<p>The thread tile basically says it all, if you were offered admission to both universites at Carnegie Mellon School of Computer Science and MIT for Computer Science. Which one would you choose and why?</p>
<p>bump 10char</p>
<p>In terms of undergraduate education in comp sci, both are equally good. </p>
<p>People hiring in the comp sci industry will view both of them as roughly equal. Once you get outside of that though, people will favor MIT though. It has more name recognition. </p>
<p>Still, what should be driving this decision should be outside factors: cultural preference, funding, locational preference, etc…</p>
<p>^ agree. Both schools are excellent for computer science, and in general.</p>
<p>One thing to think about is whether you want to go to school with only engineering and science majors, or whether you want to be with students majoring in music, arts, social science, etc.</p>
<p>Visit if you can.</p>
<p>I agree with Duecey & if financial aid comes into play, which one will give you the best FA package? Let’s face it, cost is that big factor these days.</p>
<p>My personal opinion is that MIT would be best if you have a more theoretical interest in CS and perhaps want to go on for your Phd. CMU is a very practical school which will give you great practice in designing code and the school is very connected with software companies like Google, Apple, and Microsoft. Both schools are highly regarded in the field, with a slight edge to MIT.</p>
<p>ricegal is pretty spot-on. But I’d say the differences in CS program strength are so slight at this level that anyone admitted to both should be deciding based on the culture of the two schools. (And yeah, prestige; any TV show with an intensely geeky character is going to send that kid off to MIT or Caltech; those are the name-brand STEM schools that every American recognizes).</p>
<p>I’m a prospective CS major and applied to CMU but not MIT. For me, it was because I’m fairly interested in creative writing and design, and it was important to me to have programs and people on campus that were focused on those activities (it’s easier to imagine geeking out about poetry with random CMU kids than MIT kids). I also looked into the HCI program at CMU and grew quite fond of it.</p>
<p>Regardless of where you attend UG, you’ll have a lucrative and respectable job upon graduation, in all likelihood.</p>
<p>MIT has more diverse and brilliant (i.e., shiny and sharp) student body, and has close interactions with Harvard and Wellesley, which provides for a far richer social and academic experience. MIT enjoys significant elite prestige and popular repute, far more than CMU does.</p>