habanero

After I began to get single negative downvotes on random old posts ( etc). I dropped around ~10 positive votes in 1 day without posting any new information. Many of the downvotes have been on highly-rated old posts in very inactive threads. I, of course, don't mind people expressing their opinions--but I don't feel like that is the case here. Right after the linked thread ended, the negative user began voting down all of my new comments obsessively. I spoke to a mod, but they said that they were unable to do anything about it. I stopped caring, but I can't ignore it after logging in today and seeing that the user has gone so far back. I've tried hard to be a positive member of this forum, but it is impossible when a user is systematically stalking my posts. It's taking an emotional toll on me. It might be silly to want to rack up positive votes on an internet forum, but I don't care. If this kind of behavior were going on in real life, I'd be getting a restraining order. To the rest of the awesome posters on here: thanks for everything. Best of luck in graduate school! Don't say anything to make that user upset, or they might do the same thing to you.

I've always been 'the baby' and got my undergrad degree at 19. I totally understand your fear, but you will be a novelty. People aren't going to be envious of you unless they are very shallow and petty. Please enjoy yourself! You will do well. Make sure to get some friends your own age lest you become too serious! haha

Go by which department is a better fit. You couldn't go wrong with either school.

Durham is not boring (ok, compared to being near San Fran, nearly ANYTHING will seem boring...haha), and Duke is a great school. I would take the money and go to Duke. Do you really want to be working 20 hours a week if you don't need to be? I guess it depends on just how much better Berkeley is. Please, do you have any other information?

I also think you should consider ssh-ing into your main computer.

Sorry, letigre. I didn't mean for that to come off harshly, and I hope that I didn't seem like I was trivializing your very difficult choice. It's hard to convey meaning over the internet. Best of luck in your graduate studies.

All of them, and I'd fly in-between schools as needed.

I told my employer and they suggested that I give notice. Just keep in mind that they will probably not want you to work for them once they know. I wanted to do the honest thing and I don't regret my decision, but do realize that your employer owes you no allegiance. Good luck! :-D

Why apply for a safety if you didn't actually consider it to be an option? I say take it--unless your prospects for a job will be severely hampered by your Charlotte decision.

Uh, of course! My studies are my passion in life!!! Is that weird?

You couldn't make a wrong decision between those three schools, tmac_cj. It will be less expensive to live in Michigan and Illinois. They all have good brand names and awesome faculty. Do you have any specific questions that will help you make your decision?

Wow, UNC doesn't have prestige? Are any of your family members in academia/computer science? UNC is an AMAZING school with an AMAZING Comp Sci program. It does sound like Duke really wants you and is going to work hard to make it happen for you. Don't discount that. However, don't pick Duke because some of your family members think it is better. If you do choose Duke, can't you work some graphics into your computer vision studies? Haha, I hope I don't sound like I'm gunning for you to go to Duke. I'm not. I just want you to choose the school that is the right fit, and it really seems as though Duke wants to give you everything good. General program fit can be more important than research, because your interests may change. Grad school is a long time. I would try and make a visit to NC if you can. Duke and UNC are not so far from each other, and you could easily do the whole trip in a weekend. (EDIT, I just saw that you are from Pakistan)

I would definitely choose Boulder over Utah. Do you have any specific questions?

UIUC, without a doubt. Like, seriously. You couldn't make a wrong decision if you just had to choose schools, but you aren't funded. You can live in Illinois for next to nothing. UCLA will be VERY expensive. Of course UCLA has better weather, but you'll be paying quite dearly for a few years in the sun. Also, LA isn't especially close to Silicon Valley. It's around a 5-6 hour drive.

I know a few grad students from those schools. The Duke students seem much more relaxed, while the UNC students seem fairly stressed. I got the impression that UNC's program is much more strict. Have you visited the schools?