Computer Studies: Ateneo or La Salle?

[cnokah?!]

when it comes to computer studies, what do you think is the better school? my daughter passed both the ACET and DLSU - CET and now she's having a hard time deciding which school to go to.

She likes Ateneo because:
- her course is a honors course. meaning only the top 15% of the ACET takers are accepted. she feels like it's a BIG opportunity to be able to get accepted.
- prestige
- most of her friends and classmates prefer Ateneo
- according to some of her educators, Ateneo has a better reputation than DLSU
- It is harder to get accepted in ateneo than in DLSU although DLSU has a harder Entrance Exam

She likes La Salle because:
- Microsoft's main office is in DLSU
- her sister is an alumni
- the facilities are better than that of ADMU
- highest PAASCU accredited university in the Philippines


What do you think? Which is a better school? which school has a higher quality of teaching/education? Replies will be much appreciated! :)

[KuyaDanny]

I am also a parent with a child about to enter college, so I can understand the threadstarter's concerns. However, I am not optimistic about the outcome of this discussion, considering our previous experience with similar topics. Good luck.

[Katchatore]

Ateneo and La Salle are interchangeable in the IT sector. Your daughter will be in good hands wherever side she goes to.

[lady_baller21]

100 % agree!!! siguro ang deciding factor nalang is kung anong mas malapit sa house niyo hehe =)

[Hun]

Both are CHED Centers of Excellence in IT.

You should also visit the schools to get a better feel of the overall environment (physical, logistics, buildings, students, faculty, facilities, etc.) as well as external surroundings, and decide where you feel more comfortable spending the next 4 years or so. You should also consider the core curriculum aside from the specialist and technical subjects and decide which school is better in preparing a student not only for an entry level job but also for life in general.

[_ozzakii]

When it comes to the general prestige of the university Ateneo and La Salle are neck and neck, in the Philippines. When you go outside of the Philippines, La Salle has more brand name recognition than Ateneo due to its membership of the ASEAN University Network.
http://www.aun-sec.org/member_u.html
http://www.dlsu.edu.ph/inside/organizations/aun/default.asp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASEAN_University_Network
But remember that prestige is subjective. To give you an example, in cities where there is a La Salle high school, La Salle brand name carries more weight in that city than Ateneo. For instance, in Bacolod, Iligan, Lipa and Ozamis, DLSU is seen more prestigious than Ateneo because there is a La Salle high school in those cities. In Davao, Cdo and Naga, I presumed it’s the other way around.

When it comes to Computer Science, DLSU has an edge but a very slight one, in my opinion, and which is nothing compared to the importance of “fit” in your D’s concerns.

In terms of facilities, I am not convince that La Salle’s facilities are any better than Ateneo’s.

In general, I can say that DLSU has a slight edge in Computer Science because it is a bigger department with bigger number of students and faculty. Correspondingly, it also has more researches and has far more tie-up companies than Ateneo. DLSU comsci grads are also better paid.
La Salle - http://www.payscale.com/research/PH/School=De_La_Salle_University_(Manila)/Salary
Ateneo -http://www.payscale.com/research/PH/School=Ateneo_de_Manila_University/Salary
UP-Diliman - http://www.payscale.com/research/PH/School=University_of_the_Philippines_(UP)_-_Diliman/Salary

I mentioned fit. What do I mean by that? The student’s convenience in her school is more important than the general prestige of her school. When she said that many of her friends are going to Ateneo, that would probably either be a plus or minus for her is she goes to Ateneo. A plus if she truly enjoys to be around with her friends. Somehow, being with people close to you would help you adjust to your new environment easily. It would be a minus if you don’t like to go to a school where many of your high school classmates would go to. Somehow, that would give you a feeling that college is just an extension of your high school.

This is a classic case but a very difficult to choose. This is like choosing between a BMW and a Mercedes. She should choose the one she likes the most b/coz both cars are excellent brands.

[kungpow]

mas maraming comsci units sa dlsu hehe. atenista ako , pero kapatid ko dlsu at nakita ko ang disparity ng abilities ng mga taga-dlsu at ateneo pagdating sa comsci (sa experience ko lang ah, not necessarily means its true)...ang layo man...lamang na lamang ang mga dlsu na comsci na kilala ko vs. mga ateneo comsci...pero iyon ay kapag comsci ang pag-uusapan.

marami din factors eh, tulad ng learning environment, profs (Baka may gusto siya na prof na maging teacher ewan natin) tsaka iba-iba din ang niche ng mga comsci depts ng admu at dlsu pagdating sa research or orientation. baka mas gusto niya ang ginagawa ng comsci ng admu hindi natin alam...in the end, siguro mainam na isipin din bakit pinili ng anak mo na mag-aral ng comsci, at pag-aralan ng mabuti ang mga programa ng ateneo at dlsu...iyon lang labo ko haha

[c0re21]

both are centers of excellence in IT education.
http://www.pinoyexchange.com/forums/showthread.php?t=296653

based on what you've said, better choose ateneo.

[_ozzakii]

Tough call but I would go for La Salle.

[Churbs]

Well, when it comes to IT, La Salle always comes first in my mind. :)

[mikio-kun]

uhm... La Salle's not the highest PAASCU Accredited Univ... it's a tie :D

here's what I have to say though...
try looking at the program content/flowcharts of the 2 schools. first DLSU's (once you get it) will have 50+ more units than that of AdMU's... but remember that the workload per subject in AdMU is usually higher... and more rigorous. There are reasons why the CS program is an honors program. Aside from the rigorousness of each subject, general CS life is rigorous as well. Remember that in AdMU, honors courses have a cut off QPI (GPA). In my course it's 2.5... it may be the same for CS. If you don't get a 2.5 or above QPI per end of year, you're kicked off the program (this is aside from the required QPI of 1.8 or else you're kicked out of school). If you fail a major subject twice, you're kicked off the program. In AdMU CS, you also get to choose electives which I think is a good thing. By choosing which electives to take, you can concentrate on a certain aspects of CS versus the more generalized curriculum of DLSU. We even have game development classes here in AdMu for many of the major game platforms. Aside from that, you are assured that the student becomes not only a proficient computer scientist, but also a holistically formed person. Our english classes are undoubtedly some of the best. Even if other schools have more/longer english subjects, our curriculum, and our professors are vastly more capable of bringing the student's english capability to newer, more competitive heights. Ateneo's base in the liberal arts ensures that each student will not merely become a professional, or researcher, or scientist, immersed and proficient in his/her field, but also ensures that the student maintains core values, leadership skills, critical thinking skills, and a great aptitude for research. Our Theology and Philosophy programs aren't easy... It's a huge workload of oral exams and critical papers that form an inquisitive, thinking, trained mind ready for leadership in the student's chosen field. All in... it's more challenging to be Atenean, but the rewards you can reap from a 4 year stay will ensure a successful future. It's all about going further in AdMU. Magis :) (According to surveys, Ateneans are the most employable too. This is in the local and international setting.)

[mikio-kun]

I'm both a La sallian and an Atenean by the way... I shifted from DLSU to Ateneo specifically because of the Liberal Arts base... I know life on both sides of the fence... and I swear everything I say is true... not sure about the CS cut off though... I know there is one, I don't know how high. Oh and our facilities are great thank you. The "Ateneo's compuer facilities are bad" is an outdated fallacy. We have gaming and Macintosh labs. They don't. xp

[bluemarc]

^ really? I'd give it to La Salle this time. We have to admit, that La Salle has the best facilities in the Philippines, which is one of the most important factors in Computer Studies.

[boy_wonder]

For Computer Studies, DLSU.

:)

[cnokah?!]

Great, great advices from you all. Thanks a lot. :) Is it true that DLSU gradutes has the opportunity to be directly hired by HP?

[Gospel of Judas]

may nakwento sakin yung ermat ko na ganun. yung nakakwentuhan nya na stranger habang nagbabayad sya ng tuition. dun nag-practi yung anak sa hp tapos inantay na lang maggraduate para mabigyan ng position.

di ko natanong kung eng o ccs sya pero ganun daw ginawa.

[paenggoy]

Ask her to make a matrix containing all of the factors given above (and more if she can think of others), and for each factor give a percentage (totaling 100) based on its importance for her. Then for each school give a score (which can be made through visits and talks with department heads and/or faculty) for each factor. Multiply the scores by the percentages and add the products to get a score for each school.

[twerpy_craphead]

Great, great advices from you all. Thanks a lot. :) Is it true that DLSU gradutes has the opportunity to be directly hired by HP?

most of my friends that graduated from DLSU's comsci program are currently working for HP and they got employed within a month of their graduation. so i guess, yeah, they are directly hired by HP.

[Ice Burn]

If she really feels a calling for computers and you have the money for it, don't send her to Ateneo or LaSalle but abroad. Ateneo and LaSalle may have the best facilities in the country but they are light years behind compared to other schools abroad. If you want to keep her within SE Asia, NUS is the best, they even ranked 19th in the THES survey.

[Hun]

To the threadstarter, I'll go for Ateneo for the reasons you already mentioned -- better reputation, tougher to get into, prestige, honors program, etc. The bar of excellence is higher and the education is more holistic.

Iba pa rin talaga pag Atenista. That's why I'm going to be one next school year.

[shock0]

Great, great advices from you all. Thanks a lot. :) Is it true that DLSU gradutes has the opportunity to be directly hired by HP?

My wife is a manager in HP. The company goes to Ateneo and La Salle to look for prospective employees.

[_ozzakii]

If she really feels a calling for computers and you have the money for it, don't send her to Ateneo or LaSalle but abroad. Ateneo and LaSalle may have the best facilities in the country but they are light years behind compared to other schools abroad. If you want to keep her within SE Asia, NUS is the best, they even ranked 19th in the THES survey.

No, not for computer science, and other courses that are highly in-demand abroad such as Nursing, PT, OT, Speech Therapy, Radiologic Technology, Pharmacy and Teaching.

Comsci graduates from the Big3 schools have excellent job placements abroad. In fact, some foreign companies do scout talents from the Big3 schools. Let's take a look at UPD com sci grads for example. Almost everyone who graduated comsci from UPD 3 years ago have already left the country. Many of them are in the US. I know a couple of them have been hired in Investment Banking. JPMorgan, for example, does hire comsci grads from UPd and Ateneo de Manila and pay them handsomely. As a matter of fact, both schools are in their radar for recruitment and are considered as two of the schools world-wide where they considered as core schools for recruitment.

If the TS' D can get into either DLSU or AdMU for comsci, she should be OK when she graduates from the course. If the TS can afford a Berkeley, MIT, Stanford & CMU comsci education, it's of course, much better than going to the Philippines' Big3 schools. Otherwise, she should stay home and continue her undergrad here. There's always grad school for her if she wants to do it abroad anyway.

[_ozzakii]

^^^

Well, you shouldn't disregard Ice Burn's suggestion completely. I think she made a hell of a suggestion when she thought the dad should send her D abroad, if he can afford it. Unfortunately, I'm not quite convinced that the benefits of studying in Singapore would outweigh its costs and sacrifices since his D's other options in the Philippines are not completely behind her suggested foreign school. Like I said, comsci grads from the Big3 schools should be OK after college life. And again, there's always grad school for her if she wants to do it abroad in the future.

[_ozzakii]

3rd Phil-Swiss IT School to be held in UP Baguio



UP Baguio will host the Third Philippine-Swiss Information Technology School on January 7 to 11, 2008 at the Iskolar ng Bayan Building. The post graduate lecture series aims to update IT researchers and educators in the country and targets Computer Science instructors in universities and colleges across the Philippines. This year’s lecture series will focus on data structures, probability and optimization, machine learning and applications, and information search and retrieval.

The speakers for the five-day lecture series include Dr. J. Nievergelt and Professor Joachim Buhmann from the ETH, Zurich, and Dr. Thomas Hofmann of Google Research, Zurich. They will hold both lecture and hands-on sessions to better help participants realize the theories in a practical setting.

The participants of the lecture series were screened by local organizers who prioritized those teaching or conducting research in either the field of Machine Learning or Information Retrieval.

The five-day lecture series is a joint venture of the University of the Philippines, De La Salle University, and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland. Previous editions of the lecture series were held in UP Diliman and De la Salle University-Manila in 2005 and 2006.




http://up.edu.ph/upnewsletter.php?issue=36&i=567

[cnokah?!]

thank you for the infos about schools abroad but we don't really want her to study abroad. As much as possible we want her to finish her college years here in the philippines.

She already made her decision and she chose La Salle over ADMU. thank you very much! your opinions have been very very helpful. :D

[cheeyu]

According to my friend (taking up CS at The Ateneo), they always lose to La Sallians in computer contests.

[_ozzakii]

Not sure about that cheeyu. Ateneo has been winning the APC for a long time now and it's only this year that UPD was able to grab the championship away from AdMU. This is just the 2nd time that UPD won the APC and 8th time I guess for AdMU. No other school has won this contest other than UPD and AdMU, actually. But this is just as far as APC is concern. I'm not aware of other computer/IT related contests though.

[tyanak_soo]

thank you for the infos about schools abroad but we don't really want her to study abroad. As much as possible we want her to finish her college years here in the philippines.

She already made her decision and she chose La Salle over ADMU. thank you very much! your opinions have been very very helpful. :D

Is this the same daugher who passed the UPCAT, for the Public Health program? How many kids do you have entering college this year? :confused:

[kaningbrown]

I've worked with graduates from both sides. They're both okay, specially since 70% of the working knowledge she'll be using for our field is learned after graduating. Times like this, just ask yourself the question, "San mas malapit sa bahay?"

[cnokah?!]

Is this the same daugher who passed the UPCAT, for the Public Health program? How many kids do you have entering college this year? :confused:

yup.. the same one.. nagbago na naman ang isip niya. Now she's deciding between UP - M and DLSU.. :)

[cnokah?!]

with regards to san mas malapit sa bahay, definitely it's DLSU. :)

right now, nagbago ulit ang isip.. but this time it's between UP - M and DLSU.

[_ozzakii]

Then it's obvious that she's after of the school name-- the "branding" criterion in looking for a school to spend 4 years of college life -- then the program itself. In that case, she should go for UP Manila.

Contrary to the common belief that Public Health is just a premed, no, it's more than just that. Many Public Health grads work in research and even in marketing dept at big time food & beverage, nutritional, pharmaceutical, cereal, confections, drinks, etc companies such as San Miguel, Nestle, Pfizer, etc. They also get to travel to many places as most of these companies are based abroad. My lady neighbour majored Public Health hoping she could get into UP Med but was unsuccessful. She was hired by Nestle instead and she's now based in New York.

[tyanak_soo]

All my 'UP' friends living and working in the US say a foreign degree is better ---if you want to work in the Philioppines. That's how lowly Filipinos regard themselves. In the US, at least they seem to have no problems entering the institution of their choice. They're engineers, computer scientists, doctors, accountants and lawyers. I know only one who decided to work as social worker. Now he and his wife are squatting on federal land somewhere in Alabama (are there still bears in that state? :lol: )

[cnokah?!]

- hi. I'm the incoming freshman. I just asked my mom if I could use her account (and she said yes. obviously. lol) since she told me that she made a thread about my concerns. Anyway, I'm not really after the school name (although that's a plus factor.. at least for me). I'm kinda' selfish because I wanted to take both courses. boo.

Anyway, thank you for all your replies. :)

[ozaidum]

Go for Ateneo! Pero sa mga nabasa ko, parang mas maganda ang IT ng La Salle :)

[paenggoy]

Some computer studies programs do not require advanced technology and others are even taught through certification programs outside universities.

[tekkie]

I have to concede that DLSU has a very strong CS base. My partner "survived" her MSCS a few years back as one of the very few graduates of their batch, and she swears that their profs are the best of the lot (like ascarraga). Btw, my partner's masteral thesis was published in IEEE under the the 1999 International Joint Neural Networks.

[tekkie]

I have to concede that DLSU has a strong CS base. My partner is one of the few graduates of MSCS, and she credited this to their topnotch professors (such as Ascarraga). Incidentally, my partner's masteral thesis was published in the IEEE's 1999 International Joint Conference on Neural Networks.

[sloth.machine]

if i were you, i'd choose la salle

[commoner]

DLSU. The first and still the best in CS.

[starczamora]

Based on the arguments given (in terms of facilities and credentials, not who studied where), it has to be La Salle.

However, would it be ANY different if she studied in Informatics and STI?

[totoolangnaman]

DLSU has the best CS program in the country.

[yoroshikuonegai]

i'd give the correction , UP has the best comsci program. :D any course in the country UP has the finest :))

not sure about ateneo kais di ko pa nakikita notes and curriculum nila pero sa la salle marami naggraduate nang walang alam sa programming at technical stuff hehe kumbaga sa projects marami freeloader lang sa group. Even I cannot explain ( cs in la salle) how youtube works , how email works etc. Check each curriculum

[superboink]

ang naririnig ko dati pa eh maganda raw ang cs sa dlsu.

di ako ganoon kasatisfied sa cs ng admu. parang marami pang kulang. ngayon pa nga lang kami nagkaroon ng track/specialization eh. para daw hindi sabog *** curriculum. sabog naman kasi talaga. hehe.

merong projects saka defense din sa cs sa admu.

bilang ko lang *** mga magagaling talaga na prof sa cs sa admu. meron kasing matalino talaga pero di marunong magturo. (hindi lang sa cs subjects ha, pati rin sa ibang subjects) tapos madalas inaassume nila na alam na ng student *** lesson kaagad. parang wala ng effort magturo. puro self study na lang. nakakatamad tuloy pumasok. sa totoo lang mas ginaganahan pa ko madalas pumasok sa iba kong subjects (philo, theo) kesa sa cs kasi mas may natututunan pa ako doon. pero mababait naman *** mga prof sa cs. hehe.

[SP-17]

Hey, out of the topic to ha. May reconsideration pa rin ba sa La Salle ngayon?