Where would you suggest going to college for CS and East vs. West Coast post school?

College Search & Lists
1

I’m currently in the Army and i’m very close to completing my obligations. Being so close to getting out of the service i’m trying to get my plans straight for school. I would like to get a B.A. in CS. My GI Bill will cover about 100% of any public school but does not fully cover private schools. I would like to try to go to a school which is high ranking for CS. My first pick was obviously one of the private schools ie: Carnegie Mellon but as mentioned I’m pushing against this now due to financing. I wouldn’t mind a public school, one of my choices is Berkeley in CA if I get accepted also Ohio state or MD. I also wanted to look into NY a little.

To sum it up, what school would you recommend for a future CS student and why; also post college where would you recommend living? East or West… My dream job is working for Google as a software engineer and I don’t prefer working for a government agency, I would like to work for an actual tech company.

2

What were your stats like in HS? CMU has the most competitive CS program in the country so it’s unlikely you’ll be accepted there. Google hires many CS grads from SJSU.

3

I feel like other posters here will have more in-depth responses than me BUT SF/Silicon Valley is currently an amazing place to be for tech, Seattle is supposed to be great as well, and New York is a huge metro so it’s always a good option. It’s not so much east vs west! And I second the recommendation of SJSU as well.

4

There are lots of great CS public school options, many of which will enable you to work on the East or West coast.

Here are the ones I would recommend:
Any UC, particularly Berkely / UCLA
Michigan - Ann Arbor
UMass Amherst
UMD - College Park
Wisconsin - Madison

5

Cal Poly SLO and also another vote for SJSU.

6

Add University of Washington to the list.

7

Others may be better able to help you if you describe your academic background, including high school and and college (if attended). This can affect the following:

  • Whether you would be a frosh or transfer applicant (college course work after high school graduation may cause you to be a transfer applicant at many schools).
  • If frosh, how selective a school you can get admitted to on your high school record. (Note that the CS major may be more selective than the school in some places.)
  • If transfer (or if your high school record is not good enough for frosh admission), what are the best locations to start or continue the transfer path.
8

Having recently been through the CS application process, I recall that a few places gave admission preferences (like a hook) to veterans. Cal Poly was one. UMD might have been one. Hopefully you find some others.