UMD CS or UVA CS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well University of Illinois is ranked higher than Harvard, UMD, Princeton, and GT among others. Going to a school based solely on the ranking of the major seems shortsighted. I would go with overall interest in the school.

ha ha. Yea, pick UVA over UMD GATech UIUC for CS. LOL. Please do it. Make room for other kids at those CS focused schools.

There is zero CS ranking where UI is ranked higher than Harvard or GATech. What are you smokin?

USNWR undergraduate CS ranking:
5. UIUC, Princeton, GATech
12. Harvard
16. UMD
29. UVA

NP here - I was thinking (agreeing) that UMD is ranked much higher, and is also a better program than UVA for CS. I don't think that it is only USNWR that says so.

for CS the industry uses csrankings.org USNEWS is mostly just BS that a lot of schools manipulate

Not sure how that makes sense. What does number of papers published by teachers have to do with teaching quality? It might make sense for grad school attractiveness but as a hiring manager, why would I care about this metric?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well University of Illinois is ranked higher than Harvard, UMD, Princeton, and GT among others. Going to a school based solely on the ranking of the major seems shortsighted. I would go with overall interest in the school.

Sure, it's a fine school if you want to study CS along with a lot of time-consuming but unrelated engineering requirements.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well University of Illinois is ranked higher than Harvard, UMD, Princeton, and GT among others. Going to a school based solely on the ranking of the major seems shortsighted. I would go with overall interest in the school.

ha ha. Yea, pick UVA over UMD GATech UIUC for CS. LOL. Please do it. Make room for other kids at those CS focused schools.

There is zero CS ranking where UI is ranked higher than Harvard or GATech. What are you smokin?

USNWR undergraduate CS ranking:
5. UIUC, Princeton, GATech
12. Harvard
16. UMD
29. UVA

NP here - I was thinking (agreeing) that UMD is ranked much higher, and is also a better program than UVA for CS. I don't think that it is only USNWR that says so.

for CS the industry uses csrankings.org USNEWS is mostly just BS that a lot of schools manipulate

Not sure how that makes sense. What does number of papers published by teachers have to do with teaching quality? It might make sense for grad school attractiveness but as a hiring manager, why would I care about this metric?

a better reflection of the departments depth and caliber of the faculty than a bunch of generic stats that many schools manipulate or even falsely report (Columbia) to game these rankings

[CL20171]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UMD is more serious.

Here's a basic 4-year plan for UMDCP for a CS major.

https://undergrad.cs.umd.edu/sites/undergrad.cs.umd.edu/files/images/u167/CMSC%2007010%204%20Year%20Plan.pdf

Many would place out of the first two semesters of math and possibly a semester of CS.

In addition, there are several variations on this involving specializations in machine learning or data science etc.

https://undergrad.cs.umd.edu/degree-requirements-cs-major

UVA CS was very rigid when I went there. I'm assuming it hasn't changed. We had a total of 4 electives over four years, and we're required to take 12 hours of physics, 8 hours of chem, 20 something hours of core engineering like thermo, circuits, etc, mostly stuff that has nothing to do with CS. UVA is has an amazing campus, and for most majors it's probably a better choice but for CS I'd go with MD hands down.

I just realized UVA BSCS belongs to applied science & engineering, it is why UVA asks to take some core engineering courses.
Absolutely agree with you: for CS, go with UMD, will be competitive but fun!

[Anonymous]

CL20171 wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UMD is more serious.

Here's a basic 4-year plan for UMDCP for a CS major.

https://undergrad.cs.umd.edu/sites/undergrad.cs.umd.edu/files/images/u167/CMSC%2007010%204%20Year%20Plan.pdf

Many would place out of the first two semesters of math and possibly a semester of CS.

In addition, there are several variations on this involving specializations in machine learning or data science etc.

https://undergrad.cs.umd.edu/degree-requirements-cs-major

UVA CS was very rigid when I went there. I'm assuming it hasn't changed. We had a total of 4 electives over four years, and we're required to take 12 hours of physics, 8 hours of chem, 20 something hours of core engineering like thermo, circuits, etc, mostly stuff that has nothing to do with CS. UVA is has an amazing campus, and for most majors it's probably a better choice but for CS I'd go with MD hands down.

I just realized UVA BSCS belongs to applied science & engineering, it is why UVA asks to take some core engineering courses.
Absolutely agree with you: for CS, go with UMD, will be competitive but fun!

When I applied years ago, I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but in retrospect wasn't a good fit with my interests. Sure, I did fine and am capable of doing the work but those core classes did not interest me. Mostly though they took time away from CS and math since they weren't exactly a breeze.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well University of Illinois is ranked higher than Harvard, UMD, Princeton, and GT among others. Going to a school based solely on the ranking of the major seems shortsighted. I would go with overall interest in the school.

ha ha. Yea, pick UVA over UMD GATech UIUC for CS. LOL. Please do it. Make room for other kids at those CS focused schools.

There is zero CS ranking where UI is ranked higher than Harvard or GATech. What are you smokin?

USNWR undergraduate CS ranking:
5. UIUC, Princeton, GATech
12. Harvard
16. UMD
29. UVA

NP here - I was thinking (agreeing) that UMD is ranked much higher, and is also a better program than UVA for CS. I don't think that it is only USNWR that says so.

for CS the industry uses csrankings.org USNEWS is mostly just BS that a lot of schools manipulate

+1 I posted a few more CS rankings only up thread. UMD is top 20 for the most part. UVA doesn't make the list on some of the rankings.

[Anonymous]

UVA. UVA. UVA

everybody to the left….

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

CL20171 wrote:- UVA CS is $46k/yr
- UMD CS is $43k/yr with Merit.

The cost is not much difference.
Which one is better choice?
Thank you for any input?

We're kind of in the same boat so really appreciate all the inputs above.
How about throwing Pudue and VT into the comparison?
UVA CS, 46K(in-state), School rank 25, CS rank 29.
Purdue CS, 41K(OOS), School rank 51, CS rank 16.
UMD CS 49K(w/ merit), School rank 55, CS rank 16.
VT CS , 32K(in-state), School rank 62, CS rank 29.
Visited all except Purdue. DS has no real preference between the 3 visited.
Double major intended.
Tuition are in doable range range for us.
Thoughts?

In cs no one really cares where you go to school. It’s just competitive parents. The degree is what matters. All good choices. Congratulations

Right, a CS degree at MIT or CMU is the same as from Purdue or UVA. LOL

You realize that they all end up at the same companies so yes, it is just people competitive like you.

LOL You do not work in the CS field.

The vast majority of CS grads don't work for FAANG, that is true. But people in the CS industry know which CS programs are the best, and they will recruit from there.

That doesn't mean UVA CS grads can't find jobs. Of course not. But, if you want a good CS program, you go to UMD, not UVA.

UVA boosters just can't stand that UMD CS is better than UVA. It's almost pathetic to watch you all and your "both are good schools". You would never say that about other majors. UVA CS is no better than VTech. If they all end up in the same companies, then save yourself $$ and go to VTech.

I greatly enjoy my FANG spouse's pay check so I think I do know he has no issue getting a job and he went to a no name school no one has heard of. After a few years of experience, skill, degree and how you interview are equally important. Funny enough, he's never had an issue getting or keeping a job even when others couldn't. Clearly he's doing something right from his bad CS school. His crummy degree will pay for our kids to get their CS degree to paying cash for it... not to shabby.

That's interesting.. because I (PP) also went to no name, didn't even major in CS but worked for FAANG.

But, it took a lot longer to get there, and I'm thinking it did for your DH (hence the experience needed). We are outliers. The vast majority in FAANG are not from no name state university. I used to live in the Bay Area, too.

Don't know how old your DH is, but back when I worked for FAANG they had a list of acceptable colleges by degree.

Also, one of the FAANG founders went to UMD. None went to UVA. Just so you know.

If you really think it doesn't matter where you go to college for CS, then go to a C rated school and see how you do.

Again, a UVA grad in CS will be able to find a job, just a GMU grad can. So, then why not go to GMU over UVA if the outcome is the same?

A lot of his coworkers are not from fancy schools and many have degrees other than cs. I think it helps for your first job, but it also helps knowing someone who can help you get a job. Go to the school that is the best fit for the student. Skill and interviewing is also important when some companies make you do multiple interviews. We’ve had friends from good schools get turned down for similar jobs. They just did not interview well. Having a clearance helps a lot too.

[Anonymous]

OP, with equal cost, just let your kid to chose where he or she feels they belong. Both programs are great, maybe UMD a higher ranking, but it wont matter in the end of the day if the child is not happy and going to drop it.
I have a child who is graduating from UVA engineering this year (not CS but he has a lot of friends from CS program). All CS kids from my child's group were able to get the jobs they wanted including with Google, Amazon, government military contractors, NASA, SpaceX just a few examples. All of them received these job offers at the end of last summer, almost year before their graduation. Good luck to your kid!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well University of Illinois is ranked higher than Harvard, UMD, Princeton, and GT among others. Going to a school based solely on the ranking of the major seems shortsighted. I would go with overall interest in the school.

ha ha. Yea, pick UVA over UMD GATech UIUC for CS. LOL. Please do it. Make room for other kids at those CS focused schools.

There is zero CS ranking where UI is ranked higher than Harvard or GATech. What are you smokin?

USNWR undergraduate CS ranking:
5. UIUC, Princeton, GATech
12. Harvard
16. UMD
29. UVA

NP here - I was thinking (agreeing) that UMD is ranked much higher, and is also a better program than UVA for CS. I don't think that it is only USNWR that says so.

for CS the industry uses csrankings.org USNEWS is mostly just BS that a lot of schools manipulate

It’s a magazine out to make money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

CL20171 wrote:- UVA CS is $46k/yr
- UMD CS is $43k/yr with Merit.

The cost is not much difference.
Which one is better choice?
Thank you for any input?

We're kind of in the same boat so really appreciate all the inputs above.
How about throwing Pudue and VT into the comparison?
UVA CS, 46K(in-state), School rank 25, CS rank 29.
Purdue CS, 41K(OOS), School rank 51, CS rank 16.
UMD CS 49K(w/ merit), School rank 55, CS rank 16.
VT CS , 32K(in-state), School rank 62, CS rank 29.
Visited all except Purdue. DS has no real preference between the 3 visited.
Double major intended.
Tuition are in doable range range for us.
Thoughts?

In cs no one really cares where you go to school. It’s just competitive parents. The degree is what matters. All good choices. Congratulations

Right, a CS degree at MIT or CMU is the same as from Purdue or UVA. LOL

You realize that they all end up at the same companies so yes, it is just people competitive like you.

LOL You do not work in the CS field.

The vast majority of CS grads don't work for FAANG, that is true. But people in the CS industry know which CS programs are the best, and they will recruit from there.

That doesn't mean UVA CS grads can't find jobs. Of course not. But, if you want a good CS program, you go to UMD, not UVA.

UVA boosters just can't stand that UMD CS is better than UVA. It's almost pathetic to watch you all and your "both are good schools". You would never say that about other majors. UVA CS is no better than VTech. If they all end up in the same companies, then save yourself $$ and go to VTech.

I greatly enjoy my FANG spouse's pay check so I think I do know he has no issue getting a job and he went to a no name school no one has heard of. After a few years of experience, skill, degree and how you interview are equally important. Funny enough, he's never had an issue getting or keeping a job even when others couldn't. Clearly he's doing something right from his bad CS school. His crummy degree will pay for our kids to get their CS degree to paying cash for it... not to shabby.

That's interesting.. because I (PP) also went to no name, didn't even major in CS but worked for FAANG.

But, it took a lot longer to get there, and I'm thinking it did for your DH (hence the experience needed). We are outliers. The vast majority in FAANG are not from no name state university. I used to live in the Bay Area, too.

Don't know how old your DH is, but back when I worked for FAANG they had a list of acceptable colleges by degree.

Also, one of the FAANG founders went to UMD. None went to UVA. Just so you know.

If you really think it doesn't matter where you go to college for CS, then go to a C rated school and see how you do.

Again, a UVA grad in CS will be able to find a job, just a GMU grad can. So, then why not go to GMU over UVA if the outcome is the same?

A lot of his coworkers are not from fancy schools and many have degrees other than cs. I think it helps for your first job, but it also helps knowing someone who can help you get a job. Go to the school that is the best fit for the student. Skill and interviewing is also important when some companies make you do multiple interviews. We’ve had friends from good schools get turned down for similar jobs. They just did not interview well. Having a clearance helps a lot too.

Well, of course.. FAANG companies hire a lot of people with degrees other than CS.

I don't know about the other FAANGs, but I do know that the one I worked at doesn't care if you know someone there. Your resume goes in the pile, unless you have some amazing achievement that someone pointed out.. like you developed some really great stuff at your previous job or at college.

And yes, interview skills are very important. The FAANG company I worked for asked questions that tested your critical thinking skills and ability to think on the spot, unrelated to CS. These were general mental teaser type questions.

The first job also is a stepping stone to the next job, which leads to it taking longer to get to a FAANG job if you don't have that pedigree.

Most of the people I worked with went to places like Cornell, MIT, Cal... those were the ones who were hired directly. The others who went to lower tiered schools came through a circuitous route, myself included.

In any case, the vast majority of IT workers don't work for a FAANG, so yes, if you are just out for a regular IT job, it doesn't really matter where you graduated from. But, it's a lot harder and takes longer to get a job at FAANG without the pedigree of where you went to school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, with equal cost, just let your kid to chose where he or she feels they belong. Both programs are great, maybe UMD a higher ranking, but it wont matter in the end of the day if the child is not happy and going to drop it.
I have a child who is graduating from UVA engineering this year (not CS but he has a lot of friends from CS program). All CS kids from my child's group were able to get the jobs they wanted including with Google, Amazon, government military contractors, NASA, SpaceX just a few examples. All of them received these job offers at the end of last summer, almost year before their graduation. Good luck to your kid!

Why do you say it doesn't matter? Presumably, you picked UVA because of its ranking, no?

Presumably, OP's kid could pick UVA, hate it and drop out, right?

A PP who went to UVA for CS probably has better insight into UVA CS than most of us posting here since most of us didn't go to either schools for CS, including your own kid who majored in engineering and not CS.

Sure, UVA CS kids can get jobs, so can GMU CS kids. What's the difference, then?

[Anonymous]

CL20171 wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UMD is more serious.

Here's a basic 4-year plan for UMDCP for a CS major.

https://undergrad.cs.umd.edu/sites/undergrad.cs.umd.edu/files/images/u167/CMSC%2007010%204%20Year%20Plan.pdf

Many would place out of the first two semesters of math and possibly a semester of CS.

In addition, there are several variations on this involving specializations in machine learning or data science etc.

https://undergrad.cs.umd.edu/degree-requirements-cs-major

UVA CS was very rigid when I went there. I'm assuming it hasn't changed. We had a total of 4 electives over four years, and we're required to take 12 hours of physics, 8 hours of chem, 20 something hours of core engineering like thermo, circuits, etc, mostly stuff that has nothing to do with CS. UVA is has an amazing campus, and for most majors it's probably a better choice but for CS I'd go with MD hands down.

I just realized UVA BSCS belongs to applied science & engineering, it is why UVA asks to take some core engineering courses.
Absolutely agree with you: for CS, go with UMD, will be competitive but fun!

No, there are two computer science options at UVA. The Computer Science department offers two Computer Science degrees: the Interdisciplinary Major in Computer Science degree offered through the College of Arts & Sciences (BACS), and the Bachelor of Science in Computer Science degree offered through the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UMD is more serious.

Here's a basic 4-year plan for UMDCP for a CS major.

https://undergrad.cs.umd.edu/sites/undergrad.cs.umd.edu/files/images/u167/CMSC%2007010%204%20Year%20Plan.pdf

Many would place out of the first two semesters of math and possibly a semester of CS.

In addition, there are several variations on this involving specializations in machine learning or data science etc.

https://undergrad.cs.umd.edu/degree-requirements-cs-major

UVA CS was very rigid when I went there. I'm assuming it hasn't changed. We had a total of 4 electives over four years, and we're required to take 12 hours of physics, 8 hours of chem, 20 something hours of core engineering like thermo, circuits, etc, mostly stuff that has nothing to do with CS. UVA is has an amazing campus, and for most majors it's probably a better choice but for CS I'd go with MD hands down.

Actually it seems UVA CS is more rigorous. Discrete Math, Data Structure and algorithms, Algorithms, Computer Architecture, and Operating Systems are all required classes. Any one of the above could be a weed-out class. It appears at UMD you can get away with just upper level specialty electives and not take some of the above tough classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

CL20171 wrote:- UVA CS is $46k/yr
- UMD CS is $43k/yr with Merit.

The cost is not much difference.
Which one is better choice?
Thank you for any input?

We're kind of in the same boat so really appreciate all the inputs above.
How about throwing Pudue and VT into the comparison?
UVA CS, 46K(in-state), School rank 25, CS rank 29.
Purdue CS, 41K(OOS), School rank 51, CS rank 16.
UMD CS 49K(w/ merit), School rank 55, CS rank 16.
VT CS , 32K(in-state), School rank 62, CS rank 29.
Visited all except Purdue. DS has no real preference between the 3 visited.
Double major intended.
Tuition are in doable range range for us.
Thoughts?

In cs no one really cares where you go to school. It’s just competitive parents. The degree is what matters. All good choices. Congratulations

Right, a CS degree at MIT or CMU is the same as from Purdue or UVA. LOL

You realize that they all end up at the same companies so yes, it is just people competitive like you.

LOL You do not work in the CS field.

The vast majority of CS grads don't work for FAANG, that is true. But people in the CS industry know which CS programs are the best, and they will recruit from there.

That doesn't mean UVA CS grads can't find jobs. Of course not. But, if you want a good CS program, you go to UMD, not UVA.

UVA boosters just can't stand that UMD CS is better than UVA. It's almost pathetic to watch you all and your "both are good schools". You would never say that about other majors. UVA CS is no better than VTech. If they all end up in the same companies, then save yourself $$ and go to VTech.

I greatly enjoy my FANG spouse's pay check so I think I do know he has no issue getting a job and he went to a no name school no one has heard of. After a few years of experience, skill, degree and how you interview are equally important. Funny enough, he's never had an issue getting or keeping a job even when others couldn't. Clearly he's doing something right from his bad CS school. His crummy degree will pay for our kids to get their CS degree to paying cash for it... not to shabby.

That's interesting.. because I (PP) also went to no name, didn't even major in CS but worked for FAANG.

But, it took a lot longer to get there, and I'm thinking it did for your DH (hence the experience needed). We are outliers. The vast majority in FAANG are not from no name state university. I used to live in the Bay Area, too.

Don't know how old your DH is, but back when I worked for FAANG they had a list of acceptable colleges by degree.

Also, one of the FAANG founders went to UMD. None went to UVA. Just so you know.

If you really think it doesn't matter where you go to college for CS, then go to a C rated school and see how you do.

Again, a UVA grad in CS will be able to find a job, just a GMU grad can. So, then why not go to GMU over UVA if the outcome is the same?

A lot of his coworkers are not from fancy schools and many have degrees other than cs. I think it helps for your first job, but it also helps knowing someone who can help you get a job. Go to the school that is the best fit for the student. Skill and interviewing is also important when some companies make you do multiple interviews. We’ve had friends from good schools get turned down for similar jobs. They just did not interview well. Having a clearance helps a lot too.

Well, of course.. FAANG companies hire a lot of people with degrees other than CS.

I don't know about the other FAANGs, but I do know that the one I worked at doesn't care if you know someone there. Your resume goes in the pile, unless you have some amazing achievement that someone pointed out.. like you developed some really great stuff at your previous job or at college.

And yes, interview skills are very important. The FAANG company I worked for asked questions that tested your critical thinking skills and ability to think on the spot, unrelated to CS. These were general mental teaser type questions.

The first job also is a stepping stone to the next job, which leads to it taking longer to get to a FAANG job if you don't have that pedigree.

Most of the people I worked with went to places like Cornell, MIT, Cal... those were the ones who were hired directly. The others who went to lower tiered schools came through a circuitous route, myself included.

In any case, the vast majority of IT workers don't work for a FAANG, so yes, if you are just out for a regular IT job, it doesn't really matter where you graduated from. But, it's a lot harder and takes longer to get a job at FAANG without the pedigree of where you went to school.

Hum. You had to go the circuitous route…funny as my spouse from a no name school got hired quickly after the interviews. Never has an issue getting a job or transferring. But, sure, keep telling yourself it’s all schools. After so many years experience no one cares but you.