<p>Got into all 3, no rewards of any sort other than being named a Davis Scholar at Columbia (looks like the generic honors program from what I can see). Money isn't really an issue.</p>
<p>Looking at the course description websites, I can't tell too much of a difference between the three, though CMU seems to set you up better for graduate school (broader range of subjects within CS?), and Columbia has that whole CORE thing going. Is there a 5-year program or something similar at any of the schools so I can get my master's in CS as well?</p>
<p>A little input would be greatly appreciated- especially from those who've been in similar predicaments as me. Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>SCS you can stay a fifth year and do a masters. If you have a lot of AP credits coming in, you may even be able to get a masters in less than five years. If you are definitely interested is CS, I’d do CMU, the required minor will allow you to explore another interest in some depth as well. My son loves the fact that his APs excused him from nearly all of CMU’s distribution requirements.</p>
<p>Our son had also been admitted to Penn SEAS, and one of the more important <data points=“”> in his decision was which companies recruit at each school. Looking at reports of where the CS majors got jobs, it seemed like Penn grads tended to end up in financial firms (logically recruiting at Penn), and CMU grads had a large share going to Silicon Valley types of companies. So it felt like the potential for ending up in a company whose main business involves CS was greater at CMU. This was not the deciding factor but did appear to be a difference at that time.</data></p>
<p>SCS is a much better school for Computer Science than Penn or Columbia. In fact, it probably beats any other CS school in the US as first choice, except perhaps MIT or Stanford. </p>
<p>If you are sure about your major, I think it’s a no-brainer decision: go to CMU. On the other hand, if you still have doubts whether CS is your thing or not, Columbia or Penn may offer you broader choices. Both are also probably better schools overall (all majors considered) than CMU.</p>