▲ 4 r/MSCS
Hello everyone, while I'm waiting on Columbia MSCS, I thought it'd be prudent to ask about your thoughts on TAMU and USC. From what I've read and researched:
- TAMU
- Cost effective, more opportunities for TA/RA as the cohort is significantly smaller
- Thesis, keeps the door open for a PhD (not really interested in pursuing a PhD but I read that some research experience can also look good for job applications)
- More tight-knit community
- Network is valuable in Texas
- USC
- Expensive! Zero to no opportunities for funding.
- Large cohort, not sure how much attention is given to each student
- Mainly a professional program
- Strong hiring in California and its alumni have a large footprint in major organizations
- LA isn't isolated, plenty of social opportunities as well
A little about myself: I'm a US citizen who is finishing his B.Tech. from a Tier-3 Indian university. My only work experience is 3 months of a summer internship in which I worked on LLMs and quantum machine learning. My main objective after graduation is landing a high paying job.
I am having trouble deciding. While I can afford USC, I am wondering if paying almost twice (or even more) the amount of money as TAMU is worth it. I would really appreciate some advice!
u/BoomerZoomer27 — 18 days ago