|
Hi TL.net, I thought I'd just post this here in case any of you are willing to offer your 2 cents on this subject.
I am currently applying to university as a computer science major. My top choice available is Carnegie Mellon; I have been placed on the priority waitlist. In case I don't make it, I am trying to decide between the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Washington at Seattle. If you attend/have attended either of these universities, particularly as a CS major I would very much appreciate your thoughts on this matter, i.e. whether or not you liked your school, favorite/least favorite things, etc.
I have been accepted as a "James scholar" for UIUC (not a financial scholarship but gives priority for course selection) and as a part of the Honors Program for UW. I feel like in terms of computer science education, both schools would be around the same. Currently leaning a bit towards UW because the Honors Program sounds better and kind of tips the scales a bit.
I know CS is a very popular major here at TL.net so I'm sure there are some of you people out there. Please share your college experiences! 
 
|
Personally, I don't think it matters that much what college you go to, but rather what you do / how much effort you put forth in college.
However, since I currently go to UW Seattle I am obviously going to tell you to go here. I don't know too much about the CS major besides the fact that 90% of my freshmen dorm floor took the intro classes and that it is very difficult and many switch majors after the intro courses.
Regardless, UW is a pretty kick ass school - the campus is beautiful, Seattle is one of the best places I have ever been, the people are friendly and open-minded, and the weather isn't really that bad. I imagine living here is far better and more interesting than Illinois.
+ Show Spoiler +
|
I'm a UIUC CS major! Definitely come here! UIUC has a very good CS department. Why would you want to go to washington? Washington is out near the fringes of society. Illinois is in the center of action! If you come here, I'll help you with your homework 
But seriously, UIUC is a great school, and I love being here. I can't speak for the other schools, but you will definitely have a great time here. And if you do decide to come to UIUC, PM me, I'd love to get to know a fellow TLer who goes to the same school as me.
Either way good luck in your future, wherever you go.
Edit: Damn, UW guy posted right before me
Also, weather in Urbana-Champagne has been extremely spectacular this year. It's also a beautiful campus. And great dorms too.
|
I am a UIUC CS student and I highly recommend UIUC. We are a top 5 Computer Science program and being here provides great opportunities to get internships and jobs after graduation. It's a great school with great professors and I love it here.
|
UIUC CSL team is huge! I'm in UIUC for CS and the CSL team is one of the reasons it's so awesome here.
|
On April 04 2012 02:23 Miles_Edgeworth wrote:
I am a UIUC CS student and I highly recommend UIUC. We are a top 5 Computer Science program and being here provides great opportunities to get internships and jobs after graduation. It's a great school with great professors and I love it here.
Miles is kind of hinting at this, the most important thing you can possibly do while you're at university is to network.
|
I'm an ECE major at UIUC (pretty close to CS curriculum) and it's pretty great. idk about other schools, but we have a number of hackathon and other programming events that allow for a lot of networking and opportunities. our CS major is one of the top in the nation and career fairs provide lots of chances for internships/jobs.
Also, I love the sc/sc2 community here at UIUC. It's great for meetups, talking about strategy, and just getting excited over events. We're pretty active and you really get what you put into it. Our team is huge, and it's always great to see more people.
|
On April 04 2012 01:56 Caliber wrote:Personally, I don't think it matters that much what college you go to, but rather what you do / how much effort you put forth in college. However, since I currently go to UW Seattle I am obviously going to tell you to go here. I don't know too much about the CS major besides the fact that 90% of my freshmen dorm floor took the intro classes and that it is very difficult and many switch majors after the intro courses. Regardless, UW is a pretty kick ass school - the campus is beautiful, Seattle is one of the best places I have ever been, the people are friendly and open-minded, and the weather isn't really that bad. I imagine living here is far better and more interesting than Illinois. + Show Spoiler +Rain rain rain rain rain.... And it is not bad????
|
I'm a UIUC computer science student as well (well, about to graduate). I think the UW guy had it right in that both schools are great, and you'll really get out of the program what you put into it. Both probably have their great and not-so-great professors, dumb policies and great student groups.
One thing I do know is that UIUC is in Urbana-Champaign, which are campus towns. It's kind of nice to be in an area that is almost entirely college kids, and everything is about the university. I've lived near Chicago my whole life and will probably live in a city in the future, so it was interesting to experience something that I probably won't again. You can always find work in a big city, you can't always live in a college town.
Anyway, if you have any specific questions about the university or the program (including the James scholar program), feel free to PM me.
|
IMHO the honors program isn't anything special here at the UW, although I'm not entirely sure on the CS department, for the chemistry/premed department that I'm in the only difference is that most of our classes have a special honors quiz sections where we have different requirements than the rest of the class. (We do more critical thinking work based off journal articles and what not). Graduation requirements are more difficult to graduate with honors as you might have to do an extra project sort of like a mini dissertation.
Finally, the UW Honors program does have it's own set of advisors which is nice and also has it's own set of honors "core" classes which are usually quite interesting and is also a pretty easy to get good grades in (more based on papers and discussion of ideas than taking one final exam).
If you are looking for a certain aspect in particular feel free to pm me and I'll see if I can figure anything out.
PS: I was originally an honor's student but decided to drop the program because I didn't want to put in the extra work to graduate when I was already ensured a spot in my professional program. And there is really no advantage to having "with college honors" or "with distinction" on ur diploma IMO.
|
United States22883 Posts
|
Thanks for the replies! I enjoyed reading all your stories.
|
On April 04 2012 04:00 pnad wrote:
UIUC CSL team is huge! I'm in UIUC for CS and the CSL team is one of the reasons it's so awesome here.
going to UIUC next year for the CSL team (among other things)!
have you visited either campus op?
|
|
|
|
|
|
EPT![[image loading]](http://www.planeteyetraveler.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/CherryblossomsonUniversityofWashingtonquad_thumb.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.seattle.gov/economicdevelopment/thrives/ss_images/ssimg_2.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2462/3911869812_06d545a7bd_z.jpg)
