So I am hoping to double major in Physics and CS.
I've gone to both admit weekend and discotech. I'm not super sure what I want to do, for a while I've been leaning toward doing research and academia, but I'm also curious to look at industry and maybe even start ups as well. Curious to hear your guys thoughts between the two schools. My biggest fear is that I regret my decision one way or the other.
Is there really much of a difference between grad school admissions from these schools?
Caltech Pros:
Great house system very personal
Lots of easy access to great research
Very well respected by people who know
Next to JPL
Will probably know my stuff better
More techy
Smarter people (no legacies and atheletes)
Strong quantum computing
Stronger physics program
Can still go to Stanford for grad school
Very cooperative and low competition
Cons:
People seem very stressed and a lot of burnout
More time on homework
Smaller (meet less new people)
Food is okay
Less layman prestige
Stanford Pros:
Classes are easier / Spend less time on homework
More time to do research and startup maybe
More of a social life and time to enjoy the college experience
More layman prestige
Close to silicon valley
Wider pool of people to maybe date
Farther from home
More professors in more subfields
Strong CS program
Strong Physics program
Relatives in the Bay Area
Lots of Indian really good food
Can got to Caltech for gradschool maybe
Cons:
Less well respected by people who know compared to Caltech
Less research opportunities (but hopefully still a lot of them)
More competitive
Pretty big financial point: Stanford is about $150k cheaper over the 4 years.