I’m completely torn between Yale and MIT for CS. Obviously, MIT has the stronger CS program—but it seems that the difference in job prospects is negligible. Also, Yale seems to have a significantly happier and more relaxed environment.
Could somebody provide some insight?
May I suggest that you consider Stanford which has a superb computer science Dept -as good as MITs -and happy students .
@menloparkmom Unfortunately, I won’t be considering Stanford since my parents have already ruled it out. They’re not to keen on sending me across the country.
Consider that Yale will have relatively fewer students studying CS, so you may be privy to a more intimate learning environment and greater prof interaction. If cost isn’t a concern and you prefer the vibe there, Yale is fine, IMO.
I have seen some stats from recent posts on here indicating that among major CS-related employers, Yale punches above its CS reputational weight.
One thing that is harder to measure is Yale’s emphasis on its undergraduates.
Both good schools, go where you like it best since you seem to be restricted in other things.
Joelonsoftware (Joel Spolsky) went to Yale, not that it matters much. He writes well, however, and some of his posts talk about Yale.
If you get in both and can afford either, I don’t think your future is dimmed one bit by picking Yale. My $0.02, and worth about that much.
Can we assume that you have already been accepted to both?
@TomSrOfBoston Yes, I have already been accepted to both. After much deliberation, I narrowed my list down to these two schools.
Your non-CS general education requirements may differ.
http://catalog.mit.edu/mit/undergraduate-education/general-institute-requirements/
http://catalog.yale.edu/ycps/academic-regulations/requirements-for-ba-bs-degree/
@QuestioningAll the difference in job prospects for pure CS/engineering jobs will not be negligible, but for most other types of jobs they will be. Still if you feel you will be really unhappy at MIT, then Yale makes sense.
@Penn95 So would you say that given the choice between a CS student from Yale and one from MIT, an employer would hire the latter?
@QuestioningAll All else equal, most often yes. The kind of status MIT has in the engineering/tech world cannot be rivaled by Yale. Also the rigor of the engineering education you would get at MIT is not comparable to that at Yale, and employers know that. Also top engineering/tech firms recruit much more heavily at MIT for technical jobs so access would be better too.
If you would like to study engineering and then do finance/consulting/business etc then there wouldn’t be a difference. But for actual engineering jobs MIT does make a difference both due to the rigor, quality of the engineering education it provides and its name in the industry. Personally I would only pick Stanford over MIT for engineering/CS undergrad.
Go where you want to go. Either of those schools essentially opens every possible door for you.
The likely main issue is that the number of CS majors at Yale is perceived to be small* enough that employers may not consider it worth sending recruiters there for on-campus recruiting, unlike at MIT or a large state flagship with hundreds of CS majors. You may have to be more aggressive at finding companies (particularly smaller or less-obvious ones than GAFAM) hiring new graduates to apply to and applying to them on your own.
Yale’s CS offerings are good, so there is no concern there, although some may be offered less frequently than at schools with larger CS departments: http://catalog.yale.edu/ycps/subjects-of-instruction/computer-science/#coursestext
*Although, like at many schools, CS has apparently increased in popularity at Yale, which graduated 78 CS majors in 2015-2016. For comparison, the numbers were 295 at MIT, 259 at Stanford, 233 at Stony Brook, 233 at Rutgers, 171 at Massachusetts.
I work in Silicon Valley and recruit several undergrads each year, and so do quite a few of my peers. Anyone who tells you that College A has a significant advantage over College B, where A and B are both among the tippity-top few colleges in America is vastly exaggerating differences.
Recruiters tend to know that the quality of applicant pools overlap far too much to be significantly impressed by simply coming from any one school. Coming from a top school might land you an interview and give you credibility (which both Yale, MIT and any other top 20 school will), but beyond that people tend to look at the projects you’ve done, the GPA you have, the way you answer questions, etc.
With regards to the recruiting mix at universities, the top tech firms (Google, Linkedin, Dropbox, etc.) tend to recruit at virtually every major school. Smaller tech companies tend to recruit close to where they are based (e.g. in Bay Area schools or NYC region), or where their founders tend to be from. I’d expect there to be a greater variety of firms recruiting at MIT, but also a greater number of CS majors, so it pretty much evens out. Either way, a lot of startups and smaller companies are starved for talent and would gladly welcome a Yale CV sent their way even if they don’t come down to recruit.
I’m speaking for CS recruiting here, not sure why engineering firms are even mentioned in this thread. If anything, engineering recruiting tends to be even less based on pedigree, because historically the best engineering schools have never been the most selective schools. For instance, in this list the starting salaries for the Colorado School of Mines (64,000) is hardly different from that of MIT (68,000): http://www.crn.com/slide-shows/channel-programs/240153105/top-10-engineering-schools-with-the-highest-salary-potential.htm/pgno/0/4
Another Bay Area techie here. It’s fine to pick Yale over MIT. It is true that companies value what you know over where you went to school.
+1 to techies saying that either will be fine for employment. It’s an environmental difference mostly in the end. One thing I would mention to contrast with @prezbucky is that while a smaller CS department could offer better professor access, it also means a smaller community of CS students, and collaborative CS environments at top schools are a great way to get involved in side projects, hackathons, etc, which do make an impression and difference in hiring interns and entry level fresh grads. That will have more of an impact than the name of the school.
We’re talking about 2 of what are arguably the 5-10 most selective schools for undergrad in the USA. Lots of people choose Yale over MIT and vice-versa, if you need more reassurance: http://www.parchment.com/c/college/tools/college-cross-admit-comparison.php?compare=Massachusetts+Institute+of+Technology&with=Yale+University
Tech companies don’t just recruit CS majors. They also recruit product managers, creative folks, artists, accountants, people with expertise in physics/ biology/ economics/ law/ music etc. if their products require it. A lot of major tech companies and startups come to Yale and its peer universities looking for these skill sets and also hire programmers if they come across some.
Recruiters look for more than just technical skills when hiring candidates. Soft skills, leadership abilities, emotional intelligence, etc. are all equally prized values, and these might be honed better at Yale.