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I would imagine any major public research university having the same ...
You can take a look at Cornell. The grade criteria is not as struct as MIT/Caltech but the CS program is considered one of the best in the US.
I second that, although I am a Cornell grad so I am biased :) Cornell also accepts a huge amount of transfers. It's somewhere around 20-30% when I was there. But be aware of the stats on sites like US News. The engineering school is much more competitive to get in.
When I was at Cornell they had the Computer Science cross listed between Arts and Sciences and Engineering so you can get the degree in either school. I was doing Math as my primary major so I was in the Arts and Sciences school but I picked up the Minor/Concentration in CS through the Arts and Sciences school.
What state are you in? Most states have at least one good public university, and these are generally fairly easy to get into and fairly cheap (if you're from in-state). If there's not a good one in your state, try one in a nearby state. It'll be more expensive and harder to get into, but still generally cheaper/easier than a private school. I can personally recommend UNC-Chapel Hill (nice campus, small town, good mix…
I'm in California, so Berkeley is an obvious option.
(EECS senior)
Try Brigham Young University, in Provo, Utah. They've got a competitive (if not top-tier) CS program, fantastic library, beautiful campus, and tuition is 20% of what you'd pay at other private schools. Warning: not a party school
My uncle has been a software manager/VP in Boston and Utah, and he said he prefers BYU grads to MIT grads because they have a strong enough theoretical background and much better practical skills. Starts out in Java but also lots of C++ programming courses.
It's not a party school, but great if you love sports, outdoors, mountain biking, hiking, camping, and skiing, it's hard to beat. If you really need to party, Salt Lake and the UofU are an hour north.
You can take a look at Cornell. The grade criteria is not as struct as MIT/Caltech but the CS program is considered one of the best in the US.
I second that, although I am a Cornell grad so I am biased :) Cornell also accepts a huge amount of transfers. It's somewhere around 20-30% when I was there. But be aware of the stats on sites like US News. The engineering school is much more competitive to get in.
If you're slacking off on homework working through SICP, you're probably top-tier worthy. People who go after their interests are by definition more interesting.
Don't weigh yourself on the standard metric because you're not standard. And don't let that hinder the selling of yourself in your applications. I would much rather hire a person who has started a startup before than one from a corporate environment, and I think this principal holds true for colleges as well - they would much rather accept someone who does what they're interested in and pursues things beyond the norm.
College is the first great opportunity for young people to learn how to sell. Think of yourself as a package - what differentiates you and makes you special? Then, arrange your application that way. It's foolish to put your SAT scores and grades up front as your flagship 'feature' that differentiates you from others, even if you've aced them. Take some time arranging your application centered around your strengths and things that you're proud of, and make them want to have you, or regret it every night for rejecting you.
Again, go after those top-tier schools - being rejected is not as bad as regretting not applying to them.
I'd say any university in the UC system is an excellent bet, as is University of Washington, U Michigan, UMN Twin Cities, etc. You'd get an excellent CS/EE education any one of those places.
Option #1) Go to a junior college, do your best and transfer to a real school. (EDIT: In Cali, your grades will count as full "university" grades, so a 3.5 GPA will be taken as a true 3.5 university GPA when transferring) Option #2) Simply try to get it the best school possible, top tier or not. If you aim low, guess what? You're gonna have low results. There are universities that exist to privide workers for the eco…
That being said, if you can afford a UC and can get in (particularly UC Berkeley) - including through the community college transfer option - you should go for it.
Try Georgia Tech, you might be surprised that it's not terribly hard to get into. warning: not many girls here
I spent a year at MIT and transferred to Georgia Tech and I don't regret it in the least.
http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/grad/eng/c...
i think if you buy the mag, there's rankings for more than 10 schools. And i vaguely remember another ranking for best values in education, places like Rose-Hulman, Cooper-Union,