<p>I am interested in Computer Science, and will probably apply to one of these two schools. Which one has a stronger Comp Sci dept? Rather, what are the pros/cons/different approaches of the two school's programs? Do they focus on inter disciplinary studies? Pre-professionalism? </p>
<p>Thanks for responses</p>
<p>I can tell you that Comp Sci at Cornell is difficult with a couple of weeder courses. I think the program at Cornell is better than at Washington U. Cornell is a top-five comp sci program.</p>
<p>Well, Cornell definitely has a stronger reputation than Washington. Cornell engineering dept is among the top 10 in the nation and I think its comp science dept is ranked 7th or 8th in the nation but it's definitely top 10. The same can't be said for WUSTl. Cornell is a stronger and better school overall that outperforms WUSTL in almost every field of study.</p>
<p>It's probably equally as difficult to get into WashU and/or Cornell, though. The irony.</p>
<p>WashU isn't particularly known for computer science, anyways. I'd def recommend Cornell over WashU for computer science, but WashU over Cornell for the overall undergrad experience--not that Cornell is lacking (hey, a competitive atmosphere may be your cup of tea, but cutthroat competition isn't mine), but just my two cents in preference.</p>
<p>For computer science, you should look at schools like Carnegie Mellon.</p>
<p>CMU is already a definite on my list. And I was the one who was asking about non-cutthroat schools a little while ago.</p>
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hey, a competitive atmosphere may be your cup of tea, but cutthroat competition isn't mine
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<p>There is nothing at all competitive about the engineering program at Cornell. The computer science program may be demanding, but it is nothing that you would not find at Stanford, MIT, CMU, or Georgia Tech. At Cornell students regularly help each other out in problem sets and studying for exams. Most upper-level courses are evaluated on a collaborative basis.</p>
<p>As for the overall undergraduate experience, both Cornell and WashU offer ample opportunities for students, and it is really a matter of preference. In terms of diversity of experience, Cornell is a bit more differentiated.</p>
<p>I agree C-Red</p>
<p>My D is an ILR major with a minor in IS- Information Science (ie, computer science). She is extremely ambitious but not in the least cutthroat. She is a TA for CS and works in study groups. She has never mentioned people being cutthroat. She has mentioned some being too difficult to work with, some lazy. etc. It is just the usual things you will encounter in the working world.</p>
<p>I have never heard of Computer Science as one of Wash U's strengths. My oldest is a senior Comp Sci major at Cornell, in the interviewing stage for jobs. One of the company recruiters told him that their tier one schools are MIT, Carnegie Mellon and Cornell; he implied that graduates of other schools get less generous offers.</p>
<p>If you have specific questions about Cornell's department, let me know and I will try to get you an answer.</p>
<p>midwesterner - what are some of the interesting comp sci courses your son is taking as a senior? Has he done any undergrad research? Was there anything about the school/department that he didn't like?</p>
<p>what about the information science major at Cornell? Is it as well recruited as Computer Science? I got an email saying "The mean salary for the Information Science Class of 2008 is $64,000", and I believe that's one of the highest at the school after you rule out investment banking offers.</p>
<p>I'd rather go with CMU or MIT for CS but for the question at hand I'd pick Cornell over WUSTL for such a subject.</p>