babubot

Is anyone else waiting to hear from UPenn? I've already accepted another offer, so I'm not too concerned, just curious.

I've officially accepted my offer to the MechE PhD program. Time to start looking for housing! What neighborhoods is everyone else looking in?

Yes, please listen to this user. All these sort of requests do is annoy the staff (speaking as a student staff assistant). First they will tell you that they can not review your application again. If you bug them enough, they may tell you that you will be considered again. We will then set your application aside with a note to reject again in a week or two. I suppose it doesn't hurt, but it doesn't help either.

The isolation aspect is what actually made me want to live on campus in the first place, but now that I'm looking at a map, I see what you're saying. Thanks for the suggestions!

I'm not set on Cornell yet, but it's definitely my top choice for now - I would be studying MechE (robotics). Their website has a lot of information about on-campus housing: http://living.sas.cornell.edu/live/wheretolive/housingoptions/graduate.cfm/. Personally, I am interested in the coop housing. Seems a lot cheaper, and I'd rather live in a closer community anyways.

Same here! I'll be visiting as well, driving over from WNY. First acceptance, so I'm excited, even if it came only moments before rejection from Carnegie Mellon and Stanford... I saw in your other post you said you had an interview with UPenn? I haven't heard from them so I'm starting to get worried.

The only actual robotics program I applied to was Carnegie Mellon, but that is what I intend to study wherever I go. The rest of the programs were either CS or ME.

Copied from the CS thread since I'm applying to both: General Profile: -White Male US Citizen -UG: Top 50ish Public Research University -Major: Mechanical Engineering (BS) -Minors: CS, Math -GPA: 3.92/4.0 -GRE: 167V / 170Q / 4W Research Experience: -1.5 years of research in two different labs on campus -1 semester research in NASA internship, but in unrelated field -No pubs, but all the people writing letters are people I've done research for and I am fairly confident they will be strong letters Area(s) of Interests: -Robotics -Human-Robot Interaction -AI Schools Applied (ME PhD program unless otherwise specified): -Stanford (PhD in CS) -CMU (PhD in Robotics) -UPenn -Cornell -Berkeley (PhD in CS) -UMich (interview offer) I realize that there is a good chance I don't get into any of these, so I am also applying for year long internships with the intention of applying to more schools next year. I also noted on my applications that I would also consider entering an MS program if they did not think I was prepared for PhD.

Every school is going to be completely different. The school I work at just sends them to review as they come in. If the review committee does them in a certain order after receiving them, it isn't noticeable when they come back from review. It would make sense if the did international students first, though, just because visa issues can take a while to sort out.

General Profile: -White Male US Citizen -UG: Top 50ish Public Research University -Major: Mechanical Engineering (BS) -Minors: CS, Math -GPA: 3.92/4.0 -GRE: 167V / 170Q / 4W Research Experience: -1.5 years of research in two different labs on campus -1 semester research in NASA internship, but in unrelated field -No pubs, but all the people writing letters are people I've done research for and I am fairly confident they will be strong letters Area(s) of Interests: -Robotics -Human-Robot Interaction -AI Schools Applied (CS PhD program unless otherwise specified): -Stanford -CMU (PhD in Robotics) -UPenn (PhD in MechE) -Cornell (PhD in MechE) -Berkeley -UMich I realize that there is a good chance I don't get into any of these, so I am also applying for year long internships with the intention of applying to more schools next year. I also noted on my applications that I would also consider entering an MS program if they did not think I was prepared for PhD.

They only want to know if you've been corresponding with a faculty member so they can contact that faculty member before making any final decision. If you've contacted a faculty member already, there is no way listing them will hurt you.

At many schools, GPA minimums do not apply to international students because they know that grading scales are different. Your best bet is to email the schools you are interested in.

Not particularly difficult, I don't think. I suppose I am more uncertain of the situation where I am interested in professors who work in the same lab, but are from different departments.

Yes, this for PhD. I was initially of the same mind as you, but then I saw meche students doing their research under an EE professor and wasn't sure how that works with respect to admissions. Ill probably go the safe route and apply to whichever department has the professors I am interested in.

Hello all, I am currently a mechanical engineering undergraduate looking at graduate schools with the intention of doing research in robotics. If you are not familiar, robotics research is usually balanced between three departments, mechanical engineering, computer science, and electrical engineering. At some of the schools I am interested in, all the potential advisers I am interested in working with are outside of mechanical engineering. Looking at their websites, however, they have many mechanical engineering students working with them. I would prefer to apply to the mechanical engineering departments because I generally like the course offerings more, and I think I would have an easier time on the qualifying exam when that comes around. Is it acceptable to apply to a department and only mention interest in professors outside that department? Or in those cases, should I just apply to computer science or electrical engineering? Thanks!