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CS PhD - UCLA or should I wait a bit more for UCSD and NYU


csphdwannabe

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I have been admitted to UCLA CS PhD program with 3 year fin. support although I got only 11800 stipend for the first year (2nd and 3rd ar TA and RA, a bit more around $14k) which is not very much for LA and with tuition and fee wavers is about $7-8k less than UCLA requires for sending I-20, in other words I need to come up with $7k to get I-20 from them. I have been contacted by prospective advisor and he has been very nice. I have also exchanged emails with one of his current students and overall I am quite happy with the whole situation apart from the money thing.

I have been waitlisted at UC San Diego and I am still waiting to hear anything from NYU.

My application was not very focused I think, so I got rejected from other schools I applied. I had some background in software engineering and my interests are mainly in software area: software engineering, programming languages although I am open for other things. I applied to US universities thinking that I could focus myself in the first couple of years.

 

Can anyone give me some details about what areas of CS are particulary good at UCLA, UCSD and NYU? Which one would be best for my current interests (soft. eng, prog. langs, generally soft. systems).

 

How long should I wait for UCSD and NYU? Is there any chance for me to get into UCSD and get financial aid?

 

Thanks everyone.

 

p.s. my profile:

GPA 9.40/10.0 (2nd in the class of around 200, leading engineering school in my country - Eastern Europe)

major: Computer Science and Engineering with a lot of Electrical Engineering classes

GRE Gen: 560V/800Q/4.5AW

GRE Subj. CS: 870/97th percentile

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Hello csphdwannabe,

 

Welcome to TestMagic!

Congrats on being admitted to UCLA! [clap]

IMO, there is no use waiting for NYU. Even I've been waitlisted at UCSD and according to a person at the CS dept., I shouldn't expect a decision on my app before 04/15.

For systems, UCSD seems to be the best.

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Thanks, geforce!

 

Have you applied for PhD or MS at UCSD?

 

I applied for PhD and as part of the online application I listed two potential advisors. I was thinking of maybe emailing one of them (soft.eng. prof) who I think put me on waiting list and asking how far down the list I am. Just to see if there is any hope. What do you think about that?

I would probably have chosen UCLA by now, but financials are very important to me, that is why I am still considering NYU.

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I applied for MS at UCSD.

 

A fellow TMian called the CS grad. sec. and was told that there were 20 odd applicants on the waitlist who were interested in his area of specialization, i.e., AI.

Check out the following thread for more information:

http://www.www.urch.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23061

 

I'm planning to call the grad. sec. in the afternoon (MT).

 

Btw, your profile is very good!

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I have just received admission from NYU. I got full suport, $20500 per year. I don't know what to do!!!!

And I have to tell my decision to UCLA today!

Any advice????

PLEASE, URGENT!

 

I'm not in CS, but congrats and some questions. Is there any way to get more money from UCLA? I've heard of people asking for more and getting it, by saying I really want to go to your school, but school X (has to be a higher ranked one) offered me more and I'll be forced to take it (even though you are my first choice) due to financial reasons...also, from what I've heard, expenses in NY can be higher than UCLA. You probably need a car everywhere in LA, except if you go to UCLA. I went there as an undergrad and most people didn't have a car because parking on campus is nearly impossible to get. Also, since UCLA & UCSD are public, is there a higher probability that your future funding might be cut compared to NYU? Just some things to think about. Good luck!

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I'm not in CS, but congrats and some questions. Is there any way to get more money from UCLA? I've heard of people asking for more and getting it, by saying I really want to go to your school, but school X (has to be a higher ranked one) offered me more and I'll be forced to take it (even though you are my first choice) due to financial reasons...also, from what I've heard, expenses in NY can be higher than UCLA. You probably need a car everywhere in LA, except if you go to UCLA. I went there as an undergrad and most people didn't have a car because parking on campus is nearly impossible to get. Also, since UCLA & UCSD are public, is there a higher probability that your future funding might be cut compared to NYU? Just some things to think about. Good luck!

 

I will try to get more money from UCLA, or at least an extension for my decision. I would like to have another week to compare pros and cons of UCLA and NYU. I think if it weren't for money I would go to UCLA, and having said that I will see if I can get some money myself in the next couple of week, but I doubt that.

As far as I understand, funding at NYU will not go under $20000, I have only to keep reasonable progress to be eligible for funding.

At UCLA the money will be around $14k, maybe a bit more. I am hoping that I can save enough money during summer, either by being intern at some company or by being RA full time which pays double. Having said that it seems to me that CA is much more active when it comes to IT that NY is. But I might be wrong, having never actually been in USA.

 

I think that some $16-17000 should buy me about the same quality of life as $21000 in NYC. But if anyone knows for sure, please tell.

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NYU isn't comparable to UCLA. Besides, the CS dept. at NYU is within the Courant Institute of Maths which means you'll be sick and tired of having to learn obscure Mathematics stuff. I'd recommend sticking with UCLA.

Any news from UCSD? I think a decision is imminent.

Good luck!

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This is what I was told by the nice lady from UCSD:

We are still retaining some notable applicants on our waiting list past April 15. Because of the many factors involved, I cannot assess your ranking or chances to be admitted at this point. If you need to make a decision today regarding acceptance with another institution, my advice to you is to make the best decision based upon the information that is available to you as of today.

 

I called UCLA, they gave me an extension and they were very positive about helping me out financially. But I will know definitely next week.

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Thanks for the crucial information on UCSD. I think I shall wait for a few days before committing to another university.

 

Thanks for the advice, geforce. I am somehow less convinced than you, but I still think UCLA is better. For one, I always wanted to live in NY. And it is closer to home. ...

Am I the only TMian who didn't understand this paragraph? Do you intend to go to LA (UCLA) or NYC (NYU)? :confused:

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Am I the only TMian who didn't understand this paragraph? Do you intend to go to LA (UCLA) or NYC (NYU)? :confused:

 

note: I called UCLA and then I changed the message. At the same time you were posting your reply.

 

What I wanted to say is that there are things that I like about NYU, like the city it is in. If were asked to choose the city to live in (no schools involved) I would choose NY.

 

But having the schools involved is another thing altogether.

 

Another rumor about UCSD. Friend of a friend is leaving UCSD CSE department because they are lacking funds, supposedly they are broke.

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NYU isn't comparable to UCLA. Besides, the CS dept. at NYU is within the Courant Institute of Maths which means you'll be sick and tired of having to learn obscure Mathematics stuff.

Although I agree that NYU isn't comparable to UCLA, I believe that NYU is a way better than UCLA, i.e. at least in CS areas it is well known.

By the way, all CS departments come from math or engineering schools, so there is no much difference here. In fact, the CS program doesn't have any "obscure math stuff" you are speaking about...

 

A friend of mine turned down UCSD and Cornell for NYU...

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Although I agree that NYU isn't comparable to UCLA, I believe that NYU is a way better than UCLA, i.e. at least in CS areas it is well known.

By the way, all CS departments come from math or engineering schools, so there is no much difference here. In fact, the CS program doesn't have any "obscure math stuff" you are speaking about...

 

A friend of mine turned down UCSD and Cornell for NYU...

 

Which areas do you think are better at NYU and which are better at UCLA?

 

I am currently interested in software engineering and programming languages, but that can change. But I think I won't go far from software systems.

 

p.s. is your friend interested in cryptography by any chance?

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Although I agree that NYU isn't comparable to UCLA, I believe that NYU is a way better than UCLA, i.e. at least in CS areas it is well known.

Maybe you are correct. But my friend who is a grad student at NYU discouraged me from applying to that school due to the reasons I had posted earlier.

A friend of mine turned down UCSD and Cornell for NYU

It surely aint that good...is it? :hmm:

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NYU isn't comparable to UCLA. Besides, the CS dept. at NYU is within the Courant Institute of Maths which means you'll be sick and tired of having to learn obscure Mathematics stuff. I'd recommend sticking with UCLA.

Any news from UCSD? I think a decision is imminent.

Good luck!

Since when was Computer Science NOT about mMath? It's math, math, and more math baby :P (They say Computer Science is 1/2 hard work and 2/3 math!)

 

You'll have to use a lot of math (logical reasoning, statistics, algebra, topology, etc etc etc ad nauseum) in some form or another. Especially if you do theory, but even if you get into systems there's still a ton of math underpinning.

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I'd also recommend UCLA over NYU. UCLA has good math and engineering schools and so probably have more areas of study (good for you since u arent sure of ur area of focus yet).

 

The only concern of course is possible funding cutbacks from the California goverment.

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