<p>I'm currently trying to decide whether I'm going to Stanford or MIT. I plan on majoring in computer science. I've tried looking on Stanford's website for information about the undergraduate program, but I haven't found a lot of useful information. Is it Stanford's vicinity to Silicon Valley that helps make its CS program so strong, or something else?</p>
<p>First of all, I want to say I have not attended Stanford. But Stanford computer science department is what I admire most due to its numerous huge contributions to IT inventions and IT industry.</p>
<p>Here is a youtube link for some lectures by Stanford professors:
[YouTube</a> - stanford computer science lecture](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=stanford+computer+science+lecture&aq=0]YouTube”>http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=stanford+computer+science+lecture&aq=0)</p>
<p>Here is a list of famous Stanford alumni in CS:
[List</a> of Stanford University people - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“List of Stanford University people - Wikipedia”>List of Stanford University people - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>and Stanford’s faculty members who have won Turing award (the ‘Nobel’ prize in computing):
[List</a> of Stanford University people - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“List of Stanford University people - Wikipedia”>List of Stanford University people - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>I might be biased on this. But my impression is that MIT CS people tend to write papers, while Stanford CS people change the world.</p>
<p>Stanford people have founded a lot famous IT companies, such as GOOGLE, YAHOO, SUN, CISCO, NETSCAPE, VMWARE, and H-P. They created SILICON VALLEY, the world’s high tech mega, a much more exciting area than Boston where MIT resides.</p>
<p>Stanford and MIT both have amazing CS departments. You would receive a world-class education at either school. </p>
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<p>You can view it both ways: Silicon Valley does provide extremely fertile ground for industry support for Stanford’s CS programs, as well as optimum career opportunities. It is also true, however, that Silicon Valley became what it is largely through the efforts of Stanford (and Berkeley) computer science grads–and some VC’s, of course. ; )</p>
<p>You might want to attend admit weekends for each school and decide after that, if possible. With schools of this caliber, you’ll want to compare cultures, climates, student lifestyles, and other personal factors. Good luck!</p>
<p>With the proximity to Silicon Valley, a lot of the professors at Stanford and guest speakers and such have had and still maintain intimate experience in the field. Like there’s one professor who also works at Facebook I think. So not only will you learn from some of the very best and most experienced professors, but you can readily get connections into some of the world’s top companies. </p>
<p>As much as it pains me to say, CS is THE major at Stanford.</p>
<p>If you want to work in industry after you graduate, go to Stanford. The CS dept has ridiculous ties to Silicon Valley - there’s a saying that there might as well be a walkway from Stanford to Google because so many alums go on to work there (the founders are from Stanford, btw). MIT’s CS program is more theoretical and is perhaps a bit better if you want to do research/go into academia. Keep in mind that these are marginal differences. Both schools are tops for CS, and in reality you can’t go wrong with either of them.</p>
<p>As a current student at Stanford, I adore my CS department. The achievements of Stanford CS, both students and faculty, are the number one reason Silicon Valley is what it is today. In fact, Stanford CS is the number one reason Stanford is what it is today. </p>
<p>Aside from its historicity, the CS department runs itself better than any other at Stanford: its classes are insanely difficult, but the teaching staff works their asses off to get everyone to understand the material. (Look on Stanford’s iTunes page to watch lectures by Stanford professors, CS or otherwise.) Recent graduates I met always say how well Stanford prepared them and how much their employers can see that.</p>