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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I've got two going through the process.  My daughter was choosing between WashU and UNC and will be going to WashU (applied to fashion design at WUSTL and undecided at UNC).  My son was choosing between UMd and Northeastern for CS and chose NEU.[/quote]

As a CS academic for the past three decades, I am intrigued by whether these choices are made with good information. Needless to say, a CS from anywhere is just fine for employability. And both UMD and NEU are good programs. But, UMD is actually a blue-chip CS department that is constantly knocking on the top-10 door for the past three decades. NEU is relatively unknown in CS. It has recently made some advances in publication-oriented rankings (CS rankings). But, reputationally for high-end employers and grad schools it won't hold a candle to UMD. [/quote]

For the record, I am also an academically inclined CS person, albeit in govt research.  I know several faculty at UMd from grad school, and a good friend did a sabbatical at NEU and her friend is faculty there.

Obviously UMd is ranked higher as far as academic research goes.  But as an undergraduate teaching institution I wasn't convinced.  So I contacted a prof I know over there.  He was on my dissertation committee.  And he was like, I don't know anything about undergraduate teaching.  I have a lab of 20 PhD students, I can't really help you.  It's a big school with 4000 CS undergrads.  Ok.  Thanks.

My friend who spent a year at NEU highly recommended it.  Said the undergraduate experience is much better.  Small classes.  The administration seems very invested and interested in teaching and the undergraduate experience.  She recommended NEU over UMd for my son.  She might be biased because she used to be faculty at UMBC.

NEU really emphasizes their coop program.  All students do 2 coops to graduate, and it's a well run, well organized program.  The school is very focused on preparing students to enter the workforce.  You can argue whether or not an academic institution should be doing that, but my son seemed to really like it.

My experience at an elite CS program years ago wasn't ideal.  I got a great education, but it was a tough, grinding experience.  Big department.  Nobody gave a crap about undergrads.  And I didn't think my son would enjoy that.

Anyways it seems that these days anybody with a CS degree can get a good job.[/quote]

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