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[Bauglir]

Anybody have good suggestions for a university to attend for a Comp Sci degree? I've got two local ones, plus MIT as a "Ha ha, yeah, no, I can't afford that" option, but I'm looking for 2 more to add to the list of places to apply to. I don't really want any more than that, because figuring out what credits from my biology degree actually transfer is nasty business. Very likely I'll wind up going back to the one I got that degree at, just because I'll be able to breeze through faster on account of already having all the Gen Ed stuff done, but options are good to have. My second local option looks like I'd be able to knock out even a combined BS/MS within 3 to 3.5 years through the weight of transfer credit, but I expect the conversion rate to be worse out-of-state, not to mention the higher cost. Even so, I'd like to give it a look.

Consumer applications or security are things I'm interested in, as far as goals go. If a Comp Sci degree isn't even the right choice for either of those, that would also be good to know. Or I need to be more specific than either of those for good suggestions.

Thanks!

[Vector]

Berkeley

[freeformschooler]

http://www.bju.edu/academics/majors/computer-science/

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

JUST KIDDING

[Lectorog]

KU provides pretty good education and community. Out of state tuition can get relatively crazy though, especially if you don't qualify for any scholarships.
This thing tells you pretty easily which credits will transfer from every school.

[Tellemurius]

MIT, CIT, School of Mines, Michigan, Berkeley all have the greatest CS programs i know of.

[Twiggie]

I hear Edinburgh is good

[Bauglir]

Hm. Well, it's looking like Berkeley and MIT are out, so far, on grounds of not offering second Bachelor's degrees, and me not qualifying for their grad programs on account of not having anything resembling an impressive resume, since that's exactly what I'm trying to get. I sympathize with Yossarian right now. Just so much.

[Tellemurius]

Wait you want to get a second degree?

[Bauglir]

Yes. I want to get some education in programming, but doing it alongside a full-time job is too slow, and I can't seem to pursue an advanced degree with the degree I already have and letters of recommendation from nobody relevant. The only option seems to try my hand at accelerating a second bachelor's degree, but it seems that the default assumption is that if you're doing that, you're a fuckup not worth catering to. Or something. I mean, I realize that the only reason I'm in this situation is because I flubbed the degree I was expected to get, but it seems bizarre that I should now be worse off than a fresh high school graduate.

[Tellemurius]

Yes. I want to get some education in programming, but doing it alongside a full-time job is too slow, and I can't seem to pursue an advanced degree with the degree I already have and letters of recommendation from nobody relevant. The only option seems to try my hand at accelerating a second bachelor's degree, but it seems that the default assumption is that if you're doing that, you're a fuckup not worth catering to. Or something. I mean, I realize that the only reason I'm in this situation is because I flubbed the degree I was expected to get, but it seems bizarre that I should now be worse off than a fresh high school graduate.

Hmm, they should provide minors that you can take, even my cheap university don't do dual degrees, they were looking at me like i was crazy or some shit.

[Bauglir]

I think I may have explained things poorly. I've already earned a degree and graduated, but looking back on the degree I chose and how I handled it, there's only one thing I can say about it. So I'm trying to earn a degree that will be useful*, and to exert the effort to do it properly, since I just sort of coasted through my first degree, being delusional enough to think that greatness was inevitable.

*If you take Biology and then study basically nothing but anatomy, it's useful only for research or something medical, neither of which are things I turn out to want to do.

[Tellemurius]

oh i see what you mean, at most places its good enough that you dont have to take general ed, math will always be required to retake, most schools will not take them after 2 years from your last class.

[nenjin]

Maybe I'm missing the point here, but instead of trying to re-enroll at a major university, might you shoot for something lower? Get the actual starting skills at a community college. I mean, do you want to go for certification after your BS in Computer Science? Get noticed by big-time employers after as a programmer? If you do just truly want to start learning programming and CS in general, there's places you can get a start on your education without the insanity and cost of a major university. You seemed very focused on the degree, which, after your last one I'd think wouldn't carry as much weight.

FWIW, my brother is a Chem E Major, and about 6 months ago he got highly motivated to try to get a degree in Marine Biology. Checked out grad programs, started taking classes, talked to professors....and he too noticed distinct pushback from the people he was talking to. As though once you're 34 and graduated, people look at you screwy when you say you want to embark on a different career path, starting with a degree. He had a hard time finding a professor who would accept him into their program, and eventually gave up. He got the impression they were really only interested in 18 to 24 year olds, and the prospect of a mid 30s grad student just starting out was weird to them.

[Bauglir]

That's probably true, that a community college may work better. I should look into that. I'll admit that I'm also kind of giving into wanderlust here, because I'd like to go somewhere that isn't the Midwest, but realistically that's probably an independent decision, in that I could probably manage some sort of community college thing wherever, but if I do go elsewhere, there's a lot of risk involved no matter why I do it. Giving up a secure place to live is a thing.

Just out of curiosity, though, how do community colleges interact with scholarships or other non-loan sources of financial aid? If I need to keep working, it's not going to be a significant improvement on my current situation. Full-time student is the goal here.

[nenjin]

I've no doubt there's student aid available. Qualifying for it is the hard part. Scholarships at community colleges are going to be smaller and the competition for them arguably more fierce, since those things come from endowments and donors and such, which Universities have much more of than your average community college. It's really going to come down to picking the best and most successful CC in your area. Chances are the best-funded or most successful one is also going to have the strongest CS course.