<p>I am a high school junior, and my brother goes to Pomona. I am very interested in Computer Science, and it's my intended major.</p>
<p>I was wondering what the trade offs were for a CompSci major at a LAC or a university. I currently LOVE the idea going to Harvey Mudd or Pomona, but I'm apprehensive if this will hurt my graduate school applications or career after graduation (in comparison to a top compsci university such as Stanford, CMU, UC Berkeley, or MIT, provided I can get in).</p>
<p>I should also mention I am interested in the more theoretical/mathematical side of computer science than the side of programming. Artificial Intelligence, computational linguistics, algorithms, data structures, etc. What are the best schools for this type of interest?</p>
<p>Talk to the Computer Science departments at the schools you’re looking at. See if their research matches up with your interests. Ask how easy it is to get involved.</p>
<p>Depending on the school, it might be harder or easier to start doing research, etc. Demonstrated research experience is key for graduate school, especially in the hard sciences.</p>
<p>Sometimes, it’s hard to get those depts to talk to you. Those guys are busy and may expect you to already know their research areas. </p>
<p>An easy first step is checking the course catalogs to see the range of classes. Check the faculty bios and their research interests/current projects- (web sites, google, whatever it takes.)</p>
<p>You closed by asking what are the best schools…? Some may answer here. In any case, journals, reports from various conferences or symposia, etc, usually note where the profs who wrote or spoke are teaching and sometimes where they got their degrees. Now, you’re building a list. Later, when you’re informed, you can make the personal contact, armed with the info and some pretty focused questions. Good luck.</p>
<p>It depends on the LAC. HM would be terrific. Others, not so much. Courses with the same name can vary quite a bit. I looked at what my son did in his intro classes at CMU and the programs he wrote were more intricate than anything I did in grad school at Santa Clara. The bar is pretty high at CMU. I also think MIT covers the theory very well and you will be exposed to kids who are already thinking about major CS research at the undergraduate level. You will not get as much of this at the vanilla CS programs offered at LACs. There just aren’t that many kids interested in CS theory.</p>
<p>One man’s opinion: The lack of a graduate school in CS at Mudd severely restricts the value of the CS program. It would be a wonderful education, but not as good a choice as a national university from the standpoint of CS. However, the overall educational experience at HM would be wonderful, and that may be more valuable to you. It’s a personal preference.</p>
<p>A HM degree is well respected, and, IMO, you would have no trouble getting into an excellent grad school with a HM undergrad degree. HM is also very well connected with many companies up and down the state. When we visited (many moons ago) we were very impressed by the projects that undergrads were able to work on in a cooperative fashion with many tech and engineering companies in CA. </p>
<p>Since you have a sib at Pomna, you are familiar with the campus layout and consortium. My s found the HM campus to be just a little too cramped and the students just a tad too … fringy… I guess is a good word, for it. He ended up falling in love with and attending Rice. It is also a place that attracts bright, slightly nerdy kids, but that was just fine! But you cannot go wrong with a HM degree, IMO. The other schools on your list are of course also excellent choices. Good luck!</p>
<p>Virtually any halfway decent CS department (even at obscure schools) will cover introductory programming, algorithms, data structures, programming language theory, computer organization/design, operating systems, database theory/design, network theory/design, and discrete mathematics. Many will have at least one course in artificial intelligence. The sleepy little tier 3 LAC near my home offers all of these courses, plus a few more. They may well teach them from some of the same textbooks used at Stanford.</p>
<p>Computational Linguistics is an example of something you will not get at most schools. However, aside from the typical CS offerings, the only foundation you really need for that is a few basic linguistics courses plus statistics. Linguistics is offered at some of the better LACs (like Pomona, Carleton, and Swarthmore). I think you can get most everything you want at these schools. The extra personal attention may be worth much more to you than the additional specialized course offerings you’d get at a larger school. You’ll probably also be giving up access to major research projects (the kind of federally funded programs you’d see at a place like JHU). However, you can compensate for that by seeking out internship opportunities.</p>
<p>At this point, it seems that I need to visit each institution and do research on their advantages and disadvantages. I think I would prefer the LAC education, but if I can receive some great undergraduate research opportunities, I will definitely have to weigh both options carefully.</p>
<p>Was anyone else intrigued by the inclusion of St. John’s College (both campuses) on this list? Correct me if I’m wrong, but I didn’t think they offer undergraduate degrees in specific subjects, much less computer science (I’d double check myself but I’m on my phone and the connection is painfully slow). If that list is correct it is very interesting that they have so many graduates entering into PhD programs – which puts an interesting twist on the LAC / University for CS debate.</p>
Mudd would give you both in a way that, IMO, no other college can match. It’s definitely small so you get the teacher attention. It’s GOOD so you have the excellent peers. They do plenty of research there, with no grad students to steal the better jobs. My son will be going to Mudd, choosing it over Rice, Caltech, Rose Hulman, Case Western, and Colorado College. </p>
<p>Rice is so small it’s almost an LAC, and when we visited we found LOTS of deliriously happy kids doing research. Caltech has lots of research (and research funding) and the students are very happy with their opportunities. Rose Hulman is a lot like Mudd (small; well-prepared students; teacher attention), only less selective. Case Western is a lot like MIT (small research university; same size; well-prepared students), only less selective. Colorado College is a respected (I don’t know “tiers”) LAC with an actual BA in Computer Science. </p>
<p>Very few LACs offer a degree in CS, and when they do, it’s almost always a BA not a BS. At Colorado College, if I recall correctly, getting Honors in your CS degree required that you take EVERY CS class offered by the school. And when you’ve finished that, you do independent study with profs. I was glad my son didn’t choose CC, because I wanted him to have more freedom in his CS degree. If you go to a LAC, look carefully at the catalog and requirements and see how many choices there are in the CS degree.</p>
<p>But remember, at a “top compsci university”, you will be competing with grad students for your research. Also, the reason those schools are rated top is because of their grad programs, which will be at least somewhat closed to you. Not that you can’t take grad courses when you have finished the prereqs, but the rating of top is based on something other than the program you’ll be in.</p>
<p>“But remember, at a “top compsci university”, you will be competing with grad students for your research.”</p>
<p>Actually, that’s not how it works. The pie is a lot bigger, and high-value opportunities are more numerous. Undergraduates aren’t doing graduate-level research as a matter of course; they need to learn quite a bit to approach that point, and it takes time to build competence. There’s a big gap to fill.</p>
<p>A strong research institution with a quality graduate school attracts lots of research money, and that opens the way for undergraduates to join teams where they can work closely with grad students and professors. Profs need to build their research teams, and they need seasoned grad students to do the heavy lifting. Grad students need the mentoring experience, and undergrads need projects that they can contribute to as they grow. It’s a great experience for the undergrads; it’s a very healthy environment for everyone, and those relationships can last for many decades, reaching across universities, industry, startups, etc.</p>
<p>A strong graduate program is a really important component of a top CS school. It’s probably an essential component.</p>