<p>Hi guys, I am a sophomore transfer applicant major in CS. Now I have been admitted by rutgers, michigan, and I am still waiting for UCSD,UCSB, UCLA, UT and UIUC. I prefer to stay near NYC in the future so I think I cant go wrong if I choose rutgers. But I still have a great chance to be admitted by better school like UT, UIUC, UCs and I’ve been admitted by michigan. And I’ve heard job recruitment tend to be regional so I am still hesitating on if I should go to rutgers instead of other schools listed above. Could you please give me some advice???P.S. I am OOS for them all.</p>
<p>Are you crazy? You can live wherever you want, but acceptance letters from colleges like UT, UIUC and UCLA(duh!) dominate the dreams of many students. I suggest you wait for them to respond, and then choose accordingly. If none respond (they will, considering michigan accepted you), go with U of Michigan.
I think you’re too stressed out, and you need to put academics and your career before your living preferences. You could always find a job in NYC and settle there in the ‘future’. I don’t think finding a job will be a problem when you’re a graduate from one of these universities. I suggest you try to get in UCLA, as its the most reputable of the above universities. Good Luck :)</p>
<p>University influence is to some extent regional, but sometimes name recognition trumps regional influence. U of M would probably open more doors everywhere.</p>
<p>UCLA or UMich would be my choice. I’m leaning UCLA but I’m biased.</p>
<p>I seriously doubt a computer science major from UCLA would have a hard time finding work anywhere. OP, are all of those schools affordable? I’d go with UCLA because of the weather and location.</p>
<p>“I suggest you try to get in UCLA, as its the most reputable of the above universities.”</p>
<p>Nonsense. Michigan is just as “reputable” as UCLA in most parts of the country.</p>
<p>All of these schools are going to be the “most reputable” in the region where they are located-UMich for the Midwest, the UCs for California, UTexas for Texas, etc. I suggest you go to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, MIT, Duke, or Notre Dame if you want to go to an institution that will be acknowledged and respected nationwide.</p>
<p>If you want to stay near NYC, what about Stony Brook? It is a very reputable school for CS. It is also relatively inexpensive, even for out of state.</p>
<p>"I suggest you go to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, MIT…if you want to go to an institution that will be acknowledged and respected nationwide. "</p>
<p>Corrected for error…</p>
<p>For CS, the usual “big four” include Stanford and MIT, but also Berkeley and CMU.</p>
<p>^^^That is correct.</p>
<p>I would definitely pick Michigan or UCLA because they are both highly regarded and provide great college experiences. I ranked them by “tiers” in relation to each other (according to my opinion, of course).
Tier 1: Michigan / UCLA
Tier 2: UT-A / UCSD / UCSB / UIUC
Tier 3: Rutgers</p>
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Michigan and UCLA are peers. UCLA is definitely not any more reputable than Michigan.</p>
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Mhmm. And since the OP said he/she probably wants to stay near NYC, Michigan has a stronger alumni presence in NYC and is probably considered to be slightly even more reputable than UCLA.</p>
<p>Rutgers New Brunswick campus is quite reputable and surprisingly its reputation seems to be better the farther away from NJ you get! Being in California, I’d actually rank UCSD higher than UCLA for CS. We visited all three UC campuses and decided that UCSD was the superior program based on information we got during each school’s admitted students presentations and after meeting with the professors. One thing that really bothered us about the UC programs was an overemphasis on theory and not enough practical application at the undergrad level. This is problematic of most large research universities. Michigan, UT and UIUC are all good schools, just as good as all the others. In CS it is more often what you know rather than what school you went to when it comes to getting a job. In job interviews for CS grads, they often forego the typical “getting to know you” conversations and hit you with technical problems to solve. One of my friends graduated from San Diego State and was hired at qualcomm over candidates from “superior” schools just because he blew them away on the problem solving portion of the interview.</p>
<p>My recommendation is to choose the school with the most comprehensive hands on practical application program with a teaching methodology focused on undergrads. Look deep into each program and determine which school will prepare you best for an actual job. Some of these schools will not do that. As much as I like the UCs, and I’ve even taught there before, they truly lack practical application and individual attention at the undergrad level.</p>
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<p>I wouldn’t be so sure about that. CS courses at Berkeley often contain embedded projects (e.g. in the compiler course, you write a compiler; in the computer architecture course, you design a CPU or something similar; etc.).</p>
<p>The OP does not say where she/he lives. If not a CA resident, cross all the UCs off the list. It is not worth the OOS tuition when there are other good quality schools on your list that would be more affordable. CS or engineering is not like a degree in the liberal arts where prospective employers have to bet on your ability to produce and school name carries a lot of weight. To graduate in CS from a decent school you had to learn something, and it isn’t hard during an interview to find out.
To some extent, true. Larger employers recruit nationwide, but even they don’t go to all colleges. If you attend college in an area outside of where you want to work, I suggest you get an internship or coop (the latter easier to get, BTW, since fewer people want to commit an entire semester) with a large employer in your desired area. That gives you at least one job offer in the area if you do decently, and will lend credibility to your contacts with other employers explaining you want to work in the area.</p>
<p>^
The OP says near NYC, so maybe he/she lives in NY, meaning OOS tuition for all the schools</p>
<p>Thank you guys for all the advice!That is really useful:) yeah I am from new york. So it seems like I can remove rutgers from my current list? And how about cornell? It’s also in ny but I dont think I have a great chance to get into so I haven’t apply to it yet. The deadline is 1st March though.</p>
<p>Thank you for your advice! I haven’t think about “practical” and “theory” stuff so I actually dont know which school is known for its practical curriculum. Do you know some of them?</p>