<p>Hi, I'm a rising senior at a high school in Boston and I've hit a major dilemma in my life. I want to major in Computer Science, and I really want to live in NYC. REALLY bad. But Columbia is out of reach, so the only other option is NYU... but NYU is utter **** for cs, I hear. It is ranked very low by usnews and seems to have virtually no reputation in the cs world.</p>
<p>On the other hand, my guidance counselor says that I have a great shot at Berkeley L&S CS program, and Berkeley is VERY reputable in cs. </p>
<p>Should I just let go of nyu and not ed there? I feel like if by any luck I get into berkeley and go I will be "stuck" there, and not have a chance to move to NYC since most cs jobs are in California (or so I'm told).</p>
<p>Please help me! I'm in such a dilemma, and I can't think about anything else.</p>
<p>p.s. please try not to be biased! I understand that there is school pride, but please try to suggest a best course of action for me! Thx</p>
<p>NYU CS isn’t THAT bad, but certainly not as strong as Cal’s. And I think Cal offers an overall better academic experience. NYU makes sense for certain programs or for students who need to be in the city (and can pay for it), but if you’re just looking to live in New York there is plenty of time to do that post-college. Plenty of Cal grads in NYC. If you goal is to live in NYC you just have to make sure that you target jobs in New York and don’t let yourself get stuck.</p>
<p>Okay. NYU has two options for CS: through CAS or through Poly.</p>
<p>CAS offers a BA in CS, while Poly offers a BS in CS. NYU might seem more fun, since it’s in Manhattan and it’s the main campus, but Poly’s CS program is probably stronger than that of the main campus’s.</p>
<p>UC Berkeley is known to have a very strong CS program and it is definitely ranked highly. However, Poly’s program is also very good, but it just isn’t that well known.</p>
<p>So, it all comes down to which campus you want. NYC, or Silicon Valley? Both are populated a bunch of tech startups for you to check out, both schools have great career centers and opportunities, and both have amazing faculty. Probably the thing that makes Berkeley more desirable as a campus is that it doesn’t snow there, unlike NYC.</p>