help choosing school

[yonathan123]

Hi all,

I'm interested in computer systems (don't have a very specific research topic in mind..), and I'm having a (very) hard time

deciding between the following options:

Berkeley CS

Stanford EE

MIT CS

I would appreciate any thoughts on the topic, and hearing what are your top considerations when choosing grad school, and to be more specific - points of comparison between the options I've listed.

Thanks

[jjsakurai]

Berkeley CS has a LOT of industrial connections and has traditionally been a powerhouse in computer systems. It has people like David Patterson, Scott Shenker, Ion Stoica, etc. who are leaders in the field. It's also in the Bay Area if startups is something you're very interested in. MIT CS is also a powerhouse, though less so in my opinion than Berkeley but I don't think the difference is that big. I'd say between the two of those, decide on the basis of what profs you're interested in (and how likely you think they're to take you on as a student) and on how much you like the department. Make sure there are several profs in the department doing research you're interested in (so you don't end up regretting your choice if say the one prof you're interested in leaves).

Unfortunately I'm not familiar with Stanford EE except that it is a very good program.

Edited March 10, 2012 by jjsakurai