jgilme1

Sometimes a LDR is a good thing while in grad school. Less guilt over being apart while studying = more focus in school. Then when you do visit each other, the time is cherished even more. Just something to think about.

I don't know about the sciences, and maybe it's different, so take the following with the amount of salt needed

I've talked to several profs at one of the universities that I'm applying to, and the conversations were so informal that I kind of didn't even realize that they were probably interviews. There were no pop quizzes, nothing that could remotely be called "grilling", we just kind of talked--about the state of the field, about my previous work, about their work and how they work with grad students, about the strengths of their program. It felt like they were not so much trying to vet my qualifications, but rather that they had decided I was qualified based on my application, and were trying to get a sense of what kind of co-worker I'd be. Based on my experience, I'd give the same advice I give to folks going into job interviews--be polite and personable, have a few (concise!) things in mind to say if they open with "tell me about yourself" and have a few (smart, thoughtful) questions in case they ask if you have any at the end of the talk. Keep in mind that they may be trying to impress you as much as you're trying to impress them.

How were your other interviews? Did you feel like you were being examined?

over the weekend i convinced myself that i would survive if i didn't make it into grad school and had to spend the rest of my life working 9-5 for some rich, dumb bastard. this morning i got to work and realized that if i do not get in, i am going to have a complete mental breakdown and spend the rest of my life in an asylum.

on another note, to pass the time whilst waiting i am:

1) engaging in martha stewart-worthy cooking sprees during which i make enough gourmet food for 5 thousand people and freeze it all.
2) refreshing my email and staring at my cell phone, willing it to ring with acceptance notifications
3) calling/emailing all the people i've meant to call/email for the past 10 years
4) annoying my girlfriend with my anxiety and moodiness
5) drinking
6) watching every episode of lost (a horrible, mind-numbing show. but it sure does have a lot of episodes and thus kills a lot of time)
7) lamenting the fact that i am wishing part of my life away
8) aimlessly wandering the streets
9) staring out the window
10) getting pierced

Last night I had to look up the weather for every city a school I applied to is located! Now they are all on the recent locations in my weather widget and cycle back and forth. Sad, I know. :-D

I agree with Oh Yeah. The reason a lot of students come from top undergrads has less to do with the school's name and more with who they can get letters from. I also don't think you'll get into Berkeley, but it may still be worth it. In the end, $80 isn't that much.

I came from a (very) low ranked undergrad and got into several top schools for CS. I had a low GRE too. However, I had a pretty good subject GRE, 3 years research experience (including independent research), a successful side-business and consulting experience, and "best ever" recommendations. I know that last year the vast majority of people accepted to Princeton came from "known" schools, I'm sure it's the same at Berkeley.

To be honest, I don't think you will get into Berkeley, because you don't seem to have much research experience (you didn't explicitly say how much experience you have had, so I am assuming a summer for the conference publication and another summer for the industrial internship). Another problem is that if you are coming from somewhere unknown, it is likely that your recommenders are unknown, so if your recommendations are merely "good" they won't stack up against others who have "good" recommendations but have known recommenders. That being said, I don't know much about your profile and could be completely off-base, so if you care a lot about going to Berkeley I would apply anyway.