need help for school selection

[neo_anderson]

Hi, guys, I need some help for the school selection. Recently I got 2 admissions, NYU and Northwestern University. Both of them are MS in computer science and both of them without any funding. I know Northwestern has a higher ranking but NYC has more intern and job opportunities. I can't make a decision. Please give me some advises, thanks.

[newms]

You should also consider how strong each school is in the area that you are interested in. Sure US News might rank Northwestern higher overall, but is it better than NYU at the area you're interested in? Financially you might want to look at the cost of living at both locations as well (NYC is likely to be higher and maybe much higher).

NYU has a pretty good reputation so if everything else is equal or almost equal, the opportunities that being in NYC provides would be very tempting for me.

Edited November 13, 2010 by newms

[neo_anderson]

Thank you very much. From the research area and future job hunting, I think I'd prefer NYU too

[BKMD]

I think they are probably comparable in reputation. If you plan on getting into serious research or going on to a PhD, then the main factor should be the faculty you'll work with and their research. If not, then probably the main factor is the job opportunities you'll get and how much you'll get for your money (compare the tradeoff of tuition+living costs vs what kind of job you think you can get). One thing that might help with this is that sometimes departments list their alumni along with the careers they had upon graduation, which can help you gauge what to expect.