UDub vs. UIUC for Computer Science

[bigChoppa]

For better community input, please provide the below details about your college offers:

Net price per year at each college, after applying scholarships and financial aid grants.
UDub: $62,403
UIUC: $64,722

Maximum parent contribution per year.
100%

Major/division admitted to at each college, if applicable to the college. Also, any special programs like honors programs or combined degree programs (e.g. BA/BS->MD).

UDub: Computer Science
UIUC: Computer Science & Education, Campus Honors Program

Desired major and post graduation goals (including if pre-med, pre-law, etc.).

I want to pursue a career in software engineering. I personally am interested in edtech but that’s a small preference.

International or domestic student (and state of residency if domestic).
California Resident (praying for UCLA and UCB)

Student preferences beyond the above (including weather, class sizes, campus culture, college demographics, fraternities/sororities, distance from home, etc.).

I do prefer UDub because it is a bit closer to home. In terms of weather, I am interested in a change of pace and I’d be fine with anything. I am not interested in greek life but I want to join clubs. I also like UDub campus more.

Preliminary assessment of each college based on the above.

I am leaning towards UDub. But I wonder if UIUC has better career opportunities. I know that UIUC is consistently ranked higher than UDub. Are there more internship opportunities for UIUC students that UDub students? Do they have higher salaries out of college? Ultimately, my biggest factor is the career opportunities during and after school.

Why did you apply to each college you are considering?
I applied to both schools because they have reputable CS programs. I also liked their locations and campuses. They are also cheaper than private schools but more expensive than my instate schools.

The reason I am considering these OOS schools over my instate options is because I am highly doubting my chances of getting into UCLA and UCB. I was admitted in Davis, Irvine, and Santa Barbara but was given my alternate major (data science) for San Diego.

[tsbna44]

You should go to UDUB. Easier access to home, you like it better.

And in a job hotspot !! Getting in OOS is CRAZY hard.

Congrats.

Ps UW shows job placement but not salary but these schools are like - and companies pay by location moreso than school.

You need to be somewhere four years, day after day, so this is a no brainer.

Congrats.

[happy1]

You prefer UDub so go there.

[just_a_parent]

UW is on the quarter system. This means your midterms/finals will be more frequent, you will have less time for projects.
UW used to be very backstubby because very few people were admitted directly to CS, so people not only worked hard to get to the major but also actively did not help/provide bad advice to their peers to hurt their chances. Direct admission has changed a bit in the past few years towards admittance of more students directly, but I don’t know if this culture has changed.
Safety-wise, I’d say UIUC is safer, the area around UW got sketchy-er after the pandemic. I think it improved a little but University Ave is still unpleasant at night.

Getting to UW from the airport is easy. Getting to UIUC means either buying tickets to Champaign very early (or overpaying for them) or flying to Chicago and taking a shuttle from there. It’s not a big deal.

I think UIUC recruiting is better and has more employers at the job fair. UW’s is somewhat regional. I wouldn’t overly concentrate on that as either requires the student being proactive in internship/job search.

Everything around UW is significantly more expensive - food, rent, and entertainment.

Comparing salaries between UIUC and UW grads doesn’t make sense - many UIUC grads get jobs in Chicago or somewhere else in the Midwest because they have families nearby - salaries are lower but so is the cost of living. UIUC has a lot of students from the Chicago area.

TBH I’d just go to UC Davis or Irvine or SB in-state. All of these are good, CS job market isn’t snobbish about school prestige (for the top 50 schools at least) and all these will give you enough opportunities to learn. In the end, it will be up to you, you will have to put a lot of extra effort outside of class to get hands-on coding experience to apply the theoretical knowledge the university provides you with.
The job market for CS is tough right now, especially for fresh grads and it’s unclear if it will get significantly better in 4 years.

FWIW, I am a software engineer in the Seattle area, and my older daughter is in the CS PhD program at UIUC now. For the undergrad she was choosing between Purdue, UW Seattle (in-state), UIUC, and CWRU and chose Purdue.

[ucla_cs_god]

Recruiting is really what you make of it. True job fairs are a thing of the past in CS if you want to work in top firms. What’s important is being at a “target” school for a set of companies, so that when you apply, you actually get the coding online assessment (“OA”). That’s when you can show your true skills and begin recruiting for that company.

Every school is a target for a different set of companies. For example, my school is a target for Amazon and Google primarily, and to a lesser extent Capital One, Microsoft, Palantir, and Meta. We also get several Jane Street interns per class. And by target, I mean that I do not know a single CS major who didn’t get an Amazon OA this cycle, despite the OA not being offered to just anyone that applies. A ton of them got the position or at least a final round interview.

UW is known to be a target for Amazon and Microsoft first and foremost, with Google as a secondary. My kid cousin, just a freshman enrolled in more-or-less typical freshmen level courses (he had AP Comp Science and AP Calc BC to skip a few quarters), locked down an Amazon internship paying >$9000/month this summer.

That being said, I assume UIUC is a target as well for many great companies, just don’t know which ones. The choice to succeed is really up to you and your own abilities and how well you know your data structures and algorithms.

Really hoping LA and Berkeley work out, so your total costs look more like $35k rather than $65k annually. But if they don’t, I would pick UW any day for wanting to work in West Coast tech. Also, don’t discount San Diego data science too quickly – my co intern at my FAANG company this past summer went there; they are also targets for great firms.

P.S. Quick side note about the weather in Seattle, since you mentioned that you were open to anything: during the winter months, Seattle gets about 75 hours a month of sun. That is 3 days out of a 30 day month. It rains all the time, constantly. Everything is always wet. When you step outside, from October to June, it will just be on and off with a smatter of drizzles, mist, and light rain. Summers are great, but unless you’ve got an internship there, you’ll be home or traveling.