hiii i'm an incoming freshman @ UT and am looking for castillan roommates :)
i'm not much of a partier but i am rly extroverted, love talking, maybe a girls night in. i love working on new projects and starting new things, going on walks, restaurants, reading, content creation, technology, watching tv shows, ice skating, etc..
(we can afford it, but still financial strain, cost isn't a huge factor, but IS a factor)
i guys!!! I know this is a lot but it wld mean a lot if u all cld help, I've been going back and forth.
I’m trying to decide between two college paths and would genuinely love advice from people in tech, CS, product, recruiting, or anyone who’s been through something similar.
my dream is to get into an APM program at Google or Meta.
Option 1: Attend The University of Texas at Austin in-state and pursue a double major in Informatics (Data Science track) + Mathematics. I’d pair this with a LOT of side projects, internships, hackathons, startups/apps, networking, etc. The upside is that it’s much cheaper, close to home, and would probably give me more time/flexibility to build things outside of class. Prestigious school, but not CS degree. Intenral CS transfer is hard and it might be hard to break in or be taken seriously without CS degree. ($120K)
Option 2: Attend University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign out-of-state for CS + Economics. Obviously the CS major name carries weight and UIUC is prestigious, but it’s significantly more expensive and farther from home. ($280K)
My long-term goal (as of right now) is ideally product management at companies like Google, Microsoft, Meta, etc.
A few questions:
* Does not majoring in CS close doors at top tech companies like FAANG if I still build strong technical/project experience?
* Would you genuinely advise me to go to UIUC despite the ~$160k price difference?
* How realistic is it to break into big tech from Informatics + Math versus a traditional CS degree?
* Is having more time to build projects and network potentially more valuable than the “CS” label itself?
* If you were in my shoes, which path would you choose and why?
Would especially love input from:
* people in FAANG/big tech
* PMs
* recruiters
* students who chose between prestige/major/cost
* people who succeeded without a CS degree
Thanks :)
Hi guys!!! I know this is a lot but it wld mean a lot if u all cld help, I've been going back and forth.
I’m trying to decide between two college paths and would genuinely love advice from people in tech, CS, product, recruiting, or anyone who’s been through something similar.
Option 1: Attend The University of Texas at Austin in-state and pursue a double major in Informatics (Data Science track) + Mathematics. I’d pair this with a LOT of side projects, internships, hackathons, startups/apps, networking, etc. The upside is that it’s much cheaper, close to home, and would probably give me more time/flexibility to build things outside of class. Prestigious school, but not CS degree. Intenral CS transfer is hard and it might be hard to break in or be taken seriously without CS degree. ($120K)
Option 2: Attend University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign out-of-state for CS + Economics. Obviously the CS major name carries weight and UIUC is prestigious, but it’s significantly more expensive and farther from home. ($280K)
My long-term goal (as of right now) is ideally product management at companies like Google, Microsoft, Meta, etc. I’d also be open to SWE, technical PM, AI/ML roles, startups, or honestly anything impactful in tech.
A few questions:
* Does not majoring in CS close doors at top tech companies like FAANG if I still build strong technical/project experience?
* Would you genuinely advise me to go to UIUC despite the ~$160k price difference?
* How realistic is it to break into big tech from Informatics + Math versus a traditional CS degree?
* Is having more time to build projects and network potentially more valuable than the “CS” label itself?
* If you were in my shoes, which path would you choose and why?
Would especially love input from:
* people in FAANG/big tech
* PMs or SWEs
* recruiters
* students who chose between prestige/major/cost
* people who succeeded without a CS degree
Thanks :)
Hi guys!!! I know this is a lot but it wld mean a lot if u all cld help, I've been going back and forth.
I’m trying to decide between two college paths and would genuinely love advice from people in tech, CS, product, recruiting, or anyone who’s been through something similar.
Option 1: Attend The University of Texas at Austin in-state and pursue a double major in Informatics (Data Science track) + Mathematics. I’d pair this with a LOT of side projects, internships, hackathons, startups/apps, networking, etc. The upside is that it’s much cheaper, close to home, and would probably give me more time/flexibility to build things outside of class. Prestigious school, but not CS degree. Intenral CS transfer is hard and it might be hard to break in or be taken seriously without CS degree. ($120K)
Option 2: Attend University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign out-of-state for CS + Economics. Obviously the CS major name carries weight and UIUC is prestigious, but it’s significantly more expensive and farther from home. ($280K)
My long-term goal (as of right now) is ideally product management at companies like Google, Microsoft, Meta, etc. I’d also be open to SWE, technical PM, AI/ML roles, startups, or honestly anything impactful in tech.
A few questions:
* Does not majoring in CS close doors at top tech companies like FAANG if I still build strong technical/project experience?
* Would you genuinely advise me to go to UIUC despite the ~$160k price difference?
* How realistic is it to break into big tech from Informatics + Math versus a traditional CS degree?
* Is having more time to build projects and network potentially more valuable than the “CS” label itself?
* If you were in my shoes, which path would you choose and why?
Would especially love input from:
* people in FAANG/big tech
* PMs or SWEs
* recruiters
* students who chose between prestige/major/cost
* people who succeeded without a CS degree
Thanks :)
Currently I’m deciding between UIUC CS + Econ (out-of-state) and UT Austin Mathematics (applied math) and Informatics/Data Science in-state, and I’m really torn about whether UIUC is worth the extra cost long term. If anyone has experience with these programs, especially how the debt/cost tradeoff compares to the academic and career upside, I’d really appreciate advice on what I should do.
do you guys have any advice or chance me???
i'm also deciding between UIUC CS + X
I've earned 5s on all AP exams, and took around 20 AP-level courses. I have an AI Engineering Internship with my city government, built numerous applications across multiple programming languages; founded a first-of-its-kind tech project in partnership with government, developed applications for community residents; and creating an educational platform that reached thousands of users, created large language models, and partnered with schools and nonprofit organizations. I further adapted this platform for students with special needs. Additionally, I conducted research in AI with a top-tier international conference, contributed to AI initiatives at a leading research institution, and worked on applied AI research at a university lab, where I developed and trained multiple models. This represents only a portion of my overall work.
I don't know what to do I feel so lost I really want UT but I'm worried about major and career :(
hi guys!! i originally applied for CS but got capped and got off the waitlist for Informatics.
I don't know if I should go to UIUC for CS + Econ or go to UT Austin for Informatics and attempt a transfer for CS and MIS?
How is Informatics program and how likely is it to break into big tech? i'm tbh either interested in product management or quant. And how likely to internal transfer into CS or MIS?
I have tons of CS related ECs & DECA Top 20.
Thank you so much!