<p>Hi! I’m currently stuck with my college decisions. I want to major in computer science and I’m looking at Brown, Duke, Berkeley and UW. I know Brown is a great school but does anyone know how it fares in terms of the size of its program/how well-known the program is/research opportunities/jobs, etc? My parents’ main qualm is that Brown and Berkeley cost about the same for us and they’d rather pay for Berkeley (which is ranked higher in CS), do they have a valid point or would you say Brown makes up in areas other than rankings?</p>
<p>WOW> </p>
<p>Most people don’t really know how good Brown’s CS department is. It’s amazing quite really. You might say, sure Berkeley has one of the best CS departments, right? However, you might’ve not known that Google and Microsoft recruit here at Brown BI-WEEKLY. Facebook too. Oh, Znyga as well. And LOADS of startups. Dropbox? Yelp? Check and check.</p>
<p>You will get amazing opportunities, now the question lies: where will you do better? In the tough, weeding-out, competitive atmosphere of Berkeley or the general collaborative atmosphere of Brown? </p>
<p>It’s your choice</p>
<p>pandapocalypse:
At the same cost, Berkeley is probably a worse decision. Just look at the class sizes in (and out of) CS and faculty access attention you get at Brown.</p>
<p>Unless you’re really looking for a big school experience, at the same cost Brown is providing far more expensive services (e.g. far more faculty access, smaller classes, etc). That’s how I would present it to my folks if my personal preference was for Brown.</p>
<p>There is definitely no tangible prestige difference between those two programs on the job market, especially on a job market like CS where many of the most interesting jobs care even less about where you went to school (or if) than just about any other field I’ve encountered.</p>
<p>Brown has been a leader in CS since the 1970s. It’s a small program, which is why it doesn’t get the same public attention as larger programs. Look up Andy van Dam, and you’ll be impressed.</p>