Berkeley regents, CMU, or Barnard
Hello,
I am a senior wanting to major in economics and computer science. I am equally as passionate about economics and about computer science so I'll be happy to pursue a career in either one (however, I would love to major in them both since they can be complementary in terms of skill sets).
Berkeley is a financially attractive option since I'm a California resident and I got the regents scholarship. However, when I applied to Berkeley, I applied as a psychology major and I do not believe that I can change my major to computer science because it's under a different college (college of engineering). But I believe can still switch my major from psychology to economics.
For Carnegie Mellon, I was admitted into their Dietrich college of humanities and social sciences, which means that I cannot major in computer science (it's really hard to transfer into their computer science program because of how competitive it is).
I really like Barnard because it's in New York and because of how small the school is (more resources and attention from professors). When I applied, I applied as a pre-engineering major. Since we don't have to declare major until later, I can basically major in whatever I want. This means that Barnard is the only college out of the three where I can double major in economics and computer science. I thought because Barnard is located in New York, it'll be easier to find internships both during school and breaks which would set me up for a career in finance and economics. Barnard also has a 4+1 program where you can get a graduate degree from Columbia University in 1 year after receiving your bachelor's from Barnard.
I am having a hard time choosing between the three schools. Although I REALLY like Barnard since it'll allow me to also major in computer science (something that I'm passionate about). However, comparing to the two other schools, Barnard seems to not be as well known or highly ranked. Since Barnard is a small women's liberal arts college, I also don't know how good the hiring opportunities are for econ/comp sci majors. I believe I will get a decent GPA at either one of the three colleges so course rigor isn't something that I'm worried about.
I am really struggling to choose a college. Do you guys have any inputs on the job opportunities for econ/comp sci major at Barnard? Since Barnard is right across the street from Columbia, I am worried that most employers would want to hire out of Columbia just because of its prestige instead of Barnard. Do you guys know if the bulge bracket firms hire from Barnard? Or will my chance of landing an internship in NY be better if I go to Berkeley/CMU?