rustledjimmies

Opposite situation here -- my mind is on all of the places I may be this fall, while my body is unfortunately right here at home. this process is cruel

Fridays have become less exciting since I know that I will not be hearing from schools for the next 2 days, and I kind of just want it to me Monday (which I believe to be unhealthy behavior). The weekend is now when I: Have the most free time Know that schools will probably not be sending out any decisions or info on the weekend Spend the most time on this website because of (1) -- checking results every hour for no reason, and the forums for anything relevant to my situation Check my email far too often Realize I should do something productive, but keep doing (4) and (5) because it's comforting and I still have that glimmer of hope. It's cruel that I am being prevented from making major life decisions. Here's to those still waiting (perhaps mostly Master's program applicants such as myself, and some PhD folks still waiting to hear), that we may hear something soon!

Hi . I believe it depends most on WHY you want to get your Masters! As CMU says on their website, "Master's students will not usually continue into the PhD program". It seems that they are strongly presenting this program as indeed a TERMINAL master's program in many ways similar to some type of MEng degree. It is a degree intended for more breadth in CS topics (and a little bit of depth, from the way they describe it), and adding a nice credential to your resume for when you make it out in industry. If you are thinking of doing a PhD, then you can probably still take part in this MS program -- I'm sure they have some type of distinction in research for those MS students who truly shine. This would help you when applying to a PhD program in the future. best of luck in your decision

I heard back from UCSD regarding my MSCS application in the first week of February. Waiting on some other UC schools.

Sad times. While waiting to hear back from schools I was looking through my grad school applications just for fun, and I realized that in the first sentence of my SOP I misspelled Columbia as "Colmumbia". I facedesk'd and sat there torn between pure horror and trying not to laugh at just how ridiculous of a misspelling this was. To claim some of my dignity back, I will note that this was my 10th application and I was quite tired of the process by this time, and going through applications quite quickly. You're welcome for the $100, Columbia... I'll just be waiting for that rejection now...

You should go for it! CS is a great field -- it's interesting and has great job prospects. as for applying to a more competitive program next year... it's up to you -- think about what you want to do after your MS. I think it is not difficult to find a solid, great job with an MSCS from an unranked university -- as long as you can demonstrate your competency. If you want to work at google, you may want to consider waiting

Good, point.. I guess I just feel like all grad school application related questions are isomorphic to each other, in that they all evoke the same emotion from me. Doesn't matter if someone asks "how are you feeling about the process" or "where have you heard from yet", My first thought is how much I wish i had heard something back from schools.

Do you automatically assume they had interviews? and if not... how did you find out without asking them if they had heard anything?

it does depend on a lot of things, but you have a relatively safe set of schools -- In my opinion the two that will test your application will be the UC schools but unfortunately i am speaking ignorantly of most of the universities you applied to as I don't know their programs well. Master's applications are, in my opinion, much more subtle and subject to so many more factors than a PhD application. As a quick example, if you state that you pursuing an MSCS to get better breadth in CS topics such that you can better apply them to a job in industry after graduating, and frankly could care less about research, this will be treated VERY DIFFERENTLY depending on the school -- Berkeley may throw your app in the trash while Stanford may like your style, for example. Hopefully you have considered the attitude of the school in general when you applied for your MS program and chose schools which fit what you would like to get our of your MS. If a school sees that your purpose for getting an MS (in your statement of purpose, ofc) aligns with their values, I think it's one of the best things you can have in your favor.

I heard from purdue back in january regarding my MSCS application, and I had not applied for a PhD program. I think they have some type of rolling acceptance

if you want my ignorant opinion: stereotyping trivia question!!!!!!! Where did <X famous person> get their doctorate focusing in "Late Medieval Intellectual History"? A. PRINCETON B. BERKELEY C. STANFORD D. JOHNS HOPKINS umm..umm..let me think about this one john... B. Berkeley final answer. *confetti as I win millions* sir, I recommend Berkeley to you

It's a blurry line, but I believe that in general you want diversity in your c.v. Going to the same school for your bachelors, masters AND PhD may give many people some sort of impression that you simply didn't know what else to do, or where else to go. To show true conviction in your field and in research it helps to have as many different (well-known) universities on your c.v. That is my opinion, best of luck to you!

I believe that academia is a highly rank-oriented system. If you want to WORK in academia, you don't need a highly ranked university on your c.v., but if you want to be well-known in your field and work at a highly-ranked university, you almost NEED to have a PhD from a highly ranked University. Just think about the way you react to papers from professors at highly ranked universities compared to some state school you've never even heard of. It's natural, it's a part of academia and it isn't going away anytime soon. the self-fulfilling prophecy of academia also makes it difficult for new universities to become highly ranked and get recognition for themselves without herculean effort. this is just MY OPINION, and take it as such! best of luck to you in your decision!!

Hello, here are some of my thoughts on the topic. I am in my fourth year of undergrad so please take what i say with the fact that I have only my own research into these topics to speak from. I am applying to MSCS programs to begin this fall. First of all, I wish you luck in your journey and I'm sure that you know that most of this is going to depend on how driven you are to accomplish it -- including the type of employment you find and your earning potential afterwards. I think that for the most driven people, programming offers some of the highest potential earning. I will keep this relatively short: I think that if you want to receive an MSCS degree, you will need some good foundation in various topics in CS. I like the list of prereqs that Columbia lists - I agree with that list in that it will prepare you with the large majority of what you will need to enter grad school. I would recommend (if you don't want to go to Columbia) finding some courses online possibly even for free to learn this material. With these courses done you should be fairly well prepared for entrance into an MSCS program. If you want to receive another, more industry-oriented, professional type of programming degree, I would recommend you dive right into programming because while many of the topics in a CS degree will help with your programming discipline, style, and overall knowledge, I know many people who are excellent programmers without the traditional (more theoretical, foundational) CS degree. Here, I believe, is what it boils down to. With an MSCS degree (perhaps preferably with a PhD) you may be more suited to flaunt your ability for innovative thinking to a company which values R&D, original ideas, and innovation such as Apple, Microsoft, or Google. These companies require extremely skilled programming as a MINIMUM requirement, and to really stand out you have to be an incredible problem solver and innovator. With a more professional, less theory & research oriented degree you will be well suited to be working as a programmer in MANY areas, and in many of these (with your sales & business experience), you may find yourself climbing the corporate ladder quickly if you are driven enough. A lot of employers like programmers with business experience -- the best managers/leaders of a software project have extensive experience themselves with the software development process and can lead a team in the right direction. Good luck to you, and again these are not concrete facts and definitely reflect some of my personal opinions. Best wishes

It is a trend, yes -- although one that depends on the school. I applied to 10 master's programs and I heard from 2 of them in late january/very early feb. I do not anticipate to hear from most of them until about March 15/16 I recommend you use this site's "results search" and filter using <school name> <program name>, then look at when a majority of Master's decisions were sent from last year (F12). good luck!

mine is the same way! I wouldn't worry about it . We just need to sit back and relax -- I am thinking they will release all decisions on March 16/17 like it says on their website and like they did last year

sir, I respect that you were angry but i would hope that you can at least understand where I was coming from. You blatantly disrespected other PhD programs which you felt were inferior, and you made it clear that you conisder a PhD worthwhile simply so that you can claim the title "doctor". Further, this is almost not worthwhile in your mind because you will be making ~60,000 annually, and what a joke that is. Frankly, I do not think you would say these things (even in a rant) if you did not feel this way deep down in your heart. I am being judgemental, but I think that you care too much about your father's career. Multiple times you mention your successful, fulfilling career before studying psychology and deciding to pursue a PhD (which you then bashed). Furthermore, you mention your father multiple times as being a reason why you "should have a PhD". These are the reasons I said I do not feel you have the conviction. I do not find it funny. I feel that in times of anger, our true feelings can emerge. perhaps I am incorrect in your case. I hope that you live a fulfilling life with whatever you choose. p.s. don't let your father define you!

Congratulations on Berkeley. My recommendation would be thus: If you want to see where you are accepted for bragging rights (tell me if I'm wrong), or to see how qualified you were for other programs, then withdraw your application from all schools but those which you care about (maybe those except harvard, stanford, caltech). If you want to see about possibly better offers -- if money is an issue -- don't withdraw and see what you are offered, just in case.

my friend i am sorry for my strong opinion but you seem to have a temper and you seem to be "all over the place", and you seem to not actually have true conviction for research in psychology. If I were interviewing you and I saw any of these signs, I would not consider you fit for 4/5 years of hard research

Folks, I was looking for a timeframe for UCB MSCS admissions from F12 using this website, and I noticed...err... a total of ONE admit to the master's program. Anyone know what was up with this? seems highly unusual -- hard to believe that only one person who got accepted would post it on this website... does UCB have a deceptively (lower than they may even admit) admittance % to MSCS program?

keawood: dang you're intense folk, on this website a year before you even apply =). you seem like an extremely driven person, and you're very pretty too. just thought i'd give some recognition

I am thoroughly confused by this thread

Cool. I also applied to UMich. i know a couple people who went there, and had great experiences with the program and Ann Arbor. i 100% AGREE with you on this interesting phenomenon which is occuring now at a Masters level -- that they expect you to have significant research experience / experience in your field of interest. My only solace is this: The application form is the same for PhD and MS applications, so perhaps they expect all MS applicants to fill them out to the best of their ability, but when they make selections MS candidates are held to a much lower research/experience standard than PhD applicants. Still, the dynamics of being accepted at Master's vs. at a PhD level are all very confusing to me.

Hmm, let's see.. It was on Feb 1. I'm honestly not too sure, but I'm interested in computer vision, machine learning and AI. I kind of really want more breadth in lots of topics in CS though, which is why I'm going for a Master's... then I'll decide on possibly going for a PhD after. How about yourself? It looks like you have a pretty good school list. Grats on Cornell.. I was going to apply there, but do they have an MSCS program? I haven't checked in awhile, but I recall that on their website they listed some type of 1 year professional masters of some type, and I decided not to apply. Edit - not that it's a degree of necessarily any lower caliber, it's just not what I was looking for

I'm also applying for CS Master's programs this fall. So far I've heard back from (and been accepted at) UCSD and Purdue. looking forward to hearing back from more! Although I like UCSD a lot