Anonymous wrote:It really depends on the cost differential and how talented the student is.

$160k, and possibly more semesters for a median student - not worth it.

But if the student is going to be among the top 5% of his CS class at CMU, get top firm internships every summer which makes $20k+/summer, and come out with a job making $150k-200k+ per year at CMU, that CMU degree and experience can help a lot down the road i.e. potential start-ups.

However if the kid is not all that interested in CS and is just doing it for a job, will do about average at CMU and doesn't have grand ideas about start-ups, probably better idea to go to UVA.

The atmosphere at CMU is also very different than UVA. CMU CS is very much an intense technical school with a reputation of rigor, only bested by MIT and possibly Cal Tech.

UVA CS, relatively, would be considered a easy, chill 4-years at a state school. The lifestyle is very different at UVA versus CMU. The workload in CS is just not going to be anywhere near as intense at UVA, less intense than other public universities like Berkeley, Michigan, Texas, Washington, UIUC, etc.

They are all quite a bit above UVA in CS.

Real math, CS or Electrical & Computer Engineering, then CamU. Otherwise UVa is just fine.

It really depends on the cost differential and how talented the student is.

$160k, and possibly more semesters for a median student - not worth it.

But if the student is going to be among the top 5% of his CS class at CMU, get top firm internships every summer which makes $20k+/summer, and come out with a job making $150k-200k+ per year at CMU, that CMU degree and experience can help a lot down the road i.e. potential start-ups.

However if the kid is not all that interested in CS and is just doing it for a job, will do about average at CMU and doesn't have grand ideas about start-ups, probably better idea to go to UVA.

The atmosphere at CMU is also very different than UVA. CMU CS is very much an intense technical school with a reputation of rigor, only bested by MIT and possibly Cal Tech.

UVA CS, relatively, would be considered a easy, chill 4-years at a state school. The lifestyle is very different at UVA versus CMU. The workload in CS is just not going to be anywhere near as intense at UVA, less intense than other public universities like Berkeley, Michigan, Texas, Washington, UIUC, etc.

CMU CS is at the level of MIT and Stanford. It will pay for itself within a few years of graduation. You will also get better internships at CMU.