MIT vs. CMU in computer Science?

<p>I was recently accepted into both Carnegie Mellon University's School of Computer Science and MIT. Now I know MIT is more well known, but as far as I know, in the world of computer science they are viewed as fairly equal. Both have suburb Computer Science Programs and great opportunities for undergraduate research and getting jobs right out of college with high salaries. I've visited both campuses and personally liked the feel of CMU better and it's smaller campus. The thing is, I'm being told by everyone around me, including my parents that I would be a fool if I chose CMU over MIT. So my heart's telling me CMU but everyone else is telling me MIT. Just wondering what everyone else's option is.</p>

<p>lol, I googled “CMU vs MIT computer science” to help answer this and found your post to Yahoo answers (for the record: “superb”).</p>

<p>You’re right that there are good reasons for choosing both. Could you tell us a bit more about why you want to major in CS? What about it interests you? Do you prefer applications like robotics, or mathematics and theory? Do you think you might want to go to grad school, or do you dream of founding your own startup?</p>

<p>The heart wants what the heart wants. :/</p>

<p>I’ve been doing various programming for a while both in and out of school and its something I love to do. I’m honestly not sure what specific applications of computer science I want to learn about, most of my programming had been in developing AIs but I do enjoy robotics as well, and it was something I was considering minoring in. Grad school is also something I definitely want to go to</p>

<p>MIT and CMU are both very strong computer science programs. You will work hard at both. You will have very good job prospects at both. Both schools have similar social profiles.</p>

<p>There are some differences in coursework (my understanding is that CMU CS tends to be more theoretical than MIT, but I could be wrong), but it’s probably pretty similar, and you probably don’t even know which area you would prefer.</p>

<p>Frankly you could just toss a coin and you would end up fine no matter what, but I will just say this. When your parents and everyone else around you are telling you to pick MIT, it’s because more people have heard of MIT. MIT is a bigger name in a sense, but when it comes to computer science and looking for CS related jobs, CMU and MIT are pretty much equally sized names. Everyone telling you to pick MIT over CMU is probably doing it for that reason, and is therefore ill-informed.</p>

<p>I can remember looking into CS programs when my S was applying to colleges. The rankings had CMU, MIT, Stanford in the top three spots. The only thing that changed over the previous 5 years was the order. You can’t go wrong with either program. One of my son’s friends was CMU undergrad and is now MIT graduate school. </p>

<p>One other point, my S visited CMU and MIT 2x each before applying and decided not to apply to MIT. So you aren’t the only one who liked CMU more.</p>

<p>The deciding factor will really be the auxiliary programs each college offers, since I’m convinced that both have equally incredible academic opportunities for CS, and (although they do have significant cultural differences) people who can fit into one campus can easily fit into the other as well.</p>

<p>For me, what I liked about CMU was that it had very strong and prominent programs in the arts (including also design and theatre). I feel this gives a greater diversity to the student body and in the people you’ll meet over your undergrad years outside of your major. I also do prefer CMU’s campus and the intimate architectural jumble of buildings. (A note: I’m a current CS sophomore.)</p>

<p>It sounds like you prefer CMU’s culture already, and probably for good reasons (not that MIT isn’t a fantastic school, but it’s also not for every CS kid). Anyone within the CS industry or inside CS academia will tell you that both are excellent options. MIT currently has a little more name recognition for the general public, but don’t worry about that. In your field both are highly respected, and you should choose the school that you feel will be a better place to live and find friends and grow (not just academically but also socially and so on) for the next four years.</p>

<p>Thanks for all the feedback, I’m going to be attending MIT’s Campus Preview Weekend this weekend, since I haven’t seen the campus in a while. After that weekend I’m probably going to make a decision. If I fall in love with the school during that weekend, I’ll probably choose to attend there. If not, I’m going to stick with going to MIT. Both schools gave me about the same amount of financial aid as well so the money doesn’t really come in as a deciding factor.</p>

<p>I meant to say: If I fall in love with the school during that weekend, I’ll probably choose to attend there. If not, I’m going to stick with going to CMU.</p>