Top 100 undergrad CS by US News

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's under a paywall so you're welcome.
https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/ccomputer-science-overall
Any Surprises?!

#1:

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
#2:

Carnegie Mellon University
Stanford University
University of California--Berkeley
#5:

California Institute of Technology
University of Illinois--Urbana-Champaign
University of Washington
Princeton University
Cornell University
Georgia Institute of Technology
#11:

University of Texas--Austin
#12:

University of Michigan--Ann Arbor
#13:

Columbia University
Harvard University
University of California--Los Angeles
#16:

University of California--San Diego
University of Maryland--College Park
University of Pennsylvania
University of Wisconsin--Madison
#20:

Harvey Mudd College
Johns Hopkins University
Purdue University--West Lafayette
Rice University
Yale University
#25:

Brown University
Duke University
Northwestern University
University of California--Irvine
University of Chicago
University of Southern California
#31:

University of Colorado--Boulder
University of Massachusetts--Amherst
University of North Carolina--Chapel Hill
University of Virginia
Virginia Tech
#36:

New York University
Texas A&M University--College Station
University of California--Davis
University of California--Santa Barbara
University of Minnesota--Twin Cities
#41:

Dartmouth College
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey--New Brunswick
Northeastern University
Ohio State University
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Vanderbilt University
Washington University in St. Louis
#48:

Pennsylvania State University--University Park
Stony Brook University--SUNY
University of Utah
University of Florida
#52:

Michigan State University
North Carolina State University
Rochester Institute of Technology
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
University of Arizona
University of California--Riverside
University of California--Santa Cruz
University of Notre Dame
University of Pittsburgh
#61:

Arizona State University
Boston University
Indiana University--Bloomington
Iowa State University
Tufts University
University at Buffalo--SUNY
University of Rochester
#68:

Colorado School of Mines
Georgetown University
William & Mary
#71:

Case Western Reserve University
Clemson University
Emory University
George Mason University
George Washington University
Oregon State University
Pomona College
Stevens Institute of Technology
Syracuse University
United States Military Academy
United States Naval Academy
University of Central Florida
University of Illinois--Chicago
University of Iowa
University of Tennessee--Knoxville
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
#87:

Auburn University
California Polytechnic State University--San Luis Obispo
Colorado State University
Drexel University
United States Air Force Academy
University of Connecticut
University of Kansas
University of Oregon
University of Texas--Dallas
#96:

Boston College
Michigan Technological University
University of Alabama
University of Delaware
University of Maryland--Baltimore County
University of Nebraska--Lincoln
University of Texas--Arlington
Washington State University
​

Hope this helps out the rising seniors starting work on their college lists.

Pomona is lower than I thought considering where it is.

Pomona is overrated.

All sLACs are overrated.

[Anonymous]

If anything, Pomona is underrated here. Look up the list of the schools whose CS grads earn the most from College ScoreCard, and Pomona is in the same grouping as the biggest names like Harvard, MIT, and Berkeley (all ~128K). Way above the schools its ranked alongside here (Emory 83K, George Mason 78K, etc).

The fact that only two LACs showed up in the top 100 when several are producing top CS students who get into FAANG and top PhDs is representative of the ignorance from the reviewers rather than anything specific to LACs. Carleton, Swarthmore, and Williams are other top notch places with popular departments whose CS graduates do very well after graduation. Useless list honestly- outcomes speak for themselves.

[Anonymous]

Thanks, OP, for posting the list.

I am surprised and glad to see CU Boulder that high. We are visiting next week with my DC interested in CS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a data point, my DD just graduated in computer science from Emory University which is ranked 71in your list and she got offers from Amazon, Google and a few other companies for top salaries. If you are a good student,you will do well. But she did send out 150 resumes.

Congratulations! That’s exciting!

How was internship placement if you don’t mind my asking? It’s (generally speaking) a lot easier to get a return offer than a regular offer.

The internships with companies that she was pursuing last summer all imploded in the Covid environment. She worked remotely for 2 different professors which were resume builders.

DP. Did she do any internships in the summers after Freshman and Sophomore years? If not, what did she do during those summers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Umd in state vs full pay at a top 5 cs school which would you choose ?

I'd def go full pay at the top 15 schools over UMD (reproduced below). All of these schools (except for UIUC, WashU and *maybe Austin*) are well rounded such that if your DC doesn't like CS for whatever reason, they can switch to another highly ranked program and end up very well from an employment/network perspective.


#1:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

#2:
Carnegie Mellon University
Stanford University
University of California--Berkeley

#5:
California Institute of Technology
University of Illinois--Urbana-Champaign
University of Washington
Princeton University
Cornell University
Georgia Institute of Technology

#11:
University of Texas--Austin

#12:
University of Michigan--Ann Arbor

#13:
Columbia University
Harvard University
University of California--Los Angeles

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Umd in state vs full pay at a top 5 cs school which would you choose ?

Full pay top 5 CS school. It sounds like an amazing experience and arguably it is healthy to get away from home/out of state.

But what is interesting to me is how many public schools are in the top half of this list.

So many of these private schools (University of Rochester, Case Western, etc.) are ranked lower in this list than public schools (University of Wisconsin, Washington, Minnesota) and they cost more and are more difficult to get into. Why pay more and work harder in high school to get into a school that isn't ranked as high? Are the dorms really that much nicer? The food better? Maybe the connections are netter and more likely to get a great job? I'm curious how these schools compare for salary for CS grads 5 years post graduation. Maybe that's the draw?

The CS programs within these state schools are way more difficult to get into compared to the private schools you listed, some with sub-5% admit rates for OOS kids.

[Anonymous]

Being in-state, and taking 800 students for CS means that many students think of UMD as a "Safety". It may be a safety for in-state students for CS, but the quality of students they are getting (GPA/SAT) has not been diluted even with the number of seats that they have. Instead the MD students who are not getting into MIT and Stanford are pushing the stats up every year. UMBC is also getting a lot of the same students and their CS program is also soaring (especially with the placements after graduation).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Umd in state vs full pay at a top 5 cs school which would you choose ?

Full pay top 5 CS school. It sounds like an amazing experience and arguably it is healthy to get away from home/out of state.

But what is interesting to me is how many public schools are in the top half of this list.

So many of these private schools (University of Rochester, Case Western, etc.) are ranked lower in this list than public schools (University of Wisconsin, Washington, Minnesota) and they cost more and are more difficult to get into. Why pay more and work harder in high school to get into a school that isn't ranked as high? Are the dorms really that much nicer? The food better? Maybe the connections are netter and more likely to get a great job? I'm curious how these schools compare for salary for CS grads 5 years post graduation. Maybe that's the draw?

My kid got into CS at UIUC, but turned it down for UCLA. I was pretty upset. Oh well. He put a higher value on location.

I would choose UCLA over UIUC too because I don't want to live in the middle of nowhere for four years, not to mention UCLA has one of the best campuses in the world.

I know too many CA kids that choose Michingan or UIUC over CA schools and none of them have parents who are hurting for money. Some just want to get away and enjoy a different experience.

[Anonymous]

The benefits of going to UMD for CS is huge for MD students for the many reasons (reputation/ranking of the major, $, instate public, internships, placements), but the big problem is that some top students think of UMD as the floor for CS and are now reluctant to think of any other colleges for CS that rank below UMD, which does not leave them with many choices.

Parents of Juniors - keep an eye on the SAT/GPA that has been accepted in UMD this year for CS. Does not matter if they say that it is TO. These scores are going up for CS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If anything, Pomona is underrated here. Look up the list of the schools whose CS grads earn the most from College ScoreCard, and Pomona is in the same grouping as the biggest names like Harvard, MIT, and Berkeley (all ~128K). Way above the schools its ranked alongside here (Emory 83K, George Mason 78K, etc).

The fact that only two LACs showed up in the top 100 when several are producing top CS students who get into FAANG and top PhDs is representative of the ignorance from the reviewers rather than anything specific to LACs. Carleton, Swarthmore, and Williams are other top notch places with popular departments whose CS graduates do very well after graduation. Useless list honestly- outcomes speak for themselves.

Emory is in the south. Horrible comparison

[Anonymous]

Augh! If you're reading this looking for ideas, hopefully you stopped reading after the first response OP got (no, not me), because it was the best advice offered.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Umd in state vs full pay at a top 5 cs school which would you choose ?

There is no top five but top four. Cornell is and has been since the 80s a notch below the top four.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Augh! If you're reading this looking for ideas, hopefully you stopped reading after the first response OP got (no, not me), because it was the best advice offered.

That's pretty much every thread on DCUM. Maybe not the first post but def. stop after the first page.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have twin boys and both just graduated in CS, one from CMU and the other from VT. The CMU graduate is working for IBM with a salary of 95K/yr while the VT is working for Amazon with a salary of 125K/yr. The VT son has no student loan debt while the CMU son has 50K in student debt.

CMU might be good for some people but certainly not my kid.

Did both of your boys put the same effort into their job searches? Did the CMU kid limit himself in some way like what areas of CS he would be willing to work in or what location he would move to?

There are always a range of outcomes possible graduating from a particular school. I am frankly surprised surprised to hear that a CS graduate from CMU did not receive better offers. It’s an amazingly strong school in CS.

I don't believe this poster with the "twins" claiming both good students with a better outcome from VT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Umd in state vs full pay at a top 5 cs school which would you choose ?

There is no top five but top four. Cornell is and has been since the 80s a notch below the top four.

I have to agree with the above statement. MIT, CMU, Stanford, and Berkeley are the gold standard in CS.