compscian

Is Seattle that expensive? From what a few students told me, 2000$ a month is much more than enough (for an individual). Apartment rents are no more than 1300 to 1400 (for 2 people), and if your wife would be working, it should be a breeze. With regards to job, I think Seattle is nearly as awesome as the Bay area for many fields. In particular, if you work on statistics/ML, I heard that it's quite easy to get internships and jobs at Microsoft and Amazon which are just around the corner. A number of other industries and start-ups are also in the area looking for advanced math skills. Academia is hard regardless of the university. Btw, are you talking about the applied-math department or the math department?

Firstly, I am not sure if doing an MS is the correct way to get a PhD admit, but that cannot be changed now, so lets work with what we have. The single most important thing to get a PhD admit is to work with some professor for substantial time (1+ years) and produce at least one paper. Coursework by itself has no value, unless supplemented by good projects and papers. CMU SV has no robotics presence to speak of, and their robotics institute have very weak ties with the ECE department. Unless you talk to some professor now, and he agrees to take you as a student, I wouldn't choose CMU. Among the others in your list, GATech and USC have the best professors. However, USC has a very poor reputation for their MS programs (cash-cow). UCSD is decent too, and I think offers partial TA/RA support for top students.

Bumping up the thread. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts guys

Hi everyone. Firstly I'd like to thank the community. Last year, I applied and got admission from good programs in a different area. My research interests changed very late, and people here encouraged me to drop a year. I owe a good deal of my success to the suggestions received from Gradcafe. My research interests are in optimization algorithms for machine learning. I have been admitted to the EE PhD programs at UW, UT, and Columbia. UW and Columbia have assured me that I can work with any adviser (who accept me) irrespective of department boundaries. In UT, they don't have fellowships for internationals, so I am tied to the professor (at least initially) who gives me funding. At UW, my top choice PIs have joint appointments in EE and CSE, so I am very safe. In Columbia, only John Paisley has formal appointment with EE, but they have very good researchers in CS - taking classes and working with them would be great. UT have two ML profs in EE (Sanghavi, Caramanis), but my main PIs are in CS (Dhillon, Ravikumar). I am also looking forward to taking lots of courses in ML due to my non-traditional background (I have zero knowledge of vision or NLP for example). It would be great if someone can compare these universities in terms of course offerings. Since I am mostly allowed to work with anyone, can you compare the strengths and weaknesses of ML clusters in these places. I am slightly leaning towards UW, but have a few hesitations. UW EE is not ranked very high (but UW is ranked highly in ML). Based on interactions with grad students, I gather that ML students from UW, irrespective of home department (CS, EE, or Stats), find great internships and jobs - particularly at Microsoft, Amazon, and Google. However, UW EE doesn't have a good track record for placing faculty (which I aspire to become, at the moment). UT on the other hand seems to be doing well with faculty and post-doc placements. Recent UT EE grads became profs at Cornell and TTIC. I am likely to remove Columbia from the race since they don't win on both the above metrics. Also, Seattle and Austin have a much better climate than NYC. Please share your thoughts and comments. Looking forward to them

I am in a very similar position too, but shooting for PhD instead of MS. I did my B.Tech in Mech from another old IIT, and have my interests in AI/ML too. Last year I applied and got into scientific computing programs, but I realized my interests fall more in the AI side as opposed to CFD and computer simulations side. Why don't you consider MS or M.Tech (CS) in IIT Kgp? I am looking at IITK as my backup option in case I don't get into CS programs in the US (and try again for PhD 2 years later). They have 2-3 good faculty (one IITK B.Tech + PhD) and seem to have a good track record with placing students in top labs like MSR, Google, or Xerox. Of course I am interested in PhD, so it doesn't make any sense for me to spend money on MS.

@ace589 yes, I tried hard to pull strings, to see if I can work in AI. But it seems very unlikely. Most places don't have an applied math department, but rather some sort of umbrella program where people from mostly engineering or science (mostly physics and chemistry) departments come together. The CS presence here is minimal, and the objective is to advance science and engg. through use of computers. Look at this link for example: https://www.ices.utexas.edu/about/news/275/

Hi guys, I am going through a mini existential crisis. I am really hoping I can get some good advice here. I did a BS in mechanical engineering, and started getting involved in research right from my sophomore year. It became very apparent to me that I liked research and was cut out for an academic career. I spent my sophomore year and junior years working mostly on computational fluid dynamics (CFD), which I found very cool at that time. Essentially applying computing tools to solve PDEs, but I slowly started realizing that I was interested in the algorithmic and computational aspects of the field as opposed to the problems itself. For example, I wasn't interested in understanding the physics behind lava flowing or how fluids close to hot media behave. I was fascinated more with what sort of discretization scheme must be used, which data structure will help me update values easily in an iterative manner, how can I tweak the solution scheme to get a parallel implementation etc. I thought computational maths or scientific computing (CM/SC) PhD programs would be the solution to all my woes with mechanical engineering and the "physics" of the problems. I applied last December and met with reasonable success - I had offers from multiple top 10 programs. At the same time (Fall of 2014), I was taking classes and was starting to get into Artificial Intelligence - particularly applications of optimization in planning, learning, control etc. I was always interested in optimization and had taken multiple courses on it (it's very important to CFD). I started realizing that AI and signal processing were much more fun and closer to my taste. I liked the whole paradigm shift - use computers to *do* something (a decision support system, a web application, robotics etc.); as opposed to use computers for *understanding* a physical phenomena. I tried to see if I can do AI and more CS type work sitting in CM/SC programs, but I wasn't very happy or convinced with the work. The cultural difference was apparent, and people were strictly using computers as a means to understand physical phenomena. A few professors were working on the algorithmic aspects, but still their interests were in studying PDEs or monte carlo methods for computational chemistry. I was expected to go through the applied math sequence (mostly PDEs) and have an adviser formally affiliated with the applied math department (ruling out working with CS/AI professors). This made me sort of go through a mini-depression, and was not at all excited by the offers I had in hand. I finally decided against joining and decided to defer one program as backup (I told them I will seek out other programs too, and they were OK with it). I can now clearly see that I am cut out for work in AI - from a CS (algorithms, computation) perspective. Question: What are my chances of admission in CS, given that I did have good success last time, in a closely related discipline? I would love to join the CS programs of places where I got admission, but I gather that CS admissions are more competitive than applied math. However, given that a red carpet was literally rolled out for me (multi-year fellowships) at the best of places, I don't want to settle for a lower ranked school (not in top 20?) or pay my way through a masters first, just to get into a CS PhD program. Profile: Formal degree in ME, but most courses taken from math or applied math departments from a top school. 1 first author and 1 second author paper broadly related to computational PDEs (application driven problem). Only a few CS courses - data structures & algorithms; AI - planning, ML, control systems. From this year's summer, I have been working with a CS professor in my undergrad school as RA. I have been mostly using this time to read up a lot on AI through online courses and books. I haven't produced any great results on this project yet, but there is a steady progress, and I learning the ropes of working in computer science. Any advice on how I should approach the situation? Did anyone else go through something similar? Thanks

I also work on "computational maths", and I faced a situation very similar to yours about a year back. We also had an algorithm which seemed to work very well on a problem studied in many areas from mathematical biology to operations research. However, we had no proof of correctness or proof of convergence (we had the intuition and numerical results but not the proof). We ended up posting it on arxiv and also sent it to a conference where it was accepted. After another 4-5 months of work, we finally had the proof and also tested it on some nice large scale applications. We ended up writing another paper which we put on arxiv and sent to a journal where it got accepted. Bottom line, if you feel that your work is at least worthy of a conference publication, put it up on arxiv. You may end up getting two papers like me. However, if you feel that your method will not be accepted or well received without concrete proofs (this ranges from field to field - in my case, numerical simulations were acceptable evidence), then you might want to hold off for sometime and upload a complete paper. It is also worth mentioning that you can always update your arxiv paper after you complete the proof. The only point is the date of contribution will not be backtracked (which is totally obvious and fair).

OP, you are not alone. I am not sure if this would be helpful for you at this stage, but should someone else stumble across this thread, I hope this information is useful for them. I went through a very similar mini-depression. Read my post here In my case, part of the reason was difficulty in choosing between two programs. Also, I was an international student, and had a difficult time coming to terms with the idea of leaving my country for such a long duration (~5-6 yrs). After talking to my potential advisers in the US, my parents, and letter writers, I decided to finally defer my offer. The university was kind enough to guarantee funding, and even suggested that I contact the other school to find out if they'll take me the next year. I can basically choose where to go by Jan or Feb (before the universities release their acceptance list), and can use this year to improve my health and also read up books and papers. No university wants an unhappy population. It is also not good to start grad school in such a confused mindset. You'll be surprised how helpful and accommodative universities can be. It also makes sense from their side: they are spending resources on you, and would rather not have you in a phase where you might be unproductive. If you have some sort of back-up option for the upcoming year like an internship or possibility of continuing your undergrad research work, I'd suggest you look into that. It will give you time to recuperate, think with a clear head, and make a good decision.

Thanks guys. I have decided to stick with my original choice of school B. Spoke to a few students there, and it turns out that students of one POI (the one who got his PhD from A) go to school A as visiting students quite regularly. More than half of his PhD students have spent at least one semester there. I guess I will do something like that, or take his letter and attend school A for postdoc. Thanks for all your inputs

Hello everyone, I was admitted to both of my top choice programs, say school A and B. I ended up choosing A over B due to primarily non-academic reasons. The situation is that school B is better research fit, but I felt very lonely there. My country is not very well represented at school B which was the factor that swayed my decision towards school A. Being an international student, I was unable to visit, and hence based my judgement on heresay. School A has quite close connections with my undergrad school, and hence I knew people there and felt more at home. However, now I feel I really screwed up. I like the research at school B much more. Though I like the POIs at school A, I really feel that B is a much better research fit. Is there any chance I can change my decision now, since its about 2 months past the April 15 deadline? Has anyone attempted this before? Please share your thoughts. I want to first get a thorough understanding of the repercussions before attempting something like this. I am going through a mini depression phase because of this decision.

Guys, I am really sweating now. I think I might have made a wrong choice, and almost everyone I speak to keep telling me that I should have gone to school A. Most were shocked I didn't take the offer, and now I am questioning my decision very seriously. Its not some passing anxiety or second-guessing, but I am quite seriously questioning my decision. Is there any chance that school A will still accept me if I tell them now? Its been nearly two months past the CGS deadline (15th April). If there is a chance they might give me the offer with same funding package, I will really think about shifting now before any serious damage is done. I'd really appreciate your inputs.

Thank you all for the response. @St Andrews Lynx The only reason why I would like to transfer is because school A is better (at this stage, I am unable to gauge to what extent). There are two superstars of the field at school A, and one of my POIs at school B (assistant professor, joined 2 years ago) got his PhD at school A under said professors. There are of course 3 POIs at school B, who are very successful researchers and were very sweet to talk to. But just to give an example, everyone in physics (statistical) dreams of getting their PhD under someone like Newman, rite? I don't want to be remembered as that idiot who threw away a successful career because he was too chicken to live alone. This is my anxiety. With regards to reapplication, my files would be with the school anyway, and nothing much has changed since last December. My GPA has improved, and my papers have been accepted. I guess I will just update that, and submit off an application, in addition to maybe sending an email stating my thoughts to POIs at A this Dec. At this point, I am just pissed at myself and the universities, for not being able to fly in international students for the visit! I thought about spending some money myself and going, but I thought about this quite late, and given visa issues this was not possible I am certain I would enjoy my stay at school B, and be able to do at least a decent PhD. But will my career be drastically different had I chosen school A is a thought that gives me nightmares (faculty in top 15 univ vs some mid level R&D lab for example). Just knowing that there is a reasonable chance I can move to school A after a year (if I am able to conquer my inner daemons) if I feel that the move would be better for me later (say this December/January) will calm me down greatly. The worst-case scenario in this case will be a few burnt bridges and a year wasted, which IMO is better than feeling miserable for over 4 years that I am not doing best possible research which I could have done at A. I am certain about my field of interest, and hence I would have to constantly read papers in the area, a good chunk of which comes out from school A. Even now, while doing my internship at my undergrad school, whenever I read papers from school A, I can't help but feel sad and this has totally destroyed my productivity over the last week. I am certain that given the circumstances, I have made a good choice. The toss up was being happy socially, with this risk of not doing the best possible projects (at B ); vs a chance to work with some of the best minds, but a possibility that I will feel miserable and lonely for 4-5 years (at A). I am sure had I chosen school A, I would have contemplated this question even more strongly. The uncertainty of whether I would fit in socially at A is too frightening. I just wish grad schools give something like a 1 year trial periods Spend a semester or two at your top 2 or 3 choices, and then pick one that works the best. Something like lab rotations, though I know this is too much to ask for.

Thanks fuzzylogician, when I said transfer, I meant by reapplication only. This I would do of course only IF I am not very excited by the research at school B AND I am confident and excited by living at school A (this is a big if) AND I am extremely depressed that I let go of school A. Sometimes, it makes a huge psychological difference if you can actually undo some of the decisions you make. I am pretty sure I cannot get a recommendation letter from school B since I am not expected to do any research in the first year, and certainly not the first semester. Even currently (summer) I am working at my undergrad place, so letters from there will be very relevant (I would have been away for only ~3 months) and up to date. Since school A already did accept me, and tried quite hard to recruit me, will they be that skeptical in taking me again? I would of course tell them that I should have taken the offer from school A in the first place, and made a terrible mistake, and would like to correct the mistake when the damage is as minimal as possible (worst case, I am losing an year of coursework, but that is fine with me).

I really applaud you for making the difficult decision. My best wishes for a great career ahead. Do keep us updated about your life events, I am sure everyone in this post will be extremely happy if you go on to have a successful career, which I am sure you will. Especially if you decide to complete your PhD - either at the same place (with different boss) or at a different university. I am starting my PhD this fall, and its really saddening to see that bright and motivated students interested in contributing to science and engineering are swallowed by the politics of academia. However, I firmly believe that one does not need a university stamp or affiliation to contribute to science and innovation - all one needs is a creative mind and perseverance. Hopefully you will do something great in the near future that your former adviser might proudly proclaim was because of his tutelage

I am an international student and going to attend a PhD program this Fall. I found it extremely hard to choose between two schools and waited till the last minute to make a decision. Both schools are nearly of the same reputed (2-3 ranks difference maybe) which further added to my confusion. Being an international student, I was also not able to visit any university. The opinions I formed about the university and departments were largely based on Skype conversations I had with POIs at the two universities, in addition to short email exchanges with a few grad students there. The issue is this: Place A is a little better in terms of research fit (have 4 POIs as opposed to 3 at B, and two of them are very famous while all are associate profs at B ), whereas place B was attractive for many non-academic reasons. Being an international student who has never left the country, I felt it was very important for me to make sure that I was comfortable with living arrangements and the university. This has been a sort of psychological issue I have had for quite some time (I am trying hard to correct, but to no avail). I am a very big introvert who constantly needs to be around other introvertsy friends. I had quit one summer internship in the past because I had to work in a city far away from my home town, where after going there I had a miserable experience - not knowing the local language, sub-par living accommodation (very dirty, non-private toilets) etc. Place B seemed more at home for me since I personally know two students there who were happy and doing well, in addition to having a considerable representation of students from my country. Also a class mate of mine is joining the same university, but different department. Place A did not have anyone I know over there, and I could not really relate to any grad student over there through email. Keeping this in mind, I decided to accept the offer from B. However, over the past few weeks, I have been plagued with mini panic attacks. I am not sure if I have made the correct decision. The more I think about it, the more I feel I am missing out on good research prospects of place A. Most people I have spoken to also pass comments that one must be ready to forgo certain comforts and be ready to live in relatively unknown environments. Though I do see some merit in their comments, I feel such opinions are largely formed by ones' life experiences, which in my case have been quite sour. It is certainly a given that place A is better research wise, but the difference is not like MIT vs SJSU, both the universities are in 5-10 rank range. However I certainly do feel bad that I am missing out on a better research fit. My question: If after one semester at place B, I feel that I can manage living in place A, and if I am not overly excited by the research at place B, can I transfer to the program at place A? Is this a realistic possibility? This could be for either the spring term, summer term, or the next fall, I don't mind. I don't even mind losing one year in the process if they insist I can't transfer any credits. The only worry I have is whether place A would be willing to take me again. I am sure my application will only be stronger - works I listed as under preparation are now either published or under review. I will likely have a top journal paper (my best project spanning 2 years) and a conference paper at a mid range venue by this Dec, both of which were "under preparation" last year. I will be honest in my SOP and explain reasons behind my choice of actions, and explain to the best of my capabilities, but I am not sure if they will be able to relate to it. I am asking this because it will give me some sense of closure and a backup plan in case things go very wrong. I would really appreciate your comments, suggestion, and even better an incident you have seen where this happened. I haven't been able to sleep for the last 4-5 days, and I hope I can get some sleep knowing I haven't terribly screwed up. Thank you so much

Posting from a friend's account. Hello everyone, I am in a very peculiar situation, and it would be great if you can help me out with your comments and possible experiences. I have got two offers: an unfunded MS offer from school A and a fully funded PhD offer from school B. Both are top 5 schools. In school A, I made a huge mistake by applying to their MS program thinking I wouldn't have a shot with their PhD program, but it turns out I greatly underestimated my applications. My ultimate goal was to obtain a PhD, but I am not so sure of it at the moment. I am an international student, and I have a peculiar health condition (with lungs), and I am somewhat scared to make a 6 year commitment right off the bat at school B. Also, I have a cousin and a few friends at school A, which gives me a lot of moral support, and I can hopefully do very well there. At school B, I don't know anyone, and it might be very hard for me to adjust and live there - I am quite scared of attending. I contacted school A, and they told me that it is fairly easy to transfer to the PhD program once I pass the qualifying exams, and I may get some funding till I pass them, but it is not guaranteed. I did speak to a couple of students who managed to do this transfer, and their opinion was that it is quite possible to manage the switch - the only limiting factor might be lack of funds till then. 3 or 4 students routinely make the switch every year (MS class size is about 25, PhD ~ 15 per year) - point to be noted however is that most students who enter the MS program are not actually interested in a PhD: so its quite likely that everyone who really wanted to make the switch did indeed manage it. If I do manage the switch, I would not mind staying at school A since it is as good if not better than school B. If I feel that a PhD is not for me (either due to academics or due to my illness) after 1.5 years, I have a clear out option. At the same time, after I come to the US, and settle in for a year or two, I might be open to the idea of studying in school B as well. My question: Would it be possible to explain the scenario to school B, and ask for a possible deferral to Fall 2016 (I already asked the school for additional time to make the decision, and they did agree to this, so I have time till 20th to make a choice). Would they do it knowing that I might not be joining next year as well? If they decide to not grant my deferral request, if i applied to them (assuming I am up for it) next year, will they seriously give my application a thought or will they simply throw my application out? Please share your thoughts, and any related experiences you might have encountered. Thanks

I won't make such a blanketed statement. It all depends on your goal after completing PhD. If one wants to stay in Academia, a more reputed and higher ranked school always helps, and it definitely doesn't hurt when looking at Industry jobs either (but the difference is less for Industrial jobs). I am in a pretty similar situation as well, but likely to go with the higher ranked program which gave me a sub-par offer . There is too much uncertainty involved with PhD anyway, and the only thing certain when you accept the offer is the name of the university on your resume and (hopefully) degree. There is no guarantee that one can get the first choice adviser in any school, and there is no guarantee that you will fall in love with the place after you go there. But at least in a larger and higher ranked department, you are likely to have more people doing work in your areas of interest, and more opportunities. Even if you don't do a stellar PhD with your first choice guide, you can always get away with doing an average PhD. An average PhD from a top 5 school will certainly be a better scenario than an average PhD from a top 25 school (the university brand will help). Unless you are 100% certain you can work with a good POI, and know for sure that your personalities will match, I will be inclined to go towards the higher ranked program, even if it means taking out a loan. I suggest you ask the top 5 school about your chances of funding in the future, and if their response is very positive, you should go there IMO. (~15k is not that big of a loan too!)

juilletmercredi, Thank you for your inputs. I guess I should first talk to the admissions people at Stanford about funding prospects, and also contact professors citing my interest in their research. Lets see what happens, I am hopeful that I will find *some* funding this year. Also the admissions people were quite positive that most students who indicate an interest in research early on, do end up transferring to the PhD program. To quote the reply: "Almost a good fourth of our masters students transfer into the PhD program, and a few other graduates take up offers from other top schools." I don't know how much I should read into these things though. As you said, there is a lot of uncertainty involved, but the payoff is also very big.

Thats another big issue. One of my letter writers (the professor with whom I worked for the longest) encouraged me to take up Stanford since he also feels I would fit better there (the number of people working in my area at Stan is about 5-6 as opposed to 3 at UIUC). He may be a bit biased since he is a Stan alumnus though. The other two letter writers say its better to take UIUC's offer, so if I decide to defer, I may have trouble getting LORs for applying to other programs. I am really confused

From what I have gathered based on talking to current students, grad coordinator, and historical data, the Stanford program in question is quite selective. Typical expected class size is 20-25, so I would assume they give no more than 50 offers. Number of applicants would certainly be close to 500, so the acceptance rate would be no more than 10% IMO. Also, from what I gathered, about 4-5 students routinely make it to the PhD program at Stan and another 4-5 end up with offers from other similarly reputed places. But I understand what you are getting at. The program doesn't require a thesis, though I can do research if I wish (which I certainly will). If funding was out of the picture, I would certainly choose Stan MS and take my chances at PhD. My gut feeling is that the best course of action would be to defer Stan. Hopefully, I can find funding next year if I contact profs early enough and show them some papers I have written. UIUC is certainly a great place and I would have gone there had I not got this offer from Stan. Its just hard to let go of such an awesome university, and I feel the least I should do is put in my best efforts to secure funding for either this fall or the next.

Yes, UIUC is a funded PhD offer. However, I feel that Stanford is a better fit for me - both in terms of research as well as location. I definitely like the research at UIUC (wouldn't have applied otherwise) but it is certainly a notch below Stanford. In terms of fit and my overall inclination, I would rate programs as: MIT>Stan>UCB>GATech>UIUC>UCSD. I would have already accepted a funded MS or PhD offer from Stan already. Unfortunately, the lack of funding is a concern. If push comes to shove, I can afford it - but the least I would expect in such a scenario is to continue on for a PhD at Stan/MIT/UCB. If I have to go to UIUC or GATech for my PhD, it would be an utter waste of money.

Hello everyone, I would really like a few comments and opinions from you all. Especially from those who have been or in a similar situation. The scenario is this: I applied to 6 programs, mostly in PhD apart from one in MS, in Engineering (mech, aero) and computational science. My interests are primarily CFD and controls, and I am sure that I want to get into academia. I am primarily considering three options. 1. Stanford unfunded MS (2nd choice originally for PhD) 2. UIUC PhD 3. Defer Stanford My superviser from undergrad college (reasonably reputed, top 25 school) is willing to give me a project assistant position for a year, so I am considering deferring Stanford. My reasoning is that if I work as PA for a year, I can publish my final year project in a good journal (already presented in a highly reputed conference) and also get another one or two conference papers. This will hopefully increase my chances of funding at Stanford and converting to the PhD program. Additionally, I can also try my luck with a few other PhD programs which I couldn't get into this year (MIT, UCB, and maybe Princeton). Since its an unfunded offer, I am assuming Stanford won't have a problem in deferring it. If they don't agree, what would you suggest - take one of the offers (which one?), or apply next year without a backup option? Please share your thoughts.

Argon, thank you for your inputs. I also recently recieved an unfunded MS offer from Stanford. So I am considering one of the three options: take Stan, take UIUC, defer Stan. My ultimate goal is a PhD, hence an unfunded MS offer is not so appealing. I might get to continue at Stanford, but it may also be possible that I have to apply again to other school which is definitely sub-optimal. However, I feel much more comfortable with Stanford than UIUC (both research and location). A third option would be to defer the offer from Stan (I assume it would not be an issue since its unfunded anyway) and work as RA at my undergrad school for a year. Hopefully this will increase my chances of getting funding at Stanford, and also continuing on for a PhD. Additionally, I can also apply to a few other PhD programs (MIT, UCB, Princeton) and try my luck there too. Can you share your thoughts?

Hello everyone, I would really like a few comments and opinions from you all. Especially from those who have been or in a similar situation. The scenario is this: I applied to 6 programs, mostly in PhD apart from one in MS, in Engineering (mech, aero) and computational science. My interests are primarily CFD and controls. A couple of these programs are real reaches and I never expected to get into them anyway. But surprisingly, I was not able to get into a few programs for which I thought I was a good fit and were gettable. I was lucky to get two offers - my 5th and 6th choice schools, both funded PhD with RA. My dilema: Should I accept the offer from my 5th choice school or should I apply again next year. The school under question (UIUC) is quite highly reputed, but considering my long term goal of being a Professor, I am not sure if the university is good enough to get me a teaching position in top 10-15 schools. In hindsight, I feel I could have applied to a few more programs, which had I got, would have been happier than an offer from UIUC (primary reason being location). My superviser from undergrad college (reasonably reputed, top 25 school) is willing to give me a project assistant position for a year. Should I apply again next year? Will doing PA work for a year improve my credentials and increase my chances for getting accepted into top schools (MIT, UCB, Stan, Mich, Princeton)? Would it be possible/ethical to try and defer the offer from UIUC for a year, and apply to more schools. I worry that if I decline UIUC's offer and apply again to them next year, they may not accept me and I could end up in a scenario without any offers. Any comments and suggestions from you will be useful. Thanks.