quadsbaby

Nope. I had no contact with MIT before I was admitted. Stanford and Berkeley, I had no interview for as well, but I had spoken to profs there.

I was admitted from Area IV. Got the admit email yesterday afternoon.

Same. I applied Area IV (Engineering Physics).

I got admitted today.

Hehe, I came from Florida, so even in the summer SoCal was a lot cooler than home.

I don't know if that counts as an acceptance, but if it doesn't it's pretty close. My guess is if that prof wants you bad enough, he can fund you with a GRA, and you will get in... so... Odds are you're in

No, I've said pretty much everywhere that it was unofficial. So far just the unofficial acceptance from Stanford and the originally-unofficial-but-now-official offer from Berkeley. As for thecaeser and awaiter: Yablonovitch is actually the person who called to give me my unofficial admit to Berkeley, so I talked to him for a while. You can try emailing him directly, I've been in communication with him this way. It may help that I met him in person when he came to give a talk at Caltech. He seems like a pretty chill guy. I will tell you that Yablonovitch didn't have that much to say to me until I was admitted, and he seemed to say something like "I wanted to make sure you could get through the admissions process first, because we have so many applicants, etc." In other words, I don't think he's likely to respond until you're admitted.

One point I'm trying to make is that there are better indicators of an individual faculty's accomplishments. Read papers in the field you're interested in and you'll see a certain number of key names pop up over and over--these guys are the heavy hitters in their field. Moreover, I don't think that an individual program's reputation is simply the count of faculty with some certain accomplishment (say IEEE fellowship). I think you'll find that if you're going into research that the work you do and your advisor are more important than the school's name. As to your question: "Isn't [having an established prof as a mentor] what we all want?" Not necessarily. There are some big advantages to working with profs just starting out (and obviously some big disadvantages too).

Hehe, I'm pretty sure they don't have a quote by school. That would be silly. Also, Berkeley always admits a couple of students from my school every year. Try not to worry too much, you've applied to enough good schools that you are going to get in somewhere awesome.

I don't think this is that likely. Your choice of "field" is mostly used to determine which profs evaluate your apps (also to determine GRAships), and since Berkeley has a pretty strong reputation throughout the whole of EE, I would imagine that there isn't much difference in the quality of candidates admitted between the various subfields.

How many rankings have you looked at? I was only aware of the US News Ranking in Electrical Engineering, where USC is ranked 12. UCLA is ranked 14. Stanford and Berkeley are ranked 1. So, I've stated all the rankings, but I don't actually think they are that relevant. Based on my personal experience (and I go to a california school for undergrad) I'd say UCLA and USC both have strong programs and a lot of good research. They don't have the absolute dominant reputation of Stanford or Berkeley, but I don't think that really matters that much. It seems you are trying to establish some measure of the quality of the school by examining a bunch of ultimately irrelevant details. Much more important than the number of IEEE fellows and "centers for excellence" is the individual profs doing the research you're interested in. If there are profs there you want to work with, and you like southern california (it's pretty nice) then great!

I got an official email from the department today re: my admission. Just the standard "It is my pleasure to inform you...". No financial information yet, apparently it's coming in the next few days. I applied at some intersection of Physical Electronics, MEMS, and Energy.

Undergrad Institution: Caltech Undergrad Major: EE GPA in Major: 3.8 Overall GPA: 3.8 Length of Degree: 4 years Position in Class: top 15% Type of Student: Domestic white male GRE Scores: Q: 800 (94%) V: 680 (96%) W: 4.5 (63%) Research Experience: 3 years research at Caltech, two REUs at Caltech, one REU at Stanford Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Caltech Upperclass Merit Award (2008,2009) Tau Beta Pi Hertz Finalist Perpall Speaking Competition Finalist (2009) Perpall Speaking Competition, 3rd place (2010) Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 3 years nanofabrication lab TA Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Nope Applying for [ PhD ] at: Berkeley - EE - Accepted (unofficially) Stanford - EE - Accepted (unofficially) Cornell - EE - Waiting MIT - EE - Waiting UIUC - EE - Waiting Caltech - EE - Waiting

There are a ton of threads out there on this topic, but to reiterate: It really depends on the program and the field as to what an interview means from an admissions standpoint. You should be getting a schedule, but basically you'll be meeting profs and hanging out with grad students. It should be fun!

No, that's just to reflect the way the data is taken on the census--the U.S. Census Bureau considers Hispanic to mean a person of Latin American descent (including persons of Cuban, Mexican, or Puerto Rican origin) living in the U.S. who may be of any race or ethnic group (white, black, Asian, etc.).

I haven't been to one yet (but I will be going to them, and it's pretty common for my field). I'm not planning on bringing a suit (when I informally/unofficially interviewed at Cornell and UIUC I didn't) but I will bring a nice shirt (not a t-shirt, but not anything you'd wear with a tie) and jeans. Think of it like this--it's a sort of interview, but it should be really fun and there is no pressure.

How would I know? I'm in nanofab. I don't know anything about CS (or even the "CE" part of ECE). Chocker, don't be so down on yourself. Just try not to worry too much. I'm sure you'll get in somewhere great. Honestly, I think that in the PhD program finding a good mentor (which you can do at many schools) is way more important than brand name. For example, while I didn't apply there, I really like some of the people in NC State's EE department. I got a lot of my friends to apply there.

Sounds like a good answer to me. Also, if they are considering nominating you for a fellowship, I'm going to guess translation is "If you're serious, you're in".

Sure! Don't worry too much about that because Stanford and Berkeley are definitely not done reviewing apps yet, I just got calls from people on the committees. School: Caltech GPA: 3.8 Major: EE GRE: 680/800/4.5 V/Q/W Recs: Caltech EE Professor photonics Caltech EE Professor MEMS Stanford EE Professor MEMS Research: Three years of research with lab at Caltech (finalist in 09, 3rd place in '10 in Caltech speaking competition) Summer research at Stanford Other: Twice awarded Caltech Upperclass Merit Scholarship Applying to EE PhD at: Stanford, Berkeley, Cornell, MIT, Caltech, UIUC (specialization: MEMS/plasmonics/photonic crystals as applied to energy) Also applied for: Hertz (interview in January), NDSEG, NPSC, NSF

Cornell EE seems to have a very well organized system in general. I especially like their system of advising. And yeah, Scott's a really great guy, I met with him for about an hour and he answered all of my questions, plus a ton I didn't ask (and should have). If I were choosing solely on the basis of the support structure, I would be going to Cornell hands down.

Hehe... I've actually met Scott Coldren in person, so I think that gives me the advantage! (psst, thecaesar, let's team up!)

I'm doing research that's a blend of MEMS and photonics. As for the specific profs I met, I'm not sure why that's relevant. Most of the profs I spoke to are expecting to take in new grad students.

I got an email from the grad coordinator stating that they would start to send out decisions in mid-february. I haven't heard anything else yet. My specialty is "Nanoelectronics, Optoelectronics, and MEMS". I not only contacted profs but also visited and met with them in December. I met six profs in the department and a few in materials science and MechE this way.

yes

Double-check with the Ivy to make sure you can't defer. One of the places I am applying to does not allow deferral either--but I spoke with a professor there who guaranteed me the ability to defer. It seems this is a rule that can sometimes be bent.