gradSchoolBound

Thanks! Good luck to all of you guys as well.

I chose Rice University

No I have not decided. I know I have to decide it by tonight. So that I can fax my decision tomorrow. I visited Rice last week and liked it. But, I liked Wisconsin as well, and both are strong in one of the two areas that I am interested in. So, it is a tough decision.

I am interested in research related to computer architecture, programming models (compilers, tuners, runtime activities) that make programming multi-core, many-core system easily and efficient. If I go to Wisconsin, I am most likely to work with Prof. Hill or Karu - Wisconsin's architecture group is, I believe, very well known. My reservation with this place is that there is no advisor assigned right away (this is the standard mode of their operation). Go there, TA for a semester, take classes, do independent project and then choose an advisor if things work out. Also weather sucks! If I go to Rice, I will probably work with Prof. Sarkar, who is also very well known for research in languages for parallel computing. Also there is a lot of expertise in the area of compilers and programming languages at Rice. My reservation with Rice is small department and lesser number of profs. to choose from. If I go to UMass, I will probably work with Eliot Moss and Charles Weems, both of them are again well known for work in programming language and computer architecture. Again, not very many people working in this area there and also only one or two graduate student currently working in this area. In insight into this would be greatly appreciated at this point.

I am not sure yet between arch research@Wisconsin and Rice. I am visiting them on April 8. Hopefully, I will be able to make up my mind by then.

I have received fellowship for the first year and guaranteed RAship for 5 years.

I received the invitation visit to TAMU for March 4th. I declined the offer for the visit. They sent me the acceptance letter in the second week of March. I have declined the offer. My area of interest is Programming Language, Compiler, and parallel computing

@Herring Thanks for your input. That was very helpful. Yes, I am interested in working with Prof. Sarkar if I go there. So my decision has basically boiled down to deciding between Sarkar at Rice or Mark Hill, Wood and Karu at Wisconsin. I am interested in parallel computing, and language and architecture associated with it. You are also right about Livny and Miller's research. Livny's Condor project has moved beyond the research phase. It is like one giant product. Miller is doing some cool work, but its more like product development than research. I talked with both of them when I visited Madison.

I heard from them today. I contacted the POI yesterday asking him if I should accept offers from other universities. He replied to me saying that he wanted to see me at Rice and that there must have been miscommunication between him and the ad com. Today, I received the admission letter by e-mail. Pretty exciting. I don't know where I want to go now.

I completely understand your situation - moving to a new place while being away from home, family, relatives and all alone. The best place to look for rental place is www.rent.com. Also most places advertised here are professional and don't think you will be swindled if you stick to places advertised here. Also, if you find a place and want to run the name of the place by me, I will help you to verify if the place is good. When you lease an apartment from rent.com, they also send you 100 gift card in the mail. Since you gonna be in Danforth campus, I suggest Clayton, Ladue (rich neighborhood) or Creve Coeur (does not feel like part of St. Louis at all. safe and quiet). Loop is tricky. Things change from block to block, but cannot suggest anybody to live there. If I was gonna be in St. Louis in August, I would probably have been able to help you more and would have assured you that I will not let you be homeless in St. Louis. But I will be moving myself for grad school. But, if you really really need help at any point in time, pm me. A lot of my friends go to WASHU and I can introduce you to them. Anyway, I am confident that you will get a good rental place, and be happy in St. Louis. It has a lot of history to it- from being a french colony to once a competitor for a major city in the US + Washu is an excellent university and cares about its students. So, you don't have anything to worry about.

Hey! as a St. Louisian, I suggest you look for apartments around Central West End. For eg. a lot of grad student live in houses in street called Laclede Ave (walking distance from WASHU). If you want a quieter nicer neighborhood, but which requires little more driving, I suggest areas like Clayton, Ladue, Kirkwood, and esp. Creve Coeur (very nice but further away from university). I would not suggest any place south of Interstate 64. around where WASHU is.

I have not heard from them either. At this point, even if they accept me, I will probably decline. I would guess that many applicants will hear from them after their visitation weekend, which I believe is around March 18th and when other people start declining the offer or through mass rejection. Last time I contacted them, the lady at admissions office made the whole process sound like a plot of a suspense thriller - 'anything could happen, you know'. I was like whatever. Anyway, hang in there my friend!

http://engineering.tamu.edu/graduate/nef/

I was pleasantly surprised as well.