Why do people study computer science at Harvard?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

<p>From what I've read on various website (mostly CC), the engineering/CS department at Harvard is not as strong as the engineering/CS departments at other such colleges as MIT, Stanford, Berkeley, CMU(SCS), Cornell, Princeton, etc.</p>

<p>Since the application to Harvard College does not give regard to department, students who can get into Harvard College are probably able to get into Berkeley, CMU(SCS), Cornell almost definitely, and probably MIT, Stanford, and Princeton too, but they elect to attend Harvard.</p>

<p>So why Harvard CS?
Computer</a> Science Handbook for Students 2011-2012
119 CS students and increasing.</p>

2

<p>I’m not sure what you’ve been reading, but the Dean of Harvard’s Computer Science Department, Harry Lewis, has taught both Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg. If Harvard’s Computer Science Department wasn’t strong, I doubt it could entice students of that caliber or be on lists such as:
[World’s</a> Best Universities in Computer Science; Top Computer Science Schools | US News](<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/education/worlds-best-universities-rankings/best-universities-computer-science]World’s”>http://www.usnews.com/education/worlds-best-universities-rankings/best-universities-computer-science)</p>

<p>And, not all Compsci students who are admitted to Harvard matriculate there: <a href=“http://betabeat.com/2012/07/harvard-tech-boom-silicon-alley-valley-crimson-mit-stanford/[/url]”>Business News & Current Events | Observer;

3

<p>Harvard’s SEAS (Computer Science/Engineering Department) is a force to be reckoned with. I know many people who chose Harvard over both MIT and Stanford that are interested in engineering/computer science.</p>

<p>I’m interested in both MCB and Biomedical Engineering and I was one of those people. It basically came down to personal fit, and I felt that at Harvard students were given more attention than at MIT or Stanford, where CS/Engineering majors are a dime a dozen. Of-course, this is totally subjective. Plus, Harvard is pouring money into SEAS and pulling their tremendous resources to make it more and more competitive every year.</p>

<p>I’m not saying that Harvard’s CS is better than MIT/Stanford for everyone. But I am saying that there are a lot of reasons to choose it over them.</p>

4

<p>Although ranking is never 100% accurate and objective, Harvard’s engineering/CS is indeed not as highly ranked as its other programs. ([Rankings</a> | Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences](<a href=“http://www.seas.harvard.edu/about-seas/quick-facts/rankings]Rankings”>School Overview | Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences)) It is also interesting to note that only 23% + 11%, roughly 1/3 of its graduates work at engineering/cs industry.</p>

<p>I also noticed that when Harvard announced its yield this year, it reported 13.3 percent in engineering and computer science combined ([Harvard</a> College Class of 2017 Yield Reaches 82 Percent | Harvard Magazine](<a href=“http://harvardmagazine.com/2013/05/harvard-class-of-17-yield-reaches-82-percent]Harvard”>http://harvardmagazine.com/2013/05/harvard-class-of-17-yield-reaches-82-percent)), while the profile of admitted class of 2016 showed that the students with intended major in Engineering were 13.2% and Computer Science 2.6%
( [Harvard</a> College Admissions § Applying: Statistics](<a href=“http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/statistics.html]Harvard”>http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/statistics.html)). This means the yield among Engineering/CS students is also lower than other admitted students.</p>

5

<p>Harvard’s engineering program is strongly centered around a liberal arts curriculum. It’s not vocational at all, and this leads some students to choose other more vocational programs. Given that Harvard’s endowment is the largest in the world for a university, if it wanted to become a top engineering school, it could. But that’s not its goal.</p>

6

<p>Comparing Harvard’s CS program to School X’s CS program isn’t always meaningful for students because not all high school seniors are 100% convinced that they want to concentrate in CS. That might be one factor in choosing Harvard over, say, MIT.</p>

7

<p>[NRC</a> Rankings Overview: Computer Sciences - Faculty - The Chronicle of Higher Education](<a href=“NRC Rankings Overview: Computer Sciences”>NRC Rankings Overview: Computer Sciences)</p>

<p>This is for graduate programs, but it is the ranking by people who actually know what they are talking about.</p>

8

<p>4thfloor, interesting points and link!
Harvard’s high (5th-percentile) S-ranking is 6 and its low(95th-percentile) S-ranking is 19,
5th-percentile R-ranking is 6 and its 95th-percentile S-ranking is 22.
The low end rankings are similar to its CS ranking in US News - 17th place.</p>

<p>Stanford is clearly the number 1 in this ranking system, both its high S and R ranking is 1 and low S and R ranking is 2.</p>