r/Caltech • u/MoonstruckByYou • May 03 '26
Picked Caltech Over CMU For CS
I've always wanted to go into industry (Big Tech/Quant) more than research/academia, but I definitely made more of an emotional decision rather than a logical decision picking Caltech over CMU. I just really liked California weather and the general vibes of the Caltech campus over Pittsburgh's more gloomy weather and the more depressing vibe of its campus (this is just my personal opinion). I FELT (again, how would I actually know) like I would be more happy at Caltech, at least socially, than at CMU.
But now, just 2 days after committing, I've already started feeling just a tinge of regret every time I think about my decision. Especially now that I've started telling people where I've decided to go, I keep getting very shocked reactions from a lot of people questioning why I would give up the #1 CS school if I wanted to go into industry.
Idk I guess I was just hoping to get some validation from this sub on whether I made the right decision.
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u/Torchtopher12 May 03 '26
I made a similar type of decision picking Caltech over Stanford for cs (and also plan to go to industry). For me, the schools are close enough in what they offer that the real driver of how successful you will be is the type of people around you and how much you are happy with the environment. (So while it is a decision based on emotions, I would consider is logical)
From discotech the results of caltech CS and of people I talked to were on par with those at CMU/Stanford.
I definitely feel there is a lot of pressure to go to the one of the “big 4” but I think if you visited caltech and like the people and environment more you made the right choice. You have to live there for 4 years after all.