timuralp

haha thanks. I do what I can Oh, the misconceptions. I didn't apply to any Ivys, because if you look at the field (computer science) and, in particular, the subfield I'm in (systems), you will find few programs at Ivy League schools that do meaningful research in the area. Moreover, their departments are small and you will find at most one person you could work with there. So, the way I see it, for me there is no point applying, even though Harvard sent me their application stuff. And with regards to work opportunities, by the time I'm done with the PhD, it doesn't matter where I got it, because if I'm worth anything, the people in the field will know who I am and my work. Since I'm planning on pursuing a career in the academia that is what will count when I go for job interviews. The only catch is that getting a tenure track position is tricky, but hopefully it'll work out. P.S. I misquoted the cost - it's ~$60k, but still seems pretty big (~$360k over 6 years). Tuition is $34k, stipend $24k, and health insurance is $2500, to break it down for the incredulous ones

Ok, let's see here. According to my school I cost them $65k a year. If I had to pay that myself and I'm here for at least 6 years, we're looking at ~$400k of loans. By the time I'm done, I'm not guaranteed a job (in the academia) and might have to do a postdoc, and I'd be almost 30. Considering that, the top choice school can forget it. No way I can afford it, and it's not like there is a big drop off in quality in the top 15-20 programs. So, yes, I would turn down my top choice if they offered no money

haha no reason to freak out. By the way, phone interviews are good signs - it might mean the person's trying to recruit you, which means you'll probably get in. Not to get your hopes up too high CS decisions can take until the first week of April to materialize. Just a heads up.

Depends on where you go as usual When I was at Wisconsin, some prospective students wore jeans (females included) and that was fine, since the faculty did the same. Could be just the quirks of computer science.

On another note, if any of you applied to U-M (Michigan), they'll also ask you to reserve a weekend for visits. Bear in mind, it doesn't mean you got in. They're just trying to be polite in terms of letting people know of possible travel dates, etc.

I wouldn't say it's super cold, unless you're from the south. Coming from Massachusetts, I found it to be the same, and compared to NH, it's even milder, but anywhooo... I bought a condo on the west side (South Maple Road area) and was pretty happy with it. You could look for houses there. It's quiet, since it's all people with real jobs and few students. It's about 2 miles from central campus and there are a bunch of buses. You could try looking to the north too (Plymouth rd and north off that). In general, the closer you get to central campus, the louder it'll be and the more students will live there. You can also look at Ypsilanti, which is a bit farther, but cheaper. I could send you a realtor's name. PM if interested.

Ah ok, I apologize. I was saying all of the above for people applying for PhD from undergrad. I'm sure two publications from top conferences would get you in the door in a lot of places, or people would be familiar with who you are, etc. Good to clear that up

Well, I just can't think of 20 schools that actually do what I'm interested in. I heard "highly encourage you to apply" even from professors who were not actually looking for students themselves, but there may opening in the group - which is usually the case for any reasonable size group The thing is that most students coming into CS have a vague idea of their interests and few know for certain the person they'd like to have as an advisor. Moreover, a lot switch advisors. In general, if you can find an advisor after 1 year, you're in good shape. This paves way for the general response of "yes, you should apply", because, well, they have nothing to lose and realize it's not even certain you'd work with them. Glad you ended up with two conversations, although wouldn't the professors research interests be obvious through their publications and their students publications? Consider asking how many students they like to have on average and how they interact with them. Maybe save those questions until the point when you're accepted. P.S. I'm not sure where the US comment came from... P.P.S. sample generic responses: 1. In general, we are always looking for great students in general (not necessarily specific to any projects), so I encourage you to consider applying to XYZ. the group is large and there are always exciting projects going on. 2. We

Read this, although it's for sciences, so mileage in humanities may vary.

20? That has to be expensive. The standard reply from any faculty is "we encourage you to apply". It pretty much says nothing. Here's a pretty good outline about applying and selecting schools from a professor at UMass, which is in the top 10 for AI and top 20 for Systems. Even though the target audience is international students, the statements are true about admissions in CS in general.

Most professors I've ever dealt with have said that they would refuse to write a letter of recommendation if they couldn't write a good one. I'd say that is the norm. I did hear of one instance where a secretary told the student to just not bother asking a particular professor. Was this in US or somewhere else? And as far as thanking people, I emailed "thank you". I gave a gift card to a restaurant at the end of the year to two professors I worked with over the course of a year and who wrote me letters, as well as helped me figure out where to go to grad school. I'd say that's probably a special case.

When I applied, I was notified if schools were missing some information. That should ease some of your worries. Anyway, I can't believe y'all have so much time on your hands to stress out over nothing. By the way, if you're looking for a good challenge, try this: hundredpushups.com

I'll only say that when I applied I got into a #5 school in the field and got rejected from #13 and #15, both of which had lower standards, etc. The problem is that when you apply, the department may not be looking for students in a particular area or may just not have the funding, albeit you could be a great candidate... It's hard to judge those things. In a lot of schools admissions are a crapshoot, but don't let it deter you.

I meant that as a general statement, not directed at you, per se. GFRP specifically states they favor women and minorities, that's all. Not sure if you fit in either, but if you do, good for you Last year I got the notification April 2nd. I presume that's when they send those to everyone. Seeing how the deadline to make up your mind about grad school is April 15th, that gives you plenty of time. If you get the award, I'm pretty sure you could go to whatever school you put on that, since NSF is paying your tuition anyway. good luck

Here's some advice from an EECS professor at Michigan and here is one from a professor at Illinois. Basically, the story is that you should list a couple of professors in your SOP whose research interests you to justify your application to the department. Until you're accepted, most professors won't care to talk to you, especially if you don't actually have any questions or your questions are like "oh, what are the odds of getting in?" and "can you help me get in?". You could ask them about specific research they're doing, but otherwise, don't bother. Once you are accepted though, you will probably hear from faculty who's interested in recruiting you as his or her student. At least that was my case. You can also contact faculty at the schools you were accepted to, to talk/meet with them and figure out if you'd be interested in working in their group.

well, you guys are entertaining Also, sometimes I can give useful advice, having gone through the whole thing last year. Pick one of those reasons.

I'm not applying

because you can't get a job?

Good for you. The thing is that GRE math measures nothing related to the math EE students do. There is nothing there about vector calc, linear algebra, etc. I agree with MIT, UIUC, and some other schools that GREs in general are pointless and don't really measure anything, hence these schools don't require them (or at least the CS departments in these schools). Anyway, if you're going for MS and not looking for money and your company's paying for it, I'd say you can almost write whatever the hell you want. Personally, I'd only mention professional stuff, because who cares about the other things. Sorta like one of my profs told me he gets letters with stories about people's childhoods, metaphors comparing computer science to their girlfriends, etc, and they all get tossed, since no one cares, but that's also for PhD.

Albeit this is specific to me, but others might find themselves in the same boat. My undergraduate university was my safety, because I had essentially guaranteed admission with aid and it's well known in the field, and I know the faculty and like their research. I still wanted to go somewhere else to essentially "broaden my horizons", but I knew I had a good backup. This should help the incredulous ones among us

Wait, this was worthwhile debating to begin with??? whoa! By the way, I sincerely worry about your future giving your tendency to call people idiots and their decisions idiotic. Make sure you don't step on the wrong foot

If you just want a professional MS, why not simply get a job that would pay for it in the future? I know Microsoft and Lincoln Labs do that. I'm sure there are other companies as well. If you are actually interested in research, then go for PhD. I feel like professional MS in CS is useless to say the least... Just my opinion, obviously.

No. As far as I can tell, you have a good shot and it also helps to be in the demographic they're trying to help. That one is explicitly stated on the application, before anyone gets up in arms about it. Also, as far as I can tell, your research statement is the most important piece on the application. Once you're in grad school, you'll probably have a better statement, etc, but you might get it this year too.

Uuuuh, OK, so explain the photo-electric effect without QM, or nanodots, or compton scattering... After all, electronic microscopes, lasers, and most of the nanotechnology is only well described by/possible because of QM. While QM is a theory, its predictions have been shown to be true in a number of experiments. Does that mean it must be the absolute truth? No, but there is no other scientific explanation for these phenomena. Do you also have a hard time with relativity, magnetism, gravity?

While that does vary by school, I wouldn't consider anyone to be a PhD student while he/she is still doing the coursework and getting the MS or getting ready to pass the quals. The reason being that you're not working on your thesis nor doing research full time nor sometimes doing research period. Obviously, if your school doesn't award an MS, then yes, by all means you can be a PhD student, but most top schools award an MS first in the MS/PhD track, as far as I know.