noojens

Yeah, or Oakland. Either way the sum of your commutes is going to be ~90 mins, right quads?

My sense here is that lots of start-ups come out of both Berkeley and Stanford, and the Berkeley engineering community does have close ties to Haas (the B-school) -- but Stanford has a closer relationship with the innovative community in Silicon Valley (and probably easier access to venture capital). I'm definitely not basing this on any hard data, this is just my general impression.

I'll second (or third, or whatever) the opinion that you should visit both campuses. I think the universities are so close in terms of overall reputation and EECS reputation that it'd be pointless (if not impossible) to choose based on prestige. The other factors mentioned above (location, atmosphere, demographics/diversity, etc) are important, but IMO the overwhelmingly dominant factor is your potential advisor. So go meet the faculty! Find out who in your field is looking for students and who has funding. Find out how their current students feel about them, and where their past students have ended up after graduation. And get to know your advisor as a person (inasmuch as that's possible in a weekend visit) -- they'll be your boss, and hopefully your friend, for the next 5-6 years! Anyway good luck to you! Not a bad dilemma to have =)

Ditto. Disappointing, but not unexpected. Good luck with your other schools!

ERG shot me down today. I crashed, I burned, I got over it. 244 applicants, 18 admitted. C'est la vie.

Depends on your research interests, I'd say. I know Davis is strong in transportation - don't know much about UCSB.

Hm, not surprising... but that sucks. It's such a cool program! Where'd you hear about this?

No. Compromise your passion and you compromise the only legitimate reason for pursuing a PhD in computer science.

Goat farmer in Jamaica. I just want some war wounds before I bow out of the system. Plus, it'll give my cantankerous rants so much more authority when I'm a crotchety old curmudgeon. Just kidding, sign me up for "professor at Stanford" too.

No news yet, aaaah! Hopefully we'll find out this week!

Yeah, TAM's a really interesting department - I was torn between TAM and MAE but chose MAE since their research is a bit broader. What are your interests, research-wise? Did you apply to any other TAM-like departments?

Yep! Open house is 3/12-3/13... let me know if TAM's is the same weekend when you're admitted. =)

I applied to Cornell for Mechanical Engineering, and heard back earlier this week. I know TAM was recently subsumed by the MAE department... but I'm not sure if TAM does its admissions separately from MAE still? When you filled out the application, did you apply for TAM specifically, or Mechanical Engineering with a focus in TAM? Anyway, I know that's not super helpful, but it's at least one data point for ya.

This thread's a bit harsh, I think. SO much depends on your recommendations -- if you have a well-known prof from your MS institution writing you a kick ass letter, that'll compensate for the weaker points of your application. As for how you could improve your profile on the off chance you get universally rejected (heh), it's pretty simple: Publish. You could also retake and rock the subject GRE. Anyway, I think you have a pretty competitive profile, especially for a domestic applicant. Don't freak out.

Dasgut -- Tough to say, but it looks like you've got a good shot. Very strong MS GPA. I'd guess a lot depends on the strength of your recommendations, especially from your MS advisor. Also on the research you've done during your graduate work. Good luck!