pick a college

[leemaj]

which school would you go to if you kinda want to do cs, but arent sure?

[attgig]

I'm from the east coast, so I picked MIT..
but seriously - when both schools are THAT good, it really doesn't matter too much - just go for whichever school you 'fit-in' better...the easier that is - the easier it is for you to settle into your groove academically.

imo.

[sho.gun]

Originally posted by leemaj
which school would you go to if you kinda want to do cs, but arent sure?

If you really want to play Counter-strike, school is just going to be a big bother, don't go to either one.

[kimchicowboy]

i'm biased because my sis is graduating from MIT in a few weeks. i also just hate stanford for some reason.

[JPR]

Uhhh I cant even afford to get out of town so I abstain :P

[NuTs62]

Originally posted by attgig
I'm from the east coast, so I picked MIT..
but seriously - when both schools are THAT good, it really doesn't matter too much - just go for whichever school you 'fit-in' better...the easier that is - the easier it is for you to settle into your groove academically.

imo.

:stupid:


Are those your choices?
/me attempts to stop drooling

MIT I'd say is alot stronger in CS. But since Stanford is just a few hundred miles to the north of ya, go there :) C'mon now! Can you imagine life out of California? Those people outside of California are weird! Just look around G|A! I think I've proved my point :hihi: :P

And also, Stanford is near Silicon Valley.

[whitak24]

i picked stanford.

both MIT and stanford are excellent schools. however, it's my impression that you're going to find a more enjoyable environment at stanford than at MIT.

but i guess like someone said earlier, it's about where you feel more comfortable.

[aglio412]

one thing i've noticed over my years is that you can get an MIT/Stanford/Harvard education anywhere you go. kids today are under so much pressure from their parents to go to Yale, or go to MIT that the name/prestige of a school becomes all that matters. now, if MIT or STanford has distinct programs that aren't offered elsewhere that you want, then by all means choose accordingly, but if you're going for general CS, don't limit yourself to those 2. now, i'm not saying pack up and head to iowa tech, but there are some schools a notch or 2 below MIT on the 'social status ladder' that might end up having more to offer. here's some advice, look up the research of the present faculty in the CS departments of the schools you're considering...see if you can find a school with 2-3 profs doing work that excites you. coming out of college...having a name like MIT on your resume speaks volumes about your intelligence, but having real research/development experience under the guidance of a reknown professor will get you much much further.

all i know is that i got accepted to a number of schools, but ended up picking the university of pittsburgh...and i got to do alot of cognitive psychology research with some brilliant minds.

it's my opinion that your education is 50% classes/books/school and 50% of what you do on your own. and i'll go as far as to say most of what i know now, i learned through internships and directed research programs.

just some food for thought....

by the way...i'd love to have gone to MIT...not for the prestige, for the geek factor...but then again, i could have experienced a similar level somewhere like CMU.

anyhoo, good luck with the decision

[Merlin]

Screw 'em both. You need two years in the military. That'll learn ya all ya need.

[attgig]

Originally posted by aglio412
by the way...i'd love to have gone to MIT...not for the prestige, for the geek factor...but then again, i could have experienced a similar level somewhere like CMU.

WOOHOO! CMU!!!! even BETTER than MIT! :D

MIT is the CMU of Massachussetts :)

(ok, enough of my cmu pride:))


anyways, about all the research junks - if you're really going into c-s, are you planning on continuing research for a while and going that route? or being hired for 6 figures right out of school?

if you want to be hired, and get tons of money - go to one of these.
if you wanna do research....and spend life in school - well, go to one of these :D
seriously, these 'high prestige' schools don't get their prestige from sucking on their thumbs all day. They do some quality research - it's up to you to do well in your classes, and seek these professors out. Either one you go to - there will be some crazy awesome minds that'll amaze you and teach you a thing or two.

[aglio412]

Originally posted by cpugeek04
penn state :thumbup:

seeing that there aren't alot of folks from PA (or former PA residents like myself) here...i'll spare y'all my PSU rant.

but i will say this...penn state is one of the most disgustingly athletic/frat/sorority run institutions i've ever had the 'pleasure' of frequenting.

education is secondary to football and 'who you are, or are pretending to be' there...geek, if you're planning on going to PSU, please do yourself a favor and visit as MANY other schools that you can before making a decision...going there b/c you're from PA and everyone in PA loves PSU football is definitely the wrong reason.

[sbp]

Originally posted by aglio412


seeing that there aren't alot of folks from PA (or former PA residents like myself) here...i'll spare y'all my PSU rant.

but i will say this...penn state is one of the most disgustingly athletic/frat/sorority run institutions i've ever had the 'pleasure' of frequenting.

education is secondary to football and 'who you are, or are pretending to be' there...geek, if you're planning on going to PSU, please do yourself a favor and visit as MANY other schools that you can before making a decision...going there b/c you're from PA and everyone in PA loves PSU football is definitely the wrong reason. Thats for sure. 2000 football season record was 5-7 and 5-6 last year.

[Memo]

If you love Cali, goto Stanford. You really have a choice of 2 bad ass schools. I'd goto Stanford because I like California and there would be a lot more stuff to do there. If you are serious about dedicating yourself to studies then I'd probably goto MIT. I don't know, it's really up to you whether or not you want college to be more of an educational thing or a fun experience with lots of hard work thing :P

[EdtheSped]

Originally posted by aglio412


seeing that there aren't alot of folks from PA (or former PA residents like myself) here...i'll spare y'all my PSU rant.

but i will say this...penn state is one of the most disgustingly athletic/frat/sorority run institutions i've ever had the 'pleasure' of frequenting.

education is secondary to football and 'who you are, or are pretending to be' there...geek, if you're planning on going to PSU, please do yourself a favor and visit as MANY other schools that you can before making a decision...going there b/c you're from PA and everyone in PA loves PSU football is definitely the wrong reason.

Hey I'm from PA and I think Penn State SUCKS!!! (me looks over my shoulder while I types this, too many Penn State Grads around me).

Actually I would side with attgig, CMU rules for CS but living in Oakland leaves alot to be desired.

When I was at Pitt I took classes with a "basketball star". He was assigned one of the top students as his tutor and was allowed to take tests when he was ready and was allowed as much time as he needed to complete them. I used to get so Pi$$ed off when I'd see him sitting in a teachers office taking an exam. Yes, I'm very bitter towards college athletics.

BTW, aglio412 I can tell your not from Western PA or it would be Y'ins not Y'all. And remember WPTS's slogan, "Penn State Sucks!!!"

[kimchicowboy]

Originally posted by UT Memo
If you are serious about dedicating yourself to studies then I'd probably goto MIT.

that's true. at least in my sister's case. my sister is chem E there and she does all-nighters at least 3 times a week and this isn't like the week before finals or anything. she lives off of red-bull. but she really enjoys it there. like we've discussed in a previous thread, having a diploma from MIT (or stanford for that matter) will help you get you somewhere. but if you're a california boy like i am, i wouldn't want to leave CA. i can only stand the east coast for like 2 weeks for vacation. then i miss LA. :P

[aglio412]

Originally posted by sbp
Thats for sure. 2000 football season record was 5-7 and 5-6 last year.

sad thing is, even with crappy records, football is still god in central pa...university park on a saturday during a home game, is one of the strangest phenomenons i have ever witnessed...don't get me wrong, i love football...but if joe paterno asked the fans to drink grape kool-aid (ala Jim Jones), they'd all do it

[aglio412]

Originally posted by EdtheSped

BTW, aglio412 I can tell your not from Western PA or it would be Y'ins not Y'all. And remember WPTS's slogan, "Penn State Sucks!!!"

i'm from central pa originally, lived in pittsburgh for about 6 years...i'm actually from the heart of the PSU cult, and i'm a die hard PSU hater...go figure.

as for oakland having alot to be desired...i love that place...best place in the world to live as a 18-20yr old...well, that's a stretch, but it's so much fun...and the outlying areas around pitt/cmu are awesome...squirrel hill, shadyside, southside...it's a great town.

anyway, i think we're crapping on leemaj's thread...the boy just wants some advice on colleges....not our rantings about pittsburgh and penn state.

[jujubees]

I voted for Stanfurd (that took a lot, coming from the blue & gold :P).

It's an easier transition from Southern to Northern California, and with all the other crap that you'll have to deal with in college, you shouldn't add homesickness or hypothermia to the fray.

Also, if you're "not sure" about going to MIT, it probably isn't the right environment for you. You'll want to have fun in college, and not be embittered about your college years, like some of us here.

And for the record, Stanford is in Palo Alto, not Oakland. Geographically speaking, the distance is negligible, but socially ...

[EdtheSped]

Originally posted by aglio412


i'm from central pa originally, lived in pittsburgh for about 6 years...i'm actually from the heart of the PSU cult, and i'm a die hard PSU hater...go figure.

as for oakland having alot to be desired...i love that place...best place in the world to live as a 18-20yr old...well, that's a stretch, but it's so much fun...and the outlying areas around pitt/cmu are awesome...squirrel hill, shadyside, southside...it's a great town.

anyway, i think we're crapping on leemaj's thread...the boy just wants some advice on colleges....not our rantings about pittsburgh and penn state.

Ok my choice, in order of preferred universities, would be, CMU (I am under the impression their CS program is the best in the nation), MIT, then Stanford. My wife did a masters at B.U. and says Boston was the funnest place she ever lived. So if leemaj is ruling out CMU my vote goes to MIT.

Squirrel Hill is fun, and just happens to be where I now reside. (sorry to get off topic again)

[Jihforce]

If you're a californian, you won't enjoy the snow in the East Coast. The novelty of seeing snow fall on your first winter there wears off in about 5 minutes...maybe less.
Then again, there are times when I miss seeing snow...but that also wears off in less than 5 minutes. :)

[NuTs62]

Originally posted by jujubees
And for the record, Stanford is in Palo Alto, not Oakland. Geographically speaking, the distance is negligible, but socially ...

Yup. Palo Alto = no beach, and somewhat boring. BUT.. The surrounding cities such as San Francisco, and San Jose aren't as bad. Palo Alto is around 35 minutes outside of SF, and about 15 minutes outside of San Jose. And about the beach thing, you can probably get to a beach within 20 minutes or so drive from Palo Alto. Reason why I bring that up is cuz I know how San Diego's beaches has great marine biology :naughty:

Hmm.. I don't know whether this will make you want to go to Stanford, or give you convulsions, but Chelsea Clinton goes there (err, I'm not sure whether she graduated yet or not tho). If you base it off of my stereotype, I picture Stanford as smart snobby rich kids, and pretty good lookin girls :hihi:. My stereotype of MIT is computer geeks, a.k.a. most of us here :P

[EdtheSped]

Originally posted by NuTs62


Chelsea Clinton goes there ..., I picture Stanford as smart snobby rich kids, and pretty good lookin girls :hihi:.

So you think Chelsea is pretty good lookin? :heh:

[jujubees]

Originally posted by NuTs62
Chelsea Clinton goes there (err, I'm not sure whether she graduated yet or not tho)Think she's in grad school at Oxford now.

[NuTs62]

Originally posted by EdtheSped


So you think Chelsea is pretty good lookin? :heh:

/me looks out for secret service agents
:thumbdown: OH HECK NO! :bonk:

[sbp]

Originally posted by Jihforce
If you're a californian, you won't enjoy the snow in the East Coast. The novelty of seeing snow fall on your first winter there wears off in about 5 minutes...maybe less.
Then again, there are times when I miss seeing snow...but that also wears off in less than 5 minutes. :) Sure is funny seeing Californians run from the snow.

And yeah NuTs62 does think she's hot. http://sbp777.homestead.com/files/wink2.gif

[whitak24]

Originally posted by EdtheSped


So you think Chelsea is pretty good lookin? :heh:
i think she's matured into an attractive woman.

and yes, she's in grad school at oxford.

[Memo]

Originally posted by whitak24

i think she's matured into an attractive woman.


:puke:

[molecularfire]

Flip a coin to decide where to go. That how I picked my undergrad. :thumbup:

Seriously though... the question you have to ask yourself is how hard core to you wanna be. If you're gonna be a complete gung ho CS student... go to MIT. Otherwise, go to Stanford. It'll do no good to go to MIT and do mediocre.

[NuTs62]

Originally posted by sbp
Sure is funny seeing Californians run from the snow.

And yeah NuTs62 does think she's hot. http://sbp777.homestead.com/files/wink2.gif

We don't run from the snow. Many of us flock to Lake Tahoe any chance we get! Well, not me.. I've had bad experiences snow boarding. But the rare occasions that we see traces of snow in the Bay Area are quite enjoyable. Then again, we aren't too used to driving in those conditions.

And about Chelsea.. She's "ok" lookin.. but far from hot.

[NuTs62]

Originally posted by molecularfire
Flip a coin to decide where to go. That how I picked my undergrad. :thumbup:

Seriously though... the question you have to ask yourself is how hard core to you wanna be. If you're gonna be a complete gung ho CS student... go to MIT. Otherwise, go to Stanford. It'll do no good to go to MIT and do mediocre.

True, but do you know how well ur gonna do until u've tried it? Also, remember that MIT is supposed to be tops in CS or technical schools. So the competition is gonna be fierce in those subjects.

[Windsor]

I think something important is the part about not being sure of being a CS major. It strikes me that Stanford has a larger variety of fields you could study in. The campus at Stanford is also really nice.

[leemaj]

MIT has parties galore though...boston has like 50 colleges in and around the city, and mit, boston u, and harvard are all within 2 miles of each other. also, there is a bus called the "f*ck truck" which is a free charter bus that takes girls from wellesly to mit and back. they charge people for it on the weekends. mit and wellesly both pay to keep the bus running...so you can imagine how many girls come to the mit frat parties..... :)

[NuTs62]

Originally posted by leemaj
MIT has parties galore though...boston has like 50 colleges in and around the city, and mit, boston u, and harvard are all within 2 miles of each other. also, there is a bus called the "f*ck truck" which is a free charter bus that takes girls from wellesly to mit and back. they charge people for it on the weekends. mit and wellesly both pay to keep the bus running...so you can imagine how many girls come to the mit frat parties..... :)

sounds like u've made up ur mind.. well, at least we know that you'll post pictures for us right? :D