computer science major at liberal arts college

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Amherst college for example has five faculty and one visiting professor. Course curriculum is very limited. https://www.amherst.edu/academiclife/departments/computer_science/courses?display=curriculum
I wonder how their graduates can compete with others in getting jobs at places like Google, Facebook etc (I know that their graduates still get jobs from these places). I heard that cs became a popular major in these LACs. Do students self-study if courses are not available?
I am trying to find a reason to send DS to LAC for CS..but I wonder if it is a good choice for CS. I wonder why kids (and their parents) end up choosing these colleges for CS when they have other good choices.

Yes, kids do this. They are not as prepared as traditional CS programs.

Also, the companies that come to campus to recruit are less. It is harder to get a good first job if you care if that company is like a FACEBOOK, Amazon, Google, Microsoft etc..Those student would need an in at. Meaning someone putting their name and resume in for them.

Does it really matter in this field if a student starts out at one of what people perceive as the best companies no. CS jobs are plentyful and pay well. After a few years in the job market apply that's how more LAC kids get in to large companies.

09:21 here. That was not my DC's experience at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am sorry but what is CTCL?

Colleges That Change Lives is a popular guide written by Loren Pope, a former education editor of The New York Times. Pope presents about 40 LAC's that he felt offer a high quality education and also discusses the benefits of smaller schools in general.

One person’s opinion. Sold a lot of books though.

Many agree with his overall philosophy. CTCL also operates a non-profit organization.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:09:21 here. That was not my DC's experience at all.

09:21, can you describe your DC's recruiting experience? Just wondering. I hear both sides, the school doesn't matter vs does matter. I have a high school junior considering CS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:09:21 here. That was not my DC's experience at all.

09:21, can you describe your DC's recruiting experience? Just wondering. I hear both sides, the school doesn't matter vs does matter. I have a high school junior considering CS.

The school does and doesn't matter.

For example, Stanford sends lots of Engineers/CS to Facebook, Google, etc

UNC or UVA not likely going to those companies right out of college because these companies do not recruit as highly from those schools. Amazon might now given their new locations.

The above are large schools.

LAC's have lower amounts of employers recruiting from them. Hence harder to get a job right out of college in CS.

If coming from an LAC I would ask where do students in this department get internships? Those transfer to jobs.

There is nothing at all wrong with going to an LAC for CS if that's the best fit for your student. Looking at their career center and what jobs students get from that school in that area are where you should be asking questions. Your student can call them and look at the website to see list of companies that recruit on campus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:09:21 here. That was not my DC's experience at all.

09:21, can you describe your DC's recruiting experience? Just wondering. I hear both sides, the school doesn't matter vs does matter. I have a high school junior considering CS.

The school does and doesn't matter.

For example, Stanford sends lots of Engineers/CS to Facebook, Google, etc

UNC or UVA not likely going to those companies right out of college because these companies do not recruit as highly from those schools. Amazon might now given their new locations.

The above are large schools.

LAC's have lower amounts of employers recruiting from them. Hence harder to get a job right out of college in CS.

If coming from an LAC I would ask where do students in this department get internships? Those transfer to jobs.

There is nothing at all wrong with going to an LAC for CS if that's the best fit for your student. Looking at their career center and what jobs students get from that school in that area are where you should be asking questions. Your student can call them and look at the website to see list of companies that recruit on campus.

Is there proof that LAC's have less recruiters on campus? I understand your point of view, just curious.

[Anonymous]

How can a CS department survive with 5 (or whatever) faculty members? Because the school is smaller. This is true for all departments at LACs. Does this means that students are not adequately trained to go on in their professions? Obviously not. Look at all the LAC students that on to graduate schools.
Recruitment is another matter. Small schools with good students get fewer recruiters than big schools with good students because there are fewer students and are therefore not worth the recruiters' time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:09:21 here. That was not my DC's experience at all.

09:21, can you describe your DC's recruiting experience? Just wondering. I hear both sides, the school doesn't matter vs does matter. I have a high school junior considering CS.

The PP above who commented that it's about skills is correct. My DC's LAC has a very strong career center and alumni network. It's true that the Big Four (Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple) recruit at her LAC campus, but it's also true that she made good use of the career center by connecting with alumni, friends of professors, etc. She got help with her resume, with practice interviews, etc. She also had two great (well-paid) internships during her college years.

She spent a lot of time during the summers and breaks practicing her technical skills, because she wanted to do software development - and all of those positions require pre-screening coding and development interviews. By the time recruitment season rolled around, she was very prepared, and did very well. She passed all of her technical screenings, and had a number of on-site interviews (maybe 8? 9? don't recall) and ultimately had several excellent job offers to choose from.

She does some technical writing for her job and is told that relative to her peers (who had a more technical education), she excels at that.

She's very happy that she took the LAC route.

[Anonymous]

My friend was a computer science major at Swarthmore. Got a master's degree at a big state school and now works at google.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My friend was a computer science major at Swarthmore. Got a master's degree at a big state school and now works at google.

Swarthmore has a better track to this than some of the other LAC's. Many students get a math degree there then off to graduate school. Alumni help as well.

Congrats on your young adult doing such a great job at finding the right fit! Smart!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:09:21 here. That was not my DC's experience at all.

09:21, can you describe your DC's recruiting experience? Just wondering. I hear both sides, the school doesn't matter vs does matter. I have a high school junior considering CS.

The school does and doesn't matter.

For example, Stanford sends lots of Engineers/CS to Facebook, Google, etc

UNC or UVA not likely going to those companies right out of college because these companies do not recruit as highly from those schools. Amazon might now given their new locations.

The above are large schools.

LAC's have lower amounts of employers recruiting from them. Hence harder to get a job right out of college in CS.

If coming from an LAC I would ask where do students in this department get internships? Those transfer to jobs.

There is nothing at all wrong with going to an LAC for CS if that's the best fit for your student. Looking at their career center and what jobs students get from that school in that area are where you should be asking questions. Your student can call them and look at the website to see list of companies that recruit on campus.

Is there proof that LAC's have less recruiters on campus? I understand your point of view, just curious.

Great question. Yes, there is. All colleges post the companies coming for recruitment fairs. Easy to find. Also, career centers at the schools should be able to give a list as well. They usually have information in their offices on campus. People focus way too much about getting into college instead of focusing on what the track is when that student graduates.

[Anonymous]

Small schools host plenty of recruiters as well. In fact, the students could receive more attention from the career advisers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Small schools host plenty of recruiters as well. In fact, the students could receive more attention from the career advisers.

I would expect the STEM depth of the school to matter even amongst smaller schools. Rose-Hulman would get more CS recruiting than would Amherst.

[Anonymous]

There are a lot of schools in between huge state schools and LACs. Why not look at those?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Amherst college for example has five faculty and one visiting professor. Course curriculum is very limited. https://www.amherst.edu/academiclife/departments/computer_science/courses?display=curriculum
I wonder how their graduates can compete with others in getting jobs at places like Google, Facebook etc (I know that their graduates still get jobs from these places). I heard that cs became a popular major in these LACs. Do students self-study if courses are not available?
I am trying to find a reason to send DS to LAC for CS..but I wonder if it is a good choice for CS. I wonder why kids (and their parents) end up choosing these colleges for CS when they have other good choices.

They go to UMass for higher level classes.

[Anonymous]

My company used to hire fresh graduates with almost zero CS knowledge, and eventually they would learn to programming. So it is not really a big issue for cs major from liberal arts colleges if they have some software experience.