stopcallinmesqrlboy

I've been told by professors that it's not worth it to join a department if you aren't guaranteed funding for at least the first year. Unfortunately, I'm not sure anyone can predict your chances of getting funding later, but, I'd think they would definitely be higher as long as you were doing well. Any other admits? Have you talked to anyone there about funding?

Yea, I was trying to figure this out, too. I was under the impression that one could specify if they were at least smokers/non smokers, clean/messy, etc. However, there is nothing like that on the copy of the contract I have. Does anyone know if it's found elsewhere? I guess I overlooked this part before. When starting a new application for San Clemente it says at the bottom: Within a few days of returning your contract, you will be sent an email with a link to our online 'Personal Preferences' form. You must complete this form as part of your contract process.The Personal Preference form allows you to specify a requested roommate, indicate medical conditions and provide us with emergency contact information, as well as other preferences pertaining to your housing accommodations.After submitting the Personal Preference form online, you will receive a confirmation email with the information you provided on that form.

You could study HCI as it is related with AI. Also, AI is a huge area-- what specifically in AI interests you? You say you are good in math, but as a sociology major, do you have experience with logic, probability, statistics and/or linear algebra? These are important areas of math that are often used in AI research.

Also, I've heard there are a bunch of start ups in Santa Barbara, so much that they are starting to call it "Silicon Beach". But do you even want to work for a start up? Or a well established corporation?

I don't think that's completely true. I think what it might come down to is do you have a place to stay in Silicon Valley for an internship (job?) and will you have someone to sublet your place in Santa Barbara. It's just not as easy to do it as say Berkeley or Stanford.

Based on rankings alone it seems that both programs are very similar. Have you looked at the coursework you'd be doing at each school and does one appeal to you more? Also, I'm a prospective student at UCSB as well and it is VERY expensive to live around there. I would honestly say choose Virginia Tech if money is tough to come by. But if whatever reason you decide UCSB, I don't think a 7 point difference in ranking will make employers think any less of you (again this is based on ranking alone as I haven't looked further into either program).

Any top 10 program will have quality faculty and students. Our opinions do matter, that's why the OP is asking for them.

I mean, USNews is an opinion poll, so that means there is a higher opinion of the Materials program at UCSB. I feel like graduate programs at UCSB get a bad rep no matter how it's ranked because it's a party school for undergraduates and it's located in a beautiful area (jealousy?). And I'm being honest, I'm very social and interested in being happy; I applied to PhD programs. OP, both schools are obviously great for Materials Science, I truly think you'll have equal opportunities upon graduation. The biggest thing is cost of living vs. area.

This. Both are relatively similar in terms of research productivity. I was also accepted into both these programs, except, I was accepted for PhD at UCSB. I was told by one of the faculty at SB that masters students rarely get funding and that there are 200+ masters students in their program, so competition to work with faculty members is tough. Also, take into account the campus of UCSB and SB, too. I visited Stony Brook and it is boring and rather ugly. However, UCSB looks like paradise and at least there is a small downtown area. Overall UCSB will be more expensive so if you could spare the extra change, then I'd say go for Santa Barbara.

I'm going to be a camp counselor (instructor) this summer! And it's for a camp that teaches programming and other multimedia / web design stuff to high school students. I figured this was a better alternative to summer work than the average office internship or some monotonous retail position. If you enjoy teaching, maybe there is a similar type of camp for cognitive science or related area, neuropsych.

Sorry if that wasn't clear. No, I applied for CS grad programs but the area of research I'm interested in requires a solid understanding of probability and statistics.

The only way this could hurt you is if you did poorly in the remainder of your CS classes. Given that you do well, however, would only make you look more desirable to a graduate admissions committee. I took an extra year to do this same thing, except I was a CS major looking to double major in math. It worked out well for me and has already gave me a head start because the area of research I'm interested in is math (mostly statistics) intensive. Not to mention, you're provided an extra year of undergrad to get research done and maybe boost your GPA if you need to. Without that extra year my application wouldn't have been nearly as competitive as it turned out to be.

Cool! Get in touch when you arrive in September if you'd like .

I'm pretty sure it's the total in the program.

I grew up in Connecticut, spent a summer at UCONN and had a lot of friends that went to school there. Willimantic is kind of a shoddy town. If you're looking to stay away from living in Storrs because you want a more interesting town I'd say consider Manchester which is about 20 to 25 minutes from Storrs and about 15 minutes from downtown Hartford. However, I'm sure there are more grad students in Willimantic (maybe none in Manchester?). I guess just make sure Willimantic is the right place for you, if you do decide to live there. If you don't care about nightlife, why not just live in Storrs? Off campus is quiet and dirt cheap.

I've been accepted to the CS PhD program at UCSB and I'm also trying to figure out my living situation. I'm wondering if I should go all out and room with 3 others in the San Clemente grad apartments for a year or if I should try and find my own place off campus. I feel it'd be easier to meet people living with roommates and being around a community of grad students as opposed to living in a studio in Goleta or something similar. But then again, I'm kind of tired of sharing a kitchen with two or three other people. I'm traveling from Connecticut, and I will have no furniture with me, in addition to no friends in that area . I've always had a lot of friends as an undergrad, I think I like being around people more often than being alone. I suppose San Clemente seems like the most practical option-- is/was anyone else in a similar situation that can cast some insight?

I'm in a similar situation. My deadline is April 15th and I'm visiting a top choice on the 8th. However, I was forced to go this late because a potential advisor wouldn't have been around if I went earlier. I think I'll be fine and I think you will too, but, I would have chosen to go earlier if I could.

I also got admitted to the Master's program at Stony Brook and visited a few days ago. I asked this same question at the meet and was told that they do not usually give financial aid to the Master's students; it's possible that a professor would fund your research after matriculation but not likely. The reason for this is that a MS student doesn't have enough time to produce a significant amount of research and there are 200+ other students in the Master's program competing for attention from faculty.

Maybe this works for you, but thankfully no one has to decide solely based on ranking.

I'm not defending any rankings, I just said "all rankings should be taken with a grain of salt". I was defending myself after you claimed to speak for everyone in CS, which is absurd. And let me repeat this again, all rankings should be taken with a grain of salt, including NRC and US News. I think it's interesting you admittedly trust the "popularity contest". I do believe dept ranking matters but I'll have to agree with edvolkov and say research group matters more. And please, don't turn this thread into a debate about which rankings are better, start a new thread if you're feeling emotionally charged.

All rankings should be taken with a grain of salt. Those who got ranked high will boast the results and those that got ranked lower might make a scene. To say, "nobody in CS trusts the NRC" is rather bold. Do you completely trust the US News rankings? I can name a few universities off the top of my head that are in the top 20 that probably don't belong there. Clearly, I'm concerned with finding a good research group.

Agreed, I'm completely aware of the selectivity. I mean, the ranking of UCSB wasn't getting me worried, anyways. NRC ranked them top 10 and I wouldn't be surprised if I saw US News boost them in their next ranking. My research interests are a pretty good match, I think. Anyways, I'll be visiting soon and I'm sure it will affect my decision a good deal. Hopefully, my decision won't be influenced too much by the beautiful weather there.

Yea, emailing is a good idea if you can't visit. For the record, the CS dept is the largest graduate dept at Stony Brook so it's likely to be a different situation for you.

Indeed, both in living expenses and tuition. However, I've been offered a fully funded position at UCSB and absolutely nothing at SB.

I think it depends on what you want to do with your PhD. Top schools will most likely look for faculty with degrees from top schools. Academia in general is hard to get into these days so anything that makes you more legitimate is a good thing. I'd say look at where the graduates of Santa Cruz or Davis are getting jobs to get a better idea.