My son is looking at both CMU and Pomona college to study cognitive science with a likely concentration or double major in computer science. The social culture at each school is so different. Both schools seem strong enough in their departments that he will get the academics. Does anyone have experience in either department at either school? And can anyone speak to the type of student that attends either in terms of intellectual curiosity as well as how driven they are by a career path?
if he wants to go get a PhD and not go to med school CMU is super strong in both those fields and much better hands on research options. (or if he wants to get a computer science related job = CMU) If he wants to go to med school pomona.
Is he trying to decide last-minute where to go? Or are you looking ahead for applications?
As a last-minute crunch. He has visited both and saw how different the communities were. He’s not looking to go to med school either. He likes the humanities aspect of the study of cognitive science.
He does not want to go to med school. He was accepted into the school of humanities, not the school of computer science so he will not be able to major in computer science at CMU, only minor. He is interested in linguistics, philosophy, and the other humanities aspects of cognitive science.
He is likely to go to grad school for Computer Science either way. Why do you say Pomona only if he wants to go to med school?
What are the finances like? Can you afford both of these places without any debt other than the standard federal student loans?
Yes. Cost is not an issue
CMU is super strong in cognitive science (my field). I never heard of any research coming out of Pomona in that field. I would say hands down CMU is the better option if the culture/location is tolerable to the student.
He’s a technical kid but also loves languages and other humanities and loves the idea of a Lac where students are there to learn for the sake of learning and is not too preprofessional
CMU is world renowned for computer science and cognitive science. If you had said my kid is interested in a career in those where should he go, CMU would be in the top 5 (with MIT and Stanford). Pomona is a great liberal arts school but will not have the hands on undergrad research options in those fields that CMU does. Pomona has much more grade inflation than CMU, which if you are mostly focused on grades, CMU is higher on the stress end. I have no allegiance to CMU other than it was a school my kid considered/visited (who was not interested in CS or engineering so we moved on). My spouse and kid really loved the campus and it’s setting with lots to do near it in Pittsburgh.
Interesting. He is not caught up in grades. Just wants to study a variety of things. So you would say the research opportunities alone are what make CMU a better choice for CogSci? The culture of the school is also very important to him. I guess he needs to figure that part out
if you want to go to grad school PhD the key both for the student making sure they know what they are getting in to and for admissions from the school side is hands on undergrad research. CMU CS is one of the best. Also how much the school publishes and does research are key. CMU does a lot more published research in those fields than pomona. And CMU is one of the most respected for CS.
Thank you. He did not apply to their School of Computer Science. He applied and was accepted into the Dietrich School of Humanities to study Cognitive Science so the most he could do in CS is minor since the upper level courses are reserved for CS majors. He will likely go to grad school for computer science but likes the idea of having the cognitive science background as an undergrad. So from a perspective that research opportunities matter to grad schools, does it matter as much if he is not likely going to grad school for Cognitive Science but rather for computer science?
I would drill down on the availability of CS classes at both schools. The 5C’s are having trouble meeting demand. CS majors get priority for classes but minors do not. The computation track within CogSci includes CS classes, but you’d want assurance that this means priority to register for those classes. And your son should ask himself whether he’d be satisfied with that CS sequence if it turned out he would not be able to get additional upper-division CS electives beyond those required. (He would, however, have the freedom to declare a CS major or double-major if he chose, whereas that option is off the table already at CMU.)
I know that the CogSci program at CMU is very computationally oriented (which is to say, he wouldn’t really have the option of a track similar to the NON-computational track at Pomona), but presumably that means he should not have trouble getting the CS classes that are required. I would compare what that includes to what the computation track at Pomona includes, and what (if anything) the CS minor would add to his coursework.
And then there’s the question of the overall experience he wants to have - as you’ve already observed, the vibe/culture is quite different between the two schools. If he wants to have a “Renaissance person” undergrad experience, then I might still lean Pomona even if it means kicking a few CS cans down the road that he’d need to make up in grad school. If he’s more about the depth and the interdisciplinary CS-crossover then I would lean CMU. If he’s interested in having a lot of linguistics in the mix, that’s strong at Pomona where the CogSci/Linguistics department is joint. CMU is likely to lean more tech/HCI.
Congrats on two great options - I wouldn’t say he’d be burning any bridges either way, but the emphasis and experience in the undergrad years will be different, so it’s all a matter of what he prefers.
2 great choices. For grad school decent grades but not excellent med school grades are required which is why I keep emphasizing that, since the main knock on CMU is grade deflation and stress. However, with a major in cogni sci and minor in CS from CMU I’d think that would open more future doors, particularly for private sector jobs.
This is great information and great advice. The idea is that if he goes to Carnegie Mellon, he would major in cognitive science and be able to minor in computer science if he chooses but perhaps not if there is enough CS built in. This is according to the computer science department which explained to him that he could not take upper level computer science courses so a double major is out of the question. As for Pomona, he would major in cognitive science and could, in theory, add a double major in computer science, also making it easier by having priority registration for the CS classes, according to Pomona.
He does like the linguistics aspect of Pomona’s program.
He has a lot to sort out in very little time! Thank you
If he likes the linguistics emphasis, likes the overall liberal arts context, and is open to declaring a CS double-major if that’s what it takes to get the classes he wants, then Pomona seems to offer more flexibility and perhaps better fit.
CMU would definitely put him in the middle of a more heavy-duty CS-entrepreneurial incubator. Maybe that would afford opportunities that wouldn’t be as readily available at the 5C’s. But then again he’d be competing against literally the top CS students in the country for those opportunities, so… I think you’d need some firsthand advice from people at CMU about which doors he could reasonably expect to get a foot into there. It could be great or it could mean feeling like a second-class citizen in the pursuits that interest him - I’m not equipped to predict, and it depends to some extent on the extent to which he’s willing to initiate and sell himself as a contributor.
Given that he’s looking at several possible paths, my gut sense is that Pomona might be the better place to explore and keep options open… but I’m a 5C’s parent, and someone who knows CMU better might well make a compelling argument in the other direction!
Well it’s done. My Renaissance Man chose Pomona. Thank you for all your advice. It really helped.
Congrats on the choice. From what I’ve read here, it seems like the right one.