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Ask HN: Carnegie Mellon or Stanford

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Ask HN: Carnegie Mellon or Stanford

#1
I'm trying to decide which of the two to go for undergrad. No real difference in the cost. So, for doing computer-related major (CS or something like Symbolic Systems @ Stanford interests me too), which is better? I've heard good things about both universities.

P.S. I did see another thread about choosing a college but most of the comments seemed to be specific to the submitter's circumstances (i.e. Tufts vs. Cornell)

Re: Ask HN: Carnegie Mellon or Stanford

#3

Wow, that's a tough call. Congrats to you for having the choice of which to go to. I'd probably recommend Stanford overall. It's very highly ranked. Though if you're looking for CS academic work, you might go with Carnegie Mellon.

Yes, it's a tough decision. But I don't think rankings really matter.

Do you mean that CS classes are better at CMU? How so?

EDIT: I claimed that "Gatech was ranked as #1 in CS but everyone I speak to tells me CMU and Stanford are definitely better (just look at the alumni of these two as opposed to gatech)." It is not. Its undergraduate program is ranked #6 and its graduate program is ranked #9 by the U.S. News & World Report. http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/grad/com/s...

Re: Ask HN: Carnegie Mellon or Stanford

#4
It might be too early to decide, but if you take the entrepreneurial route, stanford is the better choice given its affinity to the valley. cmu is possibly a better choice for academia if you enjoy paper & proposal writing.

Re: Ask HN: Carnegie Mellon or Stanford

#5
post #3

Wow, that's a tough call. Congrats to you for having the choice of which to go to. I'd probably recommend Stanford overall. It's very highly ranked. Though if you're looking for CS academic work, you might go with Carnegie Mellon.

Yes, it's a tough decision. But I don't think rankings really matter. Do you mean that CS classes are better at CMU? How so? EDIT: I claimed that "Gatech was ranked as #1 in CS but everyone I speak to tells me CMU and Stanford are definitely better (just look at the alumni of these two as opposed to gatech)." It is not. Its undergraduate program is ranked #6 and its graduate program is ranked #9 by the U.S. News & Wo…

Who claims GT is #1?

Re: Ask HN: Carnegie Mellon or Stanford

#6
post #4

It might be too early to decide, but if you take the entrepreneurial route, stanford is the better choice given its affinity to the valley. cmu is possibly a better choice for academia if you enjoy paper & proposal writing.

I'm probably more entrepreneurial than theoretical. But I'd likely be so deep in debt when I get of college, that I'd have to work for a while before doing a startup.

Anyway, I think the quality of students matters quite a bit. Does CMU attract the more academic kind and Stanford the more startupy kind? Are you saying that the CS research done at Stanford is not as good?

Re: Ask HN: Carnegie Mellon or Stanford

#7
post #6
post #4

It might be too early to decide, but if you take the entrepreneurial route, stanford is the better choice given its affinity to the valley. cmu is possibly a better choice for academia if you enjoy paper & proposal writing.

I'm probably more entrepreneurial than theoretical. But I'd likely be so deep in debt when I get of college, that I'd have to work for a while before doing a startup. Anyway, I think the quality of students matters quite a bit. Does CMU attract the more academic kind and Stanford the more startupy kind? Are you saying that the CS research done at Stanford is not as good?

Are you saying that the CS research done at Stanford is not as good?

At the undergraduate level I don't think this matters much. Aside from the goodness of the CS department, which I consider equal at these two schools, you should think about the total college experience. IMO Stanford has better weather, a better campus, better looking students, better non-CS departments, better surrounding environment, etc.

Re: Ask HN: Carnegie Mellon or Stanford

#9
post #3

Wow, that's a tough call. Congrats to you for having the choice of which to go to. I'd probably recommend Stanford overall. It's very highly ranked. Though if you're looking for CS academic work, you might go with Carnegie Mellon.

Yes, it's a tough decision. But I don't think rankings really matter. Do you mean that CS classes are better at CMU? How so? EDIT: I claimed that "Gatech was ranked as #1 in CS but everyone I speak to tells me CMU and Stanford are definitely better (just look at the alumni of these two as opposed to gatech)." It is not. Its undergraduate program is ranked #6 and its graduate program is ranked #9 by the U.S. News & Wo…

This is just an anecdotal recommendation, I don't have any data to support this. During my time as a research assistant at GT I seem to recall hearing more from/about CMU people than Stanford.

Re: Ask HN: Carnegie Mellon or Stanford

#10
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm probably more entrepreneurial than theoretical. But I'd likely be so deep in debt when I get of college, that I'd have to work for a while before doing a startup. Anyway, I think the quality of students matters quite a bit. Does CMU attract the more academic kind and Stanford the more startupy kind? Are you saying that the CS research done at Stanford is not as good?

Are you saying that the CS research done at Stanford is not as good? At the undergraduate level I don't think this matters much. Aside from the goodness of the CS department, which I consider equal at these two schools, you should think about the total college experience. IMO Stanford has better weather, a better campus, better looking students, better non-CS departments, better surrounding environment, etc.

Definitely consider the strength of non-CS depts as an important factor. That said, I think CMU has some pretty decent non-engineering schools in too (e.g. theatre).

But what do I know, I went to state school :)

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