Visiting

Undergrad Institution: Boston University Major(s): Environmental Science / Environmental Remote Sensing & GIS (BA/MA) Minor(s): Mathematics, Physics GPA in Major: 3.87, 3.62 (BA, MA) Overall GPA: 3.80 Length of Degree: 4 years Position in Class: No idea; probably top/close to top in department GPA wise, but certainly not school-wise Type of Student: Male GRE Scores: Q: 169 V: 162 W: 5.5 Research Experience: Primary research: 2 years in environmental fluid mechanics - multiple undergrad research grants, first author publication submission (though it was ultimately rejected...), two international conferences (both first author) Miscellaneous: 3 years volunteering in ecology lab, 1 summer of evaporation modeling work Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 2 departmental awards, 3 undergrad research grants, 2 school scholarships, Phi Beta Kappa honor society Pertinent Activities or Jobs: probably wasn't relevant, but also worked two work-study jobs Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: good SOPs (at least one for certain; advisor read it out to me), met all my potential advisors at major conference which was a month before my application Applied for PhD at: Cornell PhD in Biological/Environmental Engineering: Never got a definitive admit or rejection at the end, though POI was interested and had an RA if I chose to come; rejected offer in early Mar Duke PhD in Civil/Environmental Engineering: Admit (Unofficial/Visit, 18 Jan; Official, 30 Jan); $42k 4-year fellowship (large sum due to combination of funds from 3 fellowships) Princeton PhD in Civil/Environmental Engineering: Admit (Unofficial, 24 Jan; Official, 4 Feb); $40k first-year fellowship, $4k stipend supplement for 3 years after first year - Heading here for the Fall UC Berkeley PhD in Civil/Environmental Engineering (Environmental Engineering - Environmental Fluid Mechanics and Hydrology): Admit (Unofficial, 8 Feb; Official, 21 Feb); $26k first-year fellowship

Hi Wangathan, I've been at BU for four years as a dual-degree student in EE, so I may be able to provide you with a perspective that is a bit different. Random points: As you know, remote sensing is the major strength of the department. It really started with Alan when he came here a few decades ago, and with his student Curtis joining him, they've laid the foundations for a fairly strong department. GIS is really done by one professor in the department, who everyone goes to for GIS-related work, so I'd be a bit hesitant if that was your primary interest here. We have a lot of collaboration. One of the things I've liked about this department was the extent of collaboration between what were three separate departments (Geography, Earth Sciences, and CEES (center for energy and env. studies, which wasn't a "department" per se), as well as with the biology department. You can't really go wrong with either UCSB or BU (don't know much about Berkeley's, but I'm sure it's good), since, at least at BU, everybody knows everybody else at UCSB; I can think of at least 4 tenured professors who came from UCSB. I have interacted with a large number of the faculty (not much the policy folks) to different extents, so if you have any specific questions about a particular professor (how they're really like, their availability, etc.), feel free to PM me or something.