#USC vs Georgia Tech vs Duke (CS)

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tardy reef
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USC vs Duke vs Georgia Tech for Computer Science

I'm interested in machine learning but also some ECE stuff and I'd hope to eventually work in aerospace as a CS guy. In general, I want to do physics of some sort along with CS - stuff like computational physics seems fascinating. USC and GaTech are big feeders for SpaceX, I think.

There seem to be many more interesting student orgs/project teams available at USC but I like some of the course offerings of GaTech (threads, especially Modeling and Simulation) a bit more. Not interested in Game Dev. I've also cleared a lot of requirements through community college and AP/IB for Tech, but likewise to a slightly lesser extent with USC. Maybe I could double major in ECE at USC or Aero at Tech or something.

Duke's math appears to be ahead of both, and ML is basically applied math, so that's a factor. From course descriptions, Duke physics looks quite godly. Duke and USC appear to be doing some interesting stuff with quantum computing (courses offered as well).

Tech is somewhat cheaper but this is not too significant of a factor for me. USC scholarship, Duke fin aid makes it so all are almost the same. I like Duke's campus a bit more than GaTech too. I like USC campus the most probably, SoCal weather is hard to beat.

halcyon bough
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In my opinion, the CS programs are all fundamentally strong at all 3 schools. There is not a significant difference there. You really need to focus on what you really want to do - it seems like ML is what your roadmap would be, but ECE and AE? USC has an amazing ECE program, but Georgia Tech is ranked #2 for AE in the world. Threads at Georgia Tech are very unique, and a lot of students I know love it.

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While GT doesn't offer many ML related courses [applied math specifically], there's a thread called theory that literally is practically the same. The purpose of not so many courses is to push you towards doing more research. If research isn't your thing, don't go to GT. I don't know enough to know a significant difference between USC & Duke. I've personally liked Duke better simply because their programs are all around pretty good. Just depends.

tardy reef
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Thanks for the reply. Yeah, research is something i def want to do in college. I’ve heard its pretty easy to get positions at all of these 3, but do you know if they more the “namesake/do menial things” research or is it actually educational?

I’ve messed around with ece topics a bit, but i know little about genuine aerospace engineering, and how that knowledge would synergize with computer science (in practice) which is why im a bit confused lol. I do for sure want to pursue CS as a major though. And of course, i recognize i dont have infinite time to study.

Dunno what I’m getting at rn tbh lmfao