My impression is that at 'big name' schools you don't really have much interaction with your professors, until you are at least at graduate level (and even then

My impression is that at 'big name' schools you don't really have much interaction with your professors, until you are at least at graduate level (and even then the doctoral students who get the attention, not the lowly masters students). In my opinion, what you are paying for at college is one on one time with intelligent people. Your peers and your professors. If the classes at the school consist of sitting through gigantic lectures, I feel like you are kind of missing out. There is currently a glut of talent competing for teaching jobs at universities, even at a slightly below top-tier school, you are likely to find capable, intelligent professors (as well as students). And at a smaller school you will get one on one time with those professors much more readily. You do, however, also want to make sure that the caliber of other students around you is high. It is hard to be motivated in an environment where you can simply breeze through everything that your classmate struggle with. I don't know about what to do in terms of landing a job. It seems to me that landing a first job is one thing (aided by a 'big-name' school, but having the appropriate skills to develop an entire career is entirely different (no one care where you got your degree once they hire you). My preference would be with the career developing skills, rather than the job-acquiring piece of paper. Others probably have different experiences. The important thing is to really consider your options and decide what is best for you. (You might not even like CS by the time you graduate).