Hello everyone,
I am an international student from Italy looking to apply to universities next year. I have a passion for computer science, and bussiness/economics, and I am looking for a university which would fit both of these interests to choose as my ED. Do Columbia/Cornell/Upenn/CMU/any uni you can advise have engineering/computer science departments comparable to Stanford/MIT/Berkeley? I will also be applying to the latter unis, just not early decision as they only offer early action.
I’d guess CMU is the best CS department of those you have listed, with UPenn a close second because of the strength of their business/econ department. Curious to know why GA Tech isn’t on your list – that’d be another good option for you.
UPenn, CMU, Cornell, and Columbia all have very strong computer science departments (departmental strength is usually measured by faculty research output and doctoral program strength, neither of which overlaps perfectly with the undergraduate program, but still). Princeton, Harvard, University of Rochester, Duke, Brown, USC, and Tufts all have top-ranked departments in computer science (in the top 25-30 or so). Chicago, Yale, Rice, NYU, Wash U, Northwestern, Lehigh, and Vanderbilt all also have very good mid-ranked departments.
If public schools are a consideration, UNC, UIUC, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Wisconsin, Michigan, UT-Austin, UW-Seattle, several UC campuses (Berkeley, Santa Barbara, Riverside, San Diego) all have excellent programs as well as many other public universities.
At the undergraduate level, though, you don’t need to concentrate on going to the strongest or best computer science department. You just need a good, solid computer science curriculum and department that complements a range of other factors that attracts you to a college.
@mlunghi Given your interest in both Compsci and business, ED at Penn M&T is the top choice out of the ED schools. CMU definitely has a CS department on the level of Stanford, MIT, Berkeley, not as strong for econ, business and also it it lacks a bit overall strength and quality for undergrad compared to the other schools you mention. When looking for undergrad both departmental strength and overall school strength & standing matter. I feel you would have a more one-sided education at CMU than the other schools on the list.
If I were you I would probably apply ED Penn M&T and EA MIT.
@Penn95 thing is i like the computer science side more, and if i get in ED i have to go there and not mit/etc. Also, the M&T only accepts like 50 students a year, and with me being international i think the chances of getting in are basically zero. Those were the things pushing me away.
Are you aware of how expensive these schools are? Are you prepared to pay $60,000 per year? There is little financial aid for international students, and public universities (such as Berkeley) offer almost nothing if you’re not an in-state resident.
@Penn95 also, I haven’t seen much, but how is the upenn campus compared to the beautiful columbia/berkeley campuses? not really a major factor but im just curious