Stanford or U of Wisc - Madison?

[Spanky]

No question in my mind (also being a UW grad, with 25 years in IT Management) -- Go to Wisconsin!! As a manager, I didn't care what school the person came from -- it was more of a "do they have the skills for the job" and "Will they fit into the work environment??"

I suppose Stanford might be OK if you are thinking Silicon Valley, but if you are thinking the rest of the country, Stanford has no advantage over UW. And UW has a reputation for having some of the finest instructors in the area you are looking at.

Hope that helps!!

John

Hi John,
Your comments definitely help. Your observations confirm my beliefs. When reviewing resumes, I only look for relevant experience and invite each selected candidate for an interview. The personal chemistry and communication skills play the ultimate role of whether the candidate gets an offer. The company for which I work has a set of targeted schools but Stanford is not one of them. One of my observations from phone interviews with top students from prestigious universities, such as MIT, is that they tend to be cocky. They, not all, come across as they can do everything and will be doing you a favor. Obviously, that's my personal bias. My personal preference is someone who is humble, confident, and eager to learn. The "cocky" ones, however, are more suitable for start-ups as they believe they can make the leap into new ideas and new technologies.

 

[Spanky]

Additional Info on Possible Financial Assistance

Here's additional info on possible financial assistance:

Office of Graduate Admissions - Sources of Financial Support | Student Affairs
2011-12 RA/TA Minimum Salaries

Info on expenses:
Office of Graduate Admissions - Estimated Expense Budget | Student Affairs

May be ... but not guaranteed? Should she register and find out?

Please note that your admission to the Computer Science Master's Program does not guarantee funding. Stanford Master's students can often get assistantships to pay for tuition, but these teaching and research assistantships are arranged only once you are a registered student and are negotiated one quarter in advance.

 

[Brat]

I suspect that an extra effort will be made for a woman if they want to increase their representation in the class. It is also possible that funds may be available through professional societies.

 

[Spanky]

I suspect that an extra effort will be made for a woman if they want to increase their representation in the class. It is also possible that funds may be available through professional societies.

Yes, it is plausible to secure funding from private organizations or professional societies. I suspect it will not be sufficient to cover majority of the costs. We either take out a student loan or money from our savings if going to Stanford is worth the cost.

 

[Brat]

IF she can get a student load at a reasonable interest rate I suggest you go that route. It conveys that this is a serious decision, she has incentive to put her skills to work. If circumstances dictate you can help pay it off. That is what we did with our kids and after graduation we made the payments.

It also may convey to those offering scholarships that she needs the money.

 

[FinanceDude]

It will be interesting to learn which she chooses eventually, if you choose to post it. UW seems to me to be the logical choice for graduate school, but it wouldn't be smart to work for or in Wisconsin, given the current climate.

What climate is that? BTW, UW Madison is the stem cell research capital of the world, and many biotechs have sprung up in the past 10-15 years, and scientists from all over the world now call Madison their home........

 

[Brat]

I once asked a bio-science company why they had several facilities in one metro area. The answer was that their researchers refused to move far from UC Berkley.

If you map the industry across the US you can see the clustering around research centers.

 

[xynny]

Hey I felt like I had to reply since I'm a young female engineer working in CS here in Silicon Valley. I graduated from Cal and never got a masters. If your daughter wants to just get a job in CS then a master's degree is really not necessary. Once you get a couple years of experience then your salary is really not so different from a person with a master's. If she really wants to work in Silicon Valley then Stanford is probably a better choice because all the companies here are full of Cal & Stanford grads. I know that my resume has been singled out for having a Berkeley EECS degree. I have never actually met anyone from UW. It would be probably prudent to visit here, first, though. It's completely different from the midwest and she might not like it at all. On the other hand she might love it. It really depends. It's really nice to see that there are more young female engineers out there, though.

 

[SVHoper]

Congratulations - a wonderful choice to have.

Sorry if I missed the answer to this, but I would be very interested in your daughters selection if she was paying. My daughter is younger and not as successful as yours... but it is amazing how her decision changes when $ come from her budget, not parental pot.

If it was Stanford... I think that makes the decision easier for you.

One left field vote for Stanford would be - if she intends to work here then boyfriend currently based around Stanford would make that sort of decision so much easier, than having to move a couple.

 

[steelyman]

What climate is that? BTW, UW Madison is the stem cell research capital of the world, and many biotechs have sprung up in the past 10-15 years, and scientists from all over the world now call Madison their home........

Didn't mean to diss UW-M or Wisconsin in general, so apologies if my post came across like that. The climate I was referring to is the recent changes that affect state employees. Admittedly, I am quite biased as I am a state employee (but not in Wisconsin).

 

[Spanky]

Hey I felt like I had to reply since I'm a young female engineer working in CS here in Silicon Valley. I graduated from Cal and never got a masters. If your daughter wants to just get a job in CS then a master's degree is really not necessary. Once you get a couple years of experience then your salary is really not so different from a person with a master's. If she really wants to work in Silicon Valley then Stanford is probably a better choice because all the companies here are full of Cal & Stanford grads. I know that my resume has been singled out for having a Berkeley EECS degree. I have never actually met anyone from UW. It would be probably prudent to visit here, first, though. It's completely different from the midwest and she might not like it at all. On the other hand she might love it. It really depends. It's really nice to see that there are more young female engineers out there, though.

It's true a masters is not required. It is not surprising that a significant portion of the engineers graduates from UCB or Stanford. It was apparent then when I started my career working for Fairchild Semiconductor as an electrical engineer at the valley 30 years. However, there were many that came from Midwest and East Coast also. I doubt that a CS graduate from UW-Madison or another mid-western schools such as U of Minnesota, Purdue, U of Illinois, U of Michigan, etc will have any problem finding a job in the valley. We do visit the Bay Area every year to visit my side of the family. I do agree that more female engineers are needed.

 

[Spanky]

Congratulations - a wonderful choice to have.

Thank you.

Sorry if I missed the answer to this, but I would be very interested in your daughters selection if she was paying. My daughter is younger and not as successful as yours... but it is amazing how her decision changes when $ come from her budget, not parental pot.

We do not expect her to pay. The education from either university is the same. If the whole intent is to get a decent education only (ignoring the prestige, networking, proximity to high-tech area, etc), the decision is simply choose the one with the lower cost. The cost of attending Stanford could be very affordable if they would grant her a TA position at the 50% level (free tuition up to 10 credits plus $3,000 stipend per quarter. Unfortunately, TA/CA/RA (teaching assistant, course assistant, research assistant) are reserved for PhD students. The left-over slots may then be available for MS students. In general, Stanford does not provide funding for masters students but states that students often receive assistance from TA/CA - very contradictory. I heard some masters students receive TA'ship every quarter while others never receive any. It may be worthwhile to contact some of the current MS Computer Science students to get to the truth.

 

[Spanky]

Didn't mean to diss UW-M or Wisconsin in general, so apologies if my post came across like that. The climate I was referring to is the recent changes that affect state employees. Admittedly, I am quite biased as I am a state employee (but not in Wisconsin).

The potential modifications to a bill seeking to curb collective bargaining for most public employees in Wisconsin may affect benefits of teaching assistants also in a negative way.

 

[GregLee]

Unfortunately, TA/CA/RA (teaching assistant, course assistant, research assistant) are reserved for PhD students. The left-over slots may then be available for MS students.

I recall that earlier in this thread, someone suggested that she apply for the PhD program.

 

[Spanky]

I recall that earlier in this thread, someone suggested that she apply for the PhD program.

The admission requirement for the PhD is much more competitive. It's late to apply now. Anyway, according to some of the responses from current students, a 50% TA/CA appointment is not real difficult to get after the second year. A 50% TA/CA'ship equals to free tuition + $8,000 stipend per quarter. If that's case, the cost could reduce to about $50K.