Choosing path for a Phd in Computer science.

Graduate School
1

Hello Guys,

I’m an international student who will be attending Colby college this fall. My plan is to get a Phd in CS and I’m not saying that because I think it’s cool to have a Phd! No, I already have done a lot of research to discover what is it to have a Phd in CS.

So let’s get to the real discussion, I’m looking forward to apply for some of the biggest CS departments in the US for graduate school including Princeton, Harvard, MIT … but the thing is that I do have a choice to get a BA in CS or a BA and a BS in CS and each has its own path so I want to take your advice.

The path to get a BA is evident, no need to explain but the second one is :

As you may know, My school (Colby) does have a dual degree program in engineering with Columbia uni that will let me transfer for two years to the uni to after three years in Colby to continue my CS studies in the engineering school and get a BA ans a BS in CS. but there is a huge problem with that which is the financial aid. I’m already receiving about 95% of the college costs as aid so going for this program will be a huge risk considering that I might not get enough money from Columbia which says on its site : FA for int students entering this program is limited and we don’t promise 100% full need.

So, Going for the first path will let me study and focus on CS as well as math, and I will have the chance to do a research in my senior year but I have to meet some conditions. Generally not a problem. in addition to be empty of risks.

However going for the second path, Will let me get out with a BA and a BS, ample research opportunities, better background for graduate school but again full of risks.

so what do you think should I do ? how would those big schools look at me considering each path ?

I’m not saying that I want to go for a Phd immediately, A master at first can be considered.
please note that in terms of academics, Don’t worry because I’m sure I can keep a high GPA. I’m already familiar with CS. I know Python ( mastered it ) and currently working on Java. in addition to other topics in CS which really got me interested to study them and know about them more. So as you can see, I’m passionate for CS and I don’t intend to be satisfied only with a BA or a BS.

just for your info, I got accepted also to Amherst, Williams, and Hamilton. I didn’t apply for the ivy league schools because I got fascinated by the liberal arts education.

2

Unless you are specifically interested in computer engineering, there’d be no advantage to pursuing a 3-2 program. The BA/BS distinction is not meaningful as long as you have taken courses appropriate for your graduate studies of choice. Stated slightly differently, if you are interested in the Columbia opportunity, it should be for reasons other than the BS title of the degree.

3

Thanks for your reply @merc81. First of all, if I did choose to go for this program, I would go to the CS department in Columbia school for engineering not the computer engineering department. And second, I won’t go there to get a BS rather than a BA. I will be going as I said for the research opportunities and the more specialised courses which may give me better chances to get admitted to such graduate schools. But again it’s risky because of the FA.

So my question in a different way, is it worth it going for this opportunity if I was looking for a great graduate school ?
Can I still achieve my goal starting from Colby ?

Thank you

4

I think you don’t know much about CS area yet, so it may be a difficult question. What area of specialization you are considering? CS is a big categorization now. CS has so many specialized area. You’d better knowing the specialty of professors in your chosen school.

Colby is not a feeder school to Top 25 CS graduate programs. I think the ticket to a top school is either having a work and excellent recommendation from well-known top professor(s) or having almost perfect grade/GRE and a research experience these days. Do you know if there is a known prof with a good relationship to top graduate schools in your interest of specialization? Otherwise, keep up good grades in Colby. Not secured but a chance is always there.

5

Graduate schools are interested in motivated, high-achieving students from a variety of backgrounds. Beyond this, they often seem to particularly respect the education offered by liberal arts colleges. Colby, in this sense, would generally be recognized by top graduate programs (of all types) as excellent preparation for the subsequent more specialized education they would provide.

The only real problem you may encounter with respect to a Colby-only education relates to the relatively narrow breadth of their CS offerings. You may stand to benefit from upper-level undergraduate courses in topics that Colby does not appear to offer such as operating systems, compilers, databases, software engineering, security & cryptography, artificial intelligence and hardware. It would be for this reason more than any other that the Columbia program could prove worthwhile. All of this, however, depends on your particular interests.

6

No.

Simply put, you can get into a great computer science PhD program from Colby. Students go onto excellent PhD programs in CS from small liberal arts colleges all the time.

You have research opportunities at Colby, too. What you may not know is that becoming a professor at an elite liberal arts college like Colby is almost as competitive as becoming a professor at a top university like Duke or Georgetown. Many people compete for those slots, and the professors they do bring on are professors who have research careers and are specifically interested in introducing undergraduates to research. The CS professors at Colby come from top programs (Carnegie Mellon, University of Washington, UC-Santa Barbara) and have active research programs. They also teach smaller class loads - maybe 2 classes a semester, or 3 first semester and 2 second semester - in order to more effectively mentor their students in research and career. You’ll have

Maybe you can study abroad for a semester at University College London or University of Auckland and take upper-level computer science courses there. Or maybe you can do a semester as a visiting student at Columbia or some other university to take some upper-level CS classes and do some research with a top professor.

But you don’t need to spend all the money that an additional two years at Columbia would cost just to make you competitive for CS programs. You’ll already be competitive by making the right moves at Colby.

7

@juillet Thank you so much! This is exactly what I need to hear right now.