<p>(in SEAS, that is)</p>
<p>My other two options are UCLA (w/ regents) and CMU. </p>
<p>I just really like Columbia.</p>
<p>I’d go to CMU. Columbia is full of commies, and both NYC and LA are ball-bustingly expensive.</p>
<p>Wow, I don’t know what to say. I feel like Columbia is not totally full of commies, just tends to be far left. Also, LA isn’t expensive. Sorry, there are tacos for $0.25 everywhere.</p>
<p>If you wanna do software engineering, it would not be a bad idea to attend the school who basically set many of the software engineering standards today…CMU. UCLA is a great choice also for CS. Now if you really like Columbia, then that is all that is needed (provided that you won’t set you and your parents back financially).</p>
<p>If it will be a money strain?..take CMU or UCLA. Now is that “regents” like a scholarship or something?</p>
<p>So, is Financial aid an issue?
I wouldn’t say that doing CS in Columbia is stupid, but it might be unusual for someone to prefer Columbia over CMU.
I mean, you might not be sure of CS, after all. Additionally, Columbia might have a descent top 20 program(not sure abt the numbers).
Finally, studying in Columbia could work in your favor were you to look for internships in NYC.
Bottom line, follow your heart. Going to a top 20 rather than top 10 is not that big of a deal.
Enjoy…</p>
<p>Regents is pretty cool. $2000 scholarship, priority registration for classes, and research opportunities are some of the privileges you get. I’m also instate so it would be much cheaper than the two private schools (30k vs. 65k)</p>
<p>My parents told me to not worry about the cost. I can’t help it though. I don’t like UCLA that much but CMU’s program seems much tougher. I’m scared that I might not be able to keep my GPA up.</p>
<p>Well, I don’t think Columbia is admitting “any 'ole body” to its CS program, so I will take a random guess and say that Columbia will be tough also. If you are able to get admitted to the likes of Columbia or CMU, you should not be afraid of any academics.</p>
<p>I would say that the CMU atmosphere would be more techy with more people having previous exposure to CS. This makes it harder to get good grades.
However, I feel(not sure) that Columbia would have some well-rounded students, who are smart, but not necessarily keen on CS, specifically. This might allow equal chances when it comes to grades, I guess.
Anyway, both of these schools are going to be hard (at a certain level) even though CMU is rumored to be harder. If I were you, I would’n be afraid of a hard curriculum and would see that as a challenge(that I will enjoy: I won’t be scared).
But that is just me :p</p>
<p>Student A- Attended NC State- CS degree- Graduated with 20K in debt after 4 years- Got a job making 59 K out of school</p>
<p>Student B- Attended CMU- CS degree- Graduated with 80 K in debt after 4 years- Got a similar job making 65 K out of school.</p>
<p>Just a realistic example-If your parents think cost should not be an issue, are they going to help you pay for it? I really don’t understand the way some people think</p>
<p>Don’t go to Columbia. CMU is superior to Columbia by a landslide in Computer Science. It really depends on your financial aid package at CMU. UCLA with regents is a good choice because UCLA is also another top program in CS (better than Columbia at #7 in the U.S.). If CMU is affordable, go to CMU. As one of the Big 4, its CS program is probably the best in the world.</p>
<p>To OP: stop caring about RANKINGS!!!
If you ware about how fabulous a research this school is doing: you can go there for Grad school.
Undergrad education is to build a well-rounded person as well as a C.scientist. If you take the opportunities you find at Columbia, there won’t be any difference between a #20 school and a #4 school.
You’re in for the experience and not only the rankings. Not to mention that overall rankings/prestige do make a difference (if you still care about the numbers) in which case I bet Columbia doesn’t sound as bad.</p>
<p>@bschoolwiz My parents will pay for most of it at private schools, all at UCLA.</p>
<p>A lot of students change their major in college, so I wouldn’t really pick a school based on a single major. Yes, CMU has a great reputation in CS, but Columbia has a great overall reputation. You have 3 wonderful options, so I would go with the one that’s the best overall fit (as long as it works financially).</p>
<p>If you are absolutely positive you want to do comp sci, go to CMU. If not, go to Columbia.</p>
<p>There’s a pretty easy answer to this question. If there’s a substantial difference in cost, go to the least expensive one. If there isn’t, go to the one that feels best in your gut. It really is that simple.</p>
<p>M</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Well, the median starting salary for a CS grad from CMU is about 90k/year plus bonuses, so I’m not sure about what student here you talk about.</p>
<p>“Well, the median starting salary for a CS grad from CMU is about 90k/year plus bonuses, so I’m not sure about what student here you talk about”</p>
<p>Do you really believe that the school stats are 100% accurate? If so, can you please state what methodology they use?</p>
<p>CMU looks awesome on a resume, but no hiring manager is going to toss a resume in the trash because the job-seeker “only” went to Columbia or UCLA.</p>
<p>Going to Columbia is fine.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>CMU School of Computer Science Survey</p>
<p>In 2012
132 total graduates, 18 went to graduate school, 102 employed, 7 seeking employment, 1 returned to home country, 4 did not respond to survey (97% response rate)</p>
<p>2012 Salaries: $90120 Mean, $95000 Median.</p>
<p>If you want to compare to Cornell, 2012 Mean Salary $91641. (No Median on report)</p>
<p>Certainly, if you think that the students who respond to these surveys are collectively inflating their salaries, or if the school is just making up numbers, that’s fine, think whatever you want.</p>
<p>But know that even in my state flagship school, which has a superb computer science ranking, if you graduate from the honors program, 65k might be severely low of an estimate, especially for someone with OP’s potential, when you consider that new graduates get multiple offers and counteroffers the companies like Microsoft, Google and Amazon.</p>
<p>What DerLongDrink said.</p>
<p>Yes, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, etc. are hiring kids right out of schools like CMU for the figures that DerLongDrink quoted.</p>