What are some relaxed and not extremely hard working but also good (Top 100) Graduate CS schools?

[ev a.]

This is a very controversial topic to begin with. It is not hard to foresee that for every reply this thread gets, some alumni or a current student will jump in and defy to the idea of how dare anyone assume their school is not working their graduate students to death, yet I only ask for subjective opinions.

Are there any good and reasonably relaxed CS programs in Top 100? By relaxed, I don't mean zero sleepless nights and hardworking, but ability to maintain a balanced and healthy social life, along the graduate studies. 

[dat_nerd]

7 minutes ago, ev a. said:

Are there any good and reasonably relaxed CS programs in Top 100? By relaxed, I don't mean zero sleepless nights and hardworking, but ability to maintain a balanced and healthy social life, along the graduate studies. 

Ironically, it seems to me that the happiest grad students are the ones who are hard working and graduate quickly (~5 years). It's the "relaxed" students who spend 7+ years in the PhD who seem the most jaded and unhappy. When you say you want to be in a relaxed program, what exactly appeals to you?

 

As an example, I went to the visit weekend for UIUC's CS PhD, a top-ranked and well known program. Their students work hard, and almost all of them graduate within 5 years. They also happened to be the happiest PhD students I have ever met. My hypothesis is that by maintaining a fast pace, they stay more motivated and enjoy the program, rather than letting it drag on without a clear graduation timeline.

 

Edited November 5, 2015 by dat_nerd

[dat_nerd]

And on another note, the stress of your PhD is heavily dependent on your advisor and research lab, perhaps more so than the department. Advisor expectations on their students vary widely; within my department, my PI has casual lab meetings every week, whereas another PI in the same department expects to see his students in the lab every day by 9am sharp. The more your working style aligns with that of your advisor, the better.

[emmm]

Very much in agreement with dat_nerd. If you are enjoying what you are doing and getting good mentorship/guidance, you will likely be happy, even if you are very busy. If you are not feeling supported in your program, you will be miserable, even if you have tons of free time. Whatever the right sort of "support" is depends on you, what you need to do your best work, and how your working style meshes with your advisor's.