#Umich vs EMU

99 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

gentle wyvern
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Sorry if this is a little too long! To start I am really interested in security. I have experience in IT both internship and help desk. And I am striving to secure cybersecurity related internships. And hopefully work full time in the field.(Ik the market horrendous rn :/)

So I am in the midst of making my university decision and I am currently between 2 university one being a state school the other being a T20 school. And I would be attending both with tuition free. Now just given that information the decision may seem clear, but let me give some context as to why it’s been a tricky decision for me.

When it comes to the state school I am currently studying towards a BS in cybersec. I have been doing dual enrollment with this uni since sophomore in HS as a result I have had the opportunity to get ahead and finish up all my grad gen Ed course requirements and a good chunk of my major related course requirements aswell. As a result I have a very flexible graduation and this will definitely help when it comes to internships,reaserch,double major,minor,etc. And the cyber program I believe is pretty credible with it being ABET accredited and designated by the DHS and the NSA as the CAE.

Now for the T20 school it’s prestigious the big name will definitely open more doors and 10x career prospects when trying to get into FAANG. Along side its big alumni network. That being said since they don’t have a security related program I would have to switch to something else that is related like Computer Science. With this university a lot of my gen ed related courses don’t contribute to theirs and none of my major related courses count. This really makes my decision hard because it’s like none of the work I put into my courses would count and I’d start from ground zero.

I just wanted to get some opinions from those within the industry or students studying these disciplines on what is the best decision?

tranquil flare
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Umich no brainer

summer sand
gentle wyvern
summer sand
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  1. It’s better to major in CS than Cyber Security, with a CS degree, you can get the same jobs as someone with a cybersecurity degree, but also have the extra flexibility of working in other areas of tech
  2. UMich is very strong in CS, not sure about EMU
  3. I don’t know if you were thinking about graduating early with your extra credits at EMU, but almost everyone that I have spoken to that has graduated in three years has regretted it. In my (unqualified) opinion, I think it is advantageous to stay in college for four years
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Also if you stay within CS LAS at Umich, you will have the extra electives to explore areas outside of CS

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Especially both being tuition free, it’s a no brainer

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Also from what I’ve read, cyber security is one of those things that is best learnt outside of college, as it’s a super fast developing field. So I think majoring in CS and spending time outside of school learning specific things about cyber security makes the most sense

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Also you will continue to carry what you learn from your courses into college, even if you don’t get credit, so I wouldn’t say they didn’t mean anything

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You could see if UMich offers proficiency tests

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It also doesn’t hurt to have classes that are mostly review for your first year, it can make the rest of your college experience way more enjoyable (going out, doing things outside of studying, etc)

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Is EMU eastern Michigan university?

gentle wyvern
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Although majority of my credit transfer they don’t make any actual contribution to the LSA gen Ed grad requirements, so I would practically have to be starting from ground zero. I feel like the work I put into the classes I’ve finished at EMU are all going into nothing.

Staying at EMU would allow me to take a lighter course load during the semester, giving me more flexibility and free time to focus on recruiting seasons, internship applications, interview preparation, and participation in career development programs. While I’d still be taking a mix of in-major electives and also opening the opportunity for research maybe dual majoring as well, the overall university experience would be less academically intense.

I am really interested in the field of security and understand that computer science is a good enough degree to still pursue this career path, but I don't really have an interest in software engineering, and I honestly believe that is what, from what I heard, is the path the coursework prepares you to go down because it so CS programming and theory heavy.

summer sand
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Well it sounds like you’ve made up your mind on what you want to do

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I gave the strongest argument for umich I could think of, but it’s ultimately up to you

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Have you visited both

gentle wyvern
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Yes, I have dual enrolled on EMU's campus throughout high school. I toured and worked on Umich campus.

The thing that really making this decision hard is the prestige and network that comes with attending ant T20 university. I have seen it first hand how much of a difference and the doors having it on your resume makes.

summer sand
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and yes the prestige + network is hard to ignore

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Like I honestly think you’d have better luck with cyber security jobs with a UMich comp sci degree compared to a EMU cyber security degree for cyber security jobs

gentle wyvern
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Yeah, that’s generally true for most majors. I do know several people from EMU who’ve landed roles at FAANG and other top companies, so it’s definitely possible. But I also think going to U-M could make the path a bit easier in terms of access to opportunities and reputation.

That said, if I were fully committed to going into cybersecurity, I feel like it would be tough to study CS at U-M while also self-studying cybersecurity on the side—it’s a completely different focus, and the academic workload at U-M is already intense. Do you still think it would be worth it in that case?

Right now, cybersecurity is where my interest lies, even though I don’t have direct work experience in it yet. My background so far is mainly in IT, through an internship and some help desk experience. But I found the interest through course work and personal projects

summer sand
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15 credits must be in approved Upper Level CS (ULCS) Electives, which are challenging and substantial courses covering a variety of topics in computing.

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You can def have atleast 15 credits of cyber security courses at umich

tranquil flare
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^^hes made a great case UofM will open several doors EMU won’t

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UofM is somewhat nationally heard of

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EMU stops at michigan

summer sand
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I’m pretty sure cyber security is best learnt through work experience as well

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I think if you’re genuinely passionate about it, you’ll be able to learn outside of school, and in addition to the 15 ch of cyber security classes, I’m sure you’ll have a very strong and satisfying education

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Plus, I’m sure UMich has a cyber security club, I don’t know if EMU does

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@gentle wyvern

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The credits not transferring how you want to can def be frustrating, but I think it’s a small sacrifice

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Plus the main advantage of transferring credits is saving money (sometimes by graduating early), but your tuition is free anyways

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Other people can and hopefully will weigh in, but I suspect most people will recommend UMich

summer sand
gentle wyvern
# summer sand You can def have atleast 15 credits of cyber security courses at umich

I definitely see where you’re all coming from, and I agree that U-M’s CS program offers some flexibility—being able to take 15 credits of cybersecurity-focused electives is definitely valuable and could help build a solid foundation. That said, do you think that’s enough to be competitive for a cybersecurity internship, especially given how intense the application and interview process can be? I might be wrong, but from what I’ve seen, a lot of roles look for hands-on experience, and I’m wondering if going this route while also trying to self-study, apply, and prep for interviews all while doing my academics might cause me to stretch myself too thin.

Of course, self-study is essential no matter what path you're in—whether it's SWE, data science, or security—but I feel like I’d need to rely on it much more heavily at U-M, since the cybersecurity curriculum there isn't as integrated or hands-on as EMU's. At EMU, the coursework is directly tied to the field and includes labs, simulations, and applied projects that I could actually leverage on a resume or during interviews. So my question is really about balance

I dont want to sound stand off-ish at all btw I am really just trying to weigh out all possibilities to make the best decision yk lol

gentle wyvern
gentle wyvern
summer sand
gentle wyvern
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lol yeah you're good I used it to refine my ideas. I didn't want to fill the thread with my thoughts.

summer sand
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Okay no worries lmao

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Does EMU have any direct ties to defense companies

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Or anything of the sorts

gentle wyvern
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hmm not that I know of tbh

summer sand
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Okay. I’d strongly recommend umich still. That being said, I don’t have a good answer to your internship question

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Maybe someone at umich could offer some insights

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@steep gyro

steep gyro
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What’s ur

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*up

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This is 100% no brainer you go to UMich

summer sand
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@rotund mason

steep gyro
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EMU is a no name compared to EMU

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Andy don’t ping people without their permission

summer sand
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I’m just trying to get people who go to umich 😭😭

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Bro has two days to decide

steep gyro
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He can find them on their own

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But it’s UMich no contest

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Unless you can’t make the financials work

summer sand
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Can you speak to cybersecurity on campus or in classes at all?

steep gyro
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Depends on CoE or LSA

summer sand
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He’s LSA

gentle wyvern
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LSA

steep gyro
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It’s tougher but you can make it work

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There are some cybersecurity classes in the engineering department

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As LSA I believe you have access

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Tons of cybersecurity research

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I know many students who get high paying cybersecurity internships over the summer

gentle wyvern
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So would I have take those cyber courses from the Eng college?

steep gyro
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Yes

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I don’t know of any LSA cybersecurity related classes

gentle wyvern
# steep gyro Unless you can’t make the financials work

I would have tuition paid for. So, given my other specific circumstances that are making the decision tough, would you still say it's a no-brainer? I also wanted to ask if you have seen or experienced firsthand how strong and beneficial the network is within UM. just curious

gentle wyvern
steep gyro
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I firmly believe tuition is meant for networking, not for classes

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I have worked in 2 research labs, one of which got me a summer internship at NASA

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The amount of people, experiences, and research I do is miles better than my GPA lol

gentle wyvern
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Wow, good stuff man! What do you study?

summer sand
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I think you will have sufficient cyber experience

gentle wyvern
steep gyro
steep gyro
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Plus I have friends outside work, and sleep around 11 most nights

gentle wyvern
# steep gyro Plus I have friends outside work, and sleep around 11 most nights

I was also wondering, do you feel like there is a competitive environment? I don't know about EE, but engineering in general should be similar. Like seeing that 10% of students at Umich go into CS (so I have been told; I don't know if it’s true) and a lot of classes at the university are big 100-student lecture halls, all of this is a little intimidating to me because it’s so new. Do you feel like any of this has a negative effect on you in any way?

rotund mason
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umich cs tuition free seems too good to pass up going up against emu cybersecurity. cs degree works very well in that field

rotund mason
gentle wyvern
gentle wyvern
rotund mason
gentle wyvern
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What are u studying btw?

rotund mason
rotund mason
gentle wyvern
# rotund mason cs

oh nice, LSA?

I also want to ask you a similar question being how intensive is the CS workload? How is like balancing your academic workload, research or part timework, personal, and also staying on top of recruiting season to secure internships/preparing for internships(self study,leetcode)?

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Also as someone such as myself who doesn't have too much programming knowledge and very beginner experience do you feel like the starting courses give you a solid foundation of coding knowledge to move onto the next courses or should I and will have to prepare outside of class to preform well in the classes?

summer sand
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@gentle wyvern what did you end up deciding?

gentle wyvern
summer sand
mild idol
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congrats! also just adding onto this: "This really makes my decision hard because it’s like none of the work I put into my courses would count and I’d start from ground zero."
look at it as a way to learn things that you wouldn't normally have taken if the credits had transferred. you're now free to do an extra minor or a double major or even just take a couple random classes a semester, for the same price :)