Hey guys, I've used this forum before and remember you guys being helpful. Right now I'm looking for a decent Computer Science school to transfer to. I have about a 3.1 GPA average which means I'm not gonna be looking at some top 10 or probably even top 50 university, but I'm looking for one with a good BS in CS program that I can safely get into. I live in the northwest US, and I'd prefer to go somewhere somewhat close but I'm looking everywhere. I was wondering if any of you have any school advice, thanks.

I was in a very similar boat as you my friend, even on the GPA, and am currently studying Computer Science at Iowa State University. Here's my little opinion on how I went about it, bit long so I apologize for that.

I think picking your college/university based solely on the CS program isn't the best idea. I knew a lot of guys who simply wanted the best college for their "amazing" program, and after a single semester have changed colleges (not CS majors).

When I was looking, I originally based my results off a top 50 list of schools thinking "Oh hey, this guy thinks its the best so that must be the place to go". The issue is that you straight up might not like the location/people/style AT ALL. I was guided towards another college choosing method which involved deciding on size, location, maximum price willing to pay, and as the very last item, the quality of the program.

Iowa State wasn't the top of my list, University of Washington Seattle was where I dreamed of going, a friend of mine with the same college in mind for Meteorology. According to the list I started with originally, it was the 9th best for Computer Science. What threw it out was unfortunately my high school failing to send my transcript (long story short, we were required to mail through my school) and never even being looked at for acceptance, but Iowa State accepted me and even being very far down the list of "best" (76 actually), I've found it a great choice for me because of the people and diversity in courses (Easily fitting in a Meteorology minor, a friend of mine in CS is doing a minor in Micro Econ).

Honestly, look at college/universities you are interested in going to regardless of the program, and once you have a list, check out each program and weigh them against each other. I'm putting my vote out for Iowa State because of its great price for out of state (me) students, the excellent program, and the versatility the university provides.

JDDeal