<p>My son has been interested in computer programming since forever. MIT is high on his list mostly because of reputation and a favorite uncle works in Boston for a software company. What I've been trying to tease out is what computer science programs are like at different universities. I find it's pretty hard to read websites. I see mysterious course names and some intriguing research, but I don't really know how one department might compare to another. What would you say the strengths and weakness of computer science at MIT are?</p>
<p>Is it more theoretical? More practical? Friendly? Cut-throat? Do undergrads have opportunities to work with professors? All the usual questions...</p>
<p>Any department at MIT is collaborative and friendly. We don't do cutthroat here -- as I understand it, this is a trait that is common to many notoriously difficult schools.</p>
<p>80% of MIT undergrads do undergraduate research at some point in their four years here. Virtually all science and engineering majors do undergraduate research. There is an email list to which all EECS students belong which famously deluges their mailboxes several times a day with offers for UROPs, internships, and jobs. :)</p>
<p>I'll let somebody who's actually in course 6 talk about the finer points of the department.</p>
<p>My understanding from talking to Course Sixers is that the deparment is very theoretical. That is, of course they get lots of practical experience in computer programming, but what they're trying to teach you is the higher thought behind it.</p>
<p>Also, it's important to note that we have one department that combines Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and while students can choose to focus on one, the other, or a split, all Course 6 majors dabble in a little of both. So all electrical engineers get at least some computer science and all computer scientists get some electrical engineering.</p>
<p>And as Mollie said, at MIT in general we're not cut-throat and have tons of opportunities to work with professors.</p>
<p>Of course, I'm not Course 6 at all, so maybe I should stop talking and start trying to scare up someone who actually knows about it. =)</p>
<p>anyone still in high school (or middle school) who is interested in computer science should take a look at the USA Computing Olympiad. Most of the members of the US team to the int'l competition end up going to MIT. Free online competitions and training materials
<a href="http://www.usaco.org%5B/url%5D">www.usaco.org</a></p>
<p>Hi mathmom,</p>
<p>I'm a future EECS major at MIT. Before anything, I would recommend your son to also check these other great comp sci schools: Stanford, CMU, U Illionois, U Michichgan. For me MIT was the best, but all these colleges have their specifics, and your son may like something different than MIT. Tell him to speak with comp sci people from each of these 5 colleges, and see which one he likes better.</p>
<p>Practical? Theoretical? This is how I perceive things: Industry needs a huge amount of technicians; so most colleges will give a very practical approach to computer "science"; they will teach you very well how to use computers as a tool for industry problem solving, etc
But computer industry also needs -- in a much smaller amount, though -- people who will make innovations, who will form new directions, develop new paradigms, do the <strong>science</strong> part in "computer science" etc. Top colleges like MIT, form these people, and their education must be very theoretical, and not that much practical. Just as an example: Most computer science at MIT is taught using the language Scheme. A very theoretical language (a functional language, built on lambda-calculus), conceptually VERY powerful, yet not at all practical (as are Java, C++, etc)</p>
<p>Friendly? Cut-throat? In my not-so-big experience, I would say that MIT is most friendly. But I guess it will also depend on your son. Some people for instance feel MIT like paradise, yet others don't feel identified with the Tech at all...</p>
<p>So good luck to you and your son! Hope to see him around someday!!
Dimitri Turbiner</p>
<p>I saw Carnegie Mellon mentioned above as a school your S should also look at. To add to that, CMU is generally less selective than MIT although the computer science program is on par with the best programs in the country. The benefit of this is that CMU tends to offer a lot of scholarship money to MIT-caliber students considering their school. I personally know several people who chose CMU over Stanford, Caltech or MIT because they felt the program was comparable but certainly cheaper. The rest of the school is not competitive on the same level, so the entire spirit of the place is different, but I definitely recommend looking into it.</p>
<p>From what I gather, MIT like most very very good schools is more theoretical than most schools in computer science. I majored in course 6, specifically 6-3, computer science. I felt that things were highly theoretical and I think I like it that way. I can pick up a computer language very quickly and most companies know this. However, I think MIT should have one class that teaches you different languages to add some more practicality. I did not use C or C++ throughout my entire undergraduate education. I did use it in high school and an internship, but it hurt me to not know it well in interviews with Microsoft.</p>
<p>The worst thing about MIT's EECS program is that they make you take the 4 core classes whether you are CS, EE, or both. I had to take 6.002, 6.003, and 18.03 which are EE type classes and have not helped me at all. I could have much more knowledge of my field or something interesting than have learned the building blocks for circuits which make computers that I program on if I didn't have to take those three classes. I even heard people say MIT grads don't get enough depth. Yeah, EE and CS can be related, but not with anything I and many other CS grads are doing.</p>
<p>Don't let my criticisms of the curriculum steer you clear from MIT. I would only consider not going here for CS (if you get in) if you were also accepted to Stanford, think you would hate it here (I did my freshman year), or got a lot of money somewhere else that was pretty damn good.</p>