UT Austin vs CMU vs Rice vs UCLA (Career not quite decided)

[billybobjoe65]

Hello, I am a current high school senior somewhat confused right now, considering I have <7 days to finalize my college decisions. As of now, I have been accepted to CMU Computer Science (~65K), UT Austin Computer Science Honors (the Turing Scholars program, ~25K), Rice University (~60K), and UCLA for Computational Biology (~60K).

I've been undecided about computer science vs medicine for quite a while now, and since you can major in whatever you want for medical school, I decided to just apply mostly for computer science. Since high school, I've been mostly interested in math, and that's also where my interest in CS and programming comes from. With that said, I still enjoy the sciences as well, and I don't see the academics portion of applying to and succeeding in medical school to be an issue. I know it'll take a lot of work, but I think I can do it if I enjoy it.

I just wanted some advice on what to keep in mind. I know a lot of people seem to say something along the lines of "do not go into medicine if you can see yourself doing something else." I feel like I could go into CS, enjoy the work, graduate in 4 years, and start at something like ~100K base, ~150K total compensation in California. A lot of people throw numbers like ~200-250K for the higher end compensation for senior engineers at large companies. If these numbers sound too high or naive, I'm probably wrong but the way. I feel like I'd be having a pretty good time in my 20s and 30s, but I've heard that software developers pretty much top out after their mid 30s in terms of career progression and salary, and also the whole Silicon Valley tech market might also shift and get screwed. Sometime I feel like I'd want to directly help people with my work instead of ending up working on some meaningless code for a large company. I feel like medicine might be a way to use science to actually make an impact on people's lives. For reference, I am mostly leaning towards UT or CMU right now. I think I could get similar opportunities at UT as UCLA, but at a much cheaper cost. Also, I think if I do end up doing CS, UT would be a lot better than Rice, and I could still get by as a premed there, perhaps with a little more effort to get research opportunities, talk to professors, etc. I feel like UT would offer me the chance to see which of the two paths I'd like better at a very good price. On the other hand, I might be kicking myself a little if I chose UT and decided to do CS, knowing I could have gone to CMU.

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[Leviosa_sid]

I'm on the same boat of deciding between colleges. But you seem like a smart person seeing how you got into Rice and CMU. First, are you getting any type of scholarships that can help you pay for your education? Living in Texas, Rice has always been rated as one of the best and prestigious universities that gives a stellar education. I suggest you stick with CMU/UT Austin because you're leaning towards that and CMU is a great uni that can make you stand out as a medical applicant. While, UT Austin has a bigger class size thus a lot more competition (which I think you can handle). And medical schools do tend to look at big names so keep that in mind. I don't want to make a decision for you but in the end of the day if you don't decide to purse med school going to CMU is great. But if you still decide to go to med school any school listed above is a great choice because they're well known. Hope that helped!

 

[efle]

@Lucca get up in this

 

[Lucca]

I have lots of friends in Turing at UT and all I have to say is that Turing students do very well for themselves. It's a top 10 CS program and the Turing program is made up of the best of the best. That being said, hard to get a bigger name in CS than CMU. If you are thinking computer science, I agree that the decision should be between CMU and UT. Visit both schools and see which program you like the best. I personally dont think turning down Turing is a wise choice when it means paying 40k more at CMU, but maybe you hate Austin and everyone here and love everything about CMU. Personally, I think you will be very well positioned for a career in tech coming out of CS at either school just from what I've seen from my Turing friends and heard about CMU but you should talk with people in Turing and at the program at CMU if you are really interested.

If you are thinking pre-med, coming out of undergrad with less debt is great and UT honors is a really nurturing community where a lot of resources will be basically given to you on a silver platter to succeed as a premed. Turing is more CS specific but you will still be in close contact with the people in Dean's / HSS / PS and in that way sort of indirectly benefit. There is also the possibility of adding a second major in the sciences and transferring into one of those program's for the direct benefits.

 

[efle]

coming out of undergrad with more debt is great

uh...

 

[Lucca]

uh...

Lmao fixed. Was typing fast on the way to class. I'll also add that the opportunity to apply as a Texas resident if you are not one already (but can become one once you move here) is in itself valuable for med school.