Transfer Student: I'm stuck, where should I go? Purdue CS? or Brown CS?

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I think what I’m specifically looking for is a rigorous CS curriculum (which pretty much every CS degree in the top whatever have), more resources/networking between alumni and corporate partners, etc., and a stepping stool to get into big leagues in the industry and good placement in grad school (MBA most likely). In terms of environment, I have visited both and loved the Purdue’s huge college town w/ spirit vibe but Brown’s ivy league atmosphere also is really appealing, which makes me love both a lot at least at first impression.

Kind of stuck between the two for now, and still waiting on a decision for USC and Northwestern University which might also sway my decision :\

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I saw this and was pleasantly surprised, still have no idea how it’s the case. Plus, lowkey, I dont wanna rely too much on earnings on previous data as a decision factor

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There is a lot of computing employment that beyond FAANG or other well known large computing companies.

Note that Ivy League schools do well in pay levels due to being preferred targets for Wall Street and management consulting.

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Yeah, that’s what I was thinking for the reason why Brown is so high up in earnings, I see them represented quite decently in quant and cs (Citadel, Jane St, etc.)

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I’m a retired software guy with a degree in CS. Both Brown and Purdue are perfectly good schools for CS and you won’t be disadvantaged in the job market if you have a degree from either of them. If it was me and cost wasn’t an issue, I’d probably pick Brown, mostly because I’d think Purdue has much larger class sizes, which I personally don’t like. Others are fine with large classes, though. See if one of the schools has class offerings and specialty tracks that appeal to you more.

Same advice about job prospects, class size and available classes/specialty tracks applies if USC and Northwestern are added to the mix. You can’t lose with any of your choices.

I live in the Bay Area and got the sense that working for the FAANG companies began losing their appeal as the top places to work about 10 years ago.

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Thank you! I heard that with the hiring freeze it’s basically an unreliable field at this point in time, and you would only reliably get into it (w/ hard work and luck) if you were from Top 5 or 3 universities, makes sense.

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Where you go to undergrad - whether Portland State or Purdue or Boise State or Brown will likely have zero impact on where you get into an MBA program.

You’ll need to work a few years - and your GPA, GMAT, and quality of work experience will be determinant on where you go.

When I went, we had kids from Stanford, Cornell, Northwestern and Grove City, Northern Arizona, UNLV and everywhere in between.

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Thank you! That makes sense, I was just wondering if it was (marginally) better to get an ivy undergrad to go to something like (overly ambitious lol) HSW MBA or something, still it’s probably negligible. No idea what to do

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I think you’re over thinking it.

Stanford, for example, is populated by 82 domestic and 83 international institutions. But also 5 years work experience.

The where doesn’t matter because it’s what you did after the fact that does.

Harvard doesn’t appear to publish the list anymore - but in 2015, had 264 colleges represented - whether Arizona State, Florida A&M, Kettering, Maine, Ohio Wesleyan, UCONN, Kansas, Nebraska, VCU and more - you’ll find them all.

They want kids that have done something…not that went somewhere.

Don’t overthink it.

Go to the school that fits you best.

Good luck.

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Thank you so much for your insight!

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That being said, your odds are better from some colleges, unless you’re certain you’ll be the one admit from that lower-ranked college.
Of course, neither Purdue nor Brown are a lower-ranked college.

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Seems that way, makes my choice a lot harder lol. Purdue’s big school + lots of recruitment + top engineering vibe is something I’m more familar with and I can navigate it quite well IMHO, but Brown might be a different experience with it’s smaller nature, Ivies are generally more all-rounded, etc.

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Tippy top MBA programs typically draw about 50% of their classes from 11 undergraduate schools (8 ivies plus Stanford, Chicago and Duke. This shouldn’t be surprising given that IBs and management consulting firms also recruit disproportionately from those 11 schools. These are two fields that send a high number of participants on for MBAs and the schools themselves value work experience in these fields.

It is absolutely possible to go to a top MBA program from other schools but there is a clear advantage to attending the aforementioned schools and pursuing the well traveled academic/career path I have described.

Both Purdue and Brown are excellent schools but if you are seeking more career optionality or academic flexibility (good things in a challenging job market), I think Brown will have a clear advantage. If committed to CS I think both schools have negligible advantages over one another.

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Then a question to ask yourself:
Do you feel ready to try&step out of your comfort zone, or is familiarity important to your success right now? There’s no right or wrong answer, only what’s right for you.

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Been trying to get more information about it on r/MBA and that’s what the case seems to be. For the highest odds to be at the top three of M7, seems like they prefer undergrad from an ivy, and obviously amazing superstar achievements from there, and I’m not sure it would be easier to do tech “superstar stuff” from Brown vs Purdue, though I know it depends on me at the end of the day.

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I’m not sure that’s the case given the hundreds of colleges represented.

What I would say is that - top students get into top MBAs.

Top students get into Ivy’s undergrad.

So many top students, who went to top schools undergrad, will be the ones at top grad schools.

But I’m not sure you can say it’s because the grad schools want them - they simply want the top students - with the top test scores and high quality jobs.

Often, but not always, those kids come from the top schools.

As I said - at my MBA we had Stanford and Northeastern, but also Northern Arizona and Grove City - because all these kids had fantastic backgrounds - professional and academic. But of course, the average kid at Harvard undergrad will be much more accomplished than the average kid at Norther Arizona.

You will be somewhere for - I think three years.

Brown is obviously wonderful and if it’s right fo you, then great. But it’s not Purdue, nor is Purdue Brown. If Purdue is the better environment for you, then it’s better for you.

Harvard’s current class of 928 is represented by 128 US universities and 147 international. Think about that - 128 US and 147 international.

It’s not going to matter.

You know what matters. Harvard is 4.9 years average work experience and Stanford was 5.

What do you do during that time?

Are you making an impact? Are you growing?

That’s what’s going to matter.

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