Shutaro Aoyama

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Selection of overseas university application destinations

Jul 05, 2024, 7 min read

[(USA|Overseas) List of Preferred Universities] (USA Preferred University List) (Overseas Preferred University List)

  • I want to start listing the universities I actually want to apply to.

    • Separate the “universities where I will have a great success based on my own criteria” from the rest (this may change as I research more).
    • It seems better for my mental health to categorize all of them as “great success,” so I should think positively.

  • Basically,

    • I am listing universities that are ①in urban areas, ②offer interdisciplinary learning, and ③have a decent computer science program.

  • Universities to apply to:

  • Considering whether to apply:

  • Decided not to apply after considering:

    • Considering the fit with the university and the essays seem quite difficult:
    • No scholarships available, so I’m not interested:

  • I think it’s better to be exposed to various fields in college.

    • I want to clarify which overseas universities match this idea.
    • I want to randomly search Quora and blogs and share useful information.
    • I still don’t know which level of universities I can reach, so I will research in a dreamy direction.

  • It might be tough even in an environment that is too focused on humanities.

  • In terms of education content, I think Stanford is the best.

  • Concerns:

    • Can I fulfill my interests as an undergraduate student?

  • Many universities that I’m interested in (in no particular order):

  • Liberal arts colleges:

  • By reading many discussions comparing A vs B, I feel like I’m creating a map in my mind where I can predict A vs C by reading A vs B and B vs C.- I will primarily focus on the differences between the universities rather than the similarities, as the latter can be quite extensive.

  • Update as of June 30, 2021: From now on, please refer to the respective pages of each university on /foreignuniv for more information.

  • MIT vs Stanford

  • I’ve written elsewhere on the site that MIT is a world-class engineering school with a strong liberal arts program, while Stanford is a world-class liberal arts school with a strong engineering program.

    • The main differences seem to lie in the people and the environment, rather than the content of what is being studied.
    • Based on the courses offered at MIT, it seems that in order to major in certain fields, a significant portion of the schedule should be dedicated to information-related subjects.

  • When it comes to Boston vs Silicon Valley, I find Boston more appealing, but this may be due to my lack of knowledge about the latter, which is known as Optimism Due to Ignorance.

  • https://exploredegrees.stanford.edu/schoolofengineering/computerscience/#bachelortext

    • There are different tracks available, including HCI (Human-Computer Interaction).

  • http://catalog.mit.edu/degree-charts/computer-science-engineering-course-6-3/

  • Stanford vs UC Berkeley

  • Overall, Cal is a school which forces students to hustle and become very resourceful. It is a school for hard-nosed, highly aggressive Type A personalities, as well as those who can and will fight every minute for their place and what’s theirs. Type B personalities have a hard time at Cal unless they adapt. If you need help, at Cal, you need to dig deep because no one will help you except yourself - to get help from others, you have to work hard to get them to help you.

  • Stanford, on the other hand, is far more gentlemanly, providing an Ivy League experience where students receive plenty of personal attention, 1:1 guidance, and assistance. Type A personalities thrive there, but so do Type B personalities. If you need help, you will get it at Stanford. This fosters more “co-opetition.”

  • Stanford vs Harvard

  • I can’t say much about differences in curricula outside of engineering, but based on what I hear (and whom I see matriculating at each college), it seems like Harvard and Stanford are both excellent in math, the sciences, and the humanities. The one major difference is in engineering, particularly Computer Science. Stanford has more renowned CS professors, more CS classes, and more classes that focus on software engineering in practice.

  • Personally, I am satisfied with the practical software experience I’ve gained from personal projects and summer internships, and I don’t think I would take more CS classes (especially more vocational and less theoretical ones) even if Harvard offered them. However, if at any point you do want to take more engineering classes, it is relatively easy to cross-register at MIT (which is, of course, a top-tier engineering school). That being said, if engineering is your sole passion, you should probably choose Stanford (or MIT or Berkeley).

  • I actually like Harvard CS in particular because it allows for more flexibility in requirements, which gives me the freedom to take whatever classes I want. I can explore my interests in philosophy, psychology, and sociology while still staying on top of my CS curriculum. (This is not true for other types of engineering at Harvard, by the way.)

  • Stanford is more of a bubble compared to Harvard. That’s why it’s called “the farm.” You rarely leave campus, and if you do, you generally need a car. The Caltrain schedule is too sporadic and limiting for most college adventures. I struggled for two months at Stanford before begging to have my car sent to me. Harvard, on the other hand, is located in the vibrant city of Boston.

    • It’s understandable that Caltrain is not reliable.

  • On one hand, Stanford is generally better known for sciences, while Harvard is relatively better known for humanities. This is a generalization with exceptions, but physics and CS are areas where Stanford truly excels. I’m not saying that Harvard isn’t great too. It is! It’s just that these are truly among Stanford’s strengths.

    • However, it’s also worth considering that a strong focus on humanities may make it challenging to thrive in certain fields.

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