What university should I go to?

[Keralis]

Yo guys

I've been having to make really big decisions in my life lately, and I really have no one in my life to consult on this that actually has experience. So, in my infinite wisdom, I come here.

As you may already know, I'm a senior high school student at Princeton HIGH school. I am mainly a straight a student, but may have a couple B's here and there. One major problem about my education is that I take 9th grade english as a senior, because I moved here from Switzerland. Despite that, I got into some REALLY nice colleges. The main 2 I'm considering right now are Princeton University and University of Illinois. Now before you go and say "Holy crap you're so smart you got into Princeton University!" keep in mind that I go to Princeton high school, which has a great relationship with the university. It is generally agreed on that the acceptance rate for phs (Princeton high school) students are around 18%,which is much higher if you went anywhere else.

I want to major in computer science, and I've heard good things about both colleges.

In terms of finance, my father owns a medium sized science start up making a relatively large amount of profit. However, he says that his job is somewhat unstable right now and could lose his job any time. We have a LOT of saving money though. Surprisingly, it will cost me less to go to Princeton than to illinois because I live in the state, to put simply.

I've also heard that some of you recommend going to a community college first 2 years because the first 2 years are all the same and you could save money. I most certainly won't do that because if I were to go down that route, I could go to Rutgers which I got full ride in (100% paid tuition)

Also I have a house that I'm living in with my brother (who goes to Rutgers) about 20 minutes away from Princeton University.

I'm really torn on what to do, I have heard illinois has a better computer science program but Princeton is cheaper and more well known. Any insight would be greatly appreciates.

Thanks,

Keralis

[crasx]

I went to UIC for computer science and I thought it was pretty good. Some of the classes were annoying but the CS community is very close... but yea it is more of a commuter school. People still go there from out of state though.

Are you thinking UIC or UIUC?

[oakgyrl510]

i would say go to princeton because you wont have to pay out of state fees, which is a lot of wasted money imo. even if your family has a lot in savings, better not to waste it when ur dad says his business/job is unstable. he may need it later. and its best not to get caught with huge student loans since your parents can provide you the money for school now.

[TheDude]

KULeuven ftw.

 

For choices like this i usually go with my gut. There's so much cool stuff in both options with choices like this, something like a pro and con doesn't cut it.

[Keralis]

I'm talking about UIUC

Oh and I'm also thinking perusing a graduate program, if that helps.

[Keralis]

I got accepted to many universities, so here's a list of all of them. Just Princeton and UIUC seemed to pop out more for me.

Princeton University

University of Illinois at Urbana Champagne

Rutgers University

University of Paris (french is my first language so I'll be able to communicate better there)

Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (Zurich issue my hometown, I would love to go there and it's ranking is really nice but it's really expensive)

Peking university (chinese is my second language, Andy father lives about 30 minutes away from it. Also, it's really cheap)

Beijing normal university (heard this place is more of a boot camp than university)

Yeah, I applied to a lot of colleges. I guess I brought this upon myself XD

Edited January 5, 2014 by Keralis

[stutters]

Don't do the community college/junior college route unless you have to. It doesn't sound like you have to.

 

Your dad's startup may be unstable, but it's profitable for now. If something happens and you can't afford it in a year or two, deal with that then.

 

This is a really tough question to answer at your age. Even if you're confident now, it'll probably change in 4 years. What do you want to do? Be in management or be a maker? Management is "success" to a lot of people, but if your passion is making things, don't aim for management. Princeton will groom you for management, Illinois (or Rutger) is known for engineering. If you're uncertain, go for the engineering now and get an MBA later.

 

I'd save abroad for either a short term (semester or less) study session or graduate school. Don't do undergrad abroad unless you're going to the Indian Institute of Technology.

 

And since you didn't ask, I'd really, really encourage you to consider adding electrical engineering as a double major. The market is moving to such nuanced computing devices, having the hardware side is more important than strict computer science. Doing both is a golden ticket.

 

Congratulations. Sounds like you've got a ton of opportunity ahead of you.

[crasx]

Don't do the community college/junior college route unless you have to. It doesn't sound like you have to.

 

Your dad's startup may be unstable, but it's profitable for now. If something happens and you can't afford it in a year or two, deal with that then.

 

This is a really tough question to answer at your age. Even if you're confident now, it'll probably change in 4 years. What do you want to do? Be in management or be a maker? Management is "success" to a lot of people, but if your passion is making things, don't aim for management. Princeton will groom you for management, Illinois (or Rutger) is known for engineering. If you're uncertain, go for the engineering now and get an MBA later.

 

I'd save abroad for either a short term (semester or less) study session or graduate school. Don't do undergrad abroad unless you're going to the Indian Institute of Technology.

 

And since you didn't ask, I'd really, really encourage you to consider adding electrical engineering as a double major. The market is moving to such nuanced computing devices, having the hardware side is more important than strict computer science. Doing both is a golden ticket.

 

Congratulations. Sounds like you've got a ton of opportunity ahead of you.

I agree 100% with this. I'm more of a coder and don't want to have to care about all the business or management stuff, try to be aware of what suits you better.

Also definitely take hardware classes at least (they are usually required). It's amazing how much you can learn from building a processor and writing assembly for it

[VooDooPC]

Don't do the community college/junior college route unless you have to. It doesn't sound like you have to.

 

Your dad's startup may be unstable, but it's profitable for now. If something happens and you can't afford it in a year or two, deal with that then.

 

This is a really tough question to answer at your age. Even if you're confident now, it'll probably change in 4 years. What do you want to do? Be in management or be a maker? Management is "success" to a lot of people, but if your passion is making things, don't aim for management. Princeton will groom you for management, Illinois (or Rutger) is known for engineering. If you're uncertain, go for the engineering now and get an MBA later.

 

I'd save abroad for either a short term (semester or less) study session or graduate school. Don't do undergrad abroad unless you're going to the Indian Institute of Technology.

 

And since you didn't ask, I'd really, really encourage you to consider adding electrical engineering as a double major. The market is moving to such nuanced computing devices, having the hardware side is more important than strict computer science. Doing both is a golden ticket.

 

Congratulations. Sounds like you've got a ton of opportunity ahead of you.

Electriclal Engineers also make a fortune.

[Keralis]

 

Don't do the community college/junior college route unless you have to. It doesn't sound like you have to.

 

Your dad's startup may be unstable, but it's profitable for now. If something happens and you can't afford it in a year or two, deal with that then.

 

This is a really tough question to answer at your age. Even if you're confident now, it'll probably change in 4 years. What do you want to do? Be in management or be a maker? Management is "success" to a lot of people, but if your passion is making things, don't aim for management. Princeton will groom you for management, Illinois (or Rutger) is known for engineering. If you're uncertain, go for the engineering now and get an MBA later.

 

I'd save abroad for either a short term (semester or less) study session or graduate school. Don't do undergrad abroad unless you're going to the Indian Institute of Technology.

 

And since you didn't ask, I'd really, really encourage you to consider adding electrical engineering as a double major. The market is moving to such nuanced computing devices, having the hardware side is more important than strict computer science. Doing both is a golden ticket.

 

Congratulations. Sounds like you've got a ton of opportunity ahead of you.

 

I agree 100% with this. I'm more of a coder and don't want to have to care about all the business or management stuff, try to be aware of what suits you better.

Also definitely take hardware classes at least (they are usually required). It's amazing how much you can learn from building a processor and writing assembly for it

Thanks for the help, both of you. I'm mainly looking in to coding, not management. I think I'll go to college again if I want to do that. For now, I just want to find a simple job for "making".

If money wasn't a problem, I would definitely go to Zurich. It's beautiful there and a lot more peaceful than America (no offense, you guys are too violent)

I'm still really torn right now, because I do want to do coding instead of management, but Princeton seems like it's a very popular school and hard to get into. I just don't want to regret the decision of not going to Princeton later on. Also, if I go to Princeton I won't have to move or anything, I already have a home very close to it.

This seems like a total First World Problem XD

It seems I'm leaning more towards Princeton, it seems harder to get into than illinois, so if I regret going there I guess I can apply to illinois again, which is honestly, pretty easy to get into.

I don't know. Have you ever seen people become coders and not managers coming from Princeton?

[stutters]

It sounds like you're sold on Princeton. Ultimately you should choose based on your gut/intuition, but it also sounds like you're choosing based on acceptance rates. I think that's a little silly, but it's not my decision.

 

I'm a manager that hires developers. I have to tell you that I'd put Princeton students below a true engineering university, but no, I don't know anyone that's graduated from Princeton. I can also tell you that Urbana made the US News top 10 for CS programs. Princeton is not in the top 10.

 

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/engineering-doctorate-computer

[Keralis]

It sounds like you're sold on Princeton. Ultimately you should choose based on your gut/intuition, but it also sounds like you're choosing based on acceptance rates. I think that's a little silly, but it's not my decision.

 

I'm a manager that hires developers. I have to tell you that I'd put Princeton students below a true engineering university, but no, I don't know anyone that's graduated from Princeton. I can also tell you that Urbana made the US News top 10 for CS programs. Princeton is not in the top 10.

 

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/engineering-doctorate-computer

Agreed, I guess Illinois is a better university for computer science, but just the thought that I could have gone to Princeton (Considered one of the best universities in the nation overall) and decided to go somewhere else is kind of depressing. I just find that it's an opportunity that's hard to miss out on, considering all of the other universities I've applied for are relatively easy to get into, at least compared to Princeton.

Thanks for your insight as you clearly have direct experience with this. How would you rate people that go to Rutgers, University of Paris, Peking University, and Zurich compared to Princeton, as there are obviously pros and cons for going to each school.

For Rutgers, I have a full ride which means no financial burden whatsoever. Their computer science program is so so though, as I see online. Paris is about the same price as Princeton, and I would be able to communicate better but I'm not exactly sure about their program. As for Peking, I see it as a way to connect back to my roots, and my mandarin is at least better than my English. Not sure about their ranking either :/. I desperately want to go to Zurich, good ranking, nice city, good communication. It's just so expensive :C.

I would just like to hear your recommendation for me, as I see you have not mentioned any of the other schools.

[stutters]

I haven't mentioned any of the foreign schools specifically because I made a general statement about foreign schools already.

 

 

 

I'd save abroad for either a short term (semester or less) study session or graduate school. Don't do undergrad abroad unless you're going to the Indian Institute of Technology.

 

I don't understand your rationale about Princeton, though. It sounds like you're specifically going to a computer science program. Urbana is on the top 10 list. Princeton isn't. Why are you depressed about not going to a school that ranks worse for the program you want to go to?

[Keralis]

I haven't mentioned any of the foreign schools specifically because I made a general statement about foreign schools already.

 

 

 

I'd save abroad for either a short term (semester or less) study session or graduate school. Don't do undergrad abroad unless you're going to the Indian Institute of Technology.

 

I don't understand your rationale about Princeton, though. It sounds like you're specifically going to a computer science program. Urbana is on the top 10 list. Princeton isn't. Why are you depressed about not going to a school that ranks worse for the program you want to go to?

I don't know. It's just the thought that I turned down such a good chance for something :/. Strange, I know, but when was the last time you heard someone "oh yeah I got accepted into one of the best overall colleges in the nation and turned it down"

It's like some sort of voodoo magic holding me back XD

I know Urbana is better, but something about Princeton just... sounds better?

I'm a weird person.

[stutters]

Save this conversation. Come back to it in six years. Laugh.

[Keralis]

Save this conversation. Come back to it in six years. Laugh.

Is that supposed to mean that I should be fine either way XD

This whole thing seems like a total first world problem to me, although I know it's an important decision. To be honest, my gut is telling me to go to Princeton because it really is just well known as an elite school, which may just be trivial :/. Although, I do live very close to Princeton currently and it is cheaper. Then again, Urbana is a better school. And Rutgers is free... And I can speak fluent french... And I really love Zurich... And I would love spending time with my dad...

ARGHH I'M GOING CRAZY! Can't make up my mind! D:

[stutters]

Most people who go to college graduate with an insane debt. Some people can't afford to go at all. No matter what you decide, be thankful that you any options, let alone these options.

[Keralis]

Most people who go to college graduate with an insane debt. Some people can't afford to go at all. No matter what you decide, be thankful that you any options, let alone these options.

 

[samurai nightling]

The only 2 cents I can really add to this convo is that I went to a commuter school close to home, lived at home with my parents for the whole 4 years, and I regret it now. I graduated back in 2008, but if I could do it all over again, I would go away, live in dorms/apartment through college and at least get the experience of being on my own while at school. It was nice saving that money on rent and stuff, but I feel like I missed out on a lot of college life kinda stuff. College isn't ALL about the studying and school.

[Keralis]

 

Most people who go to college graduate with an insane debt. Some people can't afford to go at all. No matter what you decide, be thankful that you any options, let alone these options.

Don't get me wrong, I am so grateful that I even got into Princeton, which is why I'm being so stubborn in letting go of it. I never, ever thought I would be able to go to such a prestigious college with my poor english. Like I said this is a total first world problem.

Oh just to add on to that, when I say we have a lot in savings, I mean a lot. Like, over $200k a lot.

I guess you could say that my father's the "1%",but don't start judging me because it takes a lot of money to send 2 kids overseas to America and pay for their tuition.

I understand most people are a lot less fortunate than I am, and I'm truly grateful for all the amazing things I get.

Sorry if I seemed to be ungrateful.

[Keralis]

The only 2 cents I can really add to this convo is that I went to a commuter school close to home, lived at home with my parents for the whole 4 years, and I regret it now. I graduated back in 2008, but if I could do it all over again, I would go away, live in dorms/apartment through college and at least get the experience of being on my own while at school. It was nice saving that money on rent and stuff, but I feel like I missed out on a lot of college life kinda stuff. College isn't ALL about the studying and school.

If you think about it, I mainly live alone. While my house is technically under my 22 year old brothers name, he's never home as he is pursuing a graduate degree in college. So of I go to Princeton, live would be pretty much the same.

I also don't like living alone, I'm a relatively sociable person and I like to talk a lot, which is why some of you guys get annoyed on the server when I type so much lol

[Barashin]

Congrats man. Princeton is a great choice. If you're thinking about Computer Science, here's a tip I wish I had gotten before I started college and all. Patent Law is super hot right now if you're at all considering ever pursuing law (even though the rest of the legal profession is languishing). Computer Science and EE will open up a lot of opportunities if you decide to go that route. The tricky bit about pursuing both law school and a technical / science background as an undergrad is maintaining your GPA, so keep a balanced courseload.

 

Anyway, just food for thought!

[stutters]

First, I didn't think you seemed ungrateful, just reminding you to keep things in perspective. I know you said first world problems, but that kind of adds insult to injury. Some people live in a "first world" and would kill for these kinds of problems. For example, the kids of Harper High School featured on "This American Life." If you have some time to spare, I'd really recommend listening to it. It's powerful stuff. (Links to part one and part two).

 

 

The only 2 cents I can really add to this convo is that I went to a commuter school close to home, lived at home with my parents for the whole 4 years, and I regret it now. I graduated back in 2008, but if I could do it all over again, I would go away, live in dorms/apartment through college and at least get the experience of being on my own while at school. It was nice saving that money on rent and stuff, but I feel like I missed out on a lot of college life kinda stuff. College isn't ALL about the studying and school.

If you think about it, I mainly live alone. While my house is technically under my 22 year old brothers name, he's never home as he is pursuing a graduate degree in college. So of I go to Princeton, live would be pretty much the same.
I also don't like living alone, I'm a relatively sociable person and I like to talk a lot, which is why some of you guys get annoyed on the server when I type so much lol

 

samurai also brought up a great point. It's not the idea of "living alone," but the idea of being a "commuter student" that doesn't live in the dorms. You'll make life long friends in the two years you spend living in dorms. Living on campus means you eat together, sleep together, work out together, study together and have fun together. No matter where you go, I'd strongly suggest living on campus for at least one year -- especially if you're saving $200k by not going somewhere else.

[NOFX]

The life of a software developer is soul sucking. I have a CS degree and have been doing it for 9 years. AMA

[Keralis]

Thanks a lot for all the input everyone. However, I still feel that going to Princeton is my best solution. I already have a developed community with some of the students there as I take college level courses at the university right now (one of the main reasons I went to Princeton is because I got a recommendation letter from a Princeton professor). I just feel that Princeton is (and will be) a very enjoyable experience for myself. And although money is not a very large issue right now, it will be if my father loses his job, considering my brother is taking a 20k a year tuition right now perusing graduate along with my own tuition, 30k at UIUC seems a bit too much. My decision is not yet final and I'm still reluctant to choose, but Princeton ATM seems the best right now.