Fall 2013 CS Master's Applicants

[justsayani]

Hello! 

Since I'm nervously awaiting admissions decisions for my Master's applications, I thought I'd start a thread in a similar vein to the CS PhD thread.

 

How are you all coping? When do you expect to hear back?

I've heard back from a couple of places and UMich should be next...

any updates from Stanford MS CS?

[ssk2]

Historically they give out their decisions on the 15th/16th of March - although on their FAQ it says end of March. It's hard to say, although I'm going to be expecting an email this Friday at the earliest!

 

Also your profile looks great - I'm sure you'll have no difficulty getting an offer  - but

Edited March 12, 2013 by ssk2

[naijaba]

I got into UCSD's CS master's program this morning. It's great news but a tough decision for me (UCSD CS vs. Harvard CS&E). Any thoughts?

[foboi1122]

Good to hear naijaba! congrats!

[ssk2]

Congratuations naijaba! What would you like to do afterwards? It's quite a hard decision - both are great universities. Life in Boston in meant to be great if you're the academic sort - there are TONNES of similar minded people around. I've no idea how true this is in San Diego. 

 

Also, the weather is a pretty serious consideration. A friend who goes to UCSD says the weather there is the best he's ever lived in (and he used to live in Singapore). Boston can be pretty harsh in winter I hear.

 

Just to clarify - is the program you've been admitted to the one year course in CSE? It depends what your goals are afterwards. If I wanted to continue on into academia, I'd probably pick the two year UCSD program over the one year Harvard one - more choice, more opportunities to get research experience.

 

(Actually, I see that you have the option of moving into the two year course at the end of your year. I guess then it boils down to what your academic interests are - whether you'd be a better fit at UCSD or Harvard.)

Edited March 21, 2013 by ssk2

[rustledjimmies]

I'm starting to feel like applying to Berkeley MSCS was a waste... the sense I get is that they're trying to eliminate it (like Harvard) in favor of the MEng program... bah

 

I feel they should communicate these things more clearly on their website..

[Danbeals]

I agree about berkeley. What is their deal? Am I waiting to see how many phd people who were only accepted for the MS accept before they start accepting straight up MS candidates?

Also when is Stanford going to release their acceptances?

[naijaba]

Congratuations naijaba! What would you like to do afterwards? It's quite a hard decision - both are great universities. Life in Boston in meant to be great if you're the academic sort - there are TONNES of similar minded people around. I've no idea how true this is in San Diego. 

 

Also, the weather is a pretty serious consideration. A friend who goes to UCSD says the weather there is the best he's ever lived in (and he used to live in Singapore). Boston can be pretty harsh in winter I hear.

 

Just to clarify - is the program you've been admitted to the one year course in CSE? It depends what your goals are afterwards. If I wanted to continue on into academia, I'd probably pick the two year UCSD program over the one year Harvard one - more choice, more opportunities to get research experience.

 

(Actually, I see that you have the option of moving into the two year course at the end of your year. I guess then it boils down to what your academic interests are - whether you'd be a better fit at UCSD or Harvard.)

 

Thanks for the advice ssk2! I'm actually a medical student taking some time off to pursue this degree. Afterwards, my plan is to finish medical school and residency, and then conduct academic research and/or start a medical informatics business. Lofty long-term goals  : )

 

Both UCSD and Harvard are big medical research institutions (Harvard Medical School is #1 and UCSD is #3 for Biomedical engineering).

 

I'm aware of the stark weather difference as I was born and raised in Southern California and I'm currently living on the East Coast. As a California resident I get in-state tuition, which makes UCSD roughly 3.5x cheaper than Harvard! Also, I'm not guaranteed admission into the two-year degree at Harvard, but I may have an increased chance of being admitted after completing the first year. The major benefits of the Harvard program are 1) It's Harvard, 2) It's 1/2 applied math and 1/2 computer science, and 3) I *may* get an RAship. Interestingly my undergraduate advisor, who is an accomplished mathematician at a school comparable to UCSD, advised me to go to Harvard.

 

At this point I think if I secure the RAship, I'll go to Harvard, and if I don't, I *may* go to Harvard : )

[ssk2]

Hehe, yeah that's a fair strategy. Sounds like an amazing career path - albeit with a lot of studying! 

[rustledjimmies]

small update here, got an expected rejection from Berkeley today for their MSCS program . 

[ssk2]

Sorry dude :-/. It seems almost impossible to get into that!