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[mintageofman]

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[teaganc]

Why would you apply to schools without being aware of their quality? Why would you apply in fields you are unfamiliar with or that you can't decide between? And if you want other opinions, you should really put what you want to do with the degree, or no one can offer useful advice.

Personally, I would go with CMU; the tuition isn't much cheaper, but COL is.

[jferreir]

Hello everyone,

I urgently need help/opinions on the quality of programs, career prospects, and decision on which field to pursue. I have been admitted to Carnegie Mellon's Information Networking Institute Masters in Information Technology with a focus on Software Management program, New York University's Masters of Computer Science program, and I will be hearing back shortly from the University of Pennsylvania's Masters of Computer Science program. Any opinions will be helpful. Thank you so much

No offense, but these are questions you should have been asking yourself throughout the application process. Why would anyone base such an important decision on the (potentially uninformed) opinions of online strangers?

At this stage, I would strongly suggest you check each departmental website for placement statistics (if you want to pursue a Ph.D.). If none are available, contact the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) and request them. Concerning overall reputation, I would ask a trusted professor who works in the field - they're likely to know a lot more than we will. Finally, I would suggest contacting current graduate students from each school and asking about their experience. You will want to ask about a variety of things - funding, resources, supervisors, faculty cohesion, COL, location, etc.

I don't think you have the time to do thorough research, but the above should give you a rough indication of which school/program would be the best fit. Either way, I wish you the best of luck.

[mintageofman]

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[teaganc]

While I appreciate the responses, spare me the internet flame war style retorts. It is not a crime to seek outside opinions of knowledgeable people, even if they are strangers. It is much better to make these decisions with multiple points of view.

Umm, hello attitude. Mintageofman, meet mouthofgifthorse.

You've apparently posted this thread (or a slight variation of it) three times over 2 months. Each time, you want someone to choose not only your future school, but your future field. You obfuscate an understandable question (which program should I choose?) with a series of questions that you should not only know the answers of, but provide a general pro-con (in your opinion) if you want advice. Have you read any of the other posts on this website asking for advice like this? They usually go like this:

I was accepted to [school A] and [school B]. School A is higher ranked, but School B is really nice [or whatever]. Here are the rest of what I think about each program. Also, here is the funding situation at each school. I want to have [this career], but the degrees are in two separate fields; which program should I attend to have that career?

Can you see how you've not only left out all sorts of vital information? And what's worse, you've made it seem like you applied to a bunch of random schools based on who knows what and then, having somehow garnered offers, want the internet to do the research you should have done before you ever hit "submit" on those applications? And then, when people suggest the kind of information we would need, and even how to get the information necessary to make such decisions, you go all ungrateful-jerk-face on us? No, it's not a crime to do so... but it is damn annoying.

[mintageofman]

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[fuzzylogician]

Excuse me, but your accusing tone is doing nothing to help your situation. I agree with teaganc and think he put it best: you did not give us enough information to help us help you and it doesn't really seem like you appreciate our good will and efforts.

I understand it is easy to troll these boards, especially ones outside of your field in order to castrate and criticize people looking for honest, useful, and genuine advice from the safety of your computer where there is no confrontation possible, but please, find yourself a better interest and leave the posting to those with something useful to contribute.

You do realize that this is not a CS specialized forum? The people who post here come from all fields and it would have been wise to give some more information, for example tell us that funding and location are not an issue, and that you want to go into the business and management end of CS. You should have given this information regardless of specialization, it's a crucial part of the decision and anyone who will try to help you has to wonder what your stand on it is. Even us lowly non-CS students sometimes have useful opinions, if you paint us a full picture with enough details in it.

[mintageofman]

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[teaganc]

Ok, so at first I was confused, and then annoyed, but now I get it. There is no way that mintageofman is a real person. There just isn't. They are so unbelievably ridiculous and moronic to exist in real life. It's a really, really weird way to troll a forum, but it explains the low post count, lashing out at people for giving advice, calling everyone else a troll (HA at calm but somewhat critical advice being called "internet flame war style retorts"), and freaking out like crazy (and then complaining that it's impossible to have a humane and calm discussion!). No one could actually get into top colleges being so irrational or so completely lacking in interpersonal skills. I'm just going to laugh at the fact that, in the same sentence, I was thanked for my thoughtful advice and also called a forum troll tirade, and then place this user on my "foe" list so I don't have to read his troll-y posts anymore.