frenzydude

I don't understand. If you have been admitted to some university, then you should probably try emailing professors and see if you can join their group. If you have not been admitted at some university, then there is little point in emailing professors so late in the process. Almost all decisions have been made and it wont lead to anything.

I applied to 11 schools. Accepted at 1 and rejected at all others. I am happy I applied to so many schools.

Overseas Applicant. About 2000$ in total for 11 schools. Equal to one month's graduate stipend

Would be 21 when I start my PhD this Fall. Will try to complete within 4 years.

Though I am not experienced, I would like to give my two cents : It seems your aim is to get a good job (and not go for a PhD after MS). 1. CMU is ranked much higher than USC for graduate studies. 2. The very best companies will come to recruit from both USC and CMU and you will have to prove yourself no matter where you go to get in. However, from CMU they are likely to hire more students but also the competition will be tougher due to higher quality students (Google has an office in their campus). From USC, it would be easier on the competition. Both universities have some top notch faculty (Boehm at USC is a legend in software engg.) Remember that the major difference between the two universities would be the quality of other MS students, which would be much higher at CMU. However, that might not be an important factor for you. Further, you have to see if the difference in cost is significant between the two. No matter what you choose, good luck with your decision !

I hope you didn't PM the guy with the nick 'decaf'

From whatever little info I have found out, living off campus with roommates seems to be the way to save money on accommodation. Maybe you can refer to the previous posts or someone who has more experience can guide us.

UMD PhD.

I guess CMU is wayyy higher than UCI in terms of ranking, so you should probably go with that. The cost might be a factor though.

I think it is in Bangalore, so I cant attend. Moreover, I think its for masters students mainly.

Its fully confirmed now.. I'm coming.. Anyone else ?

I, for one, completely trust the US News Rankings. If I were to decide on only one factor irrespective of others, it would be US News CS Rankings. This is mainly because all seniors who applied from my university told me to look at the US News Rankings, and I never felt the need to look for any other.

Interesting. Now I have a feeling you will like UCSB

Usually in such programs you can leave after the MS if you want. Since you applied to the masters program, you do not have to inform anyone i think. See if you like it there, if you want to continue, then do so for PhD or else leave after MS. But still its better to ask a senior at the school.

'pending grant proposals' seems like the standard reply due to some constraints, i don't think you will have any problems (read, the grant will suddenly stop) after the first year. so UNC for sure. funding for the first year is the most problematic, after that you are almost sure to get funded. better ask your professors though.

This might seem a pretty naive opinion, but if I were in your place, I would definitely choose UIUC because of higher reputation and ranking. Its among the top 5 in CS, and research interests often change after entering graduate studies so the fit might not be so important.

NYU typically sends results from the first of April onwards, i think those accepted for fellowship are informed earlier however. I don't have any idea abt McGill. Also Caltech has has many accepts/interviews already so I don't have high hopes there.

If I were in your position, I would probably take the PhD at UCSB, mainly because 0. it will save time compared to MS-PhD route, 1. it is fully funded, and 2. none of the universities to which you are accepted for MS is better than UCSB. The important question you need to ask yourself is whether you are fully sure of doing a PhD at some point in time, or whether you want to spend 2 more years to decide and then get into a top 10 or so PhD. You seem to have answered this yourself, so I think you are on the right track

I did not find a pre-existing topic for USC for Fall 2011 so I am creating one. I am coming to USC for Fall 2011. I got admitted for a PhD in Computer Science and I'm an international student. Looking forward to meet and greet other people headed to the same destination !

in my opinion, you should take the ms-phd route. it might be very difficult to get a direct phd in a reputed university.

If you checked the box, then yes. But these considerations will be made after all decisions about the only MS CS applicants have been finalized. So it may be quite late to receive the result.

UMass is very strong in AI and seems to be the better school. But if you have any location preference or a certain faculty member at the other school you would want to work with, then you can choose Waterloo. I cannot comment on the future and job prospects as I am an applicant like you, but someone else probably can.