floridabio

@aricyo I'm not sure how you plan to write papers on an 11" Air. You're extremely limited on screen real estate, so you would likely be unable to have a data file or even a safari page open while you're writing on Word. Depending on your discipline, having only a Word doc on your screen may be okay, but I would find that a real problem.

Honestly, I think you need to give more information about your situation - unless you are solely looking for information regarding which school has a better CS program.

Arizona is still top 50 in EE. I say follow the money.

Something to consider also: don't go where the faculty are successful at the expense of strung out, stressed out graduate students. UCSF is prestigious primarily based on successful faculty. While the graduate student may still be successful in a program like that, such an environment is not necessary for success. Try to find a place where everyone is happy and the graduate students are still successful. There is a balance, and it sounds to me like UCSD might be the place, much like UTSW for mrmolecularbiology, and UGA for me (only I didn't have the opportunity to turn down UCSF!) (I said success too many times just now)

It's a masters, so I'm assuming it's only ~2 years? I'd say for that short of a time, weather and location should not be significant variables. I would choose the program that will be the best for you professionally. Weather and location should really only come into play when we're talking 5-6 years for a PhD and all else between programs is relatively equal. However, this is only an opinion.

Lenovo does not give you near the same computer. Raw specs are not the whole story. Apple build quality, sleekness, aesthetics, product service (Genius Bar), operating system efficiency etc. are just some of the benefits of Apple. If those things don't matter to you, then a $300-400 cheaper pc should do just fine.

Hey! I'm going to UGA this fall for their Genetics PhD program. Good to see a thread was started! What were some good apartment complexes you found?

CALTECH no question

I should follow up by saying that while NC State isn't necessarily a prestigious university, it's still a large, R1 state university. With respect to my stats, I would have no reservations in attending that school.

You should look up placement info on the program's alumni. If they are at good postdoc positions, then that's an indication the school has the tools and resources needed for success of its students. In general though, I think postdoc placement is more dictated by the quality of your research/publications, which is highly influenced by the excellence of your PI and not of the school's prestige. An anecdote: I know of a student who obtained her PhD from the hardly-prestigious University of Western Ontario. She did a post-doc at the University of Florida and just recently interviewed for an assistant professorship position as UC Berkeley (she hasn't heard back yet).

I would have talked to the dean a long time ago.

I'm curious of how much you all think should be allocated from a monthly budget to pay for food. This does not include money going out for food and drinks, but solely concerns buying groceries for breakfast/lunch/dinner for the majority of the week for 1 person. I currently live with my parents and am not integrally involved in the grocery-buying process. Can anyone comment from personal experience?

Here, I did a little navigation for you: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/grants_process.htm

If you can't navigate the website, you have no business applying for a fellowship.

No one cares about sports? ^ Such a broad and arrogant statement. While they obviously won't benefit you professionally, sports can very well enhance a your experience in grad school. Leave that to NeuroTU to decide. My advice would be to choose school B. Yes, school A may be a safer option as you are more familiar with your POI, department, and campus/city in general. But since you have stuck with the same school for bachelors and masters, I think you would benefit from diversifying your academic experience. Meet new people, live in a new city, learn new areas to research. I think it's a no-brainer. And the fact that it's higher ranked doesn't hurt.