Best Colleges for Computer Science
Computer science is one of the highest-stakes major choices in the country: the difference between a top-tier program (research opportunities, faculty access, recruiter pipeline to Big Tech + good early-stage startups) and a mid-tier one shows up directly in starting salaries and career trajectory. These are the schools where CS is a flagship program, not just a department.
Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard
- 1
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts · Private nonprofit
5%acceptance rate - 2
Stanford University
California · Private nonprofit
4%acceptance rate - 3
Carnegie Mellon University
Pennsylvania · Private nonprofit
12%acceptance rate - 4
University of California-Berkeley
California · Public
11%acceptance rate - 5
California Institute of Technology
California · Private nonprofit
3%acceptance rate - 6
Cornell University
New York · Private nonprofit
9%acceptance rate - 7
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Illinois · Public
42%acceptance rate - 8
Princeton University
New Jersey · Private nonprofit
5%acceptance rate - 9
Harvard University
Massachusetts · Private nonprofit
4%acceptance rate - 10U
University of Washington-Seattle Campus
Washington · Public
39%acceptance rate - 11
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Michigan · Public
16%acceptance rate - 12
University of Texas at Austin
Texas · Public
31%acceptance rate - 13
Purdue University-Main Campus
Indiana · Public
50%acceptance rate - 14
Harvey Mudd College
California · Private nonprofit
13%acceptance rate - 15
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Indiana · Private nonprofit
77%acceptance rate
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