[California Institute of Technology (Caltech)]

So, Who is going to Caltech next year!?

[Human-computer Interaction at UCI vs Cornell vs UW vs gaTech. Very confused]

Cornell M Engg.

 

Also, I recently got an admit into UW's MHCID program and a reject from GaTech. I've pretty much dismissed Cornell from consideration as well so now its just MS ICS at UCI vs MS-HCI at UW. Please help, 5 days to go

 

Hey! UCI is a great place to be in and my biased opinion is UCI would be awesome for BCI. You should look into Dr. Zoran  Nenadic he is the king of BCI at UCI and he is very good at what he does... also he is a great person. 

 

living in CA especially Socal is a huge factor that you should take into consideration. The weather is always perfect, UCI has a friendly and beautiful campus and UCI is quickly climbing the ranks. 

 

if you have any more questions about UCI feel free to pm me

[Stanford vs. MIT (PhD in Chemistry)]

You will be spending around 5 years at your choice school. Therefore, I think by going to Stanford and living California you will be a happy graduate student ( I interviewed at Stanford and I think it is an awesome school). That being said of you feel the quality of education and type of research you can get from MIT is significantly better you should go to MIT.

[NSF GRFP 2013-14]

it's 2:02 and still down clearly our tax money is not being put into good use

[NSF GRFP 2013-14]

I don't know if I have the nerve to look once the list is up....

[Waitlist Agony - 2014 Edition]

Update from top choice: 

 

"I am writing with an update on the CMB waiting list. We have not reached our admissions target, and there is a good chance that we will offer you admission. However, we need to wait another 10 days or so until we hear back from some more of our first admit pool. Please let me know whether you have committed elsewhere. If not, let me know whether UCI remains a top choice for you and please hold off on accepting other offers."

 

THERE'S STILL HOPE! 

 

Except that this is only going to make it much worse if I still end up with a rejection. So many mixed feelings right now. Agh. 

I think this is pretty awesome! Congratulations! If you have any questions about UCI and the faculty over there feel free to mesage me and I will be more than happy to share what I know

[UC Irvine Chem vs Upenn BioEng]

Is this for an MS or PhD? If it's for an MS, the location shouldn't matter as much (you'll only be there for 2 years). If it's for a PhD, I understand wanting to live in a place with good weather. Being a Southern California native, I understand how good weather can be a major factor for us.

PhD, I really love the weather, lifestyle and culture here. Which makes it very hard for me to leave. But at the same time it might be good for me to get a new experience and challenge myself... 

[UC Irvine Chem vs Upenn BioEng]

The reason people say that it is better to switch schools is that you get twice the connections, perspectives, and experiences as you would otherwise.

 

Connections really are a big deal in any job, including academia. You would be a big disadvantage here. Most people will know their undergrad professors well plus a whole other set at another school. Also, if you will be working with the same PI as undergrad then you will not be exposed to many new ideas in grad school, just continue with ones you already know.

 

Thats my perspective at least!

I will be switching my current area of research and switching my POI at UC Irvine so that should expose me to new ideas. I still agree that connections/ideas wise Upenn would be a better option. 

 

Just a side thought, for the stipend amount did you account for cost of living?

 

 

Yes and Irvine is still much better

[Philadelphia, PA]

I visited Penn earlier in the week and I'm very seriously considering it. I've got a generous stipend offer about $2350/month after tax, and am now trying to work out how to budget. Seems like prices for 1 beds vary a ton - I've seen as low as $700 for something reasonable looking, is that likely to be legit? I was going to cap rent+utilities+commuting at $1350 to allow $1000/month for food+books+clothes+leisure. Is that do-able in Philly?

 

Hey!

 

I am also considering Penn for a very different program Bioengineering. But I am also going through the process of figuring out if I want to live in Philadelphia and if so where is a good place to live and how much would it cost.

 

So... That being said I was wondering if you accumulated any info on where is the best place to live around Penn ( cheap, safe and nice)??

Thanks!!

[UC Irvine Chem vs Upenn BioEng]

I'd go with Upenn. Going to a new school and meeting new people will give you more perspectives and connections. I think that in almost all situations it is better to go to a different phd school than your undergrad one.

 

I agree with the poster above; going to a new place for grad school than your undergrad will help you make more/new professional connections.

Also UPenn is actually pretty well regarded for Bioengineering, rankings don't tell the whole story. 

 

You should however consider which place will have a better match (professionally and socially) with your POI. 

 

Best wishes! 

 

I did hear this advice from many people but I never had a concrete reason as to why switching schools is better. My ultimate goal is to stay in academia and I believe that both POI have exciting projects and they are well respected. So that should not be a problem in getting a post doc once I'm done.

 

So do you guys have any specific disadvantages that might arise from me staying at UC Irvine in regards to a future career in academia?

 

Also, jeffleung1992 do you mind expanding on how rankings of Upenn do not tell the whole story please

Thanks!

[UC Irvine Chem vs Upenn BioEng]

I got offers from these two programs and I am having a hard time deciding which offer should I take. While UPenn is ranked higher both of the professors I will be working with are great.

 

Here is my list of pros and cons:

 

UCI:

 

Pros:

1) better stipend

2) California weather/culture

 

Cons:

1) I went to UC Irvine for my undergrad

2) ranked 18th in Chem

 

Upenn:

 

Pros:

1) More potential collaborations in my field of interest.

2) First student for POI

3) ranked 10th in bioengineering

 

Cons:

1) Bad weather

2) lower but yet decent stipend

3) new culture that i might not like

 

Thanks!