Hello all!
I’m a transfer student debating between Tufts (A&S), New York University, and Wellesley College. I’m a rising sophomore who wants to double major in Computer Science and Economics, and somehow fit in Statistics into the mix (either a special joint major with Economics or a minor).
I do want to go to graduate school, and am interesting in machine learning/data science. While Tufts and NYU have a good programs, I also know that you can take classes and earn certificates with Olin and MIT at Wellesley; also, the “prestige” factor is a factor for me, and I am torn between the CS of Tufts and NYU and Wellesley’s extremely strong Economics department and prestige.
Any input would be welcome.
Thank you very much!
If you’re truly interested in machine learning and data science you shouldn’t underestimate that amount of math that goes into it - I think economics would not be especially useful in this pursuit regardless of where you went to school. I’m sure Wellesley and NYU both have strong offerings in Math and CS but I do know that Tufts just added an Applied Math major that would be a good fit for further study in ML/data-related areas, especially with a CS double major or even really just some CS classes on the side.
That said, if you’re genuinely interested in economics for its own sake then I can’t really help you much…
The Tufts ML sequence is very good, and I would not underestimate the difficulty in getting to MIT from Wellesley for classes. I’m not sure how easy it is to double major in anything coming in as a Sophomore to Tufts though, there are considerable foundation and distribution requirements in A&S, and Engineering students start taking 5 classes sophomore year to handle the extra requirements for ABET accreditation.
I would choose Tufts but I am biased- Daughter is going this fall, majoring in CS. Don’t know anything about Econ though.
Wellesley has a very good CS program as well, it is just not widely recognized.
I’d ask each school about where their graduates end up–how many are going on to grad school in CS?
At the Tufts CS graduation ceremony this past weekend, the department chair announced that CS is now the second largest major, trailing just behind International Relations. This was also their largest CS graduating class.