TESU vs CMU vs FHSU for Computer Science ?

[nyvrem]

yeahhh, im caught in a fix.

my employer told me i was approved for a company upgrading scheme. 

the HR told me it was 8k for a years worth of tuition reimbursement for a bachelor's or masters program (or both!).

she forgot to mention, it was up to 3 years (just found out like 10mins ago). that means i could potentially claim up to 24k

i initially thought, just finish up at TESU or CMU and be done with.

Now i'm thinking... can i maximise the full 24k and go for a better CS program

[Merlin]

yeahhh, im caught in a fix.

my employer told me i was approved for a company upgrading scheme. 

the HR told me it was 8k for a years worth of tuition reimbursement for a bachelor's or masters program (or both!).

she forgot to mention, it was up to 3 years (just found out like 10mins ago). that means i could potentially claim up to 24k

i initially thought, just finish up at TESU or CMU and be done with.

Now i'm thinking... can i maximise the full 24k and go for a better CS program

If your company is willing to put $24K down to help you get a degree (or a better degree) then I'd raise your sights for sure. You may not be able to use older credits (or not as many) and probably won't be able to use alt. education means (ACE, CLEP, DSST) or maybe just a few CLEP courses, but if you have the time and they are paying for it, you might as well take advantage of it and at least look for a rated CS program, ideally one with ABET accreditation for their engineering program.

[sanantone]

[...]
I do agree with @armstrongsubero that you should do the calculus track unless you're simply so math averse that avoiding it is a number one priority. Of course, if that's so, I'd wonder if engineering is really what you want to do for a career anyway.

That really depends on what you end up using your CS degree to do. If you're focused on software/application/web development and only want the CS degree for that purpose (for which I'd argue that maybe a software development degree may be more appropriate) there isn't a lot of call for higher math in real life work, except in niche fields. Most of the best programmers I've known are self-trained and never needed to learn math higher than algebra to excel at their job. Yes, people working in graphics or physics or other fields that are highly math-focused will need higher levels of math, but those fields will attract engineers who are math focused.

If you're worried about reputation, then WGU would be dead last. I can see why it's not on the list.

WGU's CS curriculum is too new to really have a reputation. The school itself has no worse reputation than most small schools. The only reason why the state schools might be looked upon better is because they say "state" in them, but unless you're looking at a rated school, I don't really see a lot of difference between any of these schools.

At least in this area, if you don't have a degree from an ivy or an elite ranked college on your resume, every other college is the same for hiring purposes. Unless your degree is from a school with a poor reputation, like the University of Phoenix or some of the other well-known private for-profit schools with poor press.

But given the OP is not from the US, it doesn't much matter.

I wasn't talking about the curriculum having a reputation; I was talking about the school as a whole. But, it does appear that WGU's CS curriculum is more in line with what's seen at most other schools in comparison to CMU. 

I disagree with WGU being like any other small school. First of all, WGU, TESU, and Excelsior do not qualify as small schools. They have tens of thousands of students. No one really questions public universities. If it's unknown, then it's unknown. People typically don't expect public colleges and universities to be scams. WGU is becoming more and more known due to its heavy advertising. Whenever I bring it up around traditionalists, they say, "Oh, it's that online school." Some people are neutral on it because it's non-profit; others mistakenly believe it's for-profit and/or nationally accredited. Then, there are those who know someone who works at WGU, and they talk about the quality of the students. 

In short, a known online school will generally have a worse reputation than an unknown state school because the state school has no reputation. A lot of the time, unknown public colleges will have a good reputation with the local community. For example, TESU is well-known in NJ and receives a lot of grant funding. There's still a slight bias against 100% virtual schools, and they don't have strong, local connections.

[Merlin]

[...]
I do agree with @armstrongsubero that you should do the calculus track unless you're simply so math averse that avoiding it is a number one priority. Of course, if that's so, I'd wonder if engineering is really what you want to do for a career anyway.

That really depends on what you end up using your CS degree to do. If you're focused on software/application/web development and only want the CS degree for that purpose (for which I'd argue that maybe a software development degree may be more appropriate) there isn't a lot of call for higher math in real life work, except in niche fields. Most of the best programmers I've known are self-trained and never needed to learn math higher than algebra to excel at their job. Yes, people working in graphics or physics or other fields that are highly math-focused will need higher levels of math, but those fields will attract engineers who are math focused.

If you're worried about reputation, then WGU would be dead last. I can see why it's not on the list.

WGU's CS curriculum is too new to really have a reputation. The school itself has no worse reputation than most small schools. The only reason why the state schools might be looked upon better is because they say "state" in them, but unless you're looking at a rated school, I don't really see a lot of difference between any of these schools.

At least in this area, if you don't have a degree from an ivy or an elite ranked college on your resume, every other college is the same for hiring purposes. Unless your degree is from a school with a poor reputation, like the University of Phoenix or some of the other well-known private for-profit schools with poor press.

But given the OP is not from the US, it doesn't much matter.

I wasn't talking about the curriculum having a reputation; I was talking about the school as a whole. But, it does appear that WGU's CS curriculum is more in line with what's seen at most other schools in comparison to CMU. 

I disagree with WGU being like any other small school. First of all, WGU, TESU, and Excelsior do not qualify as small schools. They have tens of thousands of students. No one really questions public universities. If it's unknown, then it's unknown. People typically don't expect public colleges and universities to be scams. WGU is becoming more and more known due to its heavy advertising. Whenever I bring it up around traditionalists, they say, "Oh, it's that online school." Some people are neutral on it because it's non-profit; others mistakenly believe it's for-profit and/or nationally accredited. Then, there are those who know someone who works at WGU, and they talk about the quality of the students. 

In short, a known online school will generally have a worse reputation than an unknown state school because the state school has no reputation. A lot of the time, unknown public colleges will have a good reputation with the local community. For example, TESU is well-known in NJ and receives a lot of grant funding. There's still a slight bias against 100% virtual schools, and they don't have strong, local connections.

I can see your point in terms of known online college vs local public college, but it also depends on what industry and location you're in. While most people have no idea what WGU is, around here WGU has a decent reputation for its IT program, which makes it seem like a better option for many when compared to the rest of the unknown public schools who don't fall into the "ivy or elite" categories.

[sanantone]

I believe Nyvrem is from Texas or lived in Texas at one point. He's just living overseas currently.

[nyvrem]

yeahhh, im caught in a fix.

my employer told me i was approved for a company upgrading scheme. 

the HR told me it was 8k for a years worth of tuition reimbursement for a bachelor's or masters program (or both!).

she forgot to mention, it was up to 3 years (just found out like 10mins ago). that means i could potentially claim up to 24k

i initially thought, just finish up at TESU or CMU and be done with.

Now i'm thinking... can i maximise the full 24k and go for a better CS program

If your company is willing to put $24K down to help you get a degree (or a better degree) then I'd raise your sights for sure. You may not be able to use older credits (or not as many) and probably won't be able to use alt. education means (ACE, CLEP, DSST) or maybe just a few CLEP courses, but if you have the time and they are paying for it, you might as well take advantage of it and at least look for a rated CS program, ideally one with ABET accreditation for their engineering program.

did some searches on google, best i could find was U of Florida, Arizona State, and Auburn. 

I'll prob have to deep dive and really look for a program if i'm going to find one with a good reputation.

another option is to complete my BA/BS at TESU as planned, and continue on with a reputable masters in CS later on (was looking at UIUC) but i don't think 24k can cut it for both.

---

I believe Nyvrem is from Texas or lived in Texas at one point. He's just living overseas currently.

initially i did have some reservations. like what will happen when i went back to the US with a BA/BS in CS from some 'small college'

but i've got afew years of experience in the field now, i'm hoping that will outweigh the paper itself.

although no harm getting something 'better' if it's within my means/budget

[sanantone]

yeahhh, im caught in a fix.

my employer told me i was approved for a company upgrading scheme. 

the HR told me it was 8k for a years worth of tuition reimbursement for a bachelor's or masters program (or both!).

she forgot to mention, it was up to 3 years (just found out like 10mins ago). that means i could potentially claim up to 24k

i initially thought, just finish up at TESU or CMU and be done with.

Now i'm thinking... can i maximise the full 24k and go for a better CS program

If your company is willing to put $24K down to help you get a degree (or a better degree) then I'd raise your sights for sure. You may not be able to use older credits (or not as many) and probably won't be able to use alt. education means (ACE, CLEP, DSST) or maybe just a few CLEP courses, but if you have the time and they are paying for it, you might as well take advantage of it and at least look for a rated CS program, ideally one with ABET accreditation for their engineering program.

did some searches on google, best i could find was U of Florida, Arizona State, and Auburn. 

I'll prob have to deep dive and really look for a program if i'm going to find one with a good reputation.

another option is to complete my BA/BS at TESU as planned, and continue on with a reputable masters in CS later on (was looking at UIUC) but i don't think 24k can cut it for both.

University of Texas and Georgia Tech offer online masters degrees in CS for $10k and less than $10k, respectively. 

Below is a link to some of the cheapest BS programs. Keep in mind that this is tuition for a full four years, so transferring credits and taking any acceptable tests will save money.

https://www.geteducated.com/online-colle...er-science

[Ideas]

another option is to complete my BA/BS at TESU as planned, and continue on with a reputable masters in CS later on (was looking at UIUC) but i don't think 24k can cut it for both.

I would do this. Probably do an easier, quicker TESU degree.

[Life Long Learning]

FHSU is a real B&M university.  

Excelsior College.  The Bachelor of Science in Information Technology is accredited by the Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET, http://www.abet.org. ABET is a specialized accrediting agency recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).
https://www.excelsior.edu/about/accreditations/

[Merlin]

University of Texas and Georgia Tech offer online masters degrees in CS for $10k and less than $10k, respectively. 

I considered suggesting the OMSCS program, but the OP was talking about undergrad CS options so I didn't think it was relevant. But if you use one of the cheap/fast undergrad CS options like WGU or TESU and get accepted into GATech for the OMSCS, that would be the best of both worlds, and should be doable in 3 years in under $24K.

GA Tech is the best option for a CS masters degree if you can get in.

FHSU is a real B&M university.  

TESU is as well. The TESU campus encompasses 7 different buildings, though they are primarily an online school. Their campus appears to be broken down primarily into administrative offices, course development and faculty offices, the library, and the nursing school.

Excelsior College. The Bachelor of Science in Information Technology is accredited by the Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET, http://www.abet.org. ABET is a specialized accrediting agency recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).
https://www.excelsior.edu/about/accreditations/

Excelsior doesn't offer a CS program, unfortunately.