By the way, there are advantages attending a super top school like Stanford.
(though I don’t want to be rude, OP has an extremely extremely low chance getting accepted here but hey, no one knows right?)
In general (there are exceptions ofc), the very top students at Stanford will have much better offers than a very top student at SJSU (btw, I respect this school but let’s be real in this comparison here).
I am not a Stanford student so I do not know but:
http://www.slate.com/blogs/business_insider/2015/04/02/stanford_graduates_get_fought_over_by_tech_companies_like_snapchat_and_have.html
Not only do the average Stanford student have better opportunities, but the very top has a premium that most schools do not get.
Being the top 30% in schools like Stanford for CS opens doors (literally). You have extremely lucrative job offers AND the potential to attend a top grad school. <and grad=“” schools=“” are=“” usually=“” funded=“” which=“” means,=“” a=“” chance=“” to=“” avoid=“” the=“” working=“” world=“” once=“” again!=“”>
And also, you go to college to learn. Not for a “direct career to facebook, google, and microsoft”. Sure I respect that idea too but you should always realize that there are other things. And working in those companies aren’t even that fun. I hate to admit but working in itself is pretty boring. At the end of the day, it’s just another “big company”.
I’m not saying you cannot succeed in other places. I’m just saying why not try applying into the big pond? They say
“birds of the feather, flock together”. Being around talented students is an enormous contribution to your academic experience that usually cannot be substituted by simple teaching. And before anyone disputes this argument, there has been many experiments that have proven again and again that your environment plays a notable role on your future.
That said, do take in mind to be practical about what you can afford or not.
Places like Stanford are technically a luxury.
If you are going to have to take loans of over 20k$ in the 4 years, then I hate to break it to you but please consider your state options then.
You live in California. The advantages of attending a super top private diminishes due to location. Last thing you would ever want is debt. Anyways, ya, that’s my piece of share.