guys I have got admission in Cornell College of engineering (intended major Comp Science) and am wait listed on yale andd Carnegie Mellon University (CMU).
Supposing i get CS at all three…
Which should I choose
From what i have heard, the pros and cons about each are:
Yale pros: Ivy league prestige, amazing networking and alumni network, amazing life on campus, Comp science would probably be easier than proper engineering colleges
Yale cons: The education in Comp science I would receive would not be as technically sound as the other two, so I wouldn’t know as deeply about the subject, which would later show at the workplace
Cornell pros: Ivy league prestige, Amazing CS department
Cornell cons: Difficult CS, more technical also means greater work, less social life and overall experience probably not as enjoyable
CMU pros: Outstanding CS department, arguably the best there is…
CMU cons: Extremely difficult and stressful, social life inhibited, quality of life inhibited
In light of all this, which should I choose? Correct me if I am wrong in any of the above things please…
The kind of person I am: I can work hard and don’t mind regular studying, though I do get stressed out when there’s too much of it. I am not a party person and I enjoy company of a few close friends. …basically i’m reserved, though have no social problems talking to ppl or making friends
You will be more than fine with any of these choices. I wouldn’t bank on Yale’s being easier. But I did notice they only had 20 CS profs last I looked, compared to 30 at Harvard and Brown, for example. I’m sure Cornell has a ton more since the dept is likely larger. And you can take CS at Cornell in the Engineering college or CAS and Cornell itself says that ‘neither are an advantage for jobs or grad school.’ So be happy with your admit at Cornell. And if you go on the w/l at the others and get in then you will have these kinds of things to think about. Doesn’t Yale put like 1,000 people on the w/l so that is unlikely?
So many silly misconceptions…
At the undergrad level, Yale CS will be just as “technically sound” as the other two and you will certainly learn the subject matter just as deeply. CS will NOT be any easier at all.
Also, where do you get the idea that the social life at Cornell and CMU will be severely inhibited?
In any case, you’re very likely not getting off the wait lists…
I’ve read recent articles about Yale being concerned that their CS department isn’t as strong as other schools, that they haven’t invested as much effort or money in the program as compared to, say, Harvard. Harvard meaning “another highly selective school that’s not a STEM powerhouse but wants to improve its CS offerings for both majors and nonmajors”. Sorry I don’t have links to provide.
That said, a school can turn around its CS program relatively quickly, especially when the school has deep pockets to fund rapid change. If you decide to take a spot on the Yale wait list, take this time to do some research on Yale’s CS program and their plans for the future. Talk to professors and undergrads. What is the department doing to expand its offerings and size? What kind of opportunities–research, job offers, summer internships–exist for undergrads? You won’t have much time to respond if you’re offered an acceptance, so do your evaluation now when you aren’t under the gun.
As you say, CMU’s CS department is one of the exceptional ones, and Cornell’s is outstanding. You’re going to be accepting Cornell anyway–if you want to keep alive the option of being at CMU for the experience of working with arguably tippy-top scholars in your field, take the wait list. You can also ask at both schools where this year’s crop of graduates took jobs or grad school acceptances. My (totally random don’t believe strangers who give advice on CC ) impression is you’ll be fine at either school (and probably Yale for that matter), so if waitlists work out then go with “feel”. Have you visited all of the schools?
I am a current freshman at Cornell University, in the College of Engineering. My cousin studies at Yale. Here is my take on your situation, with inputs from her:
Assuming you DO get off the waitlist at Yale and CMU (highly unlikely in both cases, but still):
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All three have equally strong alumni networks. Yale isn’t any better than Cornell when it comes to that, and CMU isn’t any worse. However, the alumni network for CS specifically, is MUCH stronger at both Cornell and CMU than Yale, because Cornell and CMU have two of the strongest engineering / CS programs in the country.
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Yale CS will NOT be easier but since it will be a liberal arts degree, the requirements will be VASTLY different. At Cornell (assuming you’re in the College of Engineering and not Arts and Sciences), and CMU, the requirements will be more engineering oriented instead of say, language and social science requirements. This done not mean that you will not be free to take languages and humanities classes - it only means that you will not HAVE to take them, if you don’t wish to.
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Both Cornell and Yale have Ivy League prestige, but with Cornell you get the best of both worlds - Ivy League prestige AND great CS department.
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I have no idea what Yale and CMU are like socially, and I wouldn’t say it’s inhibited at either, but Cornell has AMAZING social life. I am not a party person either, and prefer reading books or watching movies or just hanging out with friends to going out, but seriously - there is something for everyone here. There are parties, board game clubs, sports clubs, star gazing, and anything else you could imagine. The campus is absolutely beautiful with waterfalls everywhere, and the winter isn’t as bad as people say (and certainly not much worse than Yale or CMU). Ithaca is a much prettier town compared to Pittsburgh and New Haven.
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Finally, I think that considering that a) you already got accepted to Cornell and b) Cornell is both a top CS program and an Ivy League (while Yale has the Ivy League part, and CMU has the top CS program part), you should definitely commit to Cornell.
Lastly - just a piece of friendly advice from a fellow student - if you’re going to any of these schools, please improve your grammar! You WILL have to take writing classes in the first couple of years, and it’s better if you get into the habit early on. I can TELL you’re an international student from South Asia just based on your punctuation (also, the use of British English, and “Comp Science” for “CS” :P)
Nebuchadnezzar, thanks for all the help
The reason my grammar sucks in this post is that I wasn’t really focusing on writing properly, and much more on asking the questions (and your prediction is correct, I am from South Asia, you are pretty observant)