anon1 Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 Please help! Hanyuye, R Deckard, anon1 and 2 others 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nari27 Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 What are you studying? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eclectic4 Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 Well, Because UCLA is a "public Ivy," meaning one of the best public schools in the world, then I would go with the funding. Eclectic4 and aberrant 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anon1 Posted April 13, 2012 Author Share Posted April 13, 2012 I'm not sure exactly what I want to do. There is another issue: my fiance already has a job in Maryland. He's willing to relocate, but of course it would be a hassle and his parents, my parents, and seemingly everyone in the world thinks it would be better if I just went there. Maybe it would be? anon1 and bluebunny 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anon1 Posted April 13, 2012 Author Share Posted April 13, 2012 Although I must say the terrain, weather, and plethora of activities in LA appeal to my fiancee and me a lot more than those corresponding aspects of Maryland. aberrant, stablecamel, anon1 and 1 other 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluebunny Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 What are you studying? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeaGirl Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 It might help to provide details of what you are studying, what each program is offering (in terms of topic, funding, etc.), think about after you finish your studies, what kind of job opportunities are available in relation to your field in each location, where you will want to eventually end up, how will each program/university help you out, how well you like the atmosphere/professors/program in each one. There could be dozens of reasons why you would pick one program over the other. Family/partner related reasons could be one of them, but it might be a good idea to think about all the others as well, especially what you're hoping to get out of this degree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anon1 Posted April 13, 2012 Author Share Posted April 13, 2012 Eventually I would like to do research of some kind, whether at a university or at a government lab. I like scientific computing, computational biology, theory, and the mathematical side of computer science. UCLA: RA in theoretical AI, UCSD: RA in high performance computing, Maryland: TA but recruited by theory person, Columbia has the advantage of being an Ivy. Since before high school it has been my dream to attend an Ivy-league school. Going to Columbia would fulfill that life-long dream, although I wonder how much going to Columbia for my Master's will help me when I apply for PhD programs (will it?) bluebunny 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acg Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 There are a lot of reasons you should consider. As far as grad school is concerned- I would suggest heavily weighting the professors who you would be working with. If you like then, know their research, know how they run a lab/research group this is extremely important. As someone who HATED my advisor during my masters, it makes a big difference in so many ways (finishing on time, liking the program, getting published, networking for future jobs/positions....) Of course personal choices are important too like your family and where you want to live etc but I can't stress how important it is to pick someone who's research you are excited about and who's personality you can work with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeaGirl Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 Eventually I would like to do research of some kind, whether at a university or at a government lab. I like scientific computing, computational biology, theory, and the mathematical side of computer science. UCLA: RA in theoretical AI, UCSD: RA in high performance computing, Maryland: TA but recruited by theory person, Columbia has the advantage of being an Ivy. Since before high school it has been my dream to attend an Ivy-league school. Going to Columbia would fulfill that life-long dream, although I wonder how much going to Columbia for my Master's will help me when I apply for PhD programs (will it?) It definitely would, but you have to weight this against the cost of attending. Columbia is expensive and NY in general is a very expensive place to live. If you have to take out big loans to go there, it may worth rethinking it. Personally, I would go for either UCLA or UCSD... probably UCSD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANDS! Posted April 14, 2012 Share Posted April 14, 2012 Your options are, full funding in Sunny California (where you will be expected to do research anyway) or paying for your education in expensive Manhattan all so you can say you got a masters from an Ivy League. Tough call indeed. . . wine in coffee cups, commcomm, shayens and 7 others 9 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sabdo Posted April 14, 2012 Share Posted April 14, 2012 (edited) ^Hahah Way to downplay his internal struggle. But seriously, I'm a UCSD alum (chemE) and I loved it over there. Both UCLA and UCSD are tied at #14 for CS so either choice is going to be good. However, between LA and SD, I would pick SD any day. Edited April 14, 2012 by sabdo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANDS! Posted April 14, 2012 Share Posted April 14, 2012 I understand the OP's dream, but the only good thing they said about Columbia is that they wanted to attend an Ivy as a kid. I wanted to be Professional Wrestler in the WWF, but I sure as heck am not going to let such whimsical thoughts motivate my current goals (though I'd totally do it if they paid me for weekend work). The OP has two schools ranked higher than Columbia that are willing to pay him to live near the beach and California culture for the next 5 or so years, versus MAYBE getting a better deal after dropping several Benjamins in NY after a year or so. As the saying goes. . .a bird in the hand - shayens, bluebunny and R Deckard 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eclectic4 Posted April 14, 2012 Share Posted April 14, 2012 An important note is that both of those UC's are very well regarded schools. It is not as if you are choosing between Columbia and a low end school. Given that, and if the programs are at similar level, I'd do the UC's, especially with funding. An example of the same is that I am applying to public policy and affairs schools and have got into UPenn and Columbia. I got waitlisted at UC Berkeley, which is really well ranked. If I had gotten in there with a scholarship I would have probably gone due to proximity to family, an awesome progressive town, being in Cali, and better money. But, alas, I did not:) Good luck with your decisions bluebunny 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anon1 Posted April 14, 2012 Author Share Posted April 14, 2012 Ok, I have decided against Columbia. UCLA is now my top choice. The only issue is moving my fiance to LA, but he already has a PhD in CS and previous work experience, so hopefully finding another job (albeit after only 1 year in his current job) will not be too hard. ûl ʾašerātō, bluebunny, aberrant and 1 other 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anon1 Posted April 14, 2012 Author Share Posted April 14, 2012 What about getting a Master's at Maryland and then trying to re-apply for PhD programs? I know it's probably a bad idea: re: a bird in the hand, and because it would make getting a PhD take that much longer... but I'm wondering what my chances would be of getting into a 1-5 school (or Ivy) after getting a Master's first... aberrant, bluebunny, anon1 and 1 other 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANDS! Posted April 14, 2012 Share Posted April 14, 2012 At this point you are prestige chasing; never a good thing when you ALREADY have a good thing. If it is REALLY that important to you to say to your friends and family "Oh I went to an Ivy League", by all means pass on incredible offers from two incredible schools - but I wouldn't imagine many on this forum (least of all CS majors still waiting to hear from Top 50 schools) will be supporting your particular plan - pay for a masters at the lowest ranked of your options in the hopes it will make you competitive for Harvard or Princeton (or whomever it is youre lusting after). anon1, throwaway123456789, bluebunny and 3 others 3 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anon1 Posted April 14, 2012 Author Share Posted April 14, 2012 I was talking about getting a Master's at the University of Maryland, which would be funded and is #14, but I see your point. It's just that last year I was offered internships at Princeton, Caltech, Harvard, MIT (2), Stanford, University of Washington, NASA (2). And didn't get into one of the universities for grad school. I screwed up my GRE math score, didn't take the CS GRE, and wrote a crappy essay. My GPA has also gone up since I applied. So, all of these aspects can be changed by the next time I apply. I feel like my application was a complete mess. I just don't want to miss out on an opportunity to go to a place I've always wanted to. I've also thought about getting a job for a year and then re-applying. On the other hand, this forum is starting to convince me that what I have now is pretty good. clockworks, UnixGuy, bluebunny and 2 others 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghanada Posted April 14, 2012 Share Posted April 14, 2012 Getting a PhD is all abou the research. Forget rank, prestige, name, etc. It comes down to whether or not the research fits with what you want to do. If none of these schools offer you the research you want and none of the PIs seem interesting, then don't go. If those "ivy" schools you want to get into fit you better than I could understand you wanting to re-apply next year. BUT if you seriously only want to go to those schools because you can say you went there, then I think you are missing the purpose of doing a PhD. The number 1 myth about grad school is that name/prestige means everything: http://www.usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/articles/2012/04/13/4-graduate-school-myths-debunked Anyways, for what it's worth, I turned down a well funded PhD at Columbia for a much lesser name school because the research fit is perfect for me. So I understand your dilemma, but it would have been foolish of me to pick a school just for the sake of going to an ivy. clockworks, ljk628, throwaway123456789 and 1 other 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eclectic4 Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 Getting a PhD is all abou the research. Forget rank, prestige, name, etc. It comes down to whether or not the research fits with what you want to do. If none of these schools offer you the research you want and none of the PIs seem interesting, then don't go. If those "ivy" schools you want to get into fit you better than I could understand you wanting to re-apply next year. BUT if you seriously only want to go to those schools because you can say you went there, then I think you are missing the purpose of doing a PhD. The number 1 myth about grad school is that name/prestige means everything: http://www.usnews.co...-myths-debunked Anyways, for what it's worth, I turned down a well funded PhD at Columbia for a much lesser name school because the research fit is perfect for me. So I understand your dilemma, but it would have been foolish of me to pick a school just for the sake of going to an ivy. This is especially true for PHD's or any research degree. However, it is the opposite for general professional programs. For example, it is of the utmost importance to go to a well ranked school if one is looking at business, law, medicine, etc. This also has to do with the fact that these programs are general programs, and one is not necessarily doing specific research with specific professors, whereas with a phd one is. bluebunny 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airwalker Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 Uh, all three are tied for Number 14 in the country... I would stay in Maryland so you don't piss your fiance and family off. Thats often more important. Plus, you will want the family support during a PhD program. All the people on here are pro california for some reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eclectic4 Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 Well, I'm not sure that everybody is "pro-California" or really just assessing the current options listed. As far as public universities, it is hard to top the UC's, both reputation and academically wise. This is especially true for UCLA and UC Berkeley, perhaps followed by UCSD. Of course, UCSD might be better for IR. The only other public schools in their league are Michigan, UNC Chapel Hill, maybe University of Washington, etc. So, if one is contemplating an alternative to Columbia, then it only makes sense to choose a comparable school. aberrant and lyonessrampant 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgp3213 Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 The number one factor should be the potential advisor you are working with. Then maybe the name of the school in the particular sub-field of computer science you are interested in (not just overall department rank!). You mentioned Theory, and as it turns out both Columbia and UCSD tend to be treated in the top 15 in theoretical computer science. In my opinion, it is certainly possible that getting an MS at Columbia will benefit you. But I think you couldn't possibly spend all that money while turning down an offer to UCSD, which is a school that I have a massive amount of respect for. I believe you also mentioned the possibility of attending UMCP funded as an MS student. Now that is a viable and respectable alternative option. I would still pick UCSD (over UCLA for sure), but if you were to do the MS at UMCP I would not consider that illogical. [Also, since I've posed this question before with no responses: does UMCP generally offer MS students funding? Is it just for UMCP undergrads doing a special 5-year program or for other students as well?] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgp3213 Posted April 19, 2012 Share Posted April 19, 2012 (edited) Uh, all three are tied for Number 14 in the country... I would stay in Maryland so you don't piss your fiance and family off. Thats often more important. Plus, you will want the family support during a PhD program. All the people on here are pro california for some reason. Hadn't even realized this. This makes taking an offer at UMCP all the more desirable. Edited April 19, 2012 by sgp3213 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anon1 Posted April 20, 2012 Author Share Posted April 20, 2012 I'm PhD track at UMCP, so if I did a Master's I'd have to duck out early. But I might decide to do the whole PhD there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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