dido Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 I am accepted at (PhD): the CS (more precisely Scientific Computing) program of UIUC and CSEM (at ICES) program at UT Austin both with research assistantships. Both seem to be decent choices and it is difficult to decide. The funding is quite similar although Austin is a but more expensive than UC but I think it is bearable. The major difference is that one of the programs is CS while the other is more like applied math. Also, one thing concerns me about UT is their GPA requirements: they require an overall GPA of 3.25 and in one area (there are 3 required areas/groups of courses to be taken) they require 3.5. This as an thought is very stressful and haunting. While UIUC require 3.0 GPA overall. On the second line I also consider UCSD (Math PhD: they have an interdisciplinary specialization in computational science) and CU Boulder (Applied Math). They both offer TA. These are also pretty decent schools. So it is a difficult choice. In a way I lean a bit towards UIUC because I have the feeling that I have a higher chance to successfully finish the program (which might easily not be true) and this is definitely important. Also, it is a great CS department providing a lot of opportunities. On the other hand, ICES at UT is also great but the feeling of higher possibiity of failure definitely pulls me back. After all, you need to get the PhD, to graduate, otherwise it is simply lost time no matter how good the school may be. Anyone in comparable situation or just wanting to share his opinion? thisisme 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanoTech Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Congratulations! Both UIUC and UTAustin are superb academic institutions for your graduate study. But in this situation you should follow your heart. UIUC all the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dido Posted April 5, 2013 Author Share Posted April 5, 2013 So I should follow my chicken heart . It is only that I am afraid of the exams and high grade expectations. Otherwise my heart is pretty much split in half between the two. Congratulations! Both UIUC and UTAustin are superb academic institutions for your graduate study. But in this situation you should follow your heart. UIUC all the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k3ithk Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 I've also got an offer at ICES and I'm in a somewhat similar position. However for me, UT is offering me much more money than my other choices. I don't think you should let a 3.25 or 3.5 GPA requirement influence you. If you've been accepted, you ought to be able to maintain that (grad classes can have quite a curve). ICES has a good graduation rate, if I recall correctly (although there are a few students spending way too much time there...). I think you need to figure out moe where your interests lie. I went to UT and really liked th faculty and students I met there. For this reason, I will likely choose it over Georgia Tech (and the money difference) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dido Posted April 7, 2013 Author Share Posted April 7, 2013 Actually the graduation rate of ICES is not that high (http://www.ices.utexas.edu/about/facts-figures/). Also the information I have is that each year they admit on average 15-16 PhD students and on average 4-4.5 finish it successfully. Of course it does not mean that a large number of students fail on the exams. There are millions of reasons not to complete a program. However, it is a bit concerning considering how competitive is the program and how good are the students they admit, and still they are not able to finish it. On the other hand, if you manage to graduate you are one of a few (the "market" is not flooded with ICES PhDs) which is very good. I also think that ICES is a better choice compared to GaTech especially considering they give you more money. You must be very good that is why they offer you such good funding. Probably you are also an US citizen. Quite naturally, since it is the US, there are considerably more and nicer funding options for US citizens. I am an international candidate. You are totally right that the question is what I want more since one of my choices is CS and the other is more like Applied Math (depending on the track you take). This introduces a good amount of differences. So if I decide to go to ICES and you don't change your mind, we will meet there . I've also got an offer at ICES and I'm in a somewhat similar position. However for me, UT is offering me much more money than my other choices. I don't think you should let a 3.25 or 3.5 GPA requirement influence you. If you've been accepted, you ought to be able to maintain that (grad classes can have quite a curve). ICES has a good graduation rate, if I recall correctly (although there are a few students spending way too much time there...). I think you need to figure out moe where your interests lie. I went to UT and really liked th faculty and students I met there. For this reason, I will likely choose it over Georgia Tech (and the money difference) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisisme Posted April 9, 2013 Share Posted April 9, 2013 Hi Guys.. Haha.. I'm exactly in the same situation dido.. Admitted to UIUC-CS and UT-Austin (ICES) .. beside two other universities.. I do not know if I have the courage to make the transition and go to ICES (although I'm very excited about it) but as you mentioned,, the quals and everything .. It is not that I mean UIUC-CS is an easier program but it is more familiar when considering my background.. Have you come up with a decision yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dido Posted April 10, 2013 Author Share Posted April 10, 2013 No, no decision yet... Are you aiming at CSE or Scientific Computing at UIUC or other CS field? What is your background? Hi Guys.. Haha.. I'm exactly in the same situation dido.. Admitted to UIUC-CS and UT-Austin (ICES) .. beside two other universities.. I do not know if I have the courage to make the transition and go to ICES (although I'm very excited about it) but as you mentioned,, the quals and everything .. It is not that I mean UIUC-CS is an easier program but it is more familiar when considering my background.. Have you come up with a decision yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisisme Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 I'm in scientific computing at UIUC. I think CSE is just a set of courses option that I can follow (it is not a separate track or degree) and as I herd form the professor there, many scientific computing students follow this option. My background is mostly computer science and high performance computing,, with few graduate level math courses.. what about you? I did not decide yet where to go.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dido Posted April 12, 2013 Author Share Posted April 12, 2013 (edited) I have bachelor's in CS and master's in Computational Math and also some computational experience but no experience with high performance computing yet. It is not only the background that matters but also the horizons that a person wants to follow. I'm in scientific computing at UIUC. I think CSE is just a set of courses option that I can follow (it is not a separate track or degree) and as I herd form the professor there, many scientific computing students follow this option. My background is mostly computer science and high performance computing,, with few graduate level math courses.. what about you? I did not decide yet where to go.. Edited April 12, 2013 by dido Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisisme Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 Hi guys,, I received a late admission from GaTech CSE.. what do you think of this one compared to UT-Austin ICES.. I find it difficult to make a decision,, especially that Atlanta is more suitable for me (as a 2-body problem) I greatly appreciate any comment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foo-bar Posted December 31, 2017 Share Posted December 31, 2017 What did you guys do? I am currently applying to all of the above programs. It'd be great to know what you guys finally chose and how it turned out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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