the_sheath

Filling Radius

filling area

Well actually...

Revolution surface

Chocolate! CHOCOLAAAAAAAAATE!

I can take my quals the spring quarter of my first year, or before fall quarter of my second. As for the workload... I was pretty aware of it. Is it not that little bit of insanity (that we are willing to do this for like 4-6 years) that ties this board together? I'm expecting to be taking three year-long core classes my first year, along with side classes for my specialty. All while teaching, studying for quals, and figuring out how to work out my many other problems. It's gonna be rough. But it's too be expected. Still terrified though. I feel like someone who's about to be shot out of a tunnel like a bullet

I hear 10 is pretty common. I went with 5, since I can't afford more.

I didn't so much as contact professors at the places I applied. Bad idea, and it really explains the results. Hard to choose a poi when I haven't figured out my research area quite yet

I was, until I realized that grad school was the only option that made sense for me. I mean getting a flurry of rejections is not necessarily a reflection of a lack of skill. You could just as easily be a terrible fit or overqualified. Don't let those get you down! Grad school is a huge commitment, and going when you're sure you aren't ready probably isn't a good idea. But these feelings of nervousness and of inadequacy are pretty ubiquitous in grad school for almost everyone. If you really want to do something else, then go for it! But I think at this point, you really gotta assess how you feel before you do anything rash. For better or worse, this is a pretty big life decision here. So really, is it the rejections? Do you feel as though you aren't good enough? And if you do, why did you even apply in the first place?

Getting murdered, or worse, expelled.

I got one of my acceptances at midnight like a week after first wave acceptances started to get posted. Like, what the hell? I held on to the thought that it was a glitch until I got my funding letter, and even now I'm skeptical. I mean, it's a great school, and I think I'm a good fit but these circumstances are just too weird.

I was given to understand the only way to change a rejection to an acceptance was to try again the next application cycle.

What? Has she taken a CS class before? Those things are brutal. I dunno, at my alma mater, CS is a part of the engineering school, and is regarded as one of the more challenging majors. ... Is it considered a type of engineering? Software Engineering? Oh God I feel like I'm one of those people whose quotes end up on this topic.

Empty set

Power set

First derivative

Ugh, where were people like you when I was looking for someone to fall sublet for me two years ago? Anyway, I don't think it would be so hard to find a sublet. I managed to get a winter/spring one from Japan (I coordinated the details from Japan). How do you even find sublets for the fall so early? I couldn't get a decent selection until like 2 months before the quarter started. But do you know if you're probably just going to turn down ucsd once they accept you? Because it sounds like you have both your heart set on a place, and a time constraint for which making an early decision would be beneficial. Depending on your budget (LA can be expensive), and how picky you are about living arrangements, I'd probably just close up the waitshop and go all in on usc.

Choice axiom

I think it all depends on the course and how much your POI gives you to do. I'm not in the humanities, but I did get 2 TA offers. One for 25% TA and one for 50% TA. 50% TA has me working 12-16 hours per week whilst the 25% TA has me working 6-10. I guess it depends on how many sections you are given and such. What I would do is ask about the workload for both the second opportunity and from your POI. Try to figure out if you actually want to go for both before actually going for both--for all you know, your POI's workload could be killer. Then, if your POI steers you toward concentrating on the one course and your coursework, point out that you are unfunded and need money to avoid paying with your firstborn. But you know, tactfully. He may understand, or at least explain why that's actually a bad idea.

Swiss Cheese! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_cheese_%28mathematics%29

Well I could weigh all of your options for you, BUT, you could look at it this way: Suppose you wait to hear from UCSD: 1) If you choose USC anyway, no one is at a loss, since you kept that spot warm by default. 2) If you choose UCSD, then you likely carefully considered your available choices, something you are entitled to do. It really seems like your heart is dead set on USC, but what incentive do you have not to at least wait until the deadline? Why not leave the options open and consider all possibilities? At this point it's not like you're really ruining someone else's chances. I mean it sounds like even if you get accepted into UCSD, you'll go for USC anyway (since I did my undergrad in UCLA, I am supposed to give you an obligatory glare for that). But if you wait, at least you'll know that you made the choice with everything on the table. An aside: I think it's kinda funny, because I have to make a decision between two SoCal schools, and UCSD happens to be my top choice. And my application process was really mixed up as well >_>.

Pi day!

honey comb (sugar pie honey bun~ <--song stuck in head thank you)

From what people have told me about their programs and from the ones I've researched myself, I'd have to agree--it varies a lot. The idea is the same--they're generally tests to gauge how well you've mastered the core graduate material and if you can move on to finish your PhD. But then comps sound like quals, and quals often vary wildly by structure--some don't have an oral component, for example.

Oh God that THIRD one though. It is literally the least humid place I have ever been in. AND ALL THOSE IMPRESSIONS ARE WRONG. Although, speaking as a native Califronian, I do sometimes wish we had seasons, and snow. I went to Japan for 6 months and I loved when the leaves changed color for Autumn. Also, as someone who has pretty much been living in "stay indoors" season for like 5 months, I wouldn't recommend it. It's TOO BEAUTIFUL OUTSIDE. I die a little on the inside just looking out the window knowing I'm stuck in an office. It is SoCal after all.