<p>@terenc: I agree, people should make up their own minds. I always thought of Stanford’s MSCS program as top-notch, simply because it’s Stanford. And a lot of people do that. It wasn’t unless I had done some research and talked to several professors about my grad school plans when I realized that it’s not as “elite” as I thought it was. Again, a big reason for that is also their Honors co-op program, which in my opinion shouldn’t be there (or should give out a different degree). Another one is the lack of financial aid, that’s where the “cash cow” reputation comes from. The high admission rate (for people who can afford to pay 80k) leads people to label it as a safety. I don’t have anything against the program, in fact, it has been my top-choice for a MSCS for a long time. However, it’s a matter of fact that many people don’t have a good impression of it. So I just advise people to do some research before choosing Stanford “just because it’s Stanford”.</p>
<p>does anyone know if getting internships would be hard with a minor? Would they look at my resume and be discouraged to hire me because of that? I’ve read that the 61 series is already pretty good to get internships (I’m assuming that was for people pursuing a bachelors though).</p>
<p>^If you rock your interviews and answer all their programming questions well and have a good attitude/demeanor, you’ll most likely get the internship (I would like to say you will get the internship but I don’t want to falsely get people’s hopes up).</p>
<p>Yeah so in order to get the internship, I guess they would have to find your resume worthy of calling you for an interview. And if you’ve done the 61 series, I feel like that would be enough since most of us who got CS interviews and did internships in our freshman and sophomore years probably did not take many (or any) upper div CS classes (e.g. like me)</p>
<p>I’d add that it doesn’t really matter what the title of your degree is if you have the course preparation. You don’t have to do the full-blown CS major, but could still get into top CS programs with something more than a minor. It’s even possible with just the minor, though less likely.</p>
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<p>Well, this is a little different - you’re probably referring to the coterm program, which lets students go for a master’s in any field. It’s an opportunity afforded only to Stanford undergrads; preparation in a given field is a more important factor for non-Stanford applicants.</p>
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<p>This is jumping the gun a bit. Yes, it’s true that Stanford’s MSCS program is a cash cow (intentionally), and that it’s significantly easier to get into than its PhD program, which is ridiculously hard. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t respected by people “in the know”; its MSCS program is still very difficult to get into and is well-respected by industry players. It’s easily top-5 for MSCS.</p>
<p>^what do you mean by “something more than a minor” ? Do you mean like a minor + additional courses + extra experience? What would you recommend?</p>