was1984

Yes that's definitely true, but they aren't architects. You can definitely get by with a M.S. degree in a field like digital IC design. As a digital designer you could end up doing a lot of things, but many people end up writing hardware using Verilog or VHDL, which have many similarities to writing software. If you enjoyed your digital logic classes this might be a good route for you. Be aware that you probably wouldn't be a designer at first, but would be doing verification on the designs of others. This actually requires a lot of coding, especially in languages like Perl. I don't honestly know much about embedded systems. It's always just seemed like software engineering in low level languages to me, but I've never had enough interest in it to do much research into it. I think it would be a really good idea for you to go talk to your undergraduate advisor about what career paths are available to you. It sounds like you could really benefit from a face to face discussion.

I certainly agree with you that there's a downside, and I'll admit I'm a little bit nervous about doing it, but I do trust my advisor on issues like this. None of the advisors I'm looking to work with are likely to be retiring any time soon, so the only issue with me is funding and the availability of a position, but a lot of the time they really don't know who is going to graduate between now and next fall this time of the year. That's especially true in my field, since there is a multi-month turn around time between design and testing, so if someone's stuff doesn't work, they'll be there for another year without predictability. I can certainly see how this advice might be more narrowly focused, but I thought I'd share an alternate perspective, and also let people know that they might be annoying *some* of the people they are emailing, so to be careful about what they say and how they say it.

This is why I asked you what it is that you enjoy about electrical engineering and what you enjoy about CS. The study of computer architecture, while representing the middle 'layer' between electrical engineering and computer science, isn't some sort of hybrid of the two. You don't really need to know that much about electrical engineering to be a good architect, as long as you can understand some basic physical issues that drive research in architecture (like how to reduce power, capacitance, transmission lines, etc). I need more information on what you enjoy. If you really like VLSI and writing software, you might enjoy design automation, for example. There are lots of areas like this, but you'll have to be more specific about your interests. Also, the reason that a PhD is pretty much a given in architecture is because it is a heavily research oriented discipline. Architects are the ones driving the next generation of microprocessors. There aren't that many of them, and there isn't much need for architects in areas outside of R&D.

I'd be happy to review yours as well. Sorry for the delayed reply! Send me yours in a PM.

Is anyone interested in critiquing my SoP via PM? I know it's quiet around here right now, but here's hoping!

I thought the official ETS practice tests were pretty accurate, though you will probably score a little lower due to fatigue. Don't discount the additional fatigue due to an additional experimental section, especially if it is unidentified.

If you are in any sort of field where you are going to have a strong mentorship relationship with a professor, why would you want to go to a school if that professor were leaving?

It seems like you are pretty set on Architecture, but if you are looking for other areas I'd have to ask what is it you like about computer science, and what is it that you like about electrical engineering. I'm certainly no expert in Architecture, but I do know that a PhD is a really good idea in that area, so keep that in mind. As far as picking a school, if you are interested in a research oriented degree and you are still a student somewhere, I'd suggest logging into IEEE Xplore (ieeexplore.ieee.org) and finding some papers on topics that interest you. Are you interested in multiprocessors and TLP? To me, superscalar stuff is more interesting, but you might find TLP more interesting. That's where it seems like architecture is headed these days, but like I said I'm no expert (I'm a circuits guy). As an electrical engineer, I'd say that computer engineering is a lot closer to computer science than electrical engineering, but a CS guy might say the opposite. Of course, we all know that CS guys really have no idea what's going on under the hood anyway. If you work in architecture or embedded systems I can almost guarantee you that you won't see any of Maxwell's equations again, or do circuit analysis, but you will be writing code all the time.

10 schools here; 7 in the U.S., 1 in the U.K. and 2 in Europe. I'm not really sure what a 'dream' school would look like, as anybody can get in anywhere if they are the right fit at the right time. There's a highly stochastic element in this process, so I think the more places you apply the better off you will be. What's an extra few hundred dollars in 5 years?

Some of my schools require me to submit my GPA for the last 2 years of study. This isn't as cut and dried for me as it is for some other people. I'm currently an M.S. student, and I have a 4.0 in my M.S. degree. I expect to get a 4.0 this semester also. I also have graduate coursework that was non-matriculated (1 semester, 4.0) from after my B.S. degree that I am applying toward my M.S. My undergraduate degree my last couple of semesters was abysmal, due to a couple of personal issues. I had a 1.8 GPA Fall of my last year, and a 3.0 Spring of my last year, causing me to drop to a 3.32 overall GPA. My question is this: how do I define last 2 years? If I consider 2 years to be 4 semesters, then I could state that my GPA for the last 2 years is 4.0 for applications that are due after I have grades from this semester. If I consider it to be the last year of my undergrad and the first year of my MS degree, my GPA doesn't look so hot. If I use 1 semester from my undergrad and 3 graduate semesters, I have about a 3.6. What would you do? What's expected of me here?

I spoke to my advisor about this today and he said that it kind of annoys him when students email him before they have actually applied. He suggested that the best approach is to send an email after you've applied, stating that you had applied to the school and why you were interested in working with them. This way, they are less likely to forget who you are, and they can look at your application when you email them. This is the approach he is planning to take when he emails introductions to some of my potential advisors that he is personally acquainted with on my behalf. From what I gather, having already applied shows that you are serious, and potential advisors often don't know whether they are going to have the funding for another student a year in advance, so those questions can be frustrating. Sure, you may miss and the advisor you want to work with isn't looking for new students, but doing one more application isn't that much work/cost.

Great ideas, thanks guys!

This is a fascinating topic. It's really interesting that almost all of you seem to be female also. I wonder what the deal is with people thinking (and beyond that, telling) females that they won't succeed in graduate school.

I'm an aural and tactile learner, so the method of reading to learn things is kind of difficult for me. Does anyone else have a lot of trouble reading articles and conference papers and actually getting anything out of them? So many of these papers are either really poorly written, way over my head, or both. Has anyone figured out ways to get more out of these ubiquitous documents?

I start Monday too...well Tuesday because all my classes are Tuesday and Thursday. Thats something I would have dreamed of in undergrad but I'm not so sure I like it now.

...droool.....

Agreed. I'm a couple of years out of school and have been reviewing the last week or two, and now I'm really scared. I have forgotten a -lot- of stuff.

I moved 1500 miles, and I was unwilling to rent sight-unseen. I flew up a few weeks before moving to scope out some apartments and found one I liked. It was kind of expensive, but I figure it is worth it down the road since I managed to find a pretty good deal and I won't be miserable for 1 or more years.

I did have one application that requested that I account for every year of my life since I graduated high school, but that was the exception, not the rule.

I've been reading and watching Hulu. I don't know a single person within 500 miles.

I would go somewhere that you can get faculty support for an M.S. degree and a thesis if you are planning on a Ph.D. Those 1 year M.S. or M.Eng. programs tend to be very focused on coursework and have little to no research component. Because of that they aren't a great preparation for a Ph.D. program. That's not to say those programs aren't excellent choices if you are planning on a terminal degree. I know with my previous employer's salaries went up about 10k if you have a masters degree with equivalent experience, not to mention the additional marketability.

Wow you guys are nerds. OTOH, I was cracking up reading it, so what does that make me?

I'm giving up my tv when I move because I've found I hardly ever used it anyway. The 1 or 2 shows I watch at any given time I can watch online and save myself $60+ a month. I've never understood people who don't have time for anything but school. Even if you work 12 hours a day (I figure I will work more like 9-10, which is a reasonably educated guess), that still leaves a couple of hours of free time every day and most of the day on weekends. I routinely put in 10 hour days at my previous job and had plenty of free time. For a few months last summer I also took a grad class in addition to my 50+ hour workweek and still had a decent amount of free time.

I didn't realize other people felt this way. I'm glad to know I'm not alone. I did the same thing for the SAT.

This is such a classic example...a word derived from a proper noun in a book that wasn't even written in English!