I am a senior in high school planning to major in computer design and/or digital media. I would love to work in video game/app production and maybe virtual reality someday. I can’t decide between the following three schools:
Carnegie Mellon University (Computer Science)
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (EMAC)
Northeastern University (Comp Sci/Game Design and Screen and Media Studies)
I was admitted to all of these schools, under the major(s) listed, and all are roughly the same cost for me (CMU is about $2,000 a year more than the others). I want to attend the school where I would be happiest, as long as I would also get a good education. I’m pretty nerdy; I love anime, robots, and programming stuff for programming’s sake. I also like campuses with goofy traditions and a non-competitive atmosphere. I am really dedicated and driven, but have a tendency to work myself too hard (something I’m trying to stop).
Which of these schools would you recommend?
Any insights on their campus cultures?
I know CMU is probably the best school, but I’m worried that it will be a really stressful, competitive place that I wouldn’t enjoy.
Northeastern is probably the least stressful, but also the least academically rigorous. I didn’t get a particularly “nerdy” vibe when I visited.
Rensselaer is maybe a happy medium? I didn’t spend as much time there, and from what I hear, they may be just as stressed as CMU, without any better programs.
What do you think (and yes, I know I’m running out of time to decide; I was waiting on financial aid)?
I think that the happy medium sounds like the best option for you - CS at CMU is very intense - amazing, but not for everyone. For someone that isn’t looking at pure CS, I don’t think you would be as happy with the intense technical side. For someone on the artistic leaning side, I think RPI will offer a better mix, and the culture seems to fit you best.
Personally, I looked at RPI / NEU, and for me, Northeastern was the better fit - I’ve had an amazing time here as a CS student. In your case, I think it’s the odd man out. In a vacuum, CMU CS is the best, but the environment you want does not match well at all, and RPI has great tech / arts combinations you can manage to do without bending over backwards.
CMU is the best, but yes, very competitive and tough.
I’d go with RPI - more collaborative than competitive but with a high academic standard - and a very nerdy culture with anime/robotics/hacking galore - and plenty of clubs/nerd-fun if you don’t hole up in your room. Sounds like you’d fit in there.
My daughter is a senior this year, and was also looking at all three schools. She’s interested in the triad of CompSci, CogSci, and Design - interested in Human Centered Design type stuff, but probably wouldn’t be happy in a program that was overwhelmingly dominated by aspiring game designers, as that isn’t really her thing. She decided against applying to CMU, for the reasons you mentioned plus the extreme competitiveness of both CompSci and Design admissions there. She was accepted EA to Northeastern and has applied to RPI RD.
@PengsPhils - you’ve been very helpful over on the NU EA thread - do you have any thoughts about the CompSci+X combined majors at NU, especially CompSci+Design and CompSci+Cognitive Psychology? My daughter is thinking maybe CompSci+Design with a psych minor or just psych/soc/linguistics electives, to get the academic CogSci foundation. But RPI has a real CogSci department with a strong computational focus. I think maybe the PDI Design+CogSci at RPI is a better fit for her academically, but I also think my daughter would like Northeastern better socially and activities-wise (esp. the a cappella scene at NU, plus, let’s face it, Boston vs. Troy), and benefit from the co-op experience.
If either of you have any insights, your thoughts would be much appreciated!
The CS department does a great job with the combined majors, and I would highly recommend them. While there may not be a particular CogSci department, there are plentiful offers there from what I understand. While RPI probably has an edge there, for a minor, how much of that departmental depth will be utilized?
It sounds like the social and geographical fit is much better with NEU, which was the case for me. For the OP here, it sounds like RPI was the better fit, as I recommended. Based on what you’ve said here, I would cast a vote for Northeastern. Co-op of course is a great experience and serves you very well with CS. The list of CS co-ops is staggering with all the top companies and plenty of smaller ones, and the CS pay is one of the highest in the program as well. In fairness, RPI offers plenty of good on campus recruiting for internships, which are not equal but are significant. I actually did an internship one summer in Boston (in addition to co-ops) and worked directly alongside a few RPI students. Very good reviews of the academics and people (nice, very nerdy and proud of it), very sad reviews of Troy.
RPI also has co-ops, but one of the big considerations I think with co-ops at non co-op focused schools is the disconnect you get from the rest of the student body, which means internships often make more sense for those schools. With a co-op focused school, it’s built into the social environment.
Thanks so much for your perspective, @PengsPhils - it’s great to hear an endorsement of the combined majors. A combined program would definitely be a better fit for my daughter than a straight-CS program. The Design+CgSci double-major at RPI (as the CogSci BS there is essentially CompSci+Psych combined major) sounds good too… and my daughter is like, “I think I would like a ‘nerdy’ school…” but we really need to visit RPI and let her get a feel for the vibe. I suspect she has no idea how different “nerdy” at her performing-arts-magnet high school is from from “nerdy” at Rensselaer That’s also a good point about co-op being built into the social environment.
We’ll just have to see where we’re at when her other offers come in. I had really hoped she would get some merit aid from NU, and unfortunately that was not forthcoming. I’m still very happy she was accepted (and she is thrilled), and I still think she would rather be at Northeastern than at Berkeley/UCLA/UCSD, but a little more cost-parity with the very high quality state U’s here would have made the decision easier! I’ve also been showing her comparative weather-snapshots, the past few days, but so far she is undeterred Anyhow, stay warm, and thanks for your help!
That’s also a good point about co-op being built into the social environment.
Anyhow, stay warm, and thanks for your help!