Carnegie Mellon vs Columbia
I've been admitted to Carnegie Mellon School of Computer Science, Columbia Engineering and Cornell Engineering as an undergraduate. I will be a Computer Science major.
I realize that software developers max out their salary very soon and it's sort of a dead end job. Only way to succeed is to start your own company or join a successful startup. So I'm looking into a finance job. I may double major or minor in financial engineering (Columbia, Cornell) or computational finance (CMU).
My questions:
1) What kinds of jobs can computer science students get on Wall Street?
2) Which of these schools is best for me given my goals?
Thanks for your advice
Note: I'm not quite sure where I should put this thread. So sorry if this is the wrong forum section.
I don't know about recruiting ops but cmu is #1 in computer science.
Go to Columbia. Nobody will begrudge your comp sci credentials because you didn't go to cmu, and you'll get more play from recruiters, and you'll have a more widely recognized alma mater.
You really can't go wrong with any of those programs. It never hurts to be in New York though.
you could be a rockstar trader with those credentials. any choice is good. go with the cheapest option
yeah, Columbia over CMU in your case since you want to go into finance. if you wanted to stay in tech I'd have said CMU.
Both are fantastic, congrats! I agree go with cheapest since they will be the same in recruiters eyes.
Columbia. That is all.
I'm interested in trading AND tech (intend on majoring in cs also), so this would be a really hard decision for me... I'd probably go for CMU though just cause it's #1 in comp sci. Probably depends on just how sure you are that you want to get into finance. Though, either school is a great choice, congrats.
Make sure to look at prop trading in Chicago. Many people forget about it, but I think it's one of the brightest places in finance
None of these colleges are very near Chicago. I was referring to Columbia University in NYC. Sorry for not being specific.
If a bank wants to hire a computer scientist for trading or a quant job, do they go to the top computer science schools (CMU, MIT, Stanford, UC Berkeley) or do they go to the Ivy League? I don't understand why top Wall Street firms don't recruit at CMU.
They do. But they generally plan on allocating more spots to Columbia. So If you're in Fu @ Columbia, you're one of 350 kids in your year, vs one of 1500 at CMU. Throw in your comp sci major as well, and you're a helluva standout at Columbia, vs. one of plenty at CMU. Plus, I imagine the strongest students at CMU generally go CS, so assuming a departmental curve, you're now competing directly with the best CS students in the country for that 3.67. At Columbia, you're more likely to be a stronger relative performer within the CS major. Big fish in a small pond, my friend - it's not often that you get to apply that maxim to Columbia.
Of course, on top of all of this: you're in NYC, yielding almost infinitely better access to networking and off-cycle/informal internships. My single regret of going to school in bumblefuck, northern New England - NYC is a 5 hour haul. I've got an interview in Midtown this week, I have to miss an entire day of classes to make it.. add to that the number of interviews which conflicted with exam days or were otherwise impossible. If you're at Columbia, you're far more flexible, you can literally pound pavement, and if you're scrappy your odds at getting a job on the Street, or in whatever else you want to do really, are dramatically higher.
But at the end of the day, you're the one who has to sleep at night. If there is something intangible about CMU, or something specific that I didn't consider, or I've misinterpreted your goals - point being, if CMU is the place for you, then absolutely go there. Don't hesitate. But if your primary target is a job on a BB trading desk, or at a Quant Hedge, or whatever Wall Street job is your dream, then you might want to closely consider Columbia.
pittsburgh is pretty close to chicago.. relative to other things?
im going to run contra with these ivy league leg humpers and go with CMU
CMU is known to have the best comp sci. i know columbias fin engineering masters i up there but CMU constantly dominates
CMU = Columbia rejects.
Cornell = Columbia rejects.
Columbia = A legitimate top-5 in the nation school.
You make your choice, OP.
Yale is a legit top 3 school, should he go there instead of a Cal-Tech/CMU/MIT for engineering? Generalities like this serve absolutely no purpose when speaking on specific programs.
Yes, if OP wanted finance.
Yes, because he is 17 and has no idea what the real world computer science/finance/life is like. Columbia gives him just as good of an option if he continues down his current path, and better options if he changes his mind.
thanks for completely missing the point.
Columbia.
People, he is not going to grad school, but undergrad. When it comes to undergrad you should go to the best university assuming that university has a respectable program. Columbia engineering is respectable.
If he were interested in an Msc or PhD in Computer Science then CMU would be the clear winner.
You're only 17. You have no idea WTF you really want to do. When I was a freshman, I wanted to be a Mathematician, and dreamt of Fields Medals. Sophomore/Junior year, I was into politics. I ended up in IBD, and am now heading to Law School. Many others have had a similar journey, and I expect you will as well.
In conclusion, pick Columbia. The most important thing about your undergrad is the name of the University on your diploma - not your degree. Hence the abundance of Harvard Government majors getting sweet jobs out of college. Besides, 4 years in NYC during the best years of your life is a perk in and of itself.
I would caveat the above with the fact that if you have a burning desire to go to CMU/Cornell, you should do so. Life is too short for regrets.
PS: Seedy, that's a pretty myopic view of things if you ask me. After all, could it not be said that Columbia = HYP rejects as well?
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