<p>hi,
i am planning to study computer science in college. i have been admitted to ucla, carnegie mellon, northwestern, uc san diego, u michigan and case western.
i have narrowed my options to ucla and cmu.
UCLA- advantages-has better weather, in california so closer to the silicon valley.
disadvantages-bigger, larger class size,
CMU- advantages- ranked higher than ucla, smaller classes,
disadvantage- in pittsburgh, horrible winter, more expensive.</p>
<p>Please can you give me advice on which college to choose.</p>
<p>In November 2011, Mark Zuckerberg made a recruiting trip on behalf of Facebook to only 3 universities: Harvard, MIT, CMU. That demonstrates the echelon of CMU.</p>
<p>As for you classifying Pittsburgh as a ‘disadvantage’, do a Web search of “Most Livable Cities.” Pittsburgh is usually in the to 10 of every list (sometimes first). Also, CMU’s location is adjacent to the University of Pittsburgh and to a few affluent city neighborhoods, which puts CMU students in the midst of an urban energy ranging from the arts to dining to shopping.</p>
<p>Lastly don’t discount CMU’s multidisciplinary excellence. Students at CMU are bright, period, but they particularly excel in business, drama, engineering, and computer science, so your future CMU classmates may one day star on Broadway, manage a billion-dollar hedge fund, or create the next great startup. (Do a Web search of CMU alumni in those disciplines, and you’ll see what I mean.) The CMU academic synergy creates a unique campus environment.</p>
<p>With all that noted, you can’t go wrong with any of the universities you mentioned; do your due diligence, and then follow your heart.</p>
<p>Ouch! A disadvantage of CMU is that it is in Pittsburgh? I don’t think so. That’s one of it’s advantages. I will concede to the bad weather though. :(</p>
<p>CMU is highly respected, and will give you many opportunities, but if you have to go into debt, as opposed to UCLA, then it may not be worth it.</p>
<p>Go visit the campuses. Look around the environs of the campus and the city. It’s the best strategy to see where you fit in best. Do an overnight and talk to the students. Go to the classes. You get the idea. Make an informed decision for yourself about what feels right for you.</p>
<p>See:
…UCLA students are extremely driven and the grading is on a curve in many classes. If you want the least challenging place go to USC. Claremont if you want a tiny lib arts campus. UCLA won’t coddle you, it’s sink or swim, but the benefits are amazing. Beautiful and intelligent people, top notch prof’s great weather, sports, nice city.</p>
<p>I asked a friend who is a faculty member at a top univ the UCLA vs CMU question, and this is what he wrote:</p>
<p>"You have great choices and where you go will depend on affordability and your interests but don’t go to get trained for a job. That comes later.</p>
<p>All in all, I think UCLA and CMU would both be good choices because they have good faculty. </p>
<p>CMU being private is smaller and more nurturing. </p>
<p>UCLA is a top rated university which means that the students are generally from the top of their high school classes and of course the faculty is excellent.</p>
<p>Pittsburgh is less interesting than LA, however, in any case if you are serious about an education you will not have much time to really goof off and then the place does not matter that much. </p>
<p>I went for my PhD to UCLA and loved it. I chose it over MIT because I wanted to work with a particular professor. "</p>
<p>While visiting, I heard from several upperclassmen that that while they were getting a great education, they were not enthusiastic at all about the quality of life there. I am getting cold feet about CMU.
Is the school really that stressful and unfunloving?</p>
<p>CMU is one of those schools that is like a magnet for workaholics (“I’m doubling in CS and ECE with a minor in Biology!”). Luckily, those comprise about 20% of the population, and the rest of us seem to get along just fine. And do not live in caves and fear sunlight.</p>
<p>Of course, you will have difficult courses that will require you to put in a lot of work. This may be a considerable amount more work than you are used to at your high school. I know that, especially amongst freshmen who are adjusting, it’s not always easy to land that perfect work/life balance if you don’t have solid time management skills or end up with a “bad” professor. However, by second semester of freshman year, everything works itself out and most people have figured out what is necessary to get work done during the day and have fun at night.</p>
<p>To enjoy the school you really need to enjoy doing work, because otherwise it’ll just be this giant weight always pressing on you. If you can appreciate what you’re learning and figure out how to get satisfaction from finishing really difficult problem sets, then you’ll be fine. It’s also important to be able to take an afternoon off and just have fun, even though you know you’ve got a ton of work to do. The people that can’t do that tend to burn out 2/3 of the way through the quarter since they never let themselves be themselves.</p>
<p>I asked a recent CMU CS grad about class sizes. Here is what he emailed me:</p>
<pre><code>2) I have heard that the CS work load is very heavy. Is that correct ? Is the work load heavy from freshman year onwards ?
</code></pre>
<p>Yes, its pretty heavy. Perhaps, one of the most difficult classes in the CS curriculum will be taken in the freshman spring semester - so yes it starts early :). The fall semester can be light or heavy depending on what classes you take.</p>
<pre><code>3) How large are the classes ? Are the Professors / TA s accessible?
</code></pre>
<p>Depends from class to class. Some of the intro classes tend to have the entire CS batch in them (~150 people). </p>
<p>Some of them are smaller and can range from 20 students all the way to 300 students. </p>
<p>Generally, elective classes are smaller than the intro classes. There are some intro classes through that are broken into smaller lectures - it all varies - its a bit of everything.</p>
<p>There are apart from lectures, also recitations held for most classes. These are run by the TAs and are much smaller in nature (~20 students). This is usually a recap of what’s taught in lecture and is generally a good time to ask questions and all.</p>
<p>The professors and TAs - both are extremely accessible - and you’ll find that they’re very good at replying to emails and even meeting up! Definitely very good!</p>
<p>I’m not in the CS field, I am more in the biomedical engineering/neuroscience area, but I did my undergrad at UCLA and I am contemplating going to Columbia in the fall myself for a PhD so I have a decent idea of both schools. </p>
<p>From a Cali perspective, I can definitely say that UCLA is very well respected for computer science/engineering. </p>
<p>I know on the east coast UCLA doesn’t always garner a lot of prestige like ivys do, but it is pretty much the opposite in cali. </p>
<p>In the west, everyone is impressed by UCLA and the general public really only knows the names Harvard and MIT from the east. And most people would have a hard time being able to say where exactly Columbia is located (no joke!). </p>
<p>So if staying on the west coast is important to you, I would be inclined to say that UCLA would be a smart move for you. Not only is UCLA very prestigious on the west coast, but I bet your adviser and other networks would have more contacts and influence on the west coast.</p>
<p>no questioning here. CMU has got the best computer science program in the country, and one of the best in the world. If its anything to do with computer science, its CMU and MIT</p>
<p>you will be greeted with far more employment opportunities and stand a perfect chance of making millions if u are a CMU CS graduate. </p>
<p>School life wise, CMU, as well as MIT do have more challenging curriculums. But that just makes your college life more fulfilling, giving you channels to out-do and to stay ahead of others. Besides, schools with heavy academics have got really great professors, so don’t worry.</p>