Good luck OP.
To me this is the key factor.
If you really want to work in CS then going to Yale will not hold you back. Do well in class, work on independent projects, get summer internships. A kid doing this at any college will do fine in CS since it is such an in-demand field.
If you change your mind along the way then being at Yale would be an advantage for many career areas.
Overall Yale makes more sense.
Thank you everyone for all of your advice! I ended up choosing UT, so here’s to hoping that I have a good next four years!
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Yale does have some interesting things going on in AI, but looking solely at the CS programs in general, UT Turing is by far better, and I’m not just saying that as an alum. The only thing I’d recommend is double checking on course availability even if you’er in the Turing program. Campus culture waaaaay different between the two.
Hook 'em horns!
Thanks for sharing your result, and congratulations!
Unless Yale is much more expensive, go there. We are talking about YALE. Yale will offer you one of the best college experiences out there and it is one of the best universities in the world. My guess is that you will learn more there, plus your employers will know nothing about rankings and exact spots (which are arbitrary and honestly don’t mean much at all) and will care that you have an Ivy League degree.
- OP decided and committed two weeks ago
- Employers absolutely do and will know the UT Turing Scholars program. To suggest that they won’t is nonsense.
- To “guess” that one will automatically learn more at Yale than in the Turing Scholars program is an uninformed generalization. What one learns will be different; the OP needed to decide whether to prioritize a tippy-top-tier specialty program or pay considerably more for a broader top-tier education that is not as highly regarded in the specific major. Either choice would be a legitimate one - depends on the educational and financial priorities of the student.
- It’s always amusing to see new contributors here who feel as if the preeminence of Ivy League schools has not been adequately promoted/defended here on CC until they came along to champion the cause of “You can’t not go to Yale!”
Congrats to OP on a solid and well-thought-out decision. Research has shown that students who are admitted to Ivies and choose to go elsewhere have statistically indistinguishable outcomes from those who actually attend Ivies. It’s always a good sign when a student chooses on the basis of substance rather than “prestigiosity.” That’s not to say that Yale lacks substance; but it’s not the be-all and end-all for every student, especially for CS specifically. (Whereas UT Austin has a top-10 CS department, within which the Turing Scholars program is a small and extremely selective Honors program.) An elite honors program in one’s chosen field and a debt-free undergraduate degree are both enviable opportunities as well. Let’s not campaign for young people who have made excellent, well-reasoned decisions to wallow in buyer’s remorse.
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