Stony Brook vs Columbia Masters Computer Science

Graduate School
1

<p>I've read a lot online about Stony Brook and Columbia University Masters Computer Science. I'm looking for anyone with personal experience with either or both that you can share to help me make my decision of where to go.</p>

<p>Right now my impressions:
Stony Brook
Pros: Inexpensive, Seems like it would be a decent education, respected enough
Cons: Not a big name (more difficult to get a job?), online student reviews are depressing</p>

<p>Columbia University
Pros: Beautiful, Ivy League, Well-Respected, Serious Courses
Cons: Very Expensive (to live and tuition), Courses may be so difficult for me I'll do poorly (I have a limited background in CS from my undergrad)</p>

2

<p>Stony Brook is an amazing school. You will not go wrong if you study CSE at SBU. Apple, Google, and Microsoft actively recruit on campus. Take a look at their “Alumni” page, and you will see what I mean. With nearly 50 faculty members, SBU is a threat to most Ivy leagues. Not to mention, they are working on a new $100 million CSE building. As a matter of fact, Google was recently on campus to see the work the students did in their databases course. They gave out a bunch of tablets to finalists.</p>

<p>Not even Columbia has the amount of resources that SBU has to offer for their CSE department. Let’s see, CEWIT center, Brookhaven National Lab. I mean, Stony Brook has a gigantic building devoted to CSE. Visit the campus, and prepare to faint when you see all these labs while roaming around the building.</p>

<p>Let me give you a nice little fact, Stanford University’s(One of the best school’s in the world)president is a SBU CSE Ph.D. His book is used in nearly every single Computer Architecture course on earth, and he is a proud SBU’er.</p>

<p>Don’t waste your money, you will not go wrong with Stony Brook. It’s a state school, but the Computer Science and Engineering department was ranked the 2nd best in the state of NY by a recent survey.</p>

<p>The online student reviews are depressing because they can’t keep up with the standards. For a state school, SBU claims to be Berkely of the east, and they do impose these incredibly tough standards to weed students out.</p>

3

<p>Thanks QC</p>

<p>I see from other posts you’ve made that you’re not a student of SBU. Have you sat in on any classes? Do you know anyone that goes there?</p>

4

<p>I’m an undergrad at Columbia. Basically what I’ve heard about grad students here for a masters in CS is that many of them are under prepared and that they are part of the reason why many of the upper level cs courses for undergrads are so big. Columbia, however, loves them because they pay full tuition. I also read things at the beginning of the year about how SEAS was changing the TA policies making it difficult for many of them to be TAs. </p>

<p>I wouldn’t worry too much about the difficulty. I’m a computer engineering major and the cs courses I’ve taken so far haven’t been very difficult. In fact, I find them to be much much easier than the ee courses I have to take. However, I haven’t taken operating systems or compilers yet, but next semester…</p>

5

<p>alanTuring,</p>

<p>I transferred to SBU, and I am so impressed. We have faculty members that are simply unparalleled and devoted to their field. There is just so much going on here – you just never get tired of it. Initially, I wanted to transfer to Columbia, since it’s incredibly easy to get into Columbia through Queens College(they have an articulation agreement) but I chose not too simply because I don’t think Columbia is worth it’s price-tag or has as much to offer for undergrads when compared to Stony Brook. I mean as an undergrad, I’m already a TA, conducting research, I don’t think Columbia would have been able to offer me that. I was actually asked to be a TA, didn’t even apply for it. While I was searching for potential schools, I was also thinking of transferring to City College, but their department is also pretty low quality and very similar to Queens College. When I visited Stony Brook, it was like a dream come true. Here you are, in a building, devoted to your major, where the brightest minds from MIT, Stanford, UC berkeley are teaching young undergrads.</p>

<p>If I can be honest, I was a bit shocked at the difficulty level here. It kind of makes sense as to why so many students are unhappy, and why they end up committing suicide. Believe me when I say the CSE department here is a lot tougher than of Columbia. Judging by our ACM past, most IVY leagues don’t want to pick a fight with Stony Brook. Stony Brook is the only school to place three teams in the ACM competition, – accompanied in the elite ranks only by teams from Princeton (2), Columbia (2), NYU (2), Yale (2), and Cornell (1). I believe 2 of the presidents of ACM were SBU students.</p>

<p>Long story short, pay the campus a visit and prepare to be shocked. Don’t be surprised when you see Google employees walking around. ;)</p>

6

<p>Columbia says:</p>

<p>“The Department has well-equipped lab areas for research in computer graphics, computer-aided digital design, computer vision, databases and digital libraries, data mining and knowledge discovery, distributed systems, mobile and wearable computing, natural-language processing, networking, operating systems, programming systems, robotics, user interfaces, and real-time multimedia.”</p>

<p>We have far more labs in our CSE building, where active research is going on.</p>

<p>Here is a partial list:</p>

<p>Labs
Applied logic lab (ALL)
Faculty
Yejin Choi, Michael Kifer, Luis Ortiz, C.R. Ramakrishnan, I.V. Ramakrishnan, David S. Warren, Anita Wasilewska</p>

<p>Graphics and Visualization
Labs
Center for Visual Computing (CVC)
Graphics Hardware Lab
Virtual Reality Lab
Visual Analytics and Imaging Lab (VAILAB)
Visualization Lab (VISLAB)
Faculty
Tamara Berg, Xianfeng Gu, Arie Kaufman, Klaus Mueller, Hong Qin, Dimitris Samaras, Tony Scarlatos</p>

<p>Networks
Labs
Embedded Optimization Lab
Experimental Computer Systems Lab (ECSL)
Mobile and Sensor Networks Lab
Network Security and Applied Cryptography (NSAC)
Net Lab
Wireless Networking and Simulation Lab (WINGS)
Faculty
Tzi-cker Chiueh, Hussein Badr, Samir R. Das, Jie Gao, Himanshu Gupta, Rob Johnson, Yanni Liu, R. Sekar, Radu Sion, Larry Wittie, Jennifer Wong</p>

<p>Programming Languages and Verification
Labs
Applied Logic Lab (ALL)
Concurrency and Verification Lab
Design and Analysis Research Lab (DAR)
Faculty
Michael Kifer, Radu Grosu, Annie Liu, Donald Porter, C.R. Ramakrishnan, I.V. Ramakrishnan, Scott A. Smolka, Scott Stoller, David S. Warren</p>

<p>Security </p>

<p>Labs
Center for Cyber Security
Experimental Computer Systems Lab (ECSL)
File-systems and Storage Lab (FSL)
Network Security and Applied Cryptography (NSAC)
Operating Systems, Concurrency, and Architecture Research (OSCAR)
Secure Systems Lab (SEC)
SPLAT Lab
Faculty
Tzi-cker Chiueh, Jie Gao, Rob Johnson, Donald Porter, R. Sekar, Radu Sion, Scott Stoller, Erez Zadok</p>

<p>Systems (including compilers and databases)</p>

<p>Labs
Embedded Optimization Lab
Experimental Computer Systems Lab (ECSL)
File-systems and Storage Lab (FSL)
Graphics Hardware Lab
Operating Systems, Concurrency, and Architecture Research (OSCAR)
SAMSON Lab
Secure Systems Lab (SEC)
SPLAT Lab
Faculty
Tzi-cker Chiueh, Jie Gao, Rob Johnson, Donald Porter, R. Sekar, Radu Sion, Eugene Stark, Jennifer Wong, Erez Zadok, Rong Zhao</p>

<p>Theory </p>

<p>Labs
Applied Algorithms Lab
Mobile and Sensor Networks Lab
Faculty
Leo Bachmair, Michael Bender, Ahmad Esmaili, Jie Gao , Rob Kelly, Michael Kifer, Ker-I Ko, C.R. Ramakrishnan, I.V. Ramakrishnan, Steve Skiena, David S. Warren, Anita Wasilewska</p>

<p>Vision and Natural Language Processing
Labs
Center for Visual Computing (CVC)
Image Analysis Lab
Natural Language Processessing Lab (NLP)
Faculty
Tamara Berg, Xianfeng Gu, Arie Kaufman, Klaus Mueller, Hong Qin, Dimitris Samaras, Tony Scarlatos</p>

7

<p>A list of the labs that Columbia has for CS research is available here, [Department</a> of Computer Science, Columbia University | Labs](<a href=“http://www.cs.columbia.edu/research/labs]Department”>Labs | Department of Computer Science, Columbia University) however, just looking at that list some of the entries are groups and probably don’t have labs (like the theory of computing group). Columbia has a real space problem. It wouldn’t surprise if there was much more theoretical work going on than actual lab work. </p>

<p>I don’t think any of this really matters though, because looking at the requirements for a masters in CS, it looks like it is coursework only.</p>

8

<p>I am a firm believer in the fact that:
Given how insanely expensive Columbia is, Stony Brook is a far better option. We also have far more going on here, given our size and future endeavours. We are hiring more faculty members, we have more research labs, and we are constructing a new 100million building to keep up with our insane growth.</p>

<p>I’ve visited both schools, could’ve attend both, but chose SBU’s Computer Science and Engineering department simply cause I couldn’t afford Columbia’s tuition. Attending Columbia, over SBU, would’ve meant paying thousands of extra simply for it’s name.</p>

9

<p>Yeah, those are all research groups. I am a Columbia student and while I am not in CS, a “lab” does not necessarily mean a physical space. I am a PhD student and I share a desk with another PhD student. We DO have a real space problem here, which translates into less space for computer laboratories, study spaces, that kind of thing. The undergraduates complain about it all the time.</p>

<p>We did just complete a new Science & Engineering building complete with a library that has study spaces, but they are ALWAYS full and the building just opened last year sometime. It is difficult to find a study space especially during peak times in the evening and on Sundays.</p>

<p>I also agree that for an unfunded master’s, I’d go with the cheaper option. Name recognition isn’t everything, but Stony Brook is a great enough university that I don’t think it would hurt you to go there.</p>

10

<p>Thanks juillet and QC.</p>

<p>QC - Have you liked your teachers? The majority of your teachers? Do you live on campus?</p>

<p>Have they broken ground on the new CS building? Is that a mess? Is there room for the current program at its size?</p>

<p>I planned on visiting this week but haven’t heard back from administration on setting up an appointment audit some classes. I guess I’ll have to postpone to next week.</p>

<p>Thanks again</p>

11

<p>USNWR Graduate School Computer Science Rankings</p>

<ol>
<li>Columbia</li>
<li>Stony Brook</li>
</ol>

12

<p>National Research Council Graduate School Computer Science Rankings</p>

<ol>
<li>Stony Brok</li>
<li>Columbia</li>
</ol>

13

<p>QCstudent, I don’t disagree with you, I just don’t think your comparison of the labs was completely accurate, because you compared some generic list of labs that Columbia has with a pretty specific list of labs that Stony Brook has. </p>

<p>Also, I was mistaken, Columbia has a thesis option for people who are interested. Its not required though. </p>

<p>I agree Stony Brook would be the better choice. Obviously, the decision on where to go is up to the op, but the op should at least get accurate facts before deciding. </p>

<p>In my personal experience the one thing that Columbia has given me is more opportunities. I transferred here from a small lac, and there is a night and day difference between the listings on the career services web site for internships and jobs. I think there is something to be said for having a brand name on your degree, but in the end, it will probably honestly only make a difference for your first job, if even that. A years after graduating, I don’t think anyone will care where you went. I also doubt you would face any of those problems at a big school like Stony Brook.</p>

14

<p>JamieBrown-</p>

<p>Do you think the ratings matter?
Do you go to either school?</p>

15

<p>QC - Have you liked your teachers? The majority of your teachers? Do you live on campus?
Liked? I’m in love. I am shocked at how much I’ve learned, given the fact that I transferred from a CS program. I’m overwhelmed at the difference in education. The quality of our professors is simply unparalleled, given how much they care about their students. Put it this way, I highly doubt a professor at Columbia would’ve asked me to conduct research with him, become his TA, after just 1 semester in the school. As of now, I’m a TA, I conduct research and I simply feel happy every time I walk in our Computer Science building. Believe me, it feels great. That feeling is something Columbia simply can’t offer, since as many members pointed out, they lack physical space. </p>

<p>Have they broken ground on the new CS building? Is that a mess? Is there room for the current program at its size?</p>

<p>Of course there is room for it’s current program. We have a gigantic building, devoted to Computer Science. I’m trying to be as neutral as I can here, and given how expensive Columbia is, and how much we have going on here, I really don’t think Columbia stands a chance when you compare our undergrad and M.S program. We are growing, at an alarming rate. Aside from having a huge building for CSE, we are on the way of constructing another one with more labs.</p>

<p>Columbia does not have access to Brookhaven National Lab, nor does it have the amount of labs that we do.</p>

<p>An interesting fact:
We are hiring 5, yes that’s right, 5 NEW faculty members. Every single day we have a faculty candidate being interviewed, from prestigious institutions. If all 5 are chosen, that will bring our faculty list to ~50!</p>

16

<p>QCstudent, I don’t disagree with you, I just don’t think your comparison of the labs was completely accurate, because you compared some generic list of labs that Columbia has with a pretty specific list of labs that Stony Brook has.
I think it was, because I’ve seen what Columbia has to offer. I’ve visited and checked out their labs, and what we have here at SBU > Columbia. We access to Brookhaven National Lab, CEWIT, and an array of physical labs where a lot of active research is ongoing. Given how teeney-tiney Columbia’s CS program is, it’s fair for me to say we have a lot more going on here. Once we hire these 5 new faculty members, we will have 50 active research professors along with 2 buildings devoted to Computer Science.</p>

<p>I agree Stony Brook would be the better choice. Obviously, the decision on where to go is up to the op, but the op should at least get accurate facts before deciding.
I agree, and I’ve provided a list of labs and what we have to offer here. I urge the OP to visit SBU, walk in our Computer Science and Engineering building, take the stairs to the 2nd floor and prepare to faint when he sees the never ending labs devoted strictly to CSE.</p>

<p>**
In my personal experience the one thing that Columbia has given me is more opportunities. I transferred here from a small lac, and there is a night and day difference between the listings on the career services web site for internships and jobs**.
I concur, and I don’t disagree with you. But what you just stated is true for our CSE program as well. Google was here just a few weeks ago, they traveled 50 miles to hang out with CSE students. The same applies for Microsoft, and Apple who were here just last month for the career fair. Not to mention, Northrop Grumman are here almost every month hunting for students to fill-in Cyber Security internships.</p>

<p>** I think there is something to be said for having a brand name on your degree, but in the end, it will probably honestly only make a difference for your first job, if even that. A years after graduating, I don’t think anyone will care where you went. I also doubt you would face any of those problems at a big school like Stony Brook**. </p>

<p>Agreed. Like I said, having Google come through to your UNDERGRAD database class, to see what you did, means the school is well known on the map.
[2011-Google</a> Panel to Judge Stony Brook University Computer Science Students](<a href=“http://www.cs.sunysb.edu/about/news/GoogleContest2011.html]2011-Google”>http://www.cs.sunysb.edu/about/news/GoogleContest2011.html)</p>

<p>Most surveys agree with what I’ve said for graduate school, in which SBU is ranked higher than Columbia. Here is one,</p>

<p><a href=“http://graduate-school.phds.org/rankings/computer-science/rank/basic[/url]”>http://graduate-school.phds.org/rankings/computer-science/rank/basic&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I do agree that in other surveys Columbia is ranked higher, but given how cheap it is to attend CSE here, and how we are ranked higher in some surveys, it’s almost a no brainer.</p>

17

<p>We could’ve really embarassed Columbia and Princeton during the ACM competition, what happened was one of our students solved the problem in Java, but it was asked to be done in C++, and so by the time we cracked it, we lost time.</p>

<p>Rank Name Solved Time A B C D E F G H I Total att/solv
Submitted/1st Yes/Total Yes 63/3/49 48/15/34 43/91/17 33/54/24 27/29/9 26/103/5 22/57/15 26/32/19 15/177/3 303/175</p>

<p>1 Princeton 1 (S2) 9 840 1/3 1/15 2/91 1/54 1/83 3/238 1/87 1/32 1/177 12/9
2 Columbia 1 (S3) 9 851 1/4 1/24 1/130 1/87 1/29 2/183 1/62 2/78 1/214 11/9
3 Columbia 2 (S3) 8 907 1/14 1/15 1/167 1/125 3/222 1/103 1/161 1/60 0/-- 10/8
4 Cornell 1 (S3) 8 956 1/6 1/30 2/184 1/130 1/75 0/-- 1/124 1/104 2/263 10/8
5 Stony Brook 1 (S2) 8 976 1/10 1/28 1/163 1/103 2/145 5/238 1/92 2/77 1/-- 15/8
6 Stony Brook 2 (S3) 7 894 2/19 1/27 1/165 1/77 6/199 7/-- 1/235 1/52 0/-- 20/7
7 Yale 2 (S3) 7 1028 1/10 1/70 1/-- 1/256 1/185 1/269 2/132 1/86 0/-- 9/7
8 NYU 2 (S3) 7 1061 1/7 1/71 1/276 1/115 3/268 0/-- 1/85 2/179 0/-- 10/7
9 Princeton 2 (S2) 6 741 1/23 1/20 1/116 1/180 0/-- 4/-- 2/212 1/170 0/-- 11/6
10 Yale 1 (S1) 6 763 2/9 1/25 2/284 1/187 2/-- 0/-- 1/57 1/161 9/-- 19/6
11 NYU 1 (S2) 6 889 1/10 1/226 1/117 1/147 0/-- 0/-- 1/218 1/171 0/-- 6/6
12 Stony Brook 3 (S3) 6 908 1/9 4/189 2/269 1/110 0/-- 0/-- 2/66 1/165 0/-- 11/6
13 Binghamton 1 (S1) 5 660 1/25 1/46 1/228 1/113 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 1/248 0/-- 5/5
14 Princeton 5 (S1) 5 671 2/33 1/53 4/-- 1/173 2/-- 2/-- 3/198 1/154 1/-- 17/5
15 Binghamton 2 (S2) 4 450 2/35 1/38 0/-- 1/-- 1/126 0/-- 1/231 0/-- 0/-- 6/4
16 Polytechnic 1 4 543 1/16 1/50 1/214 1/263 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 4/4
17 Princeton 4 (S1) 4 553 1/18 1/62 0/-- 1/290 0/-- 0/-- 1/183 0/-- 0/-- 4/4
18 Polytechnic 2 4 637 1/13 1/90 0/-- 1/201 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 3/293 0/-- 6/4
19 Polytechnic 3 4 669 1/9 1/131 1/230 1/299 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 4/4
20 NYU 3 (S2) 4 727 1/29 0/-- 1/248 1/228 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 1/222 0/-- 4/4
21 NYU 4 (S2) 3 204 1/14 1/33 0/-- 2/137 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 4/3
22 Princeton 3 3 305 1/12 1/29 2/-- 2/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 1/264 0/-- 7/3
23 Cooper Union 2 (S3) 3 315 1/10 1/75 1/230 0/-- 3/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 6/3
24 Touro 2 (S2) 3 328 1/30 1/61 0/-- 2/217 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 4/3
25 Adelphi 1 (S2) 3 402 1/7 2/81 0/-- 1/294 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 4/3
26 Princeton 6 3 422 1/18 1/136 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 2/248 0/-- 4/3
27 Yale 3 (S3) 3 450 1/10 1/184 4/-- 3/-- 0/-- 0/-- 2/-- 1/256 0/-- 12/3
28 St. Joseph 2 (S2) 3 481 1/28 3/209 0/-- 1/204 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 5/3
29 Cooper Union 1 (S2) 2 106 1/20 1/86 2/-- 0/-- 1/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 5/2
30 Hofstra 1 (S2) 2 123 1/15 1/108 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 2/2
31 Yeshiva 1 (S3) 2 166 1/20 0/-- 1/-- 1/146 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 3/2
32 Kean 1 (S2) 2 171 1/24 1/147 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 2/2
33 Yeshiva 2 2 232 1/33 1/199 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 2/2
34 Manhattan 1 (S2) 2 305 1/14 1/291 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 1/-- 0/-- 3/2
35 Cooper Union 3 (S2) 2 360 1/28 0/-- 4/272 1/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 6/2
36 Kean 2 2 376 1/33 4/283 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 5/2
37 Adelphi 4 (S1) 2 455 3/130 1/285 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 4/2
38 Queens 1 (S2) 1 21 1/21 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 1/1
39 Queens 2 (S2) 1 22 1/22 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 1/1
40 Stevens 1 (S2) 1 25 1/25 2/-- 2/-- 0/-- 0/-- 1/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 6/1
41 Adelphi 3 (S1) 1 27 1/27 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 1/1
42 Touro 1 (S2) 1 35 1/35 1/-- 3/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 5/1
43 Kean 3 (S1) 1 43 1/43 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 1/1
44 Manhattan 2 (S2) 1 50 1/50 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 1/1
45 Iona 1 1 51 1/51 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 1/1
46 St. Peter 1 (S2) 1 85 1/85 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 1/1
47 St. Joseph 1 (S2) 1 116 2/96 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 2/1
48 Adelphi 2 (S1) 1 191 3/151 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 3/1
49 NCC 1 (S1) 1 262 4/202 2/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 6/1
50 Dowling 1 (S2) 0 0 2/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 0/-- 2/0</p>

<p>Here were the most recent rankings, notice how we still managed to place 2 teams in top 5, and we’ve also in the previous years placed 3 teams in top 10, something not even Princeton or Columbia has yet to do.</p>

<p>I respect Columbia, but the feeling should be reciprocated given how quickly we are rising and growing.</p>

18

<p>

</p>

<p>I must be getting old</p>

<p>how long has it been that a #6 placement means “top 5”?</p>

19

<p>You are indeed getting pretty old, time for some morning runs.</p>

<p>It’s been a few years;</p>

<p>[Stony</a> Brook Teams First and Third in ACM Regional Programming Contest; Earn Trip to World Finals!](<a href=“http://www.cs.sunysb.edu/~skiena/teams/index-08.html]Stony”>Stony Brook Teams First and Third in ACM Regional Programming Contest; Earn Trip to World Finals!)</p>

20

<p>I just recently finished an MS at Columbia, so here are my two cents:</p>

<p>In my experience, I do not think the school was actively trying to make TAships harder to get for the MS crowd. I TA’d three classes at Columbia and the process for attaining these jobs is probably very similar to most other universities: you do good in a class, reach out to the professor, sign up and hopefully get the job.</p>

<p>That being said, the TAships do not help much when it comes to paying for school (although it helps a lot when it comes to other expenses like rent), and finding any kind of funding for the MS program is difficult to find to say the very least. There are MSTAships and RAships, but the rules vary for the most part depending on whether or not you are MS or PhD. The PhD students almost exclusively get the available funding and as such it is much easier for them to obtain. The funding for MS students in these cases is either significantly less or enough to cover maybe one class for a given semester. I had an RAship the past summer and I got one check for five grand. The compensation is probably more for regular semesters, but make no mistake; the university is going to get their money come hell or high water.</p>

<p>It is true that space is limited but that doesn’t mean that there are no labs here or that the labs we do have are ■■■■■■. The buildings are fairly old given that this is NYC so, aside from a new engineering building, there probably isn’t anything as fancy as the new stuff at Stony Brook. Still, from what I have seen the school has a lot of great resources and is very active in research. We have a very strong faculty here across multiple disciplines of CS; for example, the “S” in CLRS (Stein) is a professor here in our theory department. We’ve got Al Aho for languages. We’ve got Jason Nieh for OS. Tony Jebara for Machine Learning. There are plenty more in addition to those names but, for every field of computer science, there are plenty of strong faculty members to go around here.</p>

<p>The tuition is VERY expensive, but you have to keep in mind that education is not the only thing you are purchasing. You are also buying the opportunity to experience life in NYC. Granted, this type of experience appeals to different people and may not be of particular importance. Personally, if I reflect on my personal experience in addition to my education, the price was absolutely worth it and I do not regret it for a second.</p>

<p>Like other universities, you have to be selective about the classes here. Some of them are great and you learn a lot of great things (OS) while others are useless (Adv. Software Engineering). The graduate classes were mostly extremely challenging and extremely time consuming. Every class is like the “drinking from a firehose” style of learning and they try to break you here. You get assigned more things than you have time for and nearly everything I did required a tremendous amount of time and effort. I only took two classes my second semester and was going through severe burnout at the end; my final semester, wherein I went full time, nearly drove me insane. However, it pays off: after graduating I feel like I learned things far above and beyond what I got out of my undergraduate career at my old university.</p>

<p>After taking some much needed vacation, the job search has been going very smoothly for me. I just did an onsite interview with Google yesterday, and virtually everybody I know from the MS program has landed a job at a great company. I will say that name recognition will only take you so far and that it still isn’t a substitute for actual work experience.</p>

<p>In short, I can completely understand the ambivalence when it comes to the price of tuition, and the comparison in education may not differ by much (although I don’t know much about Stony Brook). However, it is fairly obvious that NYC has much more to offer than Stony Brook does. It all boils down to what you are looking for in your graduate years and whether the types of experiences NYC can offer are important to you personally.</p>

<p>Hope that helps.</p>