Computer Science major - MIT, Princeton, Berkeley, Harvard or Columbia?

junkmusic
Sun, 03 Apr 2011 15:44:47 +0000

So I’ve been accepted at these schools, and I don’t know where to attend. I’m going in as a Computer Science major, but I plan on studying Applied Mathematics and Engineering (Mechanical and Electrical) at least a little bit. My other academic interests include linguistics, european history and economics. I also make electronic music and I attend a lot of concerts. For me the benefits and drawbacks for each school are as follows:


MIT -
It is the best in EE, CompSci, Mechanical and very highly ranked in Math
Boston might have a decent music scene
The internship opportunities in MIT labs would be great
The internship opportunities with startups would be decent, probably not great


-Princeton-
It is the best in Math
The isolation of the college town might help me focus
I liked it when I visited (during the summer, before I was admitted)
The internship opportunities in Princeton labs would be great
The internship opportunities with startups would be bad in Princeton, but maybe I could work in Philadelphia or NYC

-Berkeley-
It is almost equal to or equal to MIT in EE, CompSci and also highly ranked in Math
The Bay Area rules!
It’s cheaper (I live in California)
I liked it when I visited (during the summer, before I was admitted)
I might get less attention (large public school)
They’re funding has been cut dramatically (I might see a reduction in the quality of my education)
The internship opportunities in Berkeley labs would be great, maybe difficult to get though as an undergrad
The internship opportunities with startups would be amazing (Bay Area Tech Firms)

-Harvard-
It has the most prestige (I mean it’s Harvard) and a highly ranked Math program
Boston is a pretty cool city
I was kind of tepid when I visited (but I was being really critical)
The programs in most of the things I’m primarily interested in are not very highly ranked
The internship opportunities in Harvard labs would be great, but maybe difficult to get as an undergrad
The internship opportunities with startups in Boston would be decent, not great.

-Columbia-
NYC is the best place of all!
I liked it a lot when I visited.
I’ve been offered a place in the Egleston Scholars program (10,000 dollar stipend, priorities in Internships, counseling and more personal attention)
They’re programs in the things I’m primarily interested in are not very highly ranked
The internship opportunities in Columbia labs would be good and easy to get as an Egleston scholar
The internship opportunities with startups would be be very good (NYC is an emerging tech center)

Where should I go, given my interests? Which colleges, if any, should I stop considering all together? Which of these colleges would give me the best credentials for grad school? Any help at all is welcome, I honestly just have no clue how to choose at this point, although I’m kind of leaning Princeton/MIT.

Keep in mind that I am probably not going to get any financial aid (my parents have a large income), but that it’s not a big deal because they are prepared to help me pay most of my expenses.

Thanks!