<p>I've been accepted into both Stanford and MIT, and I'm interested in going into a whole range of science/math fields. Primarily, though, I'm interested in computer science and math. In fact, I'm almost positive that I want to major in one of those two areas, or both. Which school would you say is stronger in these two fields? Which one is more rigorous in terms of workload and the content of the courses you take? (I consider rigor to be a good thing.) I'd appreciate any answers.</p>
<p>I don't think you can say that one is more "rigorous" than the other. MIT's education is perhaps more standardized with a greater emphasis on "applied math" rather than theory. Stanford seems to have a less "linear" math department--more electives. </p>
<p>Stanford's CS is the best in the world, and it also has a greater "CS culture" than MIT--Silicon Valley, Apple, Google and all that certainly add to Stanford's greatness in the program. The intro CS classes at Stanford incorporate a lot of mathematical theory--logic, probability and so on.</p>
<p>I doubt that you'd notice any real difference in the strength or rigor of either program at MIT or Stanford. I think that you're best off considering which school better matches your personality. It's a more difficult thing to judge, but in the end will allow you to make the best choice.</p>
<p>When I was looking into Stanfords CS program I came across this:</p>
<p>"At Stanford, you can pursue both a B.S. and M.S. degree concurrently by participating in the coterminal master's program, or "coterm" for short. This program is extremely popular in computer science, with students from a variety of undergraduate backgrounds (including CS, CSE, EE, Psychology, etc.) pursuing an MSCS. You may apply to this program for any quarter of the academic year prior to completing your eleventh quarter of undergraduate study and as early as your eighth quarter (or upon completion of 105 units). Applications to the program are available from Graduate Admissions (in the Gates Building, Room 196) and differ very little from the regular application to the masters program in computer science. Students accepted to the coterminal program who have completed 180 units or more are officially considered graduate students and are therefore eligible to get teaching and research assistantships, graduate tuition rates, and so forth."</p>
<p>Here is the coterm website: <a href="http://cs.stanford.edu/Admissions/coterm.php%5B/url%5D">http://cs.stanford.edu/Admissions/coterm.php</a></p>
<p>I belive the program itself is 5 years total (including the graduate time).</p>
<p>Hmm, okay. So this is harder than I thought it was, because both schools' programs are excellent. I guess I have to look at other personal factors to decide. Thanks for all your input.</p>