Princeton vs Harvard vs Yale vs Brown for Computer Science / Robotics

College Search & Lists
, , , ,
1

My S22 ended up with some amazing options – he got into Princeton, Harvard, Yale, and Brown. (An embarrassment of riches, I know!).

(He was also waitlisted at a bunch of other schools, like MIT, Stanford, UPenn, Cornell, and Carnegie Mellon, but he’s not taking the idea of being on those waitlists seriously at all).

His likely major at this point is computer science, and he’s especially interested in robotics, along with math, physics, and engineering more broadly.

We’re looking for advice about how to choose between these incredible options, especially in terms of which would be the optimal choice for someone with his interests in computer science and which would be the best fit for him. (Just to be clear – we realize that the best CS and engineering schools are not necessarily Ivies).

Does anyone with special knowledge about Computer Science have a sense of which of these universities would be the best choice? He’s looking for the school with the best and most interesting academic offerings in his areas of interest, a collaborative and not super-competitive student culture, opportunities to get to know and work closely with professors and engage in undergraduate research, and a student culture where a fairly nerdy, not particularly social, very nice, liberal, brainy computer science person, with little interest in partying, would feel comfortable, find other like-minded students, and thrive.

Any thoughts would be much appreciated!

2

None of the places he got into are particularly known for Robotics :-). But they are very good for CS otherwise. Princeton and Harvard lean theory. Princeton is also good for systems. You can put aside Brown. Harvard is less good at it now than Princeton, but they are aggressively investing into CS. May take 2-3 years to heft up. Princeton just hired this person away from Harvard. Radhika Nagpal | Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering She did swarm robotics at Harvard.
For Math or Physics, you can’t go wrong with either Princeton or Harvard, although the accents are different, and if you care, you should have long conversations with kids at these schools before deciding.

I forgot to mention Yale. You can also put that aside.

2 Likes
3

Thanks very much! This is very helpful, and also echoes what we’ve been thinking and learning about these schools.

1 Like
4

Yale is the weakest in this list.

I’d choose Brown only if he’s especially interested in their open curriculum.

That leaves Princeton and Harvard. I don’t think there’s a big CS/Robotics difference there. So I’d suggest you can decide based on other factors.

1 Like
5

You can also look at the course requirements for a major and/or the course offerings each semester. This information is usually publicly available,

3 Likes
6

Following up on my previous post – here is the curriculum guide for Brown. In their attempts to be enormously flexible, they also made the requirements rather confusing, so be forewarned!

https://bulletin.brown.edu/the-college/concentrations/comp/

Here is the link to their courses each semester:

1 Like
7

I would push hard for one of the WL schools. MIT and CMU in-particular because of interest in robotics.

I worked for two IT companies started by Harvard math grads. One did CS doc at Stanford and was a CMU professor. I’d go Harvard unless there’s WL movement. Boston is a great college experience.

2 Likes
8

One factor that hasn’t been mentioned but may be worth considering is that a Harvard student can cross-register for MIT courses.

8 Likes
9

How is one supposed to do that? According to the last common data sets available, MIT took 0 and CMU took 35 off the waitlist. CMU gets reduced more because that admit by division.

ETA: CMU also has huge a WL. It is close to 2x the number of acceptances sent out.

2 Likes
10

If robotics remains a strong interest, and if you join Harvard now, for instance, I am sure you can apply to transfer to MIT next year. But if Math is a primary interest, then either Harvard or Princeton are a better choice than CMU, even if your student comes off the CMU WL. MIT is good at all three areas.

1 Like
11

Yes and that’s exactly why he’s not thinking of those WLs as viable options.

2 Likes
12

To keep things in perspective, MIT accepted 21 of 673 (3.1%) of transfer applications last year.

3 Likes
13

You’re right. Just quit and walk away.

What about Penn, Cornell and Stanford? Top robotic programs.

At least worth a well crafted LOCI and some phone calls.

Plus this seems to be the year for WL. Maybe more movement this year. Maybe not.

14

Yes, and it’s quite easy to do so. There are also shuttles that run between Harvard and MIT and it’s just about 20 minutes door to door for classes in MIT’s main building (the one with the big dome).

1 Like
15

Not timely, but given there is a lot of misinformation here in this thread, I will respond. For context, I am a CS academic working as Professor of CS for the last 25 years in a highly-ranked institution. So, I feel I know the area. I don’t have an axe to grind except that I went to Princeton (I don’t think that colors my view.)

I think Brown and Princeton stand out in this list. Harvard has never prioritized CS and is considered weak in CS circles. Though the name has a general appeal that may trump other factors. Yale has also not traditionally prioritized CS, but that is changing and their program is fast improving.

In robotics specifically, Brown clearly stands out in this list with people like Tellex and Konidaris. But for a deep dive into the area, you would need to go to CMU. But, really, I don’t think it matters at the undergrad level. It does for a PhD.

But, importantly, what matters is a focus on undergrad education. Brown CS and Princeton CS stand out for that. Princeton has a long history of CS innovation, starting from Turing, Church and von Neumann. Likewise, Brown is famous for its CS alumni who went on to start and chair other CS programs in other top places, e.g., George Forsyth who started Stanford CS, Lazowska who built University of Washington CS, and so on.

For people in the know, Princeton and Brown standout for undergrad CS education, especially if you want that in a context of liberal arts framework. But, if you want an intense deep dive into CS, you would be better off at CMU or MIT.

16 Likes
16

Thank you for this very helpful response, which echoes a lot of what we learned when researching my son’s options. He ended up choosing to attend Princeton for CS in the fall, and is very happy with his decision and excited for this next step.

15 Likes
17

So, for others who have the enviable good fortune to have this array of choices, it would be short sighted to simply put Brown aside.

It seems, then, that my D chose well.

It’s nice to have an actual expert chime in now and again.

5 Likes