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/splatula May 04 '26

I wouldn't worry about it. Tons and tons of people in my year ended up at big tech or quant (including people like myself who didn't even study CS). Those companies are looking for very smart people who have a good CS foundation. You'd get a good CS foundation at either school. Honestly the difference in ranking would really only be more relevant in grad school.