I’m trying to decide between Norhteastern and Vanderbilt for CS now. NEU’s coop program seems really good and Boston is a good tech hub. Vanderbilt on the other hand is a pretty prestigious university also located in a good city (maybe not as good as Boston). As far as I can tell, both CS programs are similarly ranked. I’ve heard though that Vanderbilt’s faculty isn’t as good? NEU is a little bit cheaper with the scholarship they gave me. I appreciate any help!
Heya!
FWIW, I think Northeastern is notably stronger for CS specifically. Looking at research output: http://csrankings.org/#/index?all
Northeastern #14 there, Vanderbilt #94. That’s not size-adjusted but still paints a pretty good picture IMO.
While this is just reflective of research and not things like teaching or catalog depth, Northeastern is also known for its teaching approach which is used at other known CS schools as well: https://felleisen.org/matthias/Thoughts/Developing_Developers.html
Industrywise Northeastern does quite well for CS with the co-op program as well of course.
I may be a bit biased as a Northeastern CS grad so take the post with that grain of salt, but I think the difference here is notable + lower cost doesn’t hurt either. All that said, fit is important too, so make sure to consider other factors outside of CS strength. Happy to answer any specific questions!