UMD, UWisconsin Madison or Purdue for CS?

College Search & Lists
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Seeking advice on which one among the three is a better program for CS: UMD, UWisconsin Madison or Purdue? OOS for all and admitted to Honors program in UMD and Purdue.

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All

Where can you afford and after visiting where do you feel most comfortable ?

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Congratulations on receiving 3 great acceptances!

All 3 schools have very strong CS programs, so you can’t go wrong picking any one of these. So it’s going to come down to affordability and your personal preferences. Good luck!

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I’d focus on: 1) affordability; 2) personal fit; and 3) benefits of honor programs at UMD and Purdue.

Congrats!

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People seem to use csrankings as a way to evaluate the overall department strength, though probably most relevant for PhDs. Based on that, UMD with honors looks like the winner.

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I wouldn’t rely on rankings alone to pick between the 3 schools. If you look at the CS Brown rankings which combine multiple sources, you’ll see that the schools are not really that far apart.

OP should focus on personal fit.

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Do you really think there is a meaningful difference between #10 and #13 (both with honors program)? Rankings get adjusted every year. I’d say affordability, fit, and details of what honors program offers (which can vary widely from college to college) should alao be considerations.

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Also, if the upper level CS offerings are more robust or lacking in particular subareas of the student’s interest, that can be part of “fit”. The nature of major and general education requirements can also be part of “fit”.

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Look at the CS enrollment size at each of the three schools. There might be issues with overcrowding. I know UMD limited the CS enrollment to better manage resources, I am not sure of the other two.

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Purdue also caps its CS class. If you aren’t accepted direct entry it is nearly impossible to transfer in later.

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Agree. But they also have data science and have added a new degree program in AI to the department. So it is best to do due diligence.
https://www.cs.purdue.edu/about/purdue-cs-by-the-numbers.html

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Those majors are also capped at Purdue. The department has been expanded for sure and the university has poured a lot of money and resources to be sure that they aren’t overcrowding.

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No, I don’t it’s meaningful, but I do think that UMD and Purdue do have stronger reputations than UW-Madison when it comes to CS and I thought they might find the tool useful, that’s all.

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You should visit each and see which seems more comfortable/enticing to you. Are transportation to and from campus and weather considerations?

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I would not worry about Honors unless the OP is interested in Honors.

Honors programs are all created equally. My son pursued his but not Purdue’s as an example.

Honors can certainly enhance an experience if it’s right for the student.

But if preferred a school and dudnt have Honors there, I would still choose that one over another with Honors.

Best I can tell, Honors does not impact placement. In fact my son noted there’s not even a place to enter it on online job apps.

So utilize Honors because it’s right for you, not to place one school above another.

Here is job data …couldn’t load Wisc but both Purdue and UMD seem quite similar.

Placement - Department of Computer Science - Purdue University.

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