PandemoniuM

hey, kylebrown, thank you so much for your comments! yeah,i agree with you in that academics plays an important part in choosing the schools. whether the professors are doing research in some areas that attract you or not, whether you're interested in some of the specific projects or not...i actually have made some contact with several of the faculties from all of these three institutions, and all of them have left me an indeed nice impression. im sure im gonna have a good time studying with any of them. the thing is, im currently a master student from China, so i guess i have to finish my Ph.D. program in the US institution that im gonna choose, which means a 4-5 year time devotion straight, thus i really don't want to spend these years in some town that i dont really like. so yeah, i agree with you about your last part too. i personally think whether it is likely or not for me to make new friends there, or find my potential life partner or anything like that, holds its very significance. and btw, im a girl, not a guy=) Thank you again:) cheers,

Oh, thanks so much for you both! Yeah, i also think it's very important if i can get better assimilated to the environment. CA is definitely more populated with Asians than Indiana, and true, SB is really close to LA. I actually have checked out the ethnicity distribution of UCSB on wikipedia, thou White/Caucasian takes the most of all, i think for CS programs, there're usually quite many Asians, especially Chinese...so it shouldn't be a problem. Thanks again!

Oh thank you so much for your opinions! That's exactly how im thinking too! Im not from the States, im Chinese, so yeah, part of the reason I choose to go to the US is to experience different lifestyles and cultures, and UCSB is definitely better than Purdue in this... Thank you!

The 415 is pending! Right now I am hesitating among these three institutions. My target program is Ph.D. program in Computer Science, and I have got offers from all these three. My personal preference is definitely UCSB, but Purdue is so good in engineering, so I don't really know which one to choose... UCSB is sooo beautiful and it's in California (lots of opportunities, good weather...)...that's y it's indeed appealing to me. Anyone with your opinions upon this, please help me make a decision! I really appreciate all kinds of suggestions and opinions! Feel free to tell me what you think! Thank you very much!! Cheers,