Does School Prestige Matter for Pursuing Software Engineering?

Photo by Parker Gibbons on Unsplash

So, you decided to pursue higher education in the United States 🎓? You’re likely considering several things like location and cost. Although, what about prestige? It’s often a good idea to attend a highly-ranked university to study computer science (CS), if you’re accepted. You’ll expand your network and friendships through peers, professors and other faculty. There’s also possibilities of robust study abroad programs, unique coursework, generous scholarships, abundant research oppurtunities and more.

Although, there’s many reasons why going to a highly-ranked CS school isn’t everything. In fact, your habits 📚 in school will largely determine your success! Before we discuss this, let’s consider a few things.

1. Landing interviews is easier than you expect 💤

You probably want to join a highly-ranked university, to get a slice 🔪 of those sweet job prospects 🍰. Top CS schools usually host bigger and more companies (hiring for software engineering (SWE) positions) in their career fairs. For example, UC Berkey’s 2022 STEM career fair has employers like Oracle, Intel, WhatNot, Visa and Duolingo. Other universities, sometimes have big tech companies like Google, Amazon, Apple, Meta or tech unicorns like Stripe and Instacart.