I'm not sure why people are saying the two options for this kid are getting a great paying job right out of school at CMU (implying kid does really well) or being weeded-out at Virginia Tech (implying kid does poorly). College is going to be a huge adjustment no matter where you go, your kid will either do well and rise to the challenge or not.

I went to Virginia Tech Engineering (not CS, but the first year is mostly the same anyway) and observed that most of the kids that switched out of Engineering after the first year were those that hadn't picked engineering for themselves but had felt pressure to pick it because of their parents.

My brothers are both CS grads (one VT, one UVA) and very successful, because they are good at programming and learn the various new programming languages as they come out, seemingly every couple of years. So, if your kid is really into CS and loves it, it's not going to matter where they go--they'll succeed in that field as long as they are committed to continuing to learn for the rest of their career. Anyway, if your kid gets into VT, it's a fantastic school and community.

So, maybe the question isn't VT v CMU if the $200k gives you pause.

My kid didn't want to attend a weed-out school in Appalachia.

So he applied to a number of good schools and got some serious merit aid. The program isn't ranked quite as highly as VT in his field, but they run their school differently so he isn't as likely to be thrown out.

Who cares about the ranking if you don't end up being an engineer?

The difference in price isn't any $200k, but a manageable $40k over the 4 years.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:CMU CompScien students are in great demand. Friend's son graduated from CMU and went to one of the FLAGs two years ago. Starting salary was $150K plus $40K bonus.

It is very hard to get into the program. DS's friend won a DOD Hackathon and did not make it into CMU.

Is that a typical starting salary & bonus for a CMU CS graduate or is it an exception?

not typical.

Yeah, we drove to Pittsburgh to tour Pitt but got there and thought...well...may as well do CMU too since we’re here- we were not impressed.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:well, my kid's CS teacher said to him when my kid was evaluating engineering schools:

* which one would you rather be at if your major doesn't work out for you?

This is excellent advice. I wish someone had said that to me when I was in high school. I went to an engineering-specialized school, and then realized I didn't want to do engineering. Ooops!

CMU has so much more than engineering. A great Humanities and Social Sciences school and so much more.

Anyone who goes $200K in debt for a CMU humanities/social sciences is an utter buffoon.

We toured and considered CMU. Any other major other than CS is second tier there. Plus, the kids so stressed there. Terrible dorms. Pitt next door was such a breath of fresh air after the CMU session.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:well, my kid's CS teacher said to him when my kid was evaluating engineering schools:

* which one would you rather be at if your major doesn't work out for you?

This is excellent advice. I wish someone had said that to me when I was in high school. I went to an engineering-specialized school, and then realized I didn't want to do engineering. Ooops!

CMU has so much more than engineering. A great Humanities and Social Sciences school and so much more.

Anyone who goes $200K in debt for a CMU humanities/social sciences is an utter buffoon.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:well, my kid's CS teacher said to him when my kid was evaluating engineering schools:

* which one would you rather be at if your major doesn't work out for you?

This is excellent advice. I wish someone had said that to me when I was in high school. I went to an engineering-specialized school, and then realized I didn't want to do engineering. Ooops!

CMU has so much more than engineering. A great Humanities and Social Sciences school and so much more.

there is a 2017 CS graduate from CMU at my work place and his salary is about 2k higher than the rest of the software developers that graduated from other schools.

Btw, 200k difference between CMU and Tech is before taxes. it will be almost 300k with taxes. It would take a CMU graduate at least fifteen years to pay off the debt assuming that he is making 30k per year more than a Tech graduate. That 30k more per year is also before taxes

OP should talk to a Financial Advisor and see if it is a good ROI for your kid

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Consider the time gap between your first job and your son's. There is a generation of difference. Your comparison is wrong. There are many more highly advanced companies (applying technologies that didn't exist when you were studying or got your first job). He may not want to apply to your company after his graduation. You should really compare the courses, the faculty, the peer group, the labs, the internship opportunities, the reputation, the employers visiting the campus for recruiting, the potential job/career trajectories of recent graduates and current students of CS of the two universities and determine if $200K extra is worth it for you and your son.

Are you kidding me? You are talking peanuts compared to $200K in debt. People that actually think the name of their college means something and is worth the extra $200K are the type of people, no wants to hire. We aren't talking politics, finance, etc.. This is computer science.

It's computer science, and CMU is one of the top programs in the world. I do a lot of hiring in the field, and CMU is one of the few schools that really stand out for me. Is it worth 200K? For most, probably not, but for the right kid, absolutely.

Absolutely not.

You would have to make about $11K more than others CS graduates from other schools for close to 20 years to make up the 200K difference in tuition you would be getting loans for. And that is being generous that you can afford to pay them back and have a low interest loan.

So is all that debt over your head worth gambling on a possible higher paying position that you will always have and you won't get disabled or lost a job to pay off those loans. What if your son ends up not liking CS and wants to switch majors?

I personally rather have $12K less a year, start with zero debt, and work myself up in a company based on my skills. Not where I graduated from school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For someone who will major Computer Science undergraduate program, I am trying to justify the cost of 72k at CMU versus 22.5k at Virginia Tech. That 200k more over four years at CMU. I graduated from Virginia Tech in CS and where I work, there are about five colleagues that graduated from CMU in CS and all of us make the same salary. I am trying to convince my child to save money by going to Virginia Tech. Any suggestions?

Yes, be the parent and say "We will give you XX amount of dollars each year for college. The rest will be loans that you take out and will have to pay back on your own."

It really isn't that hard. We aren't talking Fairfax community college here. It is VT. Does't your son know the CMU motto anyway? Where Fun Goes to Die!

this sounds reasonable.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Consider the time gap between your first job and your son's. There is a generation of difference. Your comparison is wrong. There are many more highly advanced companies (applying technologies that didn't exist when you were studying or got your first job). He may not want to apply to your company after his graduation. You should really compare the courses, the faculty, the peer group, the labs, the internship opportunities, the reputation, the employers visiting the campus for recruiting, the potential job/career trajectories of recent graduates and current students of CS of the two universities and determine if $200K extra is worth it for you and your son.

Are you kidding me? You are talking peanuts compared to $200K in debt. People that actually think the name of their college means something and is worth the extra $200K are the type of people, no wants to hire. We aren't talking politics, finance, etc.. This is computer science.

It's computer science, and CMU is one of the top programs in the world. I do a lot of hiring in the field, and CMU is one of the few schools that really stand out for me. Is it worth 200K? For most, probably not, but for the right kid, absolutely.

Would you start that CMU graduate $10K higher than say a VT graduate? How about $20K higher than another employee. Because I can not for the life of me even think about how spending $200K more (plus potential loan interests) would make it worth it for anyone.

It isn't like there are CS graduates out there that can't find a job.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Consider the time gap between your first job and your son's. There is a generation of difference. Your comparison is wrong. There are many more highly advanced companies (applying technologies that didn't exist when you were studying or got your first job). He may not want to apply to your company after his graduation. You should really compare the courses, the faculty, the peer group, the labs, the internship opportunities, the reputation, the employers visiting the campus for recruiting, the potential job/career trajectories of recent graduates and current students of CS of the two universities and determine if $200K extra is worth it for you and your son.

Are you kidding me? You are talking peanuts compared to $200K in debt. People that actually think the name of their college means something and is worth the extra $200K are the type of people, no wants to hire. We aren't talking politics, finance, etc.. This is computer science.

It's computer science, and CMU is one of the top programs in the world. I do a lot of hiring in the field, and CMU is one of the few schools that really stand out for me. Is it worth 200K? For most, probably not, but for the right kid, absolutely.

CMU all the way!

Anonymous wrote:CMU CompScien students are in great demand. Friend's son graduated from CMU and went to one of the FLAGs two years ago. Starting salary was $150K plus $40K bonus.

It is very hard to get into the program. DS's friend won a DOD Hackathon and did not make it into CMU.

Is that a typical starting salary & bonus for a CMU CS graduate or is it an exception?