Can anyone offer some ideas on the comparison of CS between these two schools? Like respectively better at which aspect of CS?
I’m not sure, but I think usually the stereotype is that Stanford CS is much more practical, and CMU CS is much more theoretical. Usually the biggest difference between the two is more the other factors like social life, campus, other academic interests etc. I think most probably choose Stanford just because Stanford offers much more variety in all of the above.
Not sure if it’s true or not.
But I heard that 40% of undergraduate students major computer science at Stanford.
^Steven - this is not true. Approximately 220 students in class of 2014 (out of 1700) graduated with a BS in CS last year - that’s about 13%
Do you have a link for this?
Thanks!
To the OP…the reason why Stanford’s CS program is in a league of its own is because it is all-encompassing…in that, it provides a wide range of courses that delve into theory, systems, human-computer interaction, artificial intelligence, data mining, information, graphics, computer engineering, biocomputation, computer security, specialized and unspecialized, practical applications, software development, to startups, to entrepreneurships…all in the heart of Silicon Valley (the epicenter of high technology and the nearby future Starfleet Academy and Starfleet Headquarters :D)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starfleet_Academy
http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Starfleet_Headquarters
…and to @StevenToCollege the 40% that you are quoting is the number that Stanford students as a whole (regardless of major) take some sort of computer class(es) as an undergraduate…
…and @cba is correct last year 12.25% graduated with a degree in CS as noted in the CDS.
http://ucomm.stanford.edu/cds/2014
…as you can see…the most common degrees conferred are in interdisciplinary studies (18.28%), then engineering (15.90%), then **social sciences (14.51%) **yes, social sciences…which includes economics!, then CS (12.25%), then biological sciences (5.75%), then physical sciences (5.11%), etc…
Thank you all for your replies. I’m admitted to the summer colleges of both universities. Now I have trouble deciding which one to go to. Actually, that’s why I ask this question. Can anyone offer some opinions on this? Thanks again!
You should know that attending a Stanford summer program per se will not increase your chances of undergraduate admission. See this link:
http://admission.stanford.edu/site/faq/#faq_1_2
As far as CS prowess is concerned, both have been #1 for decades. But having said that, Stanford is the birthplace of Google, Yahoo, Sun Microsystems, Snapchat, and Instagram. Many of these companies and Facebook are headquartered about 10 minutes from Stanford. Stanford’s campus also looks and feels like a resort and consistently ranks among the prettiest college campuses. Do a Google image search to see what I mean. CMU is, I think, more urban, though I’ve never visited. Summer in Pennsylvania will also be humid, whereas it will stay quite dry (and warm) at Stanford during the summer.
To finish off, here’s some reflection on my experience with CS at Stanford (taken from another post):
Freshman year, I took CS106A, which is Stanford’s famous intro CS course. The professor, Mehran Sahami, was among the first employees at Google (originally google.stanford.edu; as I type this, I am sitting next to the Lego box that Larry Page and Sergey Bring used to store one of Google’s initial servers) and is responsible for Gmail’s spam filter. The last class of the quarter was taught by Mark Zuckerberg. Eric Roberts, my professor for CS106B, helped Bill Gates and Paul Allen start Microsoft when he was a PhD student in Applied Math at Harvard and was the primary mentor for Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer. Julie Zelenski, my CS107 lecturer, worked very closely with Steve Jobs first at NEXT and later at Apple. Jerry Cain, my CS110 lecturer, invented Facebook’s “Like” button. Don Knuth, the father of modern computer science, is an emeritus professor in the Stanford CS department. You could name almost anyone who helped establish the field of modern computer science, and I could likely stand up from my current seat and take a short walk to that person’s office. Being a CS student at Stanford is like being a geometer living in the time of Euclid: you can go talk to the people who invented major portions of your field.
One of my primary non-academic engagements is being a section leader for the CS106s (A, B, and X). All undergrads can apply to do this once they’ve completed CS106B. There are numerous companies that hire interns and full-timers directly off of the list of section leaders. My CS106B section leader guaranteed that my resume would be closely reviewed by a recruiter at Twitter (instead of being thrown in a pile of emails with all the other resumes), where he worked the summer prior to having me in section. In short, connections like these that a person makes at Stanford are invaluable. As a Stanford CS student at a career fair, many companies are actually competing for you.
Thanks, @aleaiactaest—this is very helpful for anyone considering Stanford for CS.
More detailed information is at http://stanfordvisualized.soraven.com/ . The percentage of undergrads that declared CS major by year is below.
2014 – 14.75%
2013 – 12.44%
2012 – 9.89%
2011 – 7.95%
2010 – 6.87%
2009 – 5.42%
2008 – 4.26%
2007 – 4.15%
2006 – 3.69%
You can also look up other majors. If CS keeps increasing, it may soon become the most popular major since the stats begin in the early 1960. The only majors that were higher in the past are history (17.5% in mid 60s) and economics (~17% in 1984 and 1998)
I dont know that a good reason to go to stanford is because of google and twitter and other companies similarly situated that make their money as an ad agency and having today been accused by europe of being anti consumer.
The more the reason to go and shake things up a bit while getting a fantastic education .
It may still be better than to say you like the sky because it is blue (or red in this matter).
I think location is a very good reason for a prospective CS major to choose Stanford over CMU (or anywhere else other than UC Berkeley and other schools in the San Francisco Bay Area or other tech centers like Boston). I read a book a few years ago (sorry—can’t remember the title) that was about how people in particular fields tend to live in or migrate to particular geographical locations, and that concentration of talent, opportunity, and jobs dramatically affects employment prospects and options.
@90Percent, you might be interested in this article (part 1 of 2) from yesterday’s Stanford Daily about CS at Stanford:
Is it any better to say go to Stanford because you will make lots of money helping to sell ads or go to Harvard because you can learn how to make lots of money selling derivatives. Wow you could take a class at Stanford from someone who invented the like button Do you think they can win the Nobel Prize for that? That is almost as good as developing a cure for Hepatitis I dont think anybody is really answering the OPs question
florida26 I see lots of answers to the OP’s question, but perhaps not on the same wavelength as yours. Imho, what anyone takes away with their Stanford or CMU education in CS is up to them. They don’t have to work in SV, but the opportunities still exist if they want them. And if those companies offend anyone, there are plenty others, such as YCombinator that are investing in startups that are trying to make a difference in the world. That is the lure of this area, it is open to all sorts that may have something new to offer. A Stanford CS education is a great place to start.
CMU PhD student here. Both Stanford and CMU are excellent, top-ranked programs in CS. Both are considered to be in the top 4ish programs in the country. There are pros and cons of attending both.
In terms of actual CS education, I’d say CMU edges out all other programs. There are extremely high expectations of the CS undergrads here, and they have to work extremely hard to meet those expectations. The result is that the students here are very busy, and under a lot of pressure, but that ultimately pays off when they graduate. I get the impression that programs at other schools, while still very competitive, are more relaxed than CMU’s. On the other hand, Stanford excels in a lot of programs other than just CS, the weather is nicer, and having a more relaxed programs opens up more opportunities to explore other pursuits.
The proximity to Silicon Valley is a non-issue. All the top recruiters come to CMU, including start-ups.