on my ACT and an A/B student, never received a C. I do take part in some clubs and play sports. Community service hours as well. Like I said, I am not a a huge party-goer, as I am focused on school and just having a good time. Some parties are okay though.

2

What’s the private school?
If you didn’t get into Barrett at ASU, I wouldn’t recommend it - yes, there are lots of students whose #1 concern is partying (they drop out within the year, but still), very large intro classes, larger than normal sections, lots of online classes. Essentially ASU is two-tiered: superb for the Honors Students, cheapest as possible for the others. ASU used to be ranked biggest party school in the country until they were taken out of the “competition” due to the competition being “for amateurs only, not professionals”.
Why did you choose CIS rather than CS? CS is much more promising (granted, it requires more math).

3

CS seems too much on the programming side of things for me. I am smart, but I am trying to be realistic in terms of what I can handle. I feel like a CS degree (being an engineering degree) would be over my head. Plus I am more into the business aspect of computers and less into the technical math and programming. The private school is Millikin University in Decatur.

4

CS is not CSE. CS is not engineering - it’s math-based.
Millikin will provide a better educational experience, with smaller classes focused on your learning. If you didn’t get into Barrett, ASU isn’t very good, especially for the first two years. Did you get scholarships? Because you could always attend Millikin for your first two years, when it’ll matter, and then transfer to ASU for the greater variety of classes (and the heavy partiers will have gone by then, so you’ll have smaller classes and a better learning environment).