UChicago does seem to have made its complexity theory course optional since 2018. The graph theory course is also optional and separate from its discrete math course unlike at many other CS schools. As @ucbalumnus pointed out, removal of such requirements may not be beneficial, depending on what you plan to pursue.
Probably Berkeley, being close to PayPal, Square is a plus, for PM roles though, you’d need experience or MBA, as there’s a business element to the role.
OP already got great feedback from both UChicago and Berkeley experts - thought of adding my perspective as someone who went thru similar dilemma last year. I got in three of your short-listed colleges (Berkeley, UChicago, GATech) along with a few others. I was planning to major in some combination of Math/CS/Econ - I finally went with UChicago.
Of course my situation (career aspirations/interests/likes) was different but my reasons to go with UChicago are similar to what @hebegebe articulated: (1) a collaborative environment; (2) being a competitive mathlete in high-school, UChicago’s theoretical focus is actually a big plus for me; (3) the flexibility in choosing a best combination of math/cs/econ majors I was considering (4) core - while I was neutral about core during the application stage - I later attended a few core classes during the decision phase and I am completely sold to the idea of core.
As a current 1st year student a few perspectives on UChicago CS:
- CS+Econ is possible - though it needs planning as others suggested - but its doable.
- CS department is growing super fast - they are adding new/applied classes every year.
- FAANG recruitment - I hear that lots of people get recruited at UofC every year but I guess Berkeley maybe better in this aspect, just because of its location. This summer, internship opportunities were fewer in brand name companies - and we have to struggle to get a role (talking about 1st years). But I and most of my friends at UChicago got some role - between Metcalf and referrals, all of us have something to do - though its not at FANG/top-tier companies.
- Irrespective of popular perception of Chicago (where fun goes to die) - I had a great time and cant see myself anywhere else (but I could have felt anywhere else :))
My only advice would be to attend a few trial classes - last year I attended classes at UofC in: a core class and a class in an unrelated major - molecular engineering (in addition to a class in my prospective major). What clinched for me: after attending those classes, i felt like I wanted to major in those areas (before the class, I dont even know what molecular engineering was). I wanted that exploring phase - and had this gut feeling that I would like the whole college experience at UofC. I suggest you to attend some classes at both Berkeley and UofC - hopefully you will get the vibe - go with the one that resonates and dont look back. Good Luck.
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Those will make you a more interesting person, but a tech recruiter won’t care.
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Hi, @hs2020kid, thank you for your advice!
How difficult are you finding the UChicago CS curriculum? I’m not a competitive math kid and I prefer applied CS work. Is it very mathematically heavy and how would you compare it to, say, UC Berkeley, in terms of rigor?
Attending trial classes would be really good. Do you know where I can find those/if they’re still offering them this year? I searched my email inbox and couldn’t really find anything.
So heres what I dont understand
- If you want to go to tech consulting or entrepreneurship, I dont see how learning about type theory or functional programming as is the case in CMU CS will be of help to you
2)CMU IS is actually more apt than CMU CS in your case based on your career goals
3)CMU has the best undergrad research options out of all these options- Berkeley cares more about its grad students if you want to get involved in prestigious research- just by the fact that grad students are more experienced and have way more technical knowledge than undergrads
4)GO for CMU IS
I’d say the following
CMU Computational Finance> CMU IS> Berkeley CS> UChicago CS.
The OP stated the following:
If I had to work for a company, I would like to work in something in the investment management/private equity/venture capital space with a focus on investing in tech companies.
My goal is to ultimately launch a startup of some sort that works with cutting-edge technologies
Clearly, IS or Computational Finance is way more relevant than CS because they are more relevant when working in the applications of CS than CS itself. I dont see how knowing how to construct data structures in haskell is relevant.
Also, you can do a minor in machine learning at CMU. Its not possible to do specific minors like machine learning/robotics/software engineering at either berkeley or UChicago. Additionally, theres an IDEATE program at CMU where you can learn about soft technologies, physical computing etc
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I still don’t understand why GeorgiaTech is left out of the equation.
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What I dont understand is why is a CS major so over rated. Its not JUST about Machine learning, AI etc. Its about discrete math, logic etc. More so about the foundations of computing than its applications in my opinion. CMU CS core is all about discrete math.
Take a minor in ML or something if youre interested. CMU has a lot of minor options
Keep in mind that CS is an academic discipline than an applied one like stats/machine learning
I understand all of these spaces well, having either worked in them directly, or in the cases of venture capital, having raised money from them.
It is only in the last one (launching a startup) where technical excellence matters most (it also matters for being a quant, but OP said that’s not his or her interest). Working in investment management/private equity/venture capital is typically not a job directly out of undergrad, nor are they ones where strong CS skills are prized.
Unless the OP is today’s equivalent of Zuckerberg, he or she will be using the CS or IS degree to get into an innovative company that provide the insight on what type of company to launch.
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Yep, but what im saying is that CMU CS is just way too theoretical to even be useful in a sense. The OP will be better off doing an ML/software engineering/robotics/IDEATE minor
This is because in CMU youre required to take classes like imperative computation etc. Its more about analyzing complexity of algorithms, writing the logic of the programs than knowing how to write efficient code(it has some connection to efficiency though not direct)
Also, most of the concentrations in CS are useless unless you want to do a PHD in CS
Can you provide an example of something very specific to CS(that cant be achieved by taking a minor in ML or robotics or quantum computing or IDEATE) that will be of use to the OP in launching an innovative start up
If the OP actually has an idea that can turn into an innovative start-up, nobody knows what knowledge is required to have that idea.
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Tech recruiters may not directly care about any of OP’s general ed regardless of where OP attends. And OP isn’t going to get out of taking humanities regardless of school chosen. What distinguishes UChicago’s Core from gen eds at other places is that the College takes all those humanistic courses pretty seriously. They are considered to be training for higher-level work - in all subjects - because they impart skills of critical reasoning and coherent expression. It’s not just about humanities content or knowledge acquired of ancient civilizations (although all of that is quite interesting, IMO). Tech recruiters may only care about your C/S and math courses and grades. But a liberal education where all courses are tough and demanding - not just the math and C/S - might help one stand out during the interview process as a particularly thoughtful and intelligent candidate.
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part of the reason I strongly preferred Schools of Engineering … (without humanities cores)
ABET-accredited engineering majors are required to have general education requirements. So do ABET-accredited CS majors (which include many in engineering divisions), although many good qualify CS majors are not ABET-accredited.
The volume of (humanities and social studies) general education requirements in ABET-accredited programs may be less than at places like Chicago or MIT, although it will be significantly greater than none the way it is at places like Amherst or (non-ABET-accredited majors at) Brown.
However, those attending some ABET-accredited programs, particularly at a state institution, may be able to use AP credits to fulfill some of those generals or breadth. YMMV by school, of course. At UChicago there is no opportunity to place out Hum, Civ, Arts or Sosc. Everyone who graduates will have taken nine UChicago Core courses in those subjects.
They may care about courses taken but not the grades as long as you have over a 3.0, you’ll be fine, at least to get an interview. Once you get to an interview, 50% of you evaluation (more or less) will be technical - languages you know well, tested on algorithms, machine learning etc, and the other half is fit, can you collaborate, show humility, be open etc…
While 3.0 is a common cutoff, some employers have a considerably higher threshold.
As do grad schools!
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