<p>So, briefly talking to a successful cornell graduate in Computer Science, he said to get into a top graduate school for computer science, you need to go to an undergrad program with at least pretty good academics in CS and easy research opportunities where you can start research as a freshman. I'm not sure how to look for colleges like this except for looking at graduate school rankings for CS, and assuming the undergrad school is good. Can you guys give some of your thoughts on this?</p>
<p>I’m not going to say that he is wrong but IMO the research factor is not as much of a factor for undergrads as the academic factor. Yes you should ensure that you get into research projects as they become availible but almost no one will need a freshman to assist with research. What grad schools will want is high gpa and strong test scores with some idea of how to research. Perhaps a better way to look for a place to do research is find out what schools are researching things you are interested in and apply to those. If you have a real interest in what the researcher is doing you are more likely to get involved in it than something you really dont care for.</p>