Got accepted into Waterloo and UMass Amherst

[pyg]

Hey all,

I applied to CMU, UMass, UIUC, Waterloo, and Toronto (latter 2 in Canada) and I got acceptances from Waterloo and UMass. I'm interested in AI, probably IR (but I'm not sure which is why I'm probably doing Masters instead of PhD).

Waterloo accepted me for Masters, and UMass accepted me for Masters/PhD track. Before considering funding, I would just like to know first which has a better reputation for - future academic job prospects and future industry prospects. Both schools are offering enough for me to live fairly comfortably (though I'm waiting on the final word for Waterloo funding).

Also, any other advice on making this decision would be helpful!

Good luck to all applicants who are still waiting for decisions!!!

[frenzydude]

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.

Edited March 17, 2011 by frenzydude

[newms]

Hey congrats pyg. UMass definitely has the better reputation in AI - it's ranked in the top 10 for AI. Waterloo has pretty good ties to industry as well though, particularly Microsoft and RIM (which was founded by Waterloo people and has offices are right across the street from the CS building). I believe UMass would have good industry ties as well, but I'm not sure.

[Machine_Learner]

Congrats!

I would strongly suggest you take up U Mass!!

U Mass is ranked 8th for AI by US News.They have a very strong presence in Reinforcement Learning and NLP and IR.

Their NLP strength will be most relevant for you in IR.

http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-science-schools/artificial-intelligence-rankings

Waterloo is very well respected within Canada but I seriously doubt its international impact as compared to U Mass Amherst.

Waterloo is considered the best for CS at UG level owing to their strong Co-Op programs. But, at grad level, U Mass Amherst is much better.

You just can't beat a top 10(in a particular field) US School in terms of career opportunities. Having said that, if you are really interested in some specific prof, Waterloo may become your first choice.

All the best!

[pyg]

Wow, this community is super active!

Thanks for your responses. I was leaning toward UMass earlier; only thing is the professor who recruited me there has a history of neglecting students in a sense, which is kind of scaring me... I think the research is really interesting, but if my professor causes me to be unsuccessful, that's another story...

[timuralp]

Wow, this community is super active!

Thanks for your responses. I was leaning toward UMass earlier; only thing is the professor who recruited me there has a history of neglecting students in a sense, which is kind of scaring me... I think the research is really interesting, but if my professor causes me to be unsuccessful, that's another story...

Most students can (and a lot do) change their advisors. The professor recruiting you is not necessarily the professor you are going to work with.

[the poisoned pawn]

Most students can (and a lot do) change their advisors. The professor recruiting you is not necessarily the professor you are going to work with.

The point is maybe he's the only professor there who works on things that you are interested in. I'm talking in general.