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chickadee · 03-13-2005, 12:16 PM

Hello folks, this is my first posting here

My major is CS and I got admitted and partially(?) admitted to the following schools :

UT-Austin (12th): says nothing about financial aid because I'm being supported by a fellowship.
UW-Madison : from about last week, I am seeing my status as "the department has recommended you for admission and the school is reviewing your file ... " I hope this is an admission.

Can anyone explain about UW-Madison? I heard it was terrific in architecture and databases. But I'm not sure about other thing such as the research environment, fees, etc. Also, I hear mixed opinions about this school. While the school rank is around 10 (according to USNews), many people say it's one of the top research schools.

I got rejected from Stanford, CMU, MIT, UIUC, UW and I'm still waiting for UCB and Caltech. Although I don't expect much of UCB, when does Caltech begin to announce?

My stats:
GRE: Q: 790, V: 660
GRE Subject: 850 (92 percentile)
TOEFL: 300
GPA: 4.05/4.3

p.s. wonderful forum this is.. I found it by googling

abgoldberg · 03-13-2005, 03:43 PM

Hi and welcome! You'll be happy to know that you almost certainly are in at UW-Madison. I discovered the same online status about 2 weeks ago, and I called up the graduate coordinator who confirmed that that means they want you, and while the graduate school has the final say, that's almost never a problem! it took them about a week after that for a professor to contact me (to tell me i'm getting a fellowship and to see if i had any questions), so this relatively early status change could be a very good thing for you, too. since i haven't gotten any official mailings or anything really formally admitting me yet either, i figure they're still pretty early in the process and an acceptance this early could only mean they really want you! good job! i'd recommend calling up on Monday to check on your status.

I'm also curious to hear people's opinions of UW-Madison. From my interaction with this prof and some students (current CS and former undergrads), everyone loves Madison--both the city itself and the university. It's supposed to be a really nice place to go to school. The department does seem to have some very top areas (such as optimization and the ones you mentioned), and they seem fairly flexible about choosing research to do as well. they're also a pure CS department, and not too too big (~200 grad students), which makes them more attractive to me than some larger programs (~600 grad students) in an EECS or Comp Sci & Engineering dept. I'm coming from a liberal arts college (BA in CS), so for me a pure CS department seems more appealing, but I'd be interested in hearing other perspectives on this issue (CS vs. EECS/CSE)...

chickadee · 03-14-2005, 05:19 AM

Thanks for your reply !
Yes, most of the people seem to say that it's a great place. And I think being happy of what you do is what counts the most.

But still, it would really help to have some more detailed information for choosing schools. I'm actually worried of the fact that the range of subjects I can study may be limited to a few areas(Architecture, Databases, and .. Optimization?). I haven't decided my area of research yet. Any other comments are very welcome .. !

bigredx24x · 03-14-2005, 05:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by abgoldberg

I'm also curious to hear people's opinions of UW-Madison.

I know they have a great reputation for excellence in engineering, however, that is all I can say about it. I know nothing of the CS dept. Also, I would just like to note that they are #3 in the category "Party Schools" in this years Princeton Review list - which is 2 places above Ohio University-Athens. Whether this is good or bad is ur opinion. But just wanted to make ya aware. Peace.

Dhruv · 03-14-2005, 07:02 AM

Chicakadee...I am in a similar situation like yours, have'nt yet decided on my research area..a friend of mine has got into EE at Wisc-Mad, she tells me it's
a good mix of academioc activity and partying.. but a bit on the higher side when it comes to expenses.

and on the research area, How can one decide on it without having understood the nuances of his Major, any field is an ocean, just like optimization..
given the circumstances how does one decide ?

reactor · 03-14-2005, 08:34 AM

Hope you get in 100%, with 100% fin. aid.

03-13-2005, 12:16 PM	#1 (permalink)
chickadee Trying to make mom and pop proud Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 5	UT-Austin, UW-Madison Hello folks, this is my first posting here My major is CS and I got admitted and partially(?) admitted to the following schools : UT-Austin (12th): says nothing about financial aid because I'm being supported by a fellowship. UW-Madison : from about last week, I am seeing my status as "the department has recommended you for admission and the school is reviewing your file ... " I hope this is an admission. Can anyone explain about UW-Madison? I heard it was terrific in architecture and databases. But I'm not sure about other thing such as the research environment, fees, etc. Also, I hear mixed opinions about this school. While the school rank is around 10 (according to USNews), many people say it's one of the top research schools. I got rejected from Stanford, CMU, MIT, UIUC, UW and I'm still waiting for UCB and Caltech. Although I don't expect much of UCB, when does Caltech begin to announce? My stats: GRE: Q: 790, V: 660 GRE Subject: 850 (92 percentile) TOEFL: 300 GPA: 4.05/4.3 p.s. wonderful forum this is.. I found it by googling

03-13-2005, 03:43 PM	#2 (permalink)
abgoldberg Eager! Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 61	Re: UT-Austin, UW-Madison Hi and welcome! You'll be happy to know that you almost certainly are in at UW-Madison. I discovered the same online status about 2 weeks ago, and I called up the graduate coordinator who confirmed that that means they want you, and while the graduate school has the final say, that's almost never a problem! it took them about a week after that for a professor to contact me (to tell me i'm getting a fellowship and to see if i had any questions), so this relatively early status change could be a very good thing for you, too. since i haven't gotten any official mailings or anything really formally admitting me yet either, i figure they're still pretty early in the process and an acceptance this early could only mean they really want you! good job! i'd recommend calling up on Monday to check on your status. I'm also curious to hear people's opinions of UW-Madison. From my interaction with this prof and some students (current CS and former undergrads), everyone loves Madison--both the city itself and the university. It's supposed to be a really nice place to go to school. The department does seem to have some very top areas (such as optimization and the ones you mentioned), and they seem fairly flexible about choosing research to do as well. they're also a pure CS department, and not too too big (~200 grad students), which makes them more attractive to me than some larger programs (~600 grad students) in an EECS or Comp Sci & Engineering dept. I'm coming from a liberal arts college (BA in CS), so for me a pure CS department seems more appealing, but I'd be interested in hearing other perspectives on this issue (CS vs. EECS/CSE)...

03-14-2005, 05:19 AM	#3 (permalink)
chickadee Trying to make mom and pop proud Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 5	Re: UT-Austin, UW-Madison Thanks for your reply ! Yes, most of the people seem to say that it's a great place. And I think being happy of what you do is what counts the most. But still, it would really help to have some more detailed information for choosing schools. I'm actually worried of the fact that the range of subjects I can study may be limited to a few areas(Architecture, Databases, and .. Optimization?). I haven't decided my area of research yet. Any other comments are very welcome .. !

03-14-2005, 07:02 AM	#5 (permalink)
Dhruv Within my grasp! Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 393	Re: UT-Austin, UW-Madison Chicakadee...I am in a similar situation like yours, have'nt yet decided on my research area..a friend of mine has got into EE at Wisc-Mad, she tells me it's a good mix of academioc activity and partying.. but a bit on the higher side when it comes to expenses. and on the research area, How can one decide on it without having understood the nuances of his Major, any field is an ocean, just like optimization.. given the circumstances how does one decide ?

03-14-2005, 08:34 AM	#6 (permalink)
reactor only Loeb spaces! Moderator Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 2,074	Re: UT-Austin, UW-Madison Hope you get in 100%, with 100% fin. aid. _ _ _ _ SIG _ _ _ _ "It's easy to have faith in yourself and have discipline when you're a winner, when you're number one. What you've got to have is faith and discipline when you're not yet a winner." Vince Lombardi How to write a lazy proof Teaching yourself how to prove

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