<p>I know CMU is world-renowned for its Computer Science course, but what of its location in Pittsburgh? I would say it is without doubt that there's no where better to be than Silicon Valley for Computer Science and technology. I got accepted by USC, but waitlisted at CMU.</p>
<p>Location matters a lot to me and I would LOVE to go to California because of Silicon Valley, but I do know that CMU's CS course is way stronger than USC's.</p>
<p>What do you guys think? What should influence my decision more?</p>
<p>USC is almost 400 miles from Silicon Valley - CMU has working arrangements w/many of the Silicon Valley companies - as well as the graduate programs at Moffett Field</p>
<p>I have an advantage because I’m from the Bay Area, but just in the fall semester alone we were visited by Apple, Facebook, Yahoo!, Microsoft, among others - many of which only visited schools such as Cal, Stanford and CMU, skipping USC.</p>
<p>Thanks for your replies, everybody. The other thing is, how ‘mac-friendly’ is the CMU area, i.e. campus and pittsburgH? I am a mac fanatic, and this matters a lot to me. Compared to Stanford/USC, CMU is less pro-mac right?</p>
<p>Absolutely not. All the clusters in the computer science department are Macs or Linux machines. Of all the computers on campus, I’m pretty sure that it’s split evenly among, if not weighted towards Macs, Windows and linux machines, in that order.</p>
<p>That is good to hear… so would a Mac user like me feel at home there? As in, iPhone support… os x support, etc? What about Apple Stores around the Pittsburgh area?</p>
<p>USC is in a really disgusting and dangerous part of Los Angeles and nowhere near Silicon Valley. I was there for a summer program during high school, and did not like the area one bit. Some floor mates went to the movie theater across the street from campus and witnessed the beginnings of a drive-by shooting (car pulls up to another one, pulls a gun, they both go off). Los Angeles is a gross city in general, anyway. I’m biased, yes, but I hate that city.</p>
<p>CMU, however, is a wonderful and vibrant area of Pittsburgh. Campus is open and safe (while USC’s is confined and gated and in the middle of a ghetto), and even walking alone in the middle of the night, I’ve never felt in danger, and I’m female. Restaurants stay open late, an we have U Pitt next door to add to the college atmosphere. Unlike LA, Pittsburgh is a very friendly and down-to-earth place, and CMU is very down to earth too. There’s a reason why people call USC the University of Spoiled Children.</p>
<p>As for Macs, I personally hate them, but they’re everywhere on campus. For the most part, wherever there are computers, a large portion of them are bound to be Macs. Here in design, we only have Macs. We have fast on-campus support for a couple types of computer, including Macs. The others are Thinkpad, HP, and Dell, I believe. There’s a Mac store not far from campus (one of my classmates is a total Mac fan and works there). You’ll be fine with your Mac stuff.</p>
<p>So yeah, if you can clear the waitlist, come to CMU and don’t bother with USC. If not geographically, CMU is closer to Silicon Valley than USC. For example, I hear that Hewlett Packard only hires from Stanford, Berkeley, and CMU.</p>
<p>CMU is absolutely my first-choice school, but given that I’m an international student, I do not know much about the Pittsburgh area, as I haven’t been to PA before. Thanks everyone for their input. I’m just hoping that I can get in off the wait-list, and my dreams will come true!</p>