UWMadison vs. CWRU vs. Penn State for Computer Science, OOS

Hi, my dear daughter has been accepted to the above mentioned universities for Computer Science major. All of them are OOS. She is still waiting for the results from a few super reach colleges.

Meanwhile, looking for some advice please on the pros and cons and which one would be the best option for me.

We are weighing the choices based on the below preferences:
Campus and student life - very high priority
Internship / Career opportunities - high priority
Cost of tuition, accommodation and other living expenses - medium priority

Please let me know. TIA.

Ask each for career outcomes in the field - each will have a detailed report. Note schools don’t provide internships. It will be up to you to secure one. Some may give you a path. Many find on their own.

Obviously you have a size disparity - and overall life (two are big ten schools with big time greek life and sports) and access - how hard are they to get to.

All fine schools. What’s best would be on what’s important to you - let’s say grads from all three do well - then what? Do you want smaller or large? In city, adjacent to city, or middle of nowhere, etc.?

Does academic flexibility matter? Case is known to allow students to experience multiple interests. Or is there an area of CS that interests you where one might excel vs. another?

Do big sports matter to you?

Congrats to you

PS - here is CWRU’s dashboard.

Student Outcomes 2023 | Tableau Public

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Note that CS is not a direct admit major at UW Madison - see requirements in this link:

If affordable, my ranking would be

  • Case Western : lots of flexibility, big city for externships, CS major is guaranteed
  • UW Madison: great reputation for CS, great town, admission to the major is not onerous (C or higher in 2 1st year courses, C+ GPA)
  • Penn State: ranked 3rd because of the more onerous entrance to major requirements

What about affordability?

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Hi … thanks for bringing up the point about the direct admit major.
Unfortunately the link to UW-Madison CS isn’t pulling up. Need to check into it later.

Hey…like the factors by which you have ranked.

We are also leaning towards CWRU as the top choice, affordability should not be a big issue, but wondering if such high tuition cost is worth it?!

Thanks for sharing the CWRU’s dashboard. Very insightful.

Are you full pay and can you afford it without parental loans?
If the criteria I listed matter to you, then yes, that’s what you’re paying for.
If they don’t or parental loans would be involved, then Wisconsin/Madison would be excellent.

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