CMU vs. Harvard vs. Yale for Master's in CS

[bricheet]

I'm trying to decide between Master's programs in computer science at CMU, Harvard, and Yale.

 

CMU's Master in Language Technologies program is really tempting because of a research fellowship/stipend offer. Harvard and Yale's Masters in computer science programs are not offering funding. Harvard is probably a bigger contender right now than Yale because of name/rankings, but thoughts on that would be great too.

 

I know that CMU is ranked more highly in CS than Harvard in many rankings, but not in all. For the moment, I'm leaning more towards CMU because of the department ranking/financial reasons/professors and research that interests me more, but it's pretty hard to turn down Harvard. 

 

Also, because of some things I've been told by the admissions people, choosing CMU could likely to lead to a PhD if I decided to do one (I really have no idea at the moment). The chances of that happening after the Harvard Master's program are smaller. At this point I think I want to go into industry after I get my master's (although that could certainly change), so in that sense having a Harvard degree on a resume could be a big boost. However, I'm pretty sure that a lot of good companies are aware of CMU as a top computer science school, so that may not be an issue.

 

Anyone have any thoughts/comments/suggestions? 

 

Thanks in advance for any help!

[SANDIEGO]

Personally I would go with funding. I also turned down name brand (Stanford) in favor of funding. I don't regret doing so. It also looks good on a cv/sounds great when you can tell people you paid nothing for your masters.

[isawnewton]

Lol, are you serious?

[SANDIEGO]

This is Computer Science, not Mechanical Engineering. So yeah, duh.

[isawnewton]

Not talking to you. I am talking to the person who posed this question.

[SANDIEGO]

There's nothing really wrong with his question imo. He's asking about the general brand recognizability of Harvard vs. the less recognizable (in general, but with higher dept. recognizability) brand of CMU, it's a legitimate concern (even if the choice is more obvious to some of us).

[orly85]

My husband is completing his MS in EE at Harvard this May. The company he works for paid for his education. Harvard has a cohort program with MIT (MIT business students take classes from Harvard- technology-based majors take courses at MIT). My husband took half of his classes at MIT. He loved the experience. Just something to consider and to ask the school about.

Hope that if helpful. Not hurtful.

[iExcelAtMicrosoftPuns]

They're all the very best.

I'd just pick the school that has the best color scheme. Future employers are very conscious of aesthetics.

[bricheet]

Hey guys, thanks for your responses! Yeah I'm leaning towards CMU at the moment, but I wanted to hear about any strong arguments for choosing the other. I'll certainly visit both schools...

[iExcelAtMicrosoftPuns]

I up-voted you, bricheet, because you put up with my sarcasm with grace. You're truly a stronger person than I.