Slorg

Yes (or at least strongly considering it). My advisor is switching from Berkeley to Stanford, and now I have to decide if I will follow her. I hope that explains the incongruity of my profile and participation in this thread.

Why prepare for it? I think everyone should take it, and just let the test reflect their knowledge. Gaming the system reduces its effectiveness.

A cheap mountain bike, probably. They are lower to the ground (so it's easier to put your feet down for balance), they have fatter tires (for better stability), and they are cheaper relative to road bikes. However, they will be heavier, less efficient on roads, and will age more quickly than a quality road bike.

Intellectual vacation!

Does anyone know how hard it is to get housing starting the winter/spring quarters instead of the summer/fall quarters? I haven't seen anything on the Stanford website. Also, is there a map of Stanford student housing? I couldn't find one so I'm just using google maps to figure out where on campus everything is.

Yes, it's very possible to get into those programs without a publication. Research experience is important though. It sounds like what you're really asking is which summer program you should choose: an internship at JPL or a summer research gig that gives you a chance at publishing. Is that correct?

I never lived in it myself, but I heard the graduate housing was a great deal. Like $600 for a single close to campus or on campus, as I recall.

Yeah, Stanford EE is kind of silly. I think you can still visit on their visit day (I did, even though I wasn't invited). Just email them and ask when it is. You'll have to arrange your own travel.

The financial situation of the university also concerned me, but I think graduate students are mostly insulated from it. Everyone I know in engineering is still very well funded, and there's no worry it will drop. I think the two biggest changes that came from the budget shortfall is that semesters are one week shorter than they used to be, and that free food events are less opulent than they were five years ago. Also, the library hours have been reduced. The financial problems have caused minor cuts, but nothing major or worrisome. Worst case scenario, the state cuts funding and the university makes up for it with tuition. It shouldn't deter you from coming to Berkeley, which remains a world-class university. (But if you are on the fence between universities, perhaps it could make the difference. I'll reiterate it's not a major problem; but I won't lie, sometimes the minor cuts are a little annoying.)

Welcome everyone! I'm a first year science PhD student at Berkeley. I was in your shoes last year, and I'm happy I came here for grad school. Feel free to ask any questions. Regarding the question about finding housing, I recommend using padmapper.com. In general you'll find that places close to campus are expensive, particularly on the north side.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but UC Berkeley has already contacted everyone for the MSE visit weekend, I believe (I'm a current UCB grad student).

I wouldn't be too worried. I started looking for housing early, but I still haven't secured a place. Padmapper.com shows that there are still many, many places still available.

1. Connect with my department 2. Stay connected with the world 3. Don't be insecure 4. Learn stuff

I plan on getting business cards. They're great for networking outside of academia. (science perspective)

Publications are definitely not required. I got into Berkeley and Stanford with funding (rejected by MIT), and I had no publications or conference presentations whatsoever.

padmapper.com is a nice website for looking at housing geographically. It's sometimes easier than browsing craigslist.

I got a 4 on the AW, but it didn't seem to hurt my admissions anywhere. Don't worry!

Where and with who is everyone planning to live? E.g., graduate housing, off-campus with people you know, off-campus with strangers? It seems to me that graduate housing might be a better way to make friends new students, but it also seems more expensive.

Everyone seems to say to stay away from the south side because that's where the undergrads live. Is it so bad living around undergrads? I mean, I'm an undergrad now and I don't think I will be so different in four months that it will warrant living somewhere else. Can someone explain why it's not cool to live near undergrads? Is it noisy or something?

http://www.weizmann.ac.il/mcb/UriAlon/nurturing/index.html

Change my 90% to a 100%.

I just rejected my Stanford funding as well, so maybe you'll get some tomorrow (from people like me who wait until the last minute to commit). Also, I know for sure that extra funding is given out before April 15. So unlike what some other posts said, it doesn't all necessarily happen after April 15.

I think you'll be ok. Professors are often late with letters because they know from experience that late letters almost never take anyone out of the running.

I know someone in either EE or MS&E whose last name starts with L who got the award 8 hours ago, if anyone's interested.

Have you visited either school or met/contacted any of those professors yet? My two cents: Buckwalter is a relatively young professor and I think (but I could easily be wrong) that he might have relatively little funding. Larson, in class at least, is very nice. When people ask questions he always says "great question" or something like that. He does it so much in fact, that it strikes me as insincere sometimes. I know Buckwalter and Larson are friends; they've gone jogging together for years. I've run with both of them before. Rebeiz, I don't know much about, but I don't think he's bad. And I don't know those UT Austin professors.