Northeastern, Virginia Tech or UNC Chapel Hill for Computer Science major

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My son has received offer to Northeastern (Boston campus), Virginia Tech, and UNC Chapel Hill for Computer Science Major in Fall 2026. We want to know or get some advice:

  • The pros and cons of going to each of these schools and studying CS at these schools
  • The experience of students studying CS at these schools
  • The opportunity of co-op/internship and study abroad for CS students at these schools
  • The reputation/prestige of CS programs at each of these schools and how companies view these CS programs
  • What are the job prospects of CS students from these programs (I heard that companies will not review your resume/give you interview if you don’t graduate from top-tiered CS programs like CMU or Stanford etc)
  • What we should think about/consider as we attend the admitted student day at these schools and as we make our final decision

We understand that CS is really broad and there are sub-disciplines he can choose to be specialized in. He wanted to explore as many as he can during his college studies when he applied a few months ago, but he is now thinking more in the data science/analytics direction because he is doing a project at school in this area and he likes it a lot.

In terms of affordability, we are NC residents, so we get in-state tuition for UNC Chapel Hill with no aids/loans so we will be paying fully out-of-pocket if we choose to go here (~$30K). For Northeastern, we get some institutional grants and scholarships as part of the Northeastern Promise (which my understanding is that it is guaranteed for 4 years if my son meets all the expectations but correct me if I am wrong please), so our out-of-pocket cost will be ~$28K. We have not received the financial aid package for Virginia Tech yet but because we will be considered out of state, I believe the out-of-pocket cost will be higher than UNC Chapel Hill and Northeastern.

If anyone has any insights to our situation, please share. We really appreciate it! Thank you very much!

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This should be clear in your son’s offer letter. Both daughters got merit aid at the universities they attended. In both cases the financial aid offer that was included with their acceptance stated what was needed for the aid to continue for four years. One needed to maintain a 3.0 GPA, the other needed to maintain a 3.5 GPA. Both were able to maintain the required GPA with some room to spare, but neither attended any of the schools that you are considering. Other offers that they got similarly mentioned the terms to continue any financial aid. The financial aid offer in some cases showed up at the same time as the acceptance and in some cases showed up later.

I did graduate from highly ranked schools (MIT for bachelor’s degree, Stanford for master’s degree) and worked in high tech my entire career and have not heard this. I have worked alongside coworkers from a huge range of universities, including a lot of graduates from U.Mass and from universities outside the USA, and at least some graduates from a huge range of schools. A while back I mentioned a problem that stumped two MIT graduates (I was one of them) and was solved very well by a U.Mass graduate (who is excellent, and would be excellent and a friend regardless of where he had attended university – U.Mass was affordable for him since he was in-state).

And I have worked with a few UNC graduates (not many since I live and used to work way to the north of you) and when I was a graduate student at Stanford one of my best friends, and one of the stronger students in the same program, was a UNC grad.

And I do think that there will be good internship opportunities at all of them, and that internships or coops are valuable.

You are comparing three very good programs. I am hard pressed to suggest which would be better, other than to try to figure out which one would be a good fit for your son. I do not think that you can go wrong with any of them.

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All great options so congrats! Assuming affordability, I’d focus on fit. Is the student more interested in a co-op driven program in a northeastern city or an excellent public university (with summer internships).

If possible, try to revisit the top options. Attending accepted student days helped my to S clarify and feel confident about his final college choice.

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Three great choices. If you have need, I’d eliminate Va Tech and compare UNC with Northeastern (cost wise). Northeastern is a co op school but you can do co ops from any school. Right now, as you know, even CS students from top schools are having difficulty finding jobs.

I don’t think the school name matters. My nephew has a poli sci degree from Arizona and works for a major firm in NYC. We’ve seen stories on here of kids going to N Georgia and getting recruited by Google. I know a UT Chatt grad working for Oracle. At many places, kids have to pass a test.

So I don’t think the school name matters here and no one knows the job market in five years.

UNC shows knowledge of 51% of 2024 grads so half the class. They show 90% working and only 2% seeking employment at a salary of $101K and Median of $95K. Amazon and Fidelity were the two leading employers of 102 (think they are in high COL locations).

Va Tech 2024 data is much different and it was last recorded 6 months after graduation. 47% employed, 32% seeking. The average salary was $93K and Median $89K. 307 of 493 or 62% were captured in the data.

Boeing was #1 and Amazon wasn’t in the top 20. But this was the top 10 listed and not sure the locations: The Boeing Company, CACI, CoStar Group, Peraton, Capital One, Lockheed Martin, Fannie Mae, IBM, Micron Technology, Booz Allen Hamilton, Geico.

Northeastern shows 84% employed within 9 months of graduation with only 4% seeking. They show salary bands - with 42.5% at $120K or more. They don’t show participation percentage and with all, you don’t know what’s included - expected bonus, sign on - so you can’t compare totally but - They show another 35% between $100-120K. They list the top 50 employers alphabetically - but Amazon, Fidelity (like UNC), Google, SpaceX and more are on there as well as insurers (Aetna and Travelers).

Back to your Stanford thought - UCB is another like it. For 2025, they report 68% working and 11% looking. They don’t show a knowledge rate. At last reporting for 2024, it was 58% working and 23% looking. Someone recently posted Amazon really helped the class of 2025. So not sure perceived elite vs. not tells the entire story.

Personal call - but to me it’d be UNC for NU - and then it’s 1) budget / what can I afford and 2) big school experience vs. a big but different type school.

Good luck.

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This article was open at one point but now is locked. But maybe you have a subscription. From another thread, it’s about Cornell and UNC grad struggles.

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