<p>I got admitted into UVA, UNC and Virginia Tech and I will study computer science and/or computer engineering. I am in a tricky situation…I want to go to UVA but I heard (and saw U.S.News rankings) that Virginia Tech is better for engineering (I know that UVA is ranked way higher overall). Right now I am leaning away from UNC a bit and the only way I would go to Chapel Hill is if someone can give me very good reasons.</p>
<p>I have to pay upwards of $30,000 in all three and would like to get the best value for money.</p>
<p>Moreover, I heard that racial tensions are more acute in North Carolina and so right now I would rank my choices in the following order:</p>
<p>I believe that UVA’s computer science department is the strongest out of the three of those, from what I’ve read. You might want to look up some rankings to confirm this, but I think UVA normally comes out on top of those three. UVA and UNC are much stronger than VT in anything not related to CS, in case you want to venture out of that curriculum…although if you’re like most of the international students here from Asia, you’ll just take math/cs/science for four years…</p>
<p>Also, about the racial tensions in NC: they’re quite overblown. If you’re getting your information from the parents’ forum on this board or elsewhere, you’re reading an overhyped view of what’s going on at Duke. The situation you’ll find in america will likely be a bit better than what’s seen in your neck of the world.</p>
<p>Your choice by now should be down to UNC or UVA. I guess you probably won’t be visiting either, so I advice you to research both of them thoroughly. If you have any questions about UVA, feel free to ask.</p>
<p>I know that the situation is better there in the USA than anywhere else in the world. To tell you the truth, even South Asians here talk about other races in a derogatory manner. I find it shocking but it’s hard to explain to these shallow people. I frequent Connecticut very often and stay for quite a while each time; I know first hand how good the people over there are. I was just hearing too much about Duke.</p>
<p>Anyway I just got accepted into the University of Waterloo’s (Canada) Honours program with co-op, in Computer Science and mathematics. I’ve heard a lot about Waterloo and its co-op (supposedly the world’s largest) and will probably choose it over UVA. What do you think cavalier?</p>
<p>Virginia Tech’s comp sci and computer engineering programs are much better than either of those two schools. We have something like the 4th largest supercomputer in the world, that should tell you something. Tech is also a heck of a lot cheaper than both of those schools.</p>
<p>Computer Science (Ph.D.)
Ranked in 2006*
Rank/School Average assessment
score (5.0 = highest)
Carnegie Mellon University ¶ 5.0
Massachusetts Institute of Technology 5.0
Stanford University (CA) 5.0
University of CaliforniaBerkeley 5.0
Cornell University (NY) 4.6
University of IllinoisUrbana-Champaign 4.6
University of Washington 4.5
Princeton University (NJ) 4.4
University of TexasAustin 4.3
University of WisconsinMadison 4.3
California Institute of Technology 4.2
Georgia Institute of Technology 4.2
University of CaliforniaSan Diego 4.0
University of MarylandCollege Park 4.0
Harvard University (MA) 3.9
University of CaliforniaLos Angeles 3.9
University of MichiganAnn Arbor 3.9
Columbia University (NY) 3.8
Purdue UniversityWest Lafayette (IN) 3.8
University of Pennsylvania 3.8
Yale University (CT) 3.8
Brown University (RI) 3.7
Rice University (TX) 3.7
University of North CarolinaChapel Hill 3.7 <------------------
Duke University (NC) 3.6
University of MassachusettsAmherst 3.6
University of Southern California 3.6
Johns Hopkins University (MD) 3.5
New York University 3.4
Rutgers State UniversityNew Brunswick (NJ) 3.4
University of CaliforniaIrvine 3.4
University of Virginia 3.4 <------------------</p>
<p>UNC edges UVA in comp sci. in U.S.News ranking (last year UNC ranked around 15 as it fell about 7 spots in this year’s ranking). I’m not sure about V-tech though, although the school is not ranked in this list it may be included in a different category. Although, UVA is a fine institution to study many different types of disciplines, Comp Sci is not their strongest dept. as you can see.</p>
<p>hey jeeshan…well i got the post and as far as i ve been researching u sld go for U Va …its da best place to be if u really wanna learn a lot more than just sitting down and be in ur own subject…comp sci is great and the reputation Uva carries is beyond doubt one of th best…well…i think i wld go for Uva…i ve rejeted WUSTL wid aid…just uz my fren at U penn told me that WUSTL is crap and st louis wld make my life miserable and he said Va is way ahead…and rankigs arent all tat concrete…watever…he went to Va for swimming comp …and he told that he loved the univa nd its students and for a moment thoght if he was there…i mean he is in an ivy league+4 ranked univ…so wat do ya think…my yhoo messenger is …manuj_pro…get in touch dude</p>
<p>for UVa do I have to give any exam for math placement? I have to give one if I decide to go to UNC. They recommend SAT Math 2 and also accept IB, AP exams. If this is the case in UVa, do any of you know whether they take (British) A-Level exam grades?</p>
<p>they accept an A or B on A Level Mathematics for credit for MATH 131 (same as AP calc AB) but for APMA 111(engg school) u may need the placement test cuz for exemption we need 5 in AP Calculus BC which is probably not equivalent to A Level since with AP calc BC we get credit for MATH 131 and Math 132 which together equals APMA 111, for placement if u r an alevel student u will probably need to study series and sequences and a few more topics overall BC calc is significantly difficult than A Level Math…trust me I know it since i hav taken both of them and further math…however if u hav taken further math then u probably dont need to study for the placement test</p>