UCSD vs UMass Amherst (Computer Science)

itsakanksha
Sun, 06 Apr 2014 09:39:42 +0000

Hello,
I’m looking for some feedback on University of California - San Diego and University of Massachusetts - Amherst

Here’s my case and the pros and cons :

I’m an international student (Indian from Dubai) and my intended major is Computer Science. Money is not a very big issue but of course it matters. I’ve studied CBSE curriculum (India) and we never had any “credit” kind of thing in my school. So I’m not entirely sure what’s best for me between semester and quarter system. Also, I’m not a party person and not too studious either. I’d like to be surrounded with people who give priority to studies first no matter what.

UCSD :

Undeclared major

Fees (Rounded-up) : $55,000 [no scholarship/aid]

Since my intended major is CS which recently became “impacted”, getting CS is going to be hard.

Muir college, so it is kind of easier

I’m from a sub-tropical country so I’m used to the heat and I prefer summers. So, california’s weather is a plus.

San Diego seems like a nice city (since I’m from Dubai, it would be nice to have a downtown area and walk the streets of a city)

Relatives live in San Francisco and San Jose

Quarter System

UMass :

Computer Science (B.S) (Honors College)

Fees (Rounded-up) : $30,000 [after accounting for the $12,000 scholarship]

Weather seems decent enough.

Amherst seems like a boring town (I’m used to living in a city)

Semester System

Appears to be a party school

What I’d love to know is, about the people in both the universities, the academics rigor, student motivation, professors, facilities and career opportunities after graduation.

I realize that UCSD is a lot of money but I just want to know whether it’s a good investment and whether the education quality and career opportunities are worth it.

Thank You :)