This book is for informational purposes only. Except when an external source is cited, everything in the book is the author’s opinion. The author makes no guarantee about the correctness or accuracy of any content in this book. Furthermore, you may disagree with and/or find certain content offensive.
Read at your own risk. Do not continue reading if you do not accept full responsibility for all actions you take as a result of reading this book. The author is not liable for any damages including, but not limited to, academic failures, career path mistakes, financial loss, feeling upset, and physical/mental injury.
By the time you get to your high school years, college will be looming on the horizon. Getting into a better college leads to a better learning experience, stronger peers for your network, and more career opportunities. I won’t cover how to construct a successful college application because there are entire books dedicated to that topic; however, I’ll discuss the importance of applying to the right colleges.
In your final year of high school, one of the first things you’ll do is create a list of colleges you’ll apply to. When constructing your list of colleges, there are three important factors to consider: academics, school culture, and finances. No institution will be perfect in every dimension, but you’ll want to apply to the ones that are the closest match.
Academics is the most important dimension: you’re going to college to learn so that you can get an excellent software job after graduating. In terms of academics, the best institutions for computer science tend to fall into three categories: Science-Technology-Engineering-Math (STEM) schools, elite liberal arts schools, and state schools.
Top STEM schools have the best computer science programs. If you want the best computer science experience, go to a school where computer science is one of their specialties. At a top STEM school, the rigorous coursework reaches greater depths than other institutions. You’ll also be surrounded by the brightest students and professors in the world. It is the perfect environment to inspire you to learn, collaborate, and innovate. Top STEM schools have immense resources and personnel to help you pursue almost anything computer-science-related within reason.
If you are looking for the ultimate academic challenge, then consider top STEM schools. The competition to get into top STEM schools is fierce, but the experience of being surrounded by brilliant minds for four years is completely worth it. Examples of top STEM schools include Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Computer Science, and California Institute of Technology.
If you’re looking for a well-rounded education, consider elite liberal art schools. Elite liberal arts schools are a close-second to STEM schools in terms of computer science academics. Top liberal arts schools have great computer science programs, but they aren’t as concentrated on computer science as STEM schools. On the plus side, you’ll explore and meet many people outside traditional STEM fields. Your network will expand into other influential disciplines: politics, law, finance, journalism, history, and more. You’ll gain an appreciation for things outside technology and grow your horizons more than you would at a STEM school.
If you’re looking for a well-rounded academic experience with excellent exposure to both computer science and subjects outside of STEM, then an elite liberal arts school is a great choice. Although computer science is not the primary focus, elite liberal arts schools also attract a lot of STEM talent and so the competition to get in is fierce. The networks you build, and breadth of academic exposure you get at an elite liberal arts school is definitely worth the effort. Examples of top liberal arts schools with a strong computer science presence include the Ivy League schools and Stanford.
Finally, state schools are a third type of catch-all institution to consider. State schools are large public universities with a lot of government funding for all areas of study. They offer excellent programs in everything: STEM, liberal arts, music, athletics — you name it. State schools aren’t the absolute best in academics though because they are required to admit weaker applicants who reside in the state, and weaker students drag down the academic rigor. That said, if you put in extra effort to search for other top students and seek out advanced academic opportunities with professors, you’ll enhance your experience.
If you’re simply looking to get a computer science degree and a well-paying job, your flagship state school is the perfect place to gain all the knowledge and experience you need. The competition to get in won’t be as fierce compared to a top STEM or liberal arts school. All major tech companies also recruit at top state universities, so you won’t be missing out on too many career opportunities. Examples of top state schools include University of California — Berkeley, University of Illinois — Urbana-Champaign, and University of Washington.
A school’s culture affects your mental and physical health, so remember to consider culture. At a high level, culture is defined by the core behaviors of the people around you. The people around you include students, faculty, staff, and even the community outside the school. I can’t enumerate every aspect of culture, but here are some examples:
It’s important to understand your culture preferences and find an institution that matches you well.
Always visit a college and interact with current students to gauge the college culture. You could join a student-led tour, attend student Q&A sessions, or talk to random students you meet. Ask questions to current students and probe for the culture.
For example, by asking “Do you live in a dorm? And is that by choice?” you can probe the connectedness of the institution. If everyone lives in dorms, then that suggests the university builds the communities and has a large impact on it. On the other hand, if a university can’t fit all its students into dorms, then people are more likely to go their separate ways, and create their own unique sub-communities.
Or, you could ask current students “why did you choose to attend this institution?” to sample what people’s values are. If you get a lot of responses along the lines of “I’m just here for the good academics and to get a degree,” then they probably aren’t very involved in the community. On the other hand, if you get a lot of responses such as “I want to learn useful skills that can help revolutionize the world”, then you know the students want to bring positive change to society.
In both examples, there’s nothing wrong with either response. Some people want the university to play a larger role in their student life, while others are fine on their own and don’t want to be forced to participate in activities. Some people just want to get a job and earn money, while others want to stretch their ambition. Understand what themes you want in your day-to-day life and ask the right questions to probe how well each college you’re considering matches your preferences.
Finances will impact your choice of college. Most colleges charge around $60,000 a year in tuition, which means you’ll have to cough up $240,000 plus housing, meals, textbooks, and school supplies. If you aren’t able to afford the full cost, fill out the FAFSA form to be considered for financial aid.
If you need financial aid, make sure you apply to in-state universities. Always apply to your flagship state university; in-state universities typically give state residents enough financial aid to make attendance affordable. If you aren’t confident you’ll be admitted to the flagship university, apply to other less-prestigious state universities. In-state universities are around 80% cheaper than private or out-of-state institutions, and you may also qualify for special grants or scholarships reserved for in-state students.
Accept all grants and scholarships, but crunch the numbers for work-study. Take a look at potential work-study jobs and how much they pay. There’s no point in earning $11/hour when you could be studying to boost your academics, sleeping to boost your physical health, or having fun to boost your mental health. If you earn a six-figure salary after graduating, you’ll make back the entirety of your work-study money within a few months.
If you get to choose your work-study job, then aim for a sedentary job where you can do your homework at the same time. Always do the bare minimum and never take your work-study job seriously – you are only doing it to finance your college.
If your financial aid grant is not enough, then ask for more and leverage better aid packages or lower tuition costs at other universities. Don’t be afraid to negotiate. The representative you speak with from the university won’t take it personally — it’s not their money anyways. For the university, your entire four-year tuition is a drop in the bucket.
Finally, take some AP courses during high school or community college courses the summer after you graduate high school. You can save almost a year of tuition if you transfer useless required courses, such as Calculus, Physics, Chemistry, and humanities.
When you build your college list, keep in mind the academics, culture, and financial costs for each institution. The one college everyone should have on their college application list is their flagship state school. As discussed earlier, flagship state schools all have strong computer science programs, are highly affordable, and favor in-state students in the application process. Although state schools may not have the perfect culture for you, they have a lot of students and you’ll find a sub-community that resonates with you. Your flagship state school is an excellent starting point in terms of academics, culture, and cost. Most people then tend to fall into two categories: either you’re confident you’ll get into your flagship state school, or you aren’t.
If you are not confident you’ll get into your flagship state school, then focus on finding the most academically-challenging institution that will admit you. If your flagship state school ends up admitting you, then that’s probably the perfect college for you. If you aren’t able to get into your flagship state school, then most of the time, there are many other in-state students stronger than you in academics. Your focus should then be catching up on academics.
Start at a lower-tier state school because it will be like the flagship state school, but less academically-rigorous. It’s okay to end up at a lower-tier state school — you can still do well and have a good shot at a well-paying job with a six-figure salary at a middle-of-the-road, local company after graduating. You just lose some of the upside: prestigious software firms paying top-of-band for fresh college graduates recruit primarily from the flagship state school and less from the lower-tier ones. At lower-tier state schools, the academic caliber may not be competitive with the flagship state school and you lose opportunities.
To regain those career opportunities, focus on getting high grades and trying to transfer to your flagship state school for your sophomore or junior year. Once you get into the flagship state school, you open up a lot more career opportunities. It’s worth the extra effort because the difference in pay at say, Facebook, versus a middle-of-the-road company, will be millions of dollars over your lifetime — definitely worth working towards! You’re much more likely to land a job at Facebook if you graduate from your flagship state university than if you graduate from a lower-tier state school.
If you’re confident you’ll get into your flagship state school, then you expect to be a top student at your flagship state school and you have more options. A top student at a flagship state school is at least as strong as an average student in a top STEM or liberal arts school. The career outcomes between the two are pretty similar, so you should only consider a top STEM or liberal arts school if there’s something you can’t get from your flagship state school.
If you don’t find your state school academically-challenging enough, consider applying to top STEM schools. If you want to apply your software skills to a non-STEM field like public policy, or if humanities are your true passion and you want to pursue them in conjunction with your computer science major, then consider applying to top liberal arts schools. If you’re solely going to college to get a well-paying job and academics are your means to an end, then stick to your flagship state school.
Top STEM schools and liberal arts schools also improve over state schools in terms of culture. State schools are enormous and an incoming freshman class could be larger than the entire student body at a private institution. The scale makes it impossible to cater to specific culture preferences. Smaller private institutions have more resources to create the culture they want. For example, you might connect with the general grit and motivation of students at one institution, or you might admire the entrepreneurial spirit of students at another institution. Ultimately, each individual has their unique feelings about a particular institution, and if a particular college resonates with you more than your flagship university, then it’s totally reasonable to apply to it.
Finally, it’s important to note that college prestige alone does not give any boost to your computer science career. Whether or not you get a software job depends on whether or not you pass the technical questions, and the technical questions don’t change based on what college you attend. In fact, many flagship state schools have stronger computer science programs than top liberal arts schools. Never attend a college solely because it is more prestigious than your flagship state school.
By the end of your senior year of high school, you’ll know what colleges have admitted you and you’ll have to choose which one to attend. Most people have already ranked their choices based on academics and culture; your final decision usually rests on how much college costs. If you can afford to attend a top-choice private institution, then go for it! If you don’t get enough aid and the university won’t budge when you negotiate and ask for more financial aid, then don’t break your wallet and stick with a state school. Your state school will equip you with all the knowledge you need for a software job and you’ll end up just fine… maybe even better!