4 answers
Brandon
Student
Miami Gardens, Florida
9
Questions
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Would it be better for me to attend a local college or a University while studying the IT field?
I'm a high school senior trying to decide whether i should do local or out of town college.
#college #university
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4 answers
Libin Louis
Solution Consultant
2
Answers
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Updated
Libin’s Answer
I would definitely recommend University as well due to the visibility that the student can get owing to various streams he can get exposed to. @brandon, if you wanna explore choose a University.
Thank you for your answer. I appreciate the help
Brandon
Phil Nguyen
Senior Software Engineer
12
Answers
Portland, Oregon
Updated
Phil’s Answer
This is a great question and I can speak to this since I went from a community college (De Anza in California) and transferred to a University (University of California San Diego) for a Computer Science degree. Granted that this is all within the same state and I know the question is centered around local or out of state, I think the principles are the same.
By going to a community college first (in your case, probably something local), I saved a lot of money down the road since a CC is much cheaper than a traditional 4-year. I got my associates from the CC and transferred them to a 4-year university.
The CC enabled me to finish more of the general classes (writing, basic math, basic physics, etc) so I spent my time focusing on more of the core stuff at the university. Many of my friends have done this very thing and are at Google, Facebook, etc.
I will say though that the university should be competitive in the IT industry - luckily for me, UCSD was. A part of me wishes that I had more years at UCSD since I missed out on the living on campus experience but older me (now) is very thankful that I don't have crippling student loan debt like some of my other peers who went straight into a 4 year.
The BIGGEST thing I did see that helped my peers land careers at FAANG (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Google) was being a computer science tutor during the years they spent at the 4-year university. This is applicable whether you transferred or you started at the 4-year. Putting that on your resume as a student sets you apart from the rest of the applicants. If you take anything away from this post - become a tutor.
Hope this helps!
By going to a community college first (in your case, probably something local), I saved a lot of money down the road since a CC is much cheaper than a traditional 4-year. I got my associates from the CC and transferred them to a 4-year university.
The CC enabled me to finish more of the general classes (writing, basic math, basic physics, etc) so I spent my time focusing on more of the core stuff at the university. Many of my friends have done this very thing and are at Google, Facebook, etc.
I will say though that the university should be competitive in the IT industry - luckily for me, UCSD was. A part of me wishes that I had more years at UCSD since I missed out on the living on campus experience but older me (now) is very thankful that I don't have crippling student loan debt like some of my other peers who went straight into a 4 year.
The BIGGEST thing I did see that helped my peers land careers at FAANG (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Google) was being a computer science tutor during the years they spent at the 4-year university. This is applicable whether you transferred or you started at the 4-year. Putting that on your resume as a student sets you apart from the rest of the applicants. If you take anything away from this post - become a tutor.
Hope this helps!
Thank you so much!! I really appreciate the helpful information.
Brandon
Aaron Miller
Software Engineer
1
Answer
Burlington, Vermont
Updated
Aaron’s Answer
Good question! I attended a small liberal arts college and majored in Computer Science. While a small school didn't offer the same breadth or name recognition of a university program, it did allow me to take the complete CS curriculum and explore other subjects that interest me. Having a small program enabled me to build strong relationships with peers and professors that made my college experience more valuable than a degree.
I think there's great value in attending college outside your local community regardless of school size to be exposed to something less familiar, but there are other ways to accomplish that through study abroad, internships, etc.
Good luck!
I think there's great value in attending college outside your local community regardless of school size to be exposed to something less familiar, but there are other ways to accomplish that through study abroad, internships, etc.
Good luck!
Samar Choudhary
software architect
13
Answers
Raleigh, North Carolina
Updated
Samar’s Answer
Great question ! Opportunities in computer science can be found everywhere.
Here are a few important considerations:
1. What types of courses are offered at each school? For example, some schools may have a better selection for more applicable courses like Machine Learning.
2. What faculty members teach at either place?
3. Who are the recruiters who come to campus?
4. Are you getting value for the money?
5. Does the school have a list of students who go to the types of companies you are interested in?
6. If you have any particular area of computer science, then make sure they have a good program.
Good Luck !
Samar
Here are a few important considerations:
1. What types of courses are offered at each school? For example, some schools may have a better selection for more applicable courses like Machine Learning.
2. What faculty members teach at either place?
3. Who are the recruiters who come to campus?
4. Are you getting value for the money?
5. Does the school have a list of students who go to the types of companies you are interested in?
6. If you have any particular area of computer science, then make sure they have a good program.
Good Luck !
Samar