Caltech vs. Carnegie-Mellon University vs. UC Berkeley

College Search & Selection
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<p>Okay, I realize I have like a couple hours left but I'm just looking for some last minute input... :P</p>

<p>I'm going to be majoring in CS, though I'm very interested in math and would like to have a good education in math as well. In CS, I'm most interested in artificial intelligence. I'm considering doing research over the summer, but I am not certain. Larger school size is a plus for me. Also, I'm going to have finished 14 AP tests by the end of the year, with almost all 5s, so AP credit matters...</p>

<p>Anyway, here's what I see as the pros and cons of each school:</p>

<p>Caltech:
+ Strongest student base
+ Strongest core curriculum
+ Very strong math
+ Great research opportunities (SURF)
+ Low reqs for math/CS, possible double major
+ Good area (nice suburban Pasadena)
+ Good weather
+ Most prestigious (in my opinion)
± House system (probably good, but I can see some drawbacks)
± Students have similar interests
- Very, very small
- Narrow CS program
- Notorious workload/stress
- Lower GPA
- No AP credit
- Male:female ratio</p>

<p>Carnegie-Mellon University:
+ Strongest CS
+ Minor in A.I., Robotics, H.C.I., etc.
+ Great research opportunities (SURF, SURG)
+ Lots of AP credit
+ Small, but not too small
+ Modern campus
- Narrow math program
- Pittsburgh is <em>meh</em></p>

<p>UC Berkeley:
+ Strong core curriculum
+ Very strong math
+ Strong CS
+ AP credit
+ Large school, campus
? Research opportunities for undergrads?
- Oakland (BEFORE I knew anything at all about the stigma associated with Oakland, I lived there for about a week... and I simply felt uneasy outside. Not to mention all the stories I've heard...)</p>

<p>Please provide some sort of input, especially if you've had a negative experience at one of these schools... I just want some sort of reassurance when I pick my school. I'm sure many of you have noticed that, when faced with a tough decision, we tend to pick one based upon instinct and then rationalize the decision afterwords...</p>

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<p>i wouldnt pass up Caltech</p>

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<p>The latest US News & WR ranking for AI is as follows:</p>

<p>1) MIT
2) Carnegie Mellon
3) Stanford
4) UC Berkeley
5) UT Austin
5) U of Washington (Seattle)
7) Georgia Tech
8) UIUC
9) Univ of Maryland (College Park)
10) UMass (Amherst)</p>

<p>Frankly, I wouldn’t pass up CMU for AI, machine learning, or robotics. If you want to major in Math though (as opposed to CS), Berkeley is the best option.</p>

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<p>If you are worried about being “outside” at Cal, then go to Cal Tech. It is in Pasadena where you might feel “safe”</p>

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<p>Well by outside I meant in Oakland, not the Berkeley campus haha…</p>

<p>Thanks for your input.</p>

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<p>I think between those, I like Caltech, however, it’s very intense.</p>

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<p>I vote for CalTech</p>

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<p>I doubt Caltech accepts much AP credit. Plus, since you want a larger school? Go to Berkeley. I have no doubt about the availability of UROPs–all it needs is a bit of legwork.</p>

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<p>Berkeley is in the City of Berkeley…not Oakland.</p>

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<p>Berkeley is strong in both areas… and a lot more if you change your current focus on CS and Math. </p>

<p>CMU seems less a match because they match up in quality with Berkeley only in CS, but not really in any other broad area. You’d feel constrained in two years if your interest migrates to another area in which CMU is good but not a leader.</p>

<p>Caltech is its own animal. Doesn’t really compare with anything. More boot campish than the others. Smartest students on the planet overall… which is not really that hard to do when you enroll only about 220 freshmen each year. I suspect the top 220 at Berkeley are their match. I do find it astonishing that a school of that size shows 31 nobel laureates among its faculty and a faculty/student ration of 3:1. Does this translate to very small classes, or ar these faculty not actually teaching? I assume most are not that actively engaging undergrads but haven’t looked into it.</p>

<p>P.S. Berkeley Chem Dude – you came on to post about Oakland/Berkeley and have no comment about where OP should matriculate???</p>

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<p>It is true that CMU does not match up in quality with Berkeley in graduate-level Math classes or in advanced Math research (especially in pure Mathematics). Nevertheless, CMU’s Math department is more than adequate to provide the basic Math education at the undergraduate level that the OP would need as a CS major. I mean, the OP wouldn’t gain a lot from taking Introductory Analysis for example at Berkeley as opposed to CMU (I’m assuming here he/she already took Calculus in High School). </p>

<p>Besides, in some CS-related Math areas such as Discrete Mathematics, Combinatorics, Statistics, and Logic, CMU is actually on par with top Math departments elsewhere in the country, see e.g. the [FSP rankings](<a href=“http://www.academicanalytics.com/TopSchools/TopPrograms.aspx#8”>http://www.academicanalytics.com/TopSchools/TopPrograms.aspx#8&lt;/a&gt;) for Applied Math, Statistics and Philosophy. In other words, it is not like CMU is “weak” in Math, just narrower/more specialized than Berkeley or Caltech as the OP pointed out. </p>

<p>Personally, I would recommend Berkeley or Caltech if the OP wanted to be a Math major and go on to pursue a PhD in Pure Math. Otherwise, I think CMU is a better deal, especially if the OP really wants to go into AI as he/she mentioned.</p>

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<p>BTW, just another comment, I wouldn’t rush into saying that “Pittsburgh is <em>meh</em>”. People tend to have a stereotyped view of Pittsburgh that is very different from what modern Pittsburgh is really like, especially the area around CMU, which happens to be quite nice actually. </p>

<p>Perhaps you could say though that “Pittsburgh weather is <em>meh</em>”.</p>

<p>Anyway, I suggest you contact CC member RacinReaver, who used to be a Material Sciences major at CMU and is now a graduate student at Caltech. He/she can tell you more about Pittsburgh, Pasadena and how the two places compare.</p>

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<p>i visited pitt a couple months ago. i think its meh.</p>

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<p>I know it’s in Berkeley, haha. Which happens to be right next to Oakland. Where I lived was actually in the city of Berkeley… but my California friends simply call it part of Oakland…</p>

<p>When I visited Carnegie-Mellon, Pittsburgh gave me neither a positive nor negative feeling… but it did rain almost the whole time…</p>

<p>Thanks for your input… looks like I only have an hour or so left…</p>

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<p>I’d go for Berkeley. It has the most balanced amongst the three choices. It’s prestigious as a university. It has a world-class computer science program. It has an excellent career placement record. It has a rich, dynamic, fun, brilliant and active student body. It has an excellent, top-of-the-line facilities. It has a very attractive campus. It has some of the best faculty for comsci. And, it in the Bay Area, a stone’s throw away from Silicon Valley.</p>

<p>Caltech. excellent academics. Excellent student body. Poor social scene on campus. Boring and extremely competitive atmosphere. Poor student mix (less diverse).</p>

<p>CMU. Great reputation. Great location. But poor weather at times. Beautiful campus, but poor food choices on campus. Not that great facilities than the former two as a whole. Lesser brand name recognition than the two as a whole.</p>

<p>But either school would be an excellent school for comsci in general.</p>

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<p>I was in Pittsburgh last month. It wasn’t anything to write home about from a city standpoint, but I felt the scenery was very pretty. The whole downtown area reminded me of why the area is part of the rust belt.</p>