Need Help: Carnegie Mellon vs UChicago for CS

College Search & Selection
1

So, my dream school is Stanford, as my mother and father both went there and it has everything I’m interested in: a vibrant community that literally “won’t let you fail”, a combination of a rich core curriculum with a great computer science program, people who are “quirky”, the ability to switch between schools easily, but sadly, I am currently on the waitlist and I’m unsure if I’ll be able to get off it… I’m trying to do everything in my power. :frowning: Suggestions?

So, my next three choices are Carnegie Mellon and UChicago and UMD… I’m currently declared as a computer science major in all three schools but I’m hoping to also do a double major /something with either music performance or music composition! My parents are paying with college funds that have been saved up and have told me I don’t have to worry about finances in my choice!

Carnegie Mellon:
It’s #1 for CS. I visited and the campus was pretty depressing, I didn’t like the host I stayed with, people weren’t “quirky” like they were at some other schools so I felt as though I was judged really hard there for wearing sweatpants around campus etc… I did however like some of the classes that I took though!

UChicago: People had that “quirky” aspect that I love and I seriously felt so at home on campus… I loved the people I stayed with as they were all friends and super sweet and they were “Weird” like me. The campus is beautiful too… But overall, I didn’t like the classes. I thought the blackboards were outdated and they’re also not ranked well in CS… Also, it’s a liberal arts college. That’s fine but I don’t really like how our major is only 1/3 of what we study.

2

I wouldn’t choose UChicago over CMU for CS or for music. But music performance is very competitive at CMU, so you’d need to look into what your options are if you’re not already admitted as a music major. I can relate to what you’re saying about the “vibe” but also think that it’s easy to be too heavily influenced by a few randomly-assigned people like your overnight host, when it’s likely that your “tribe” really does exist there. Admission to CMU CS is ridiculously competitive - congrats!

If you don’t like the idea of spending 2/3 of your education on broad study outside of your major, then UChicago is doubly not the right place for you. The charm and quirk factors do not make up for poor academic fit.

How do you feel about UMD? The CS department is certainly strong. Is it significantly less expensive for you, or no?

3

For Carnegie Mellon, is it only music performance that’s competitive or do you believe music composition or music technology is also competitive? I would be doing a BCSA there and am really just hoping for anything related to music! UMD is also a possibility but I feel as though it would be harder to get into a good graduate program if I decide to go that route?

4

For all of the BXA programs, you have to be admitted to both schools. If you’re not already accepted to CFA as well as SCS, I’d suggest contacting someone in CFA directly to get firsthand information about admission to the different music-related majors and what your options are. https://www.cmu.edu/cfa/music/apply/undergraduate_admission/undergrad_application_requirements.html

5

@deadgirl (grateful dead? But think alive(!) ok?!), you 100% need to forget about stats and everything about what you have read and heard. Go where you feel most comfortable! If there was someone you didnt like would you date him because what everyone else thought? Same is true of a school. Needs to be chemistry! If you aren’t happy somewhere you won’t do well academically and/or socially.

6

Sergey Brin seems to have gotten in to a decent CS PhD program after going to UMD.

Honestly, you could get to anywhere from all 3 of those places.

Have you looked at the upper-level CS class at the U of C including at TTIC?

And is the 1/3rd the upper limit or just the bare minimum? Would you be prevented from taking more CS classes at the U of C?

Did you know that you could major in CS and do a CS master’s in 4 years at the U of C?

7

CMU is a great option for CS.

I’m sure you’ll find “quirky” people on all elite university campuses.

8

If you are from California or nearby don’t overlook Cal or UW for CS. They are sensational schools for CS and access to interesting internships and work.

I am glad @PurpleTitan reminded us about Brin and UMD. I always like to use the Tim Cook at Apple story. Auburn undergrad. Duke MBA. Apple CEO.

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@deadgirl CMU is a spectacular choice academically for computer science and they are doing some fabulous work with art+cs and I imagine music+cs would also be a great option. I would never recommend anyone to go to a school they didn’t like but from a exciting major perspective, CMU is the place to be. Did you meet with undergraduate CS people while you were there? I am having trouble believing they’d judge a girl for wearing sweatpants!!! I do think it’s a pretty intense, competitive environment and that’s not for everyone at all.

10

Were you accepted in SCS at CMU? There’s a lot of CS history at CMU and it’s program is, IMO, top notch (elite you might say :smile: ). From my tours a few years ago I thought the students were kinda quirky and hard working. If money is not an option you should strongly consider it.

Also, I hope you’ve watched “The Last Lecture” on YouTube. Randy Pausch - class act. I recall walking over the Pauch Bridge with my S during one tour of CMU - made us think hard about priorities.

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Hard to pass up CMU for CS and music. But if you’re in SCS doing music as a second major may be hard.

UC isn’t a liberal arts college, maybe you mean because of the Core you have to take a lot of classes outside your major?

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@OHMomof2, the U of C (I don’t know of anyone who calls it “UC”, which typically mean the UCs or Cincy) undergrad College isn’t really a LAC any more, but back in the day, it was essentially Reed with huge PhD and professional programs attached to it. No professional majors and quite tiny.

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@PurpleTitan Thanks for that correction. I perhaps erroneously assumed that OP could figure out what I meant by “UC” since we aren’t discussing any of those other schools in this thread.

As I understand it, “the U of C” is a university with graduate schools that grant PhDs, JDs, MBAs and MDs. Am I wrong about that? Or maybe just don’t understand what “university” means.

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@OHMomof2, yep, like I said, with big PhD and professional grad programs attached . . . to a traditionally non-preprofessional undergrad College. How many universities don’t offer engineering or any pre-professional undergrad major, for instance?

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I’m not sure what point you are trying to make, @PurpleTitan . That UC should be considered a LAC because there aren’t engineers? UC as an undergrad feels like a LAC?

My point was that UC does have a core, which seems to be the issue for the OP - “I don’t really like how our major is only 1/3 of what we study.”

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IMO, CMU is the best of those. Not only does it have a much better CS program than U of C, but it also has a reputation of supporting interdisciplinary studies. For CS, UMD is a better choice than U of C as well, but I do not know how good their music program is, or how supportive their CS department would be of a CS major/music minor choice.

So my recommendation is CMU by a large margin, unless you have a better financial situation at UMD. While U of C has a great reputation in general, in CMU and UMD have better reputations in CS.

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The thing with CMU is that they cultivate the reputation for interdisciplinary studies, with the BXA majors and so forth, but they don’t necessarily make it as easy as you’d think. It depends on the department(s). (For example, we toured the design department and talked with them about BXA options, and while the program is amazing and the people seemed wonderful, there was a very strong undercurrent of “we’d really rather not waste studio space on people who are diluting our program with BXA.”) Performing arts at CMU are elite, and there’s no BA option, so OP really may not have a double-major option there in music. However, there are minors specifically for non music majors, so if a CS major plus a music minor is acceptable to OP, that would probably be the best-case among all the schools: https://www.cmu.edu/cfa/music/programs/undergraduate-programs/undergrad-music-minors.html That’s what I would do, tbh. A spot in CS at CMU is a highly-coveted opportunity, not to be turned down lightly, and doing a minor in their also-highly-coveted music school? Shoot, if that’s not enough, do two minors. And there’s also this: https://ideate.cmu.edu/undergraduate-programs/sound-design/index.html I’m not hearing that OP has life/career plans that require a fullblown music degree, just that the opportunity to study music is desired - yes?

UMD does have BA in their music school, one of whose chief purposes is to accommodate double-majors. I’m sure a CS/Music double major would be both possible and high-quality there. If the double-major is really important to OP, and/or if UMD is substantially more affordable than CMU, then this would be a fine option as well. But CMU for CS… and all the ways in which CS dovetails with other fields and pursuits at CMU… I’d think very hard before passing that up. OP sounds very much set on CS and not terribly interested in heavy non-CS distribution requirements like UChicago’s, but rather looking for breadth only in specific areas of interest like music. I would look more closely into the social aspects of CMU - living groups, clubs, social scene within the major(s), and so on - to see the variety of people and “tribes” that are there, and definitely not dismiss it on the basis of a few people encountered at an overnight visit.

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@PurpleTitan For what it’s worth, I know some that jokingly refer to UChicago as UC Higaco :slight_smile:

19

Plug for Maryland. You will be more relaxed if you go to Maryland. Its on the METRO, nice colonial campus, fabulous summer programs that you can get into, look at CAAR in CS. Also a very good nonlinear dynamics, see Professor Michelle Girvan, Professor Ott, etc. Maryland has resources. Its in a much more fun location than Pittsburgh, and
the campus is somewhat nicer, dorms etc compared to CMU, and also the students are just more chill, if you want that.

Lots of music ensembles, and teachers in the DC area. DC itself is arguably rich and nice now, and has student hangout places.

U of Chicago is anything but chill, and you have to take 2 quarters of biology, and 3 quarters are western or eastern civilization and also use original texts and learn to write , and argue in English to graduate there. The Chicago Core, you will be in there with English majors who will outwrite you, probably, and you will learn to argue and write! Value there.

(U of C has a very well known MBA program. Booth
https://theslot.jezebel.com/melania-doesnt-even-want-to-be-on-the-cover-of-vogue-o-1834045922)

U of C is more preprofessional than it used to be, even offers some engineering, and note the Toyota Technology Institute and all of those fantastic CS people, like the Blum family who left CMU!
https://www.ttic.edu

CMU is a good choice though if you want a PhD in CS. It will coach and prepare you for a PhD program.
CMU offers 2 full year research program in CS for undergrads, that you cannot get at U of C.

You could arrange research similar to CMU at U of Maryland. Take the Maryland offer seriously.
See Cryptography group at Maryland, Jon Katz. Etc.

Super computers at Maryland for climate modeling. Maryland is very strong in mathematics, statistics,
computational physics and CS.

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@OHMomof2: “UC as an undergrad feels like a LAC?”

Actually, yes, that is what alums of the College at the U of C say. It’s essentially Reed with big PhD and grad professional programs.

"“I don’t really like how our major is only 1/3 of what we study.”

If the OP had just done a tiny bit of research (it took me less than a one minute going to the U of C CS department website), she would have discovered that it’s possible to pick up a major in CS and masters in CS in 4 years. Which obviously would entail spending more than 1/3rd of classes on CS.

@MWolf, U of C CS is a small department but highly-regarded in it’s areas of expertise. And cross-registration is possible at TTIC, which is also highly-regarded in it’s areas of expertise.

Of course, the OP hasn’t indicated that she knows what she wants. Usually, those who want to delve deeply in to CS already have some idea what areas interest them.