newms

I agree with the poisoned pawn. You don't need to take the Math Subject GRE (you don't even need to take the CS subject GRE for most, if not all, schools) and your time would be much better spent focusing on research opportunities.

Thanks for the tips!

Thanks for the review - do you think one could use a stylus to take class notes on the iPad? Do you think that it would be easy enough to write class notes quickly on the iPad with a stylus?

Thanks for the review! The 'Smart list' feature sounds pretty helpful. I'm trying it out now (I actually signed up for an account about 3 years ago but never got around to using it) and I've been impressed with it so far. The gmail and Google Calendar integrations are definitely a plus.

Congrats Strangefox!

I applied to 10 schools, but it seems that most people on here apply to maybe around 6-8 places - some people apply to less, some people apply to more. The key is to find a range of schools that are a good match for your interests - you don't want to apply to too many since you may not have the time to properly prepare each of them. I see that you're from Thailand, so professors' expectations of how many letters they should write for a student may be a little different than in the States. Usually if the professor believes in you and your ability then they would be willing to write the letters for you - remember that they'll just have to write one and maybe modify it slightly for the other schools. The thing that will take up a lot of time for them is filling out online forms that schools sometimes have. Perhaps when you approach them to ask for the letters you can ask if they'd be willing to write to X schools. Good luck!

I've had my eye on that for a couple months now If the price is right I'm planning on getting it once it comes to the US. The only problem I see is that it looks like the release date may be later in the Fall, but I'm getting to the US in August, so I may have to just get a SIM card for my current feature phone until I see what the pricing looks like when it (and the iPhone 5, which I'm also looking at) comes out.

Thanks!

Cool, thanks! Any particular apps you recommend for notetaking on Android?

Just curious, since I will be moving to the States and getting a new phone as well - what smartphone (I'm assuming) do you use? And do you use a stylus to make notes or type them in?

So I'm thinking of getting an iPad for the Fall and I'm wondering if the iPad could replace the research notebook. Has anyone had any experience using the iPad to record your thoughts, research ideas and notes?

Hey sabdo, welcome! Admissions committees will usually overlook a situation where your first year had a low GPA as long as you significantly improve your GPA during your undergraduate career (as you did). I think as long as your overall GPA is high enough to get pass any initial screen that a school may have (and I would think that it is) then you should be ok. Just make sure that the other aspects of your application, especially your statement of purpose and your letters of recommendation, are strong so that your application will be competitive at top 10 programs.

That's hilarious! Great April Fool's joke!

It's very doable. I prepared for the GRE while working full time. I did most of the preparation on weekends and some in the evenings on weekdays. What worked for me was to do practice tests while working through one of the GRE prep books. For the verbal section, studying vocabulary is the best way to boost your score, so I would study word lists - particularly the words I weren't familiar with on the practice tests. I think 2 months is enough time to properly prepare even if you are working full time, so if I were you I would schedule the test around late September. That way you could take the test again in October if you weren't satisfied with the first set of scores.

Will you be doing courses over the summer? If so then I'd say definitely 'yes', especially if you're doing some research work over the summer. If the courses start in the fall, then it's going to be tight. Perhaps you could approach the profs from the start of the course and let them know that you're looking for opportunities to do research since you're applying to grad schools. That way you won't have to ask them out of the blue in November to submit letters for December deadlines.

I once got an email that was signed "sent from my laptop".

Usually I've seen universities in this situation suggest that you get a recommendation from your boss, but they still usually want 2 academic references that speak to your research potential. If your current bosses can speak to your research ability and/or potential, then definitely go for option 2. You don't want a letter from someone that doesn't remember you, or possibly worse, can only say that you did well in class. Those can be the kiss of death.

Yeah, I think you're more than qualified for admissions and have sterling credentials (I think most [all?] CS people would know of Nature and would be proud of a publication in Nature). I guess it comes down to fit. Departments can be reluctant to admit people whose research isn't a good fit with the research that is taking place there. My advice would be to try to find CS departments that are doing similar research as you (perhaps you might have to look outside of the very top ranked schools). Alternatively, are you sure you're not qualified to apply to a Physics department? I really am not sure about the requirements of Physics departments, but many science fields allow applicants to apply even if they don't have a BS in that field. Perhaps you could even consider doing the Physics Subject GRE to shore up your credentials for applying to a Physics department. In either case, don't give up on graduate studies. Good luck!

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Peterson's is the only place I know of that has all that information. I'm not sure of the accuracy of their data, and they tend to combine MS and PhD programs, but it's useful as a guide. The American Society for Engineering Education also has some data that you may find useful as well.

I agree with those here who have said that it's very field specific. In my field and in a lot of science fields, if you ultimately want to get a PhD, universities in the US encourage you to apply directly to the PhD rather than applying to the Master's. In my field, many of the top universities do not offer research based Master's and only offer terminal Master's for those interested in working in industry. Also, in my field and in many (all?) of the science fields, schools in the US fund PhD students (wholly or partially) while funding is rare for Master's students. It's different in Canada though (at least in my field), where Master's students are funded and schools encourage you to get a MS before applying for a PhD.

Just came across this one today: https://www.facebook.com/fellowships

Does anybody use Remember the Milk?

I've tried a couple project management systems, but I haven't found any that I particularly like - the one's that I've tried seem a bit too complex for regular use (at east for me). I haven't seen Liquid Planner before so I'll look into it. Thanks.

Thanks for the tips! I was actually looking at that Moleskine planner yesterday, but I'm a little hesitant to use a system that has my information stuck in one place (ie the pages of a book). Maybe I'll have to try a hybrid approach.