DeleteMePlease

Haven't heard back from UMN yet.

I am unsure if it is possible to apply for a visa when funding is covered by a loan. Maybe ask in the international section. Aren't there any stipends or other kind of support you can get? Personally, I would go for TAMU if you really pay tuition yourself. It still has a good reputation as far as I know and I don't think you will learn that much more in UCSD. Rankings are much more important when you go for a Ph.D. because here the people you work for and with are important and not the coursework.

No for those schools you should be fine with the scores in my opinion.

If you worry about the Ithaca campus. As a MEng student it should be possible to switch to NYC as far as I know.

Don't get me wrong. I do think you have a chance to get in. But there are many other good schools besides the top five (or even 20). Just google a little. Look for the professors that do awesome research, research you would love to do. You will only excell at your studies if you love what you do.

I found a very nice group of people to live with through craigslist. Thank god there is skype so you can see what you are getting into. I guess you could also try to get there a few weeks earlier and look for a room in person.

It's the coon! His identity remains unknown....

What is surprising about this? Isn't the cost of living much higer in the Bay Area?

As far as I know you just have to hand in your degree. But the deadline for this is somewhere in september. I already got my visa so I suppose everything is going well. Would love to have some written confirmation (the offer letter was only digital) or some kind of a contract though.

You get notified through the online system and receive a letter about a week later.

Your profile looks very good to me. I wouldn't focus on top schools though.

Will you get a visa being on a loan? I cannot imagine that this would be approved. ( i wonder why people don't go to tuition-free programs in europe instead though ... )

No idea. Was rejected about a week ago.

Personally, I don't get why people would go into so much debt for a degree. Many countries offer tuition-free masters programs (Europe) or even pay stipends (Canada). Then again, it is up to you. If you really want this degree, go for it.

Seriously? Go to CMU. It is like you say one of the four #1 schools. If you plan to stay in North America people -- especially from your field -- will know CMU. If you plan to work in Europe or Asia then maybe Harvard is worth considering.

Some papers even only summarize/compare other papers and don't contain original research. Those "comparative" papers often have a much higher impact (as they are easier to understand and contain a lot more information) than traditional publications.

Most schools already had visit days so you could start to be a little worried. If I were you I would start thinking about a plan B (job applications, schools with different deadlines etc). That being said, I haven't heard back from Johns Hopkins either.

Personally, I don't think your GRE still matters at this point. If you haven't been rejected yet you made it into the "inner circle" and now there are other things (research/work experience, statement of purpose etc) that are way more important.

My advisor first refused to even write me a recommendation for my top choice because I had "no chance". However, I got my first acceptance from that school.

Afaik the MEng isn't funded (unlike the Master of Science). So I would suppose it is much easier to get into the MEng.

Just wondering, is it normal to do coursework before classes start? I don't even know how to choose classes yet....

Isn't there a big difference between NYU and NYU poly? Isn't poly really bad ranked compared to UPenn? But still, listen to your gut.

That I was actually admitted into my dream school without having a perfect profile. It seems to me that choosing the school that actually fit your interests and skills is the most important part of the process.

In my opinion this is taken into account. Also, foreign students are often not used to american-style standardized tests. That is the only reason that I can think of why I was admitted despite an AW score of 3.5 However, keep in mind that you are not applying for an exchange program. They want somebody who is as qualified in writing English as a native speaker. If your verbal or AW scores suck try to score good (>>100) on the TOEFL to show that you can actually speak and write English.

So the address on the DS-160 is more of a contact address than a permanent address I guess? Who did you put as sponsor of your trip? I wonder if I can put my institution aswell as I receive full financial support...