Colleges in the Pacific Northwest

Darth_fluffy

Over Christmas break I went to Oregon to stay with an old friend of mine. I had a great time and love the area. In another year or so, I'll be moving somewhere to continue my education and I'm thinking about going to Oregon or Washington.

When I graduate next year in May, after three years at my community college, I'll have an A.S in Computer Information Systems, an A.S. in Computer Technology, and an A.S. in Mathematics. I haven't quite figured out what it is that I want to do though. Right now I'm doing a bit of network/database administration (and anything else related to technology) for a small company.

So, if you have any experiences with schools in that area, especially ones with a good Computer Science degree, please tell me about them!

Dyrwen66

I'd suggest the University of Washington in Seattle, since I hear it's probably the best for this area, especially for CS work.

I go to Evergreen State College in Olympia, which isn't really built for advanced CS work, though it's a pretty good college for finding out what you want to do with your degree if you've a lot of internship-independent learning in mind.

That's about all I know in the area though.

panksea06

Dyrwen66 wrote:

I'd suggest the University of Washington in Seattle, since I hear it's probably the best for this area, especially for CS work.

I go to Evergreen State College in Olympia, which isn't really built for advanced CS work, though it's a pretty good college for finding out what you want to do with your degree if you've a lot of internship-independent learning in mind.

That's about all I know in the area though.

I go to UW and would second it. Great thing about UW is that it is big and has at least average if not good departments in most any field, so you have alot of free as to what you want to study here.
Looking online I see we are in the top ten nationally for computer science, so if that is what you are thinking its a good place. Badass CSE building too.
http://www.cs.washington.edu/building/


Western Washington University (WWU) is also a pretty nice school with a very northwest feel if that is what you are in love with. Basically the campus is great and several of the buildings have a beatiful bay view etc etc.

Newton

I went to WWU for my undergrad degree and Washington State University for my graduate. Stay the hell away from WSU, at least as an undergrad. A lot of jokes are made about the people that go there, and after having spent some time at the school, I realize they weren't jokes but real life testimonials.

Western is an awesome school and I loved living in Bellingham. However, UW has much better name recognition, is one of the best schools in the country and will probably be able to offer a better, although likely less personal, program for you. One of the nice things about Western is that as a smaller school, there is a better student to teacher ratio so you will get ot know your professors a lot better than you might at an enormous school like UW. Also living in Bellingham is much different than living in Seattle.

So if you want a big name school and would like to live in a major city, I would suggest UW. If you would like a smaller school and city, then go to WWU. I don't know much about Oregon schools, so I can't help you there.

Rankenphile

Newton wrote:

I went to WWU for my undergrad degree and Washington State University for my graduate. Stay the hell away from WSU, at least as an undergrad. A lot of jokes are made about the people that go there, and after having spent some time at the school, I realize they weren't jokes but real life testimonials.

Western is an awesome school and I loved living in Bellingham. However, UW has much better name recognition, is one of the best schools in the country and will probably be able to offer a better, although likely less personal, program for you. One of the nice things about Western is that as a smaller school, there is a better student to teacher ratio so you will get ot know your professors a lot better than you might at an enormous school like UW. Also living in Bellingham is much different than living in Seattle.

So if you want a big name school and would like to live in a major city, I would suggest UW. If you would like a smaller school and city, then go to WWU. I don't know much about Oregon schools, so I can't help you there.

Bellingham is an awesome town, and loits more mellow than a bigger city. Western is a good school, and although UW will have better name recognition, that is not a reason to dismiss WWU outright. It's worth a look.

Doc

Just a heads-up, UW's CS program is hella hard to get into. Their CE program is a bit easier.

kaliyama

Generally ,if a program is hard to get into, it means it is good and therefore worth your time to go.

Doc

kaliyama wrote:

Generally ,if a program is hard to get into, it means it is good and therefore worth your time to go.

Absolutely. He just didn't say what kind of scores he got at school. At UW, as of a couple of years ago, you couldn't expect to have a chance in the CS program without at least a 3.8.

Hirocon

I got a BS in computer science from UW and I loved the program. Good luck getting in from out of state, though.

Darth_fluffy

I don't know what my GPA is off the top of my head. It was something like 3.8 but then I got a C in my Survey of World Religions class (everyone got a C in that class) and my Trig teacher reported my grade incorrectly.

I'll look into the schools suggested, but right now I'm just researching. This time, I want to be prepared when enrollment starts.

As for my career, I'm still not sure yet if I want to stick with what I'm doing now or try my hand at programming. This semester I have my first programming course so I'll get to see how I like it. That will determine what kind of B.S. degree I will pursue.

Xenocide Geek

Doc wrote:

kaliyama wrote:

Generally ,if a program is hard to get into, it means it is good and therefore worth your time to go.

Absolutely. He just didn't say what kind of scores he got at school. At UW, as of a couple of years ago, you couldn't expect to have a chance in the CS program without at least a 3.8.

Without a 3.8?

That's pretty harsh.

What do you know about transferring to UW and stuff? I'm doing Running Start at BCC right now, but I'm not the worlds best student, and with those numbers you just said, now I'm thinking about becoming one.

wenchkilla

Xenocide Geek wrote:

That's pretty harsh.

What do you know about transferring to UW and stuff? I'm doing Running Start at BCC right now, but I'm not the worlds best student, and with those numbers you just said, now I'm thinking about becoming one.

You will need to spend at least 1 year* at UW before going into your major because pre-reqs are not always accepted from/offered at community colleges. Also, if you are more science minded I would strongly suggest CSE rather than CS.

*You may have less than a year's worth of classes left, but most departments admit once per year, especially in engineering.

Hacksaw

Hirocon wrote:

I got a BS in computer science from UW and I loved the program. Good luck getting in from out of state, though.

Hah. If I were to apply right now to UW as a transfer student (in state), my chances would be less than the OP's, assuming he has an equal or even slightly greater GPA (being as he's an out of state transfer student). Out-of-state students are starting to fare better with regards to admission at UW now because UW has gotten a taste for the sweet, sweet out-of-state tuition rates, and is turning down their minimum number of in-state students in favor of out-of-state-ers.

khain

wenchkilla wrote:

Xenocide Geek wrote:

That's pretty harsh.

What do you know about transferring to UW and stuff? I'm doing Running Start at BCC right now, but I'm not the worlds best student, and with those numbers you just said, now I'm thinking about becoming one.

You will need to spend at least 1 year* at UW before going into your major because pre-reqs are not always accepted from/offered at community colleges. Also, if you are more science minded I would strongly suggest CSE rather than CS.

*You may have less than a year's worth of classes left, but most departments admit once per year, especially in engineering.

This isn't true. CS and CE, there actualyl pretty much the same department, have early admission programs where you can get in to teh major as a freshman. Also I'm not 100% sure but I believe they admit twice per year.


I'd say Doc is being a little harsh, but not by much. 3.5 is pretty much minimum unless you happen to be a women and then you can get in with a 2.5.

site: http://www.cs.washington.edu/

Hirocon

Hacksaw wrote:

Hirocon wrote:

I got a BS in computer science from UW and I loved the program. Good luck getting in from out of state, though.

Hah. If I were to apply right now to UW as a transfer student (in state), my chances would be less than the OP's, assuming he has an equal or even slightly greater GPA (being as he's an out of state transfer student). Out-of-state students are starting to fare better with regards to admission at UW now because UW has gotten a taste for the sweet, sweet out-of-state tuition rates, and is turning down their minimum number of in-state students in favor of out-of-state-ers.

This is news to me, but I guess it makes sense. I guess I should have said

Hirocon wrote:

I got a BS in computer science from UW and I loved the program. Good luck getting in, though.

Happy?