University of Chicago vs NYU-Poly for MS in CS?

[billrach]

I have admits to these 2 places.  I have no computer science coursework, so I have a few prerequisites at both schools.  All in all, both schools will take me about 2 years to graduate.

 

First off, I want to say that I'm mostly concerned about job placements and internship opportunities.  I have no intentions of continuing to a PhD.  So I want to pick the school that will give me the most internship/job opportunities.

 

Chicago is ranked 35 by US News, where as NYU - Poly is ranked 70.  However I don't know if this is particularly useful because it's mostly based on PhD level research.  

 

My question is, does Chicago have a huge edge of NYU - Poly in terms of job prospects?  Is an MSCS from Chicago more valuable/respected in industry than one from Poly?  I have seen that a few people view Chicago's MSCS program as a little 'light'.

 

I'm more interested in working in NYC than Chicago, so maybe Poly is better.  But I'm also interested in California, Texas and Seattle.  Does Chicago Computer Science have better national prestige than Poly?

 

And one final note for consideration, NYU Poly will be about 30,000 cheaper.  The tuition is the same for both programs, but my folks have a place in NYC.  So I'll save on 2 years of living expenses by going to Poly.

 

All in all, I'm leaning towards Poly.  But I just want to make sure that I'm not making a huge mistake, because Chicago has a higher ranking.  And also Chicago, overall as an institution, is very prestigious.

Edited February 28, 2015 by billrach

[Matrix21]

The University of Chicago is definitely the more prestigious school but NYU Poly still has a great program. It isn't far behind Chicago academically and you'll be saving around $30,000. I remember seeing a study online that NYU Poly ranked 8th in median salary among its graduates and the program is well respected in the NYC area. 

[billrach]

The University of Chicago is definitely the more prestigious school but NYU Poly still has a great program. It isn't far behind Chicago academically and you'll be saving around $30,000. I remember seeing a study online that NYU Poly ranked 8th in median salary among its graduates and the program is well respected in the NYC area. 

Yea I've seen that study.  I think for NYC, NYU Poly is for sure the better choice.  But I'm wondering if Chicago will be favored by tech companies in California, Seattle, Texas, because of their national prestige.

 

The other consideration is that Chicago does have some good startups.  And the midwest (like Wisconsin) does have a few good tech companies like Epic.  And I guess Chicago would have an advantage there.

 

We applied to many similar schools lol.  I applied to all of your schools except Columbia.

Edited March 1, 2015 by billrach

[Matrix21]

Yea I've seen that study.  I think for NYC, NYU Poly is for sure the better choice.  But I'm wondering if Chicago will be favored by tech companies in California, Seattle, Texas, because of their national prestige.

 

The other consideration is that Chicago does have some good startups.  And the midwest (like Wisconsin) does have a few good tech companies like Epic.  And I guess Chicago would have an advantage there.

 

We applied to many similar schools lol.  I applied to all of your schools except Columbia.

Lol cool. I don't know which school would be favored in other states but NYU Poly does have the prestigious NYU in its name so that helps it stand with Chicago. Chicago does have some good startups and tech companies but so does NYC. In fact, New York has an area in Manhattan called Silicon Alley with many startups. I was also really disappointed when I was declined by Chicago as I really wanted to intern at NetherRealm Studios lol. 

Edited March 1, 2015 by Matrix21