was1984

I moved here a couple of years ago for a master's program. It's relatively inexpensive to live right near campus, so most students live in the area. I did this last year and could easily walk to campus. Be aware though that the campus is up in the foothills, and just about all of the housing is downhill. You'll get in really great shape. There are also plenty of city buses that are included with your tuition, if you're more lazy. This year I live further away in a really nice house very inexpensively. This is also a great option because parking permits on campus are really cheap. It's only about $150 for the top-tier student parking permit for the entire year. Suburbia is definitely more, shall I say, religiously inclined, but as long as you live somewhere in Salt Lake City proper you won't be overwhelmed. There are some more sketchy neighborhoods on the western side of town, but overall SLC is very safe. The beer in SLC is good, but limited. Most people actually drink local brews around here, but there isn't a whole lot of variety. Squatters/Wasatch is the most popular brand, though there are a few others. Utah does indeed have some strange liquor laws, which we all have opinions on, but in general they aren't that irritating. You will find that many brands do not import to Utah because of the laws (part of why people drink local), and that alcohol is a bit on the expensive side (because of the taxes). As a beer lover myself, it hasn't been too bad. The biggest upside for SLC is the phenomenal skiing, climbing, and mountain biking, which are all some of the best in the entire world. Make sure you give yourself time to do these things if you are inclined to be outdoorsy, as it's a once in a lifetime opportunity. If you are not outdoorsy, I would caution you against coming here. Most other students and the non-Mormon population as a whole is an outdoor culture, and you might have trouble making friends.

The MSEE is a cash cow for Stanford. I doubt very seriously you will receive any funding as an M.S. student.

I use a mac because I like the robustness of the hardware and I like being able to run all of the Linux-based cad tools using X11. Windows is out of the question, since I absolutely deplore CygWin (and windows for that matter). I could run Linux on a made-for-windows laptop, but I like the sturdy feel of my Macbook pro, and I can't find a windows laptop that is anywhere near as sturdy.

Currently an M.S. student, starting my Ph.D. in the fall. I use Mac, various flavors of Linux, and various versions of Windows when I have to Indispensable programs: LaTeX - don't even bother using anything else for document formatting Vim - fastest way to type anything Matlab - standard fare Perl - nothing beats it for writing quick and dirty scripts Cadence - glued together with perl scripts Zotero - It's really starting to grow on me...great for cataloging articles MacSpice - for when I want to simulate something on a whim gimp - for figures

It's been a few years, but I'm guessing it hasn't changed much. I'd suggest looking for housing around Far West Blvd (there is a UT shuttle there). Housing in that area is relatively inexpensive and it's not a bad bus ride. I would avoid -at all costs- any housing near Riverside Drive. That's where a lot of undergraduates live, and most of the complexes are terribly managed and very noisy. The area is also one of the most sketchy in Austin (although, tbh, Austin is pretty safe). Also, keep in mind that as a student there is a city bus pass included in your tuition and fees, so you can use these bus routes as well. Shuttle bus website: http://www.utexas.edu/parking/transportation/shuttle/

The problem with this is that you can upset people if they offer you a fellowship that could have gone to another student based on that sort of response and then you end up going somewhere else. It's a good way to burn bridges. Plus, it's kind of dishonest to misrepresent yourself like that. I'm not saying you were, I'm just saying that if a school wasn't your top choice and you said it was, you would be.

It sounds to me like you were very forthright and honest about the whole situation. I think we can all identify with feeling a little guilty about having to 'reject' a potential adviser. You do develop a bit of a relationship with these people during the application process, and it's always hard to reject someone. However, keep in mind that these faculty members have to do the same thing all the time during admissions, so they will certainly understand where you are coming from.

This book is very good to supplement your OCW stuff, and it's really cheap. http://www.amazon.com/Linear-Algebra-Silverman-Richard-Translator/dp/048663518X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1299441888&sr=1-1 In fact, if you want to learn any math related subject, consider this series of old books that have been republished by Dover. They are old, but basic mathematics doesn't really change much, and they are considered to be among the best texts in their respective topics.

Here's the gist of a second (yes, second) rejection email I received from Berkeley EECS: Blah blah blah, you weren't recommended; it was really competitive; we have strict enrollment guidelines. HOWEVER, even though you aren't good enough for Berkeley, please consider attending United Arab Emirates University, where you may have the opportunity to work with Berkeley faculty in the future. WTF?

False. I can think of several schools other than Georgia Tech that are known as Tech, at least regionally.

I got funding info in a separate email about a week and a half later.

It's kind of hard to answer this question for you, since I don't have any idea what your life goals are. Tech is definitely a good school for wireless comms, and that part of Virginia is absolutely beautiful. You might learn to love it. Plus, living in a smaller town for your Ph.D. program means fewer distractions.

Still haven't heard one way or the other. I'm currently taking that as a good sign, since a lot of rejections were sent out today.

Fit is the obvious one. Another one is the individual professor you will be working with. That's far more important than the prestige of the university. If that person is well regarded and well networked, that's the most important thing.

I'd go ahead and check now. I had an acceptance email within 15 minutes of getting that letter. I think it's just the way that the Embark system does things.

Just got my rejection email. I suspect we will see a long list of rejections today on the results section.

The US News national undergraduate rankings are notoriously biased toward private schools. There are several public schools that are in the top 10 of just about every single departmental ranking, but don't do nearly so well in the overall rankings. I wouldn't pay any attention to them. At #22, Berkeley is the best public school on the list, anyway. That said, there are indeed some serious financial issues at Berkeley these days, so you should at least be aware of it before attending. I wouldn't let it stop me, though.

I definitely don't think it's a good idea to go into debt in order to attend a visit day. Surely you have a pretty good idea which schools you are most interested in. You mentioned you could afford to go to one, so maybe if you could get deals with lodging and food covered you could afford to go to your 2-3 top choices.

No, I'm not suggesting that at all. All I've said is that there is less pressure on legislatures to be fiscally responsible than there is on corporations. Theoretically everything you have said is true, but it's irrefutable that the public sector is less responsible with taxpayer money than a corporation is with it's own revenue. Most of these so called fiscal conservatives end up spending as much money as everyone else after they are elected. As a result of that, public sector unions have a lot more power than private sector unions. It's pretty cut and dried. That said, my dad has been a federal employee for 30 years and my mother has been a state employee (as a teacher) for 25 years. I certainly understand both sides of the issue, but I just wanted to clarify the position of those who oppose public bargaining agreements in the public sector. It's not like they are just big meanies who want to make life harder on government employees.

US based PhD programs tend to have a better reputation. On top of that, UW is arguably one of the top 5 BME programs in the country. Unless you really want to live in London, this wouldn't be a very difficult choice if I were in your shoes. Also, you are far more likely to receive funding during your M.S. degree at the UW than at Imperial.

Haven't 100% secured funding yet, but if I do I suspect I'll end up at UW as well.

Keep in mind that there is a huge difference between collective bargaining for public sector jobs and private sector jobs. In the public sector, there is little fiscal accountability, so generally collective bargaining is much more powerful than in the private sector. Without pressure from stockholders the government has little reason to resist it. Collective bargaining in the public sector is a significant cause of government waste. Keep that in mind.

For what it's worth, I used to work at AMD and most of the architects there had PhDs from schools like UT-Austin, Michigan, Berkeley, Georgia Tech etc. Almost nobody had a degree from Stanford, and almost everyone had a PhD. That was in Austin, so it would probably be different in the bay area.

It's a real problem, but you can always go into the mountains to escape the inversion. I have some allergy problems as well and I've had fewer issues here than other places I have lived.

I always err on the side of caution and prepare for anything when I'm meeting people for the first time. Even if it's a foregone conclusion that you will be admitted, funding may still be up in the air, and if you want to work for a particular faculty member, that may not be decided either. Plus, you don't want to look dumb, just in case they do ask you some technical questions.