Carnegie Mellon Open House/Attending Thread

[statisticsfall2014]

Hello everyone,

I am hoping this thread can be for those who are attending either the open house or planning to accept their offer of admission. 

[agent229]

Hi! I am attending the open house on the 7th. (I got into both the stat program and the joint machine learning program, but can't attend the machine learning program open house.)

[Statcheng]

I am going to the open house too! Hope to see you guys there.

[statisticsfall2014]

great! I just booked my tickets last night (420$ round-trip from seattle).

http://civilstat.com/?p=1409

This is a great post ont eh histroy of the department. It includes a link of the entire history (written by Margaret, the one sending the e-mails!) from the recent book on the rise of statistics departments. It's a great read!

[agent229]

 It's a great read!

Thanks!

 

So... I know this isn't CMU specific, but what are you guys expecting at the visit? I am thinking it's mainly to introduce people, show us their current research areas, and convince us to go there (along with hopefully have a little fun)... what do you think? For instance, do I need to read up on professors beforehand (more than I did when I was applying)?

[statisticsfall2014]

I'm not totally sure what to expect, it probably couldn't hurt to read about the professors but since we already have offers I do't think it will be as pressure packed as like an interview visit. 

Are you guys considering anywhere besides CMU? 

[agent229]

What about attire? I'm from a warm, dry place where I am currently wearing a t-shirt outside ;-) I want to dress nicely but also feel like it will be really cold there. I'm also female which I feel like complicates the whole thing, since I'm not typically a very fashion-oriented person...

[statisticsfall2014]

I'm just going to bring a pair of Jeans and Khakis, and a couple nice, but not over-the-top shirts. 

I'm not sure how that would translate though

[persistent_homology]

Hey I will most likely be attending on the 7th. I'm not really considering anywhere else, although if I got into Chicago I'd have to have a think. What I'm expecting to get out of the open house is to form an impression of the department and city, and see if I can imagine myself spending 5 years there.

 

If I have time I might try and scope out some places to live too.

 

As for clothing I will be wearing jeans and a shirt and a big coat.

[timmmythetooth]

I went last year and had a great time.  There is basically zero pressure placed on you, so don't worry about reading up on professors or dressing sufficiently formally.  At this point, you are essentially interviewing them, but anticipate laid-back, informal conversations nonetheless.