Computer Science Colleges

[dcpsoguy]

Now, I believe I have narrowed down my list of good computer sciences that I can attend is Maryland: College Park, and Virginia Tech. I am looking for a computer programming job when I get out of school. Now, what would be the best choicew for me? Is there a good forum on the net to talk about this stuff?

Also, the idea of having a laptop or a wirless network is attractive to me. Kinda like St Johns.

Thanks in advance

 

[LordJezo]

VT > Maryland.

How about someplace like Carnigie Mellon? Lycos started there..

 

[techfuzz]

Georgia Tech - I gotta promote my own school

Carnigie Mellon and MIT are also tops on the list of best CS scools.

techfuzz

 

[Ausm]

Do a search on it there was a huge thread on this very topic last month.


Sysadmin

 

[LS20]

nobody would care... or hire you simply because you went to one school over another... unless you can argue one school provides more networking opportunity than another. most importantly its what you do and how you sell yourself

 

[techfuzz]

Originally posted by: LS20
nobody would care... or hire you simply because you went to one school over another... unless you can argue one school provides more networking opportunity than another. most importantly its what you do and how you sell yourself

Incorrect!!! All things being equal between two perspective employees expect one went to prestigious university and the other went to a local community college, who do you think is going to get hired to do the job?

techfuzz

 

[MrChad]

When I was looking at schools about six years ago, Virginia Tech beat Maryland in Computer Engineering, but Maryland had a stronger Computer Science program. I ended up going to UMD, and I don't regret it one bit. I was accepted at MIT, CMU, VT and UMD, but ultimately Maryland had the stronger scholarship package, and I enjoyed my visit there more than the other schools. Try to make plans to visit each one before you decide (preferrably for an overnight stay).

I can't vouch for VT, but I know that UMD has a fairly expansive wireless network.

 

[sman789]

Virginia Tech, i thought i could get a CS degree but it raped me the first semester. All my friends who are engineers are about to quit their one C++ course then take it at home in the summer.

We always place at the top or near it in competitions.

 

[sman789]

heres our wireless map...in just about every class last semester as a CS major i had access to wireless
even now as a polisci major i have just about every class with wireless

http://www.cns.vt.edu/html/wireless/wlan/campusmap.html

 

[ggavinmoss]

I don't know much about either school, but the thing that will help you nab a programming job post graduation is experience. Talk to the career services department at each and see what they do in the way of interview prep, resume workshops, job fairs, career counseling. Also talk to the individual CS departments and see if they have any stats on students getting internships.

-geoff

 

[dcdomain]

Definitely visit the schools for an extended stay (if I had done so, I probably wouldn't have made the mistake of attending Carnegie Mellon). And definitely listen to ggavinmoss and speak with the career services people. I'm not sure how they are with the CS department, but the career services people for the college of fine arts is horrid. Are you sure CS is what you want to major in? Good luck finding a job...

1). "The San Jose Mercury News reports on a study by the Computing Research Association which finds that 'Undergraduates in U.S. universities are starting to abandon their studies in computer technology and engineering amid widespread worries about the accelerating pace of offshoring by high-technology employers.' Enrollment in those fields has dropped by 19% in the past year alone."
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/8263034.htm

2). "Wired News has a story about how American companies are outsourcing not because of cheap labor but because of the American school system not being up to snuff. In a report by the AeA, they contend that American schools don't teach enough math and science anymore."
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,62780,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_3

 

[Ness]

Originally posted by: ggavinmoss
I don't know much about either school, but the thing that will help you nab a programming job post graduation is experience. Talk to the career services department at each and see what they do in the way of interview prep, resume workshops, job fairs, career counseling. Also talk to the individual CS departments and see if they have any stats on students getting internships.

-geoff

Can't stress this enough. Nobody wants a programmer with only the skills they learned in college. I hate to say it, but if you are in your Senior year of high school and you haven't done any high level programming (C, C++, COBOL, FORTRAN, PASCAL, at minimum) Then you are doomed to fail. You don't have to know them in an out, but you have to be able to code something worthy of being shown to people. I have $5 on you not making it in CS past your sophmore year if you have 0 experience. Basically, your first year of school you shouldn't be learning anything new. Web Languages and BASIC don't count.

The good news is that if you have lots of free time and you are willing, you can get up to speed if you are only a Junior, and have a really good chance to get yourself into things if you are lower than that.

 

[LS20]

Originally posted by: techfuzz

Incorrect!!! All things being equal between two perspective employees expect one went to prestigious university and the other went to a local community college, who do you think is going to get hired to do the job?

techfuzz

obviously when you're comparing a national university versus a local school without recognition then there is a difference... in this context, with 2 top-tier schools, there is virtually zero difference. neither is markedly more prestigious than the other

 

[Terranautical]

Make sure you go to a school that's only good at CS, so when you realize that the decision you made when you were 17 was wrong, you will be screwed. Go mediocre schools!!

 

[techfuzz]

Originally posted by: LS20

Originally posted by: techfuzz

Incorrect!!! All things being equal between two perspective employees expect one went to prestigious university and the other went to a local community college, who do you think is going to get hired to do the job?

techfuzz

obviously when you're comparing a national university versus a local school without recognition then there is a difference... in this context, with 2 top-tier schools, there is virtually zero difference. neither is markedly more prestigious than the other

Agreed

techfuzz

 

[jman19]

If you have good grades in HS and are willing to dedicate yourself to the work, apply to CMU. You will be worked to the bone there.

 

[techfuzz]

Originally posted by: jman19
If you have good grades in HS and are willing to dedicate yourself to the work, apply to CMU. You will be worked to the bone there.

I would look at all the schools you are interested in, visit them in person, talk with some of their alumni if you can, and weigh the life on/off campus for the various schools. Some schools (*cough* MIT *cough*) don't have much of a social life to speak of. If you're looking to interact with the other students and do things besides study and go to class, you need to factor in those things too when making a decision.

techfuzz

 

[LS20]

college is not all about a ranking # on an annual magazine attached to your resume...

well, unless that's all you're about

 

[edmicman]

Originally posted by: ness1469<brCan't stress this enough. Nobody wants a programmer with only the skills they learned in college. I hate to say it, but if you are in your Senior year of high school and you haven't done any high level programming (C, C++, COBOL, FORTRAN, PASCAL, at minimum) Then you are doomed to fail. You don't have to know them in an out, but you have to be able to code something worthy of being shown to people. I have $5 on you not making it in CS past your sophmore year if you have 0 experience. Basically, your first year of school you shouldn't be learning anything new. Web Languages and BASIC don't count.

The good news is that if you have lots of free time and you are willing, you can get up to speed if you are only a Junior, and have a really good chance to get yourself into things if you are lower than that.

Are you serious?? I'm a CSE graduate, and coming in, I knew NOTHING in the way of your "high-level" programing. I'd done a lot with HTML and a bit with BASIC, but that was pretty much it. I learned C++ from scratch at school. I learned Visual Basic and ASP and SQL through a job I picked up halfway through my college career. Frankly I'm not too big on the code-monkey thing anymore, at least when it came to C++, etc....my interests have gone elsewhere. But I feel confident in my programming abilities. The point is I've learned A LOT since graduating high school.

I'd be the first to say that real life experience is worth leaps and bounds more than the adademic credentials, but its insane to say you should know everything coming in. What the heck is the point in going to school then? To say you should have anything more than a basic idea of things and be willing to learn is ludicrous.

 

[DT4K]

Originally posted by: ness1469

Originally posted by: ggavinmoss
I don't know much about either school, but the thing that will help you nab a programming job post graduation is experience. Talk to the career services department at each and see what they do in the way of interview prep, resume workshops, job fairs, career counseling. Also talk to the individual CS departments and see if they have any stats on students getting internships.

-geoff

Can't stress this enough. Nobody wants a programmer with only the skills they learned in college. I hate to say it, but if you are in your Senior year of high school and you haven't done any high level programming (C, C++, COBOL, FORTRAN, PASCAL, at minimum) Then you are doomed to fail. You don't have to know them in an out, but you have to be able to code something worthy of being shown to people. I have $5 on you not making it in CS past your sophmore year if you have 0 experience. Basically, your first year of school you shouldn't be learning anything new. Web Languages and BASIC don't count.

The good news is that if you have lots of free time and you are willing, you can get up to speed if you are only a Junior, and have a really good chance to get yourself into things if you are lower than that.

BS. There is no reason you can't learn programming starting in college. I got my CS degree in 2 years because I already had another bachelor's degree. When I started my CS education, I had done very little programming at all since playing around with BASIC on the Commodore 64 when I was 12 years old. I've now been a professional software developer for 3 years.

 

[Ness]

Originally posted by: Shanti

Originally posted by: ness1469

Originally posted by: ggavinmoss
I don't know much about either school, but the thing that will help you nab a programming job post graduation is experience. Talk to the career services department at each and see what they do in the way of interview prep, resume workshops, job fairs, career counseling. Also talk to the individual CS departments and see if they have any stats on students getting internships.

-geoff

Can't stress this enough. Nobody wants a programmer with only the skills they learned in college. I hate to say it, but if you are in your Senior year of high school and you haven't done any high level programming (C, C++, COBOL, FORTRAN, PASCAL, at minimum) Then you are doomed to fail. You don't have to know them in an out, but you have to be able to code something worthy of being shown to people. I have $5 on you not making it in CS past your sophmore year if you have 0 experience. Basically, your first year of school you shouldn't be learning anything new. Web Languages and BASIC don't count.

The good news is that if you have lots of free time and you are willing, you can get up to speed if you are only a Junior, and have a really good chance to get yourself into things if you are lower than that.

BS. There is no reason you can't learn programming starting in college. I got my CS degree in 2 years because I already had another bachelor's degree. When I started my CS education, I had done very little programming at all since playing around with BASIC on the Commodore 64 when I was 12 years old. I've now been a professional software developer for 3 years.

Well thanks a bunch for knocking down my way of encourging him to look into a field before throwing himself into it and helping him to do better in school.

 

[ggavinmoss]

Originally posted by: ness1469

Originally posted by: Shanti

Originally posted by: ness1469

Originally posted by: ggavinmoss
I don't know much about either school, but the thing that will help you nab a programming job post graduation is experience. Talk to the career services department at each and see what they do in the way of interview prep, resume workshops, job fairs, career counseling. Also talk to the individual CS departments and see if they have any stats on students getting internships.

-geoff

Can't stress this enough. Nobody wants a programmer with only the skills they learned in college. I hate to say it, but if you are in your Senior year of high school and you haven't done any high level programming (C, C++, COBOL, FORTRAN, PASCAL, at minimum) Then you are doomed to fail. You don't have to know them in an out, but you have to be able to code something worthy of being shown to people. I have $5 on you not making it in CS past your sophmore year if you have 0 experience. Basically, your first year of school you shouldn't be learning anything new. Web Languages and BASIC don't count.

The good news is that if you have lots of free time and you are willing, you can get up to speed if you are only a Junior, and have a really good chance to get yourself into things if you are lower than that.

BS. There is no reason you can't learn programming starting in college. I got my CS degree in 2 years because I already had another bachelor's degree. When I started my CS education, I had done very little programming at all since playing around with BASIC on the Commodore 64 when I was 12 years old. I've now been a professional software developer for 3 years.

Well thanks a bunch for knocking down my way of encourging him to look into a field before throwing himself into it and helping him to do better in school.

It's true you don't need to program before college -- I'm another example -- but I'd recommend it if just for the exposure, as ness1469 said. My program at UCSD was full of miserable people majoring in CS because their parents made them or because the thought they were on the money train. They hated it. People often mistake liking to tool about on their computer for a good reason to major in CS.

-geoff

 

[DT4K]

Originally posted by: ness1469

Originally posted by: Shanti

Originally posted by: ness1469

Originally posted by: ggavinmoss
I don't know much about either school, but the thing that will help you nab a programming job post graduation is experience. Talk to the career services department at each and see what they do in the way of interview prep, resume workshops, job fairs, career counseling. Also talk to the individual CS departments and see if they have any stats on students getting internships.

-geoff

Can't stress this enough. Nobody wants a programmer with only the skills they learned in college. I hate to say it, but if you are in your Senior year of high school and you haven't done any high level programming (C, C++, COBOL, FORTRAN, PASCAL, at minimum) Then you are doomed to fail. You don't have to know them in an out, but you have to be able to code something worthy of being shown to people. I have $5 on you not making it in CS past your sophmore year if you have 0 experience. Basically, your first year of school you shouldn't be learning anything new. Web Languages and BASIC don't count.

The good news is that if you have lots of free time and you are willing, you can get up to speed if you are only a Junior, and have a really good chance to get yourself into things if you are lower than that.

BS. There is no reason you can't learn programming starting in college. I got my CS degree in 2 years because I already had another bachelor's degree. When I started my CS education, I had done very little programming at all since playing around with BASIC on the Commodore 64 when I was 12 years old. I've now been a professional software developer for 3 years.

Well thanks a bunch for knocking down my way of encourging him to look into a field before throwing himself into it and helping him to do better in school.

I forgot to add the part that I just happened to be very lucky that once I started programming, I really loved it. It's entirely possible that if you haven't done much programming, you might start college and decide you hate it.

So yes, I would agree that you probably shouldn't be majoring in CS unless you already know you enjoy it. Your "doomed to fail" comment was a little harsh though.