My College List as a Computer Science Major

Choosing which colleges to apply to may seem like a daunting task. You may be wondering how to even approach picking what college fits your needs and where you’d fit in. In this blog post, we’ll be going over how to choose your list and guide you through the criteria to selecting the right schools for your college list.

I’ll be honest—when I created my college list, my first instinct was to simply search up the “top computer science schools” and apply to most of the schools on that list. Although I wouldn’t exactly do that, I don’t advise against searching up these schools and researching what these schools offer that make them so highly ranked.

Identifying Your Academic Interests

The first thing you’d want to do when choosing schools is identify what you want from your academic journey. Computer Science (CS) is a broad field with many different career paths. Depending on your interests, you could choose a career in Artificial Intelligence, Computer Systems, Software Development, or even Cybersecurity. If you’re having trouble finding your academic interests in CS, try working on a project in any of the above mentioned areas of interest, and see which project you found most interesting. A list of projects can be found in the Resources section of this blog post.

Even if you’re focusing more on academics rather than project based learning, you’ll still be able to figure out what your interests are. Usually, each CS program requires you to take foundational courses that span these fields. From there, you can recognize which subjects were fascinating and hope to continue in your career.

It would be helpful to have a general idea of what you’d want to do before applying to colleges, as you could tailor your college list to schools that offer stronger academic programs in the fields of your interest. Attached in the Resources section is a tool for finding top schools based on specialized fields. Note that this rankings page is based on research publications from these schools and doesn’t constitute an exhaustive list of leading schools in those areas. The list, however, should give you an idea of schools you should target.

When choosing which schools to target, you should also consider lab and research opportunities, different courses offered, extracurriculars like clubs and hackathons, and other opportunities detailed in later sections. Additionally, you may choose to research instructor effectiveness at each of these universities and look into curriculum offerings to get a better idea of which classes you could see yourself taking at different schools.

Internships

Most prospective CS students probably heard about the current competitive job market. Therefore, it is crucial to consider schools that have connections to companies with strong internship opportunities. For example, schools that offer co-op programs allow students to take a semester or two off of school and dedicate it to working at a company of their choice. Northeastern, Purdue, and Drexel are schools known for their co-op programs.

Additionally, consider schools that offer an extensive alumni network with different companies. This offers students to connect with alumni who could potentially refer them to the company the employee is working for. Moreover, tech companies may visit schools through job fairs or networking events (potentially also through sponsored clubs). So, make sure to choose well-connected schools and look for any connections between schools and companies of your choice. 

Balancing Your College List

In order to make the most bang for one’s buck, you probably wouldn’t want to only apply to top 25 schools. Although these schools are considered top-of-the-line colleges, getting into them is extremely competitive. To create a more balanced and cost-effective college list, you’ll want to apply to 3-5 reaches, 10 targets, and 2-3 safeties. The reaches could include schools like UC Berkeley, MIT, or Carnegie Mellon. Targets vary from University of Wisconsin Madison to University of Maryland. And finally a safety school could include Penn State. Ultimately, these schools aren’t a fit for everyone as everyone has their own story to tell. Whether it’s a different spike you’d like to show off or your academic success, each school should be carefully chosen depending on one’s needs. 

Location & Culture

Choosing where you want to spend your next four more years is another important decision to make. Some prefer to live a rural lifestyle, but others opt to be in a bigger city. If your school has access to internships, industry events, and tech visits, studying at a rural campus could be a good choice depending on the culture (like University of Illinois Urbana Champaign). Otherwise, it would be a good idea to go to school around a tech hub like Silicon Valley, New York, Seattle, Austin, or Boston to increase your chances of getting a job opportunity.

Ultimately, college is also about making new connections and exploring your interests. So, choosing a college also depends on the campus culture you’re interested in. For example, if you’re a sports fan, you may want to go for schools that have a big sports scene. If you’re looking to meet new people, a college with a strong fraternity or sorority scene might be the right fit for you. Finally, if you want to explore new interests, you may want a school that offers numerous clubs. Hence, it is vital that you understand the type of school that you want to attend and which schools match your interests.

Cost & Financial Aid

Although CS majors are expected to have high base-salaries, the cost of tuition is an important factor. Consider scholarships and financial aid different schools offer. If you’re in a state where state schools offer reduced cost of attendance, definitely consider applying for those programs.

Tours

Last but not least, try doing a virtual or in-person visit to the campus. These tours are your chance to get a feel for the campus. It helps you envision yourself studying there for four years. Ask as many questions as possible! And if a school offers it, attend info sessions for CS-related events.

Final Thoughts

There are many factors to consider when curating your college list. For me, the most important factors were academic interests, internships, and location, however, this might not apply to everyone. It depends on each individual person and it’s therefore important to understand what you want out of a college education. A great way to start is by researching what leading schools are doing, whether it’s research, academics, or extracurricular offerings, you can narrow down the type of school you’d like to attend. From there, you can consider developing a more balanced college list. Finally, consider applying to schools based on specific factors like tuition and campus culture.

Resources:

1. List of Computer Science based projects: https://github.com/practical-tutorials/project-based-learning

2. CS Rankings based on specialized fields: https://csrankings.org/#/index?all&us