[ameen]

I second arebop, unfortunately I had skipped on joining one of these top schools for my undergrad, as I was juvenile then (6 years back), and I only started regretting it as I graduated from College.

A better College should be a default choice for any forward thinking CS-interested individual, as its not just about the classes, but the fellow students at such Colleges that bring about a world of difference.

Most of these colleges have freshmen who already have landed awesome internships or have been part of past YC alum(or other incubator's). These individuals can directly impact how your future is shaped, and mostly its for the better. The intellectual quotient of these establishments is one of the major reasons they pump out the most awesome programmers.

I'm trying to land an MS at some of these universities - UC's (and other top schools). It isn't an easy journey, but it'll be damn well worth it. All the best, and never think of financials when it comes to self-improvement. I used to think these places were over-rated, and not a day has passed when I didn't regret such an erroneous judgement.