Related Posts
More Posts
Anonymous User
Additional Posts in Consulting
Fly eagles fly!!!!!! Let's go!
Sometimes the juice isn’t worth the squeeze
New to Fishbowl?
Download the Fishbowl app to
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
Don’t go bankrupt on an undergrad. Don’t saddle yourself - or him - with insane amounts of undergrad debt. Scores will get him serious looks, but he should also look beyond academics. What will he do in his free time? Does he like the people he’s met? Does he want to be out of region from everything he’s grow -up with?
University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign! Underrated but excellent CS program and many alum are now major players in Silicon Valley (Yelp, YouTube, PayPal, Oracle, etc founders are alum of U of I).
OP - responding to what you said about the Ivy CS program having similar value to honors program at NJ state school. I went to Rutgers and I can guarantee you the difference between Rutgers honors program and a CS program at an Ivy is insurmountable. I graduated school with 0 debt, but there were jobs out there that I was qualified for (and interviewed at a couple) that just weren’t even on my radar because I was at Rutgers. You get no actionable alumni network (one of the bulge bracket investment banks has an internal book of all the Brown graduates that have been at the bank and where they are now) and it simply is just not comparable whatsoever. Nobody gets tech offers at FAANG. Don’t listen to any of this “Oh, well PSU is a Public Ivy!” nonsense. State schools are nice and cheap and could get you somewhere. Ivy’s offer a bastion of opportunity and network that could potentially be worth the debt, if your son does something well with it.
Thanks a lot for all the asvice and comments my son has finally selected CMU( Carnigie Mellon)
Thank you D1. While his friends alreday visited 10 to 12 colleges,I am not sure there is a value in visits as he has no clear criteria to evaluate each colleges. Also i do see value for Ivys as comp sc is almost same in Hons progm state college like NJ ((where we live) and do not see value in spending 300k for undergrad. Not sure i am guiding him in the right direction. Need some advice.
I hear University of Phoenix has a killer program
CMU!
P2- sorry but a kid going to Rutgers just isn’t getting the same internship opps as someone at an IVY/public Ivy
Totally wrong A1. Students at my in state public were working at the same places as my students at my “Southern Ivy.” And I worked in the career center at both locations.
OP: I'd say the experience and learning new things matters a lot in a field like CS. Hence the crowd around your son will matter a lot.
Your son will easily get rid of the student loan in 2 years with the kind of salaries that CS grads get paid. Also so not confuse your struggles with paying off the student loans to what he will do it, since his starting salary will be literally double than what yours was by all means.
But do not compromise on the kind of school and reserach that the school offers.
Look at colleges like University of Michigan, GaTech, UC Berkeley, Stanford for such experiences.
If you're looking for a college near NJ, then I'd say Cornell, university of Maryland, UPenn
OP, the people here telling you “not to worry about cost” are giving you the worst possible advice. Approximately 75% of college students change their major at least once. Picking a high cost school with a degree like computer science in mind can come back to bite him if he changes his major to something softer.
That’s where I went IBM1 😀 Go Wolfpack
Hi D2. In my experience working with college students, high achievers are most likely to change for a number of reasons:
- Some coasted through HS and don’t have foundational study habits for the tough courses they start in
- Some come in with parental expectations hanging over their head. These take longer to change but you usually see it around year 2-3.
- Some students truly are gifted but realize they hate what they’re studying and switch to something radically different.
Ill also say that going for a liberal arts major at a well known school is less risky than at a not-as-known school (not saying bad school, just less regarded in relative terms). As an English major myself, I’m a huge advocate of the humanities and liberal arts, though I had the opportunity to get a good financial aid package at an Ivy and the *relative* safety net that comes with that. Ideally your kid would pick a school that’s more or less cost effective but also with great humanities and engineering programs, so he has the freedom to change majors and/or explore😊 Again, lots of factors to consider. Happy to elaborate if needed.
The Ohio State University
A huge thanks to every one of you - FB family!. Now my son has a list of colleges from above to visit and eventually form a criteria to decide for himself. Thanks again.
@OP- A lot of great schools have been suggested this far, but a couple of general thoughts. 1) Visits are a great way to start forming a set of criteria that are important, and there are plenty of options in the NJ/NY/PA area. Does he want urban/suburban/rural? Small/large student body? Close to home/far away? Living in dorms/off-campus? Off the top of my head, visits to Rutgers, NYU, Lehigh, Villanova, Haverford, etc. would start those conversations. 2) Don’t visit a top contender right away- it’ll reduce the pressure of those first visits, and he’ll have more to react to after he experiences a couple of campuses. 3) If he likes CS and languages, look at schools with strong tech/engineering as well as liberal arts. (I started as a chemical engineering student, and ended up majoring in history, and I am so glad I could make that switch.) There are also schools that require you take classes across departments to encourage students to explore beyond their interests as 18-year-olds.
Best of luck!
B1.Big thanks for the advice and the good write-up. Also,this is very helpful to look beyond four years which i never considered.
Washington University in St Louis
No problem!
Re: WashU, your son may be a great candidate for one of their merit programs. They don’t give much financial aid but are so generous on merit aid (I believe they’re not need blind). Awesome school.
Wherever he ends up going, consider the network of the communities he’d be eligible for (whether that’s an honors program or the overall school within a college or college overall).
Always happy to post more thoughts at a later date if you have more questions 😊 best of luck to your son! He’s in a great spot.
GA Tech...look into the coop program; experience + pay.
Loving all the PSU shout-outs! Penn State Honors College - $5K per year automatic scholarship for those matriculating as freshman. Often called a "Public Ivy" (many students have been accepted into other Ivy schools, but chose this one for amount of attention - 300/class, small community feel in a big school with awesome football, lower cost, and exit ops). Can take advantage of the CS program while having perks like priority scheduling (same as atheletes), grants to any travel, and others. I graduated from there and am now finishing up my Master's at Hopkins. My college roommate is finishing hers up at Stanford in CS. @OP, post a burner if you're interested. I'm also an alumna interviewer, which factors into acceptance decisions. In fact, if he applies, it's very likely that I could be his interviewer, as I do both Skype/Google Hangouts and in-person.