

Despite the enormous cost, is MIT a ideal school? - michaelscaria

Despite the enormous cost, is MIT a ideal school to get a Computer Science degree from?
Let me know what you think.
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argonaut
No.

I will be as vague and provide as few details as this question. :) You
seriously need to define "ideal." Because there are hundreds of variables in
determining whether one school is better than another. And some people value
different things from others. One person might value the quality of the social
opportunities. Another might value the quality of research opportunities.
Another might value the quality of undergraduate teaching. Etc. Etc. Etc.

~~~
GFischer
As argonaut says, you should provide your goals :) .

It does sound like a great place for bright and motivated people, but it also
sounds hard and grinding, plus you might have to get into debt and/or you
might not get in.

If I had the opportunity and the means, I'd probably do it :)

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argonaut
Let me add to my previous answer. There is no ideal.

Some pros for MIT (not all deal with CS):

1\. great research opportunities for undergrads

2\. you'll be surrounded by lots of smart, technical people (and TONS of CS
people as well).

3\. great recruiting for big tech companies and large and mid-size startups.

4\. Boston/Cambridge is a really great city for college students (there are so
many of them).

Some cons:

1\. The Boston startup scene is much less active compared to SV (which also
means less small startup recruiting).

2\. You are required to take a lot of classes you might not really find useful
or enjoyable (physics, chemistry, etc.)

3\. The social scene can be a bit of a mixed bag. There are a lot of different
social circles.

And the biggest con, I believe:

4\. MIT classes will grind you down with work. You will have a lot less time
to work on side projects / startup ideas while at MIT.

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18pfsmt
Does anyone else find it odd that the OP is using "a ideal?"

I realize we are not all native English speakers, but this kind of crap just
kills me while reading HN. I normally keep it to myself, but since this post
pertains to education I thought it relevant.

~~~
pizza
Typos hapen.

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caw
I think you'd be good with anything on this list:
[http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-
colleges/...](http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-
colleges/rankings/engineering-doctorate) or this one: [http://grad-
schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-gradu...](http://grad-
schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-science-
schools/computer-science-rankings)

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chris_dcosta
As someone from outside the USA, it certainly looks impressive on a CV.

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nayefc
You might as well go to Stanford, at least there is you'll see the sun more
often there :p

