I realize it’s old news by now but with the combination of increasing CS faculty by 50% and the new SEAS building set to open in 2020, does this become a game changer for students considering Harvard vs other top CS schools?
https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2014/11/13/ballmer-computer-science-gift/
http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2016/04/final-ok-for-seas-complex-in-allston/
Probably not. Most students considering Harvard will not be admitted.
Sorry, I don’t think I was clear in my question. If you were a top student interested in enrolling in a top CS program, would this make you reconsider Harvard as a top choice? Not in the category of Berkeley, MIT, Stanford or CMU but does this raise their level in CS?
Many schools are hiring lots of CS faculty. They may be hiring a few more, but I don’t see more faculty being their barrier from being considered a top CS school. There’s a lot more going on there.
The center being built in Allston strikes me as a bit odd. Is Harvard going to set up a second campus because they can’t bear to use existing space where older (and historic) buildings are? How does that affect students, or will this only be for research and not affect your average student in any significant way?
Harvard’s CS program has gotten very good within the last 10 years. I’d already rate it as among the best.
I agree Harvard CS is among the best. As an undergraduate there are other reasons to chose or not chose Harvard rather than the ranking of its CS program
^^^???um…not if you’re choosing a CS school.
Only looking at the ranking of a CS department is a terrible way to decide where to go to school. I’d never go to Cal for undergraduate CS because the class sizes are too big for my liking. OTOH, I would go there for graduate-level CS in a heartbeat.
Things like class size and school fit and environment should be major considerations.
Well of course there are other things to consider and CS undergraduate rankings are a “guide” but to put them in the same class is silly. There are a clear 4 over all the others with different vibes at each school. The point of the thread is will this elevate Harvard’s level for CS to be more of a consideration for students looking at top CS programs?
Why would anybody chose a school solely on the ranking of one department? This is especially true since probably two thirds of the kids change majors at least once
^^^Seriously?? Ever heard of CMU?? It wouldn’t be solely on CS but when comparing top CS schools you would choose the best CS that fit otherwise as well. So in your thought process picking Harvard over Julliard would be the wise decision for a music major since you MIGHT change your major?
I believe @moscott was originally addressing your claim that Harvard was “Harvard CS is among the best.”, not that it should be the sole consideration, as said in post #8.
The question still remains relevant, as the department quality does play a significant role for many CS students, who often are very confident and set in their major due to prior exposure and experience with the subject. I would actually be interested to see what percentage of CS students with over a year of prior classes/experience freshman year move out of CS, particularly compared to those without. I would suspect that the former would stay in their major much more often than the general 1/3rd statistic.
@moscott I would try to clarify your argument rather than using the incredulous tone. I think collegedad assumed what I said above.
I did a little research and found that 80 per cent of the kids change their major in college and the average number of changes is 3 times. I will look and see if I can find something for CS majors
Here is an interesting article on the subject of changing majors