I got a Computer Science degree from NC State. I’ve had the conversation with coworkers about whether high end schools are worth it several times.

I think that it’s valuable to have a top school on your resume to get job interviews. The people in your classes are also more likely to be valuable contacts in your career as well. However I don’t think it’s worth it. For me, the local state school provides the most bang for your buck. There is also research showing that being a top student at a average school is more valuable that being an average student at a top school. The conversation with work folks usually ends with us deciding that it depends on the kid but someone who works hard and makes the right choices is going to do great anywhere.

I preferred Computer Science to Computer Engineering because I *knew* I wanted to code. Computer Engineering students do some programming but also circuits and other things. Computer Science didn’t do those but got deeper into programming. Computer Science students also didn’t have to do differential equations which was a huge win.