<p>For CS, CMU most definitely has a stronger program overall and the students get awesome research opportunities and are often recruited by big name companies. However, it's also expensive and the atmosphere is gloomy / social life is weak. </p>
<p>So my question is, how does Rice stack up for CS research opportunities and grad placement (I looked at their survey, but with only 3 participating software engineers I don't know how representative that data is). </p>
<p>Rice is offering a significantly better FA package ($20k cheaper) than CMU and it overall seems like a fun place to be, so I'm leaning towards Rice. But I'm worried how competitive a Rice CS degree will be. Any thoughts would be much appreciated.</p>
<p>CMU is top-notch for CS, but my son (currently a junior at Rice majoring in CS and ECE) turned down CMU for Rice and he hasn’t regretted it. He’s been doing research with a professor since freshman year, has been published, and has a fabulous internship lined up this summer in NYC for software engineering.</p>
<p>Socially and weather-wise, Rice is a much nicer place to spend 4 years. (And I’m a CMU alum.)</p>
<p>I’m a Pittsburgher. My husband is a CMU alum. and I work with and know many CMU alums. One thing I consistently hear about CMU is that they really pour the work on. This is true regardless of school or major. I think this may come from their roots as a technology school, as it used to be Carnegie Tech. They try to turn-out the very best in every field, and it seems like they try to accomplish this with extremely heavy work-loads. </p>
<p>These students need to work very hard to get through their degree programs . . . more so than at many other schools !</p>