Hi I got into both for Computer Science and have difficulty choosing.
UCSC:
Computer Science
Regents
About 2k to Attend
Closer to family and friends (live really close to UCSC)
Nicer Campus
Friends plus girlfriend are attending
brother went there and is happy and secured a good job
not as prestigious
stoners
UC Berkeley:
Electrical Engineering Computer Science - prefer CS side more though
Regents
About 5k to Attend
costlier off campus food / housing
A little farther from home
Silicon Valley
better job opportunities?
Strong reputation and professors
don’t know many people there
cousin hated it and almost dropped out
homeless people
I like the UCSC vibe better and also want to be close to home to support my family. My brother had a great experience at UCSC and even got a good job with a pretty high starting salary. Both are cheap enough to stay in a dorm though so I can get a good college experience. Also got into CSUMB and Stanford but prefer UCSC and UCB.
Where should I attend?
I see no problem with going to Santa Cruz if you prefer it. You’ll be given the same consideration as a Berkeley grad for your first job, and after that it won’t matter.
unofficially, there are a number of Silicon Valley companies who won’t touch you unless you are a UCB or Stanford CS major. No one will outwardly say so, but I’ve heard it enough times such that there must be some truth to it…
The mediocre results for UCSC CS graduates seeking employment (42% still seeking employment, as opposed to employed 6 months after graduation) may be cause for concern that warrants further investigation before you decide. In theory, UCSC CS majors should be quite recruitable, since it is a respectable school that is conveniently near a lot of computer companies.
^^Out of all your options, unless Stanford isn’t financially doable (which I can’t imagine it is, given the FA policies there), I would absolutely go there. Or Berkeley. You’ll love wherever you end up, but going to either of those schools will get you in so many doors later on in your life.
No. I’ve spent 30 years working tech in the Bay Area and never seen a company like that, unless they’re a very early-stage start-up consisting of a group of friends from Stanford and Berkeley. Those schools don’t produce enough CS grads to allow companies to hire exclusively from them.
@simba9 I know of at least two behemoth SV companies, one starting with the letter G and one starting with the letter O, where the very first criteria when going they resumes for new college grads is: did they go to Stanford or Berkeley or the Ivies? This doesn’t mean that these companies will exclusively hire from these schools, but it makes it easier to open doors. Obviously the grad has to do the rest once they get in the door. Also, being at Stanford or UCB quite often results in landing that $90K/year starting salary job as opposed to say $60K/yr.
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/student/news/which-colleges-do-facebook-google-and-other-top-employers-recruit suggests (based on what people post on LinkedIn) that while Google appears to have “top 10” university skew, it does hire from a much broader range (by ranking) of universities. Oracle is less skewed than Google in that respect. If you really want to see what is apparently university ranking elitism, Facebook is the main example in this chart.
How can you possibly know that? I’m sure they like getting resumes from places like Stanford, Berkeley or the Ivies, but those schools don’t produce nearly enough graduates to supply Google and Oracle. I’ve known plenty of people at both companies, and none of them went to Stanford, Berkeley, or the Ivies. If Berkeley and Stanford have a lot of people at Google, it’s because they’re nearby.
That is not true, either. The days where your salary in Silicon Valley was determined by your school ended in the 80’s.
I know an HR director at one place and many engineering managers and directors at the other place to know that there’s some truth to it. Interestingly enough, at one of the places I am taking about, UCSB grads are generally on the “we recruit from there” list as well.
When it comes to salaries, if companies offer $90,000 to a UCB or Stanford grad and doesn’t offer to some other CSU or other UC grad, guess what that does to the average salary of a CS grad when comparing school to school? Or when you see the employers at the college employment fairs at day a UCSC or SJSU and a lot of the big players aren’t there? (That’s not to say that smaller companies aren’t good places to work at all - I recommend to people to always work a smaller companies).
If you don’t plan on going to graduate school, I would go to berkeley because that’s the name you will carry with you to your first job and Berkeley is known for having a good compsci program. However, berkeley can be VERY difficult, so if you don’t want a stressful and hectic college life, don’t go there.
Don’t make any decisions based on where your friends/gf is going because you’ll make new friends at both schools. But it can be about the quality of life you want to have: if you want an easier college life and to excel/be at the top of your class then go to SC. If you want to be more stressed and have to spend more time studying, go to Berkeley, but you’ll also get the name when you graduate. It’s really up to you.
The thing is I really wanted to attend UCSC since freshman year, and I really like the atmosphere, campus, people a lot. The other schools didnt really stand out as much. I did like UC Berkeley because of its strong CS program, but I don’t know if I would like the area and atmosphere. And I would prefer just CS over EECS. The reason I am still considering UC Berkeley is because of its strong academics and prestige. And I also am not sure about grad school or really what exactly what I want to do in the future. However I love CS and want that to be in my future.
UCB EECS does not require much EE. Indeed, nearly all EECS majors emphasize CS, based on enrollment in upper division EE versus CS courses (under 30 in EE, up to 700 in CS). Yes, the EECS department has the largest number of majors, counting both EECS and L&S CS (401 and 557 respectively graduated last year).
Of course, if you do not want super size classes, UCB EECS may not be the greatest choice. But CS courses elsewhere may not necessarily be small. Check the class schedule at UCSC if that is a concern.
@PurpleTitan why?
Stanford is amazing, and even my counselor wants me to attend, but I prefer the environment at UCSC. I know more people and like the vibe. I undertstand that Berkeley and Stanford have prestige but I think I can do well wherever I go. I honestly don’t care about rankings, and I really like UCSC. However, now people I talk are pressuring me to attend Berkeley or Stanford. I did like UC Berkeley’s campus, especially after Calday, but I am still not sure about attending. Also money is not an issue but UCSC is about 2k, Berkeley is 5k, and Stanford is like 8k after full tuition and stuff. Most of this money is because of scholarships and stuff from the school, but I am actually middle class.
I honestly don’t know what to do?