<p>So many misconceptions, so little time…</p>
<p>To the OP, all are great for software development. </p>
<p>Google did not “rank” them - those are just Google results, which is more a reflection of the web than of Google’s opinion of them.</p>
<p>CMU is certainly one of the best places for CS, but it isn’t quite on the level of BSM, even if US News says it is. CMU has strength in numbers, hence why its hiring standards for faculty are lower. As a result, its research falls behind BSM, e.g. see the Microsoft database of CS papers,</p>
<p><a href=“http://academic.research.microsoft.com/RankList?entitytype=7&topDomainID=2&subDomainID=0&last=0&start=1&end=100[/url]”>http://academic.research.microsoft.com/RankList?entitytype=7&topDomainID=2&subDomainID=0&last=0&start=1&end=100</a></p>
<p>Notice that it’s actually more productive than Berkeley or Stanford in paper output, but it’s lower-quality research that is less cited. BSM’s H-indices are virtually tied, while CMU’s falls far behind. See the [url=<a href=“http://chronicle.com/article/NRC-Rankings-Overview-/124721/]NRC[/url”>http://chronicle.com/article/NRC-Rankings-Overview-/124721/]NRC[/url</a>], [url=<a href=“http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2011/subject-rankings/engineering/computer-science]QS[/url”>http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2011/subject-rankings/engineering/computer-science]QS[/url</a>], or [url=<a href=“http://www.shanghairanking.com/SubjectCS2011.html]ARWU[/url”>http://www.shanghairanking.com/SubjectCS2011.html]ARWU[/url</a>] rankings, which show the same. CMU is great, but BSM it is not.</p>
<p>Similarly, CMU Silicon Valley is known for being a failure in terms of what CMU wanted to accomplish. If you’re looking to break into the SV network, Stanford or Berkeley would be far better. The fact that CMU has an entire school of CS doesn’t confer an advantage; it’s primarily an administrative difference, and while there are more faculty who work in the variety of CS subfields, the quality isn’t higher (it’s actually lower). SCS at CMU is also not really like a school in its traditional implementation; it’s two departments with a bunch of institutes. Stanford has CS, SAIL, CSL, EE, etc.; Berkeley has EECS, ICSI, etc.; MIT has EECS, CSAIL, etc. It’s just administratively different.</p>
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<p>There isn’t any evidence that the workload in CS at Stanford is any less than elsewhere, or that its grading is easier. I haven’t seen any such data and as far as I can see, the workload in Stanford CS is equal to or greater than elsewhere (e.g. the intro CS sequence at Berkeley is taken in 1.5 years, while at Stanford it’s taken over 1 year, and covers all the same material).</p>