COMPARE Stanford or NYU????
- Thread starter chchch
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I got letter from the lady from admin office at NYU and letter from the director at Stanford.
Stanford. Seriously think twice before falling for the whole we-are-in-NYC trap especially since the market in NYC is shrinking a lot now. NYU's location is probably hurting it bc
1) it is notoriously expensive
2) is competes against Columbia (overshadowed in brand name, especially if you go global), CMU (fall short in history), and as far as we know their career services is o k
3) Stanford is THE NAME in SF, your only real competitor on the west coast is UCB. You'll be competing with a lot fewer graduating students when you're out.
4) Stanford doesn't snow. Translates to better quality of living, more manageable transportation. And having lived on both coasts... Cali people are just less of an ass :P
1) it is notoriously expensive
2) is competes against Columbia (overshadowed in brand name, especially if you go global), CMU (fall short in history), and as far as we know their career services is o k
3) Stanford is THE NAME in SF, your only real competitor on the west coast is UCB. You'll be competing with a lot fewer graduating students when you're out.
4) Stanford doesn't snow. Translates to better quality of living, more manageable transportation. And having lived on both coasts... Cali people are just less of an ass :P
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any specific reason?
If you compare the two programs alone, NYU has a much stronger track record. They also have better access to practitioners and up-to-date materials. But as you mentioned that your preference is Stanford due to the brand name, then I can only infer that you're likely from oversea and aren't familiar with the local NYC dynamic.
There are a lot of difference depending on where you're from. If your goal is to stay in NYC, then NYU, CMU, Baruch, and Columbia have much stronger support. But if you're from oversea and may go back to Asia, then NYU, CMU, and Baruch aren't nearly as well known as Stanford. I'm not a prestige whore, but I am Asian enough to know the difference. So if you prefer the Stanford brand name, then chances are the managers from your home country will prefer the same name too.
There are a lot of difference depending on where you're from. If your goal is to stay in NYC, then NYU, CMU, Baruch, and Columbia have much stronger support. But if you're from oversea and may go back to Asia, then NYU, CMU, and Baruch aren't nearly as well known as Stanford. I'm not a prestige whore, but I am Asian enough to know the difference. So if you prefer the Stanford brand name, then chances are the managers from your home country will prefer the same name too.
Hi Bullion, thx a lot for ur replying. There is not much transparency in the career condition from Stanford. And this is the biggest confusion and anxiety I have now. This program is so mysterious that people barely disclose stuff like resumes and placement records...so struggling right now.
alain
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There is nth there to read. it takes me to the bookmark page
chchch you're right. There really isn't much transparency going on, but I won't write off Stanford for that. A lot of schools and students simply don't follow up with post-graduation surveys. For example, here is a report on post-graduation status from all schools at Stanford. As you can see, Stanford is a really compact school to begin with, and only 30% people care to response. Also, no one is gonna accuse Stanford being a bad school even if their student salary is low. A few years ago there was a news piece written about how companies are leaving Ivy league schools to recruit at state schools because state schools have bigger student body to choose from (more supply competition), and state schools are more open to changing curriculum for industry needs. Do you know what Harvard said? (paraphrasing) "Most of our undergrad kids go to graduate schools anyways, so [companies] can go f*** [themselves]." Yet you see plenty of Harvard influence on Wall Street. So if you have a chance to grab on these mega names on your resume, don't let it go easily unless you have really good reasons.
You should also think of it from the admissions point of view. Stanford is Stanford, and most people already equate that name with excellence. Publishing a stellar placement record isn't gonna significantly improve the school profile, but having a bad year can invite nothing short of "oh yeah we beat Stanford" from all the lesser-known schools. Being an academic juggernaut, they don't need to play "fair" and disclose everything to invite comparison/competition like the small schools do. In their eyes, small schools simply aren't in the same league, and devoting extra resources to gather/organize information is extra administrative hassle they don't need. They only compete for students against comparable institutions such as Harvard, MIT, or handful of schools you can count with one hand. If you gonna drop Stanford for any other school, go ahead and they will replace you with tons of comparable applicants.
You should also think of it from the admissions point of view. Stanford is Stanford, and most people already equate that name with excellence. Publishing a stellar placement record isn't gonna significantly improve the school profile, but having a bad year can invite nothing short of "oh yeah we beat Stanford" from all the lesser-known schools. Being an academic juggernaut, they don't need to play "fair" and disclose everything to invite comparison/competition like the small schools do. In their eyes, small schools simply aren't in the same league, and devoting extra resources to gather/organize information is extra administrative hassle they don't need. They only compete for students against comparable institutions such as Harvard, MIT, or handful of schools you can count with one hand. If you gonna drop Stanford for any other school, go ahead and they will replace you with tons of comparable applicants.
Haha, he means you should read MY post. Thanks alain.
Jayanthan, the culture between schools can also be significant. Large programs and city schools tend to have much less sense of camaraderie in comparison to smaller program / suburban schools. In large programs and city schools, everyone is out for themselves because there's simply so much to do and there's a lot of overachievers and what not. In smaller program / suburban schools, many come with more of an underdog (to the discipline) complex and build strong community simply because they are sort of isolated... I'm not familiar with the Stanford environment, but most NYU kids I know rarely look out for each other. The best community I've seen is Baruch, but I suspect it comes from the small size + being overshadowed by a lot of name brand schools, so they work extra hard to prove themselves. Given the small size at Stanford, I assume you can at least get really close with your 13+ classmates AND know your program director on first name basis, and that's something you might find value in. But as a professional degree, then a counter argument can be made that you would want to socialize with people OUTSIDE of your school / class. That's a judgment call and sadly I see a lot of international students failing to connect outside of their clique. So if you choose NYU, remember again and again that you're there for the geographical advantage, and you need to leverage it fully.
Basically, choosing school isn't just about what you do now or immediately after graduation. The value of a diploma CAN extend way beyond decades if you know how to leverage it both professionally and non-professionally. If you're a East Coast guy with intention to pursue S&T in NYC, then CMU/NYU/Baruch is a no-brainer. But if you're going global, not sure about S&T, and like sunny weather, then Stanford is the way to go.
Jayanthan, the culture between schools can also be significant. Large programs and city schools tend to have much less sense of camaraderie in comparison to smaller program / suburban schools. In large programs and city schools, everyone is out for themselves because there's simply so much to do and there's a lot of overachievers and what not. In smaller program / suburban schools, many come with more of an underdog (to the discipline) complex and build strong community simply because they are sort of isolated... I'm not familiar with the Stanford environment, but most NYU kids I know rarely look out for each other. The best community I've seen is Baruch, but I suspect it comes from the small size + being overshadowed by a lot of name brand schools, so they work extra hard to prove themselves. Given the small size at Stanford, I assume you can at least get really close with your 13+ classmates AND know your program director on first name basis, and that's something you might find value in. But as a professional degree, then a counter argument can be made that you would want to socialize with people OUTSIDE of your school / class. That's a judgment call and sadly I see a lot of international students failing to connect outside of their clique. So if you choose NYU, remember again and again that you're there for the geographical advantage, and you need to leverage it fully.
Basically, choosing school isn't just about what you do now or immediately after graduation. The value of a diploma CAN extend way beyond decades if you know how to leverage it both professionally and non-professionally. If you're a East Coast guy with intention to pursue S&T in NYC, then CMU/NYU/Baruch is a no-brainer. But if you're going global, not sure about S&T, and like sunny weather, then Stanford is the way to go.
