UW or Purdue for CS?

Badgerdad1
Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:45:38 +0000

If you take stock in rankings, UW’s CS is ranked 11th and Purdue is ranked 20th. This is for graduate programs but it nonetheless tells you about the reputation. Though 11th vs. 20th may seem like a lot, I don’t think programs after the top 5 which fall in the top 20 are much different. I think the decision should come down to environment, campus, etc. My neighbor had a similar dilemma. He was accepted a few years back to UW and Purdue engineering. He went to Purdue because the isolated campus of Purdue matched his personality. He wasn’t into the distractions of Madison as a city. On the other hand, my son’s friend who got accepted into UW and Purdue (also for engineering) for next year is leaning to UW because he likes the “scene.” Have you done the campus and surrounding area visits?