I was just going to say, "Pick the best public university in your state." But you beat me to it.
So, I'll add that admissions are usually nicer to in-state students (the UT system in Texas is extremely generous about who they admit from state high school graduates, for example, and cheap to attend for Texans). Since the OP has revealed he's in California, he's even better placed, though I think state schools are significantly more expensive in CA (but what isn't?), but the quality of education available at some state schools is excellent.
UC Davis and Berkeley are both very well-regarded in comp sci (as are many others). I know that a large number of UC schools are on Google's "will hire from" list of universities (as is the previously mentioned UT Austin).
I graduated from Davis in 06 as a computer science and engineering student. I would rate the faculty very highly, they are the right combination of professor and teacher. I worked with them as a student and a researcher and enjoyed it.
I wouldn't rate my classmates so highly. My class was the last of the surge created by the first bubble.. and I felt everyone was in the major to please their parents and secure a boring but safe future in engineering. There were certainly some exceptions, but they were just that. I felt these people lowered the difficulty of the classes. I learned a lot more when I found the smart ones and worked on projects with them outside of the curriculum.
Anyway, the CS dept has had a big drop in enrollment now because it has still been 4-5 years since CS degrees were not highly in demand. I assume the classes are of a higher quality right now as the people in the classes have purer motivations. And I assume the quality of students will drop again as the second surge hits.
Interesting. I just know a few of the Summer 07 (I think?) YC groups came out of Davis--and they all seem really smart and capable. YC doesn't care about schools (much) and smart and capable people can come from any school, so this is probably not meaningful.
My original comment may have been a bit harsh. I'm sure there's a lot of good people both in the faculty and in the student body. I actually don't know much about the CS department at all, so by all means listen to somebody else's opinion over mine.
So, I'll add that admissions are usually nicer to in-state students (the UT system in Texas is extremely generous about who they admit from state high school graduates, for example, and cheap to attend for Texans). Since the OP has revealed he's in California, he's even better placed, though I think state schools are significantly more expensive in CA (but what isn't?), but the quality of education available at some state schools is excellent.
UC Davis and Berkeley are both very well-regarded in comp sci (as are many others). I know that a large number of UC schools are on Google's "will hire from" list of universities (as is the previously mentioned UT Austin).