bansh33

anyone know what's up with Rice or NYU's computer science PhD programs? Those are the only 2 schools I'm waiting on at this point that I would consider over UIUC. Otherwise, it's between UIUC and Stonybrook, both of which i know rank very highly. Anyone have any suggestions about which I would be better off attending? I'm interested in complexity theory, automata theory, and logic/formal methods. oh and btw: I got rejected from Dartmouth and UChicago : (

hate to tell you but UIUC just had their admitted students visiting weekend for the CS PhD program, so if you haven't heard, it's probably not good news =(.

well, unfortunately you were wrong. I just got by rejected by Penn, my alma mater, of all ****ing places. It was also my top choice. ****ing hell. At least I still have an admit to UIUC.

ramgour, thanks man, I really appreciate that. Unfortunately I don't think I'm going to get in to my top choice school (UPenn). I haven't heard back yet, but I know they've started sending out decisions and I have yet to hear, so I don't think that bodes well. I'm kinda disappointed - I was really hoping I'd get in, and having already done 2 degrees from there I know I'd be really happy... I'm still hoping for it, but maybe it just wasn't meant to be. oh and there's one another part of my profile that I didn't mention because it's not relevant to computer science, but I guess it is pretty unique - I was a child actor and co-starred in a popular Paramount Pictures film that came out in 1995, and did several tv commercials and guest star appearances on various primetime network television shows (in the US). oh and silverfox and Mixolydian - congrats on your acceptances!

no problem, I'm happy to help. as for the reputation of penn state vs. upenn - there's absolutely no comparison - upenn is in a totally different class than penn state. upenn is one of the few ivy league universities in the country, which are considered the most prestigious schools [along with a select few others like stanford, MIT, caltech]. i can't really tell you about how penn state compares to upenn in terms of biotech program, but as an overall university upenn is much more highly regarded. simply mentioning that you attended upenn will impress many people in the states - unfortunately that is not the case with penn state [i hope i haven't offended anyone with the above opinion as that is certainly not my intention, i'm just trying to help pureen with this decision].

@kd1990 - thanks man, I hope you're right. Did you apply to PhD programs in CS for fall 2011 also? Where all did you apply if so?

Career services at UPenn is extremely helpful. They will help you with your resume/CV, suggest potential employers that fit with your academic background and interests, and help you schedule interviews. There are also many employers that come to campus and hold interviews in the career services office during particular times of the year - this is done for both summer internships as well as full time positions. This is known as OCR [on campus recruiting], and the career services office will also help you prepare for these interviews. UPenn is very much a pre-professional school, and while it is certainly quite competitive, I would say that so many employers come to UPenn's campus to recruit that there are more than enough jobs to go around - particularly for those with an engineering or business background. I expect that many of the employers that recruit students from an engineering background would be interested in you as well. One thing you may want to consider is the dual degree with Wharton [MBA] mentioned at www.upenn.edu/biotech. UPenn is very big on interdisciplinary education and even if you haven't been admitted as a dual degree student yet, I'm sure you could apply for it after being there for a semester or a year - just make sure to keep your grades up and make a good impression on your professors. This will be important so you can ask your professors to act as references for jobs/internships as well. Also - one more thing to keep in mind regarding the lifestyle at UPenn vs. Northwestern. I grew up in Chicago and like I said I did my BSE and MSE at UPenn and lived in Philadelphia for 2.5 years following that, so I know both Chicago and Philadelphia very well. Different people have different opinions, but personally I much prefer living in a big city to a suburb. Northwestern in Evanston, not Chicago... and while it's not that far from the city, living in Evanston will be a dramatically different experience from living in Philadelphia. Evanston is a small, university town. Philadelphia is an amazing city that develops more and more each year. Philadelphia is replete with restaurants, clubs, bars, museums, and culture; Evanston has some - but for most of that, you'll need to take an hour train ride into Chicago.

I don't think we're going to be able to tell you too much without knowing your GPA. what does "decent" mean? I suggest you also consider UIUC, UPenn, Georgia Tech, Rice, CMU, and MIT [though the latter 2 may be a long shot].

I did my BSE and MSE from UPenn (in computer & information sci) and while I don't know too much about the biotech program, I can tell you that it's an EXCELLENT university overall, has a fantastic reputation in the US, has a beautiful campus, great student body/university lifestyle. A lot of people dislike philly and the neighborhood, personally I think it's awesome - I really enjoyed living there and would love to move back someday. I graduated from there with my MSE and BSE in 2006, but I'm hoping to get into the PhD program and go back there in fall 2011. Good luck! Let me know if there's anything else you want to know about UPenn.

to the person who asked for my stats: - BSE and MSE from UPenn in CIS (computer & information sci), both in 2006 (I did their submatriculation program so was allowed to take master's classes while still an undergrad, and ended up finishing both in 4 years). GPA: 3.8 (grad) / 3.5 (undergrad) - GRE: 600V / 720Q / 5.5 AW - successful track record of tech entrepreneurship: started a software company shortly after graduation which received ~$3 million in VC funding, sold the company in 2009, currently working on a new startup, started and sold 2 other companies in high school and college (between 2000 and 2004 - sold my first company when I was 16). Have received a lot of media attention as a result, including Good Morning America, CNN, MSNBC, Financial Times, BusinessWeek, Entrepreneur Magazine, etc. - 1 publication - strong letters of recommendation, 2 from UPenn professors, 1 professional recommender. I know my gre scores suck and most of my experience isn't research-based, but if someone who knows what they're talking about can evaluate my chances at the other schools I mentioned, I'd appreciate it. The place I'm really hoping for is UPenn - I'm hoping I'll have at least somewhat of an advantage since I have a BSE and MSE from there and because I have strong recommendations from 2 of their professors, but I know it's a very selective school. Regardless, I'd be happy attending UIUC, in fact besides UPenn, I don't know if there's any schools on my list that I'd choose over UIUC... actually, if anyone has any suggestions regarding how I should be prioritizing these schools I'd appreciate it. My interests are complexity, automata theory, and information security.

sorry Mixolydian, don't know anyone who applied to ECE.

did you get into UIUC? I'm pretty sure you will - my profile isn't quite as strong as yours imo, and I got into UIUC with a full tuition waiver and stipend (w/ teaching or research assistanceship). I'm not sure if UIUC has made all the decisions yet, but I do know they've started sending out acceptances. I got mine by email on the 14th. I didn't apply to any of the other schools you listed, but I did apply to Rice, as Shweta03 suggested - I haven't yet heard back from there though.

got it by email on the 14th

Waiting for replies from: UPenn, UChicago, SUNYSB, NYU, JHU, UNC-CH, CUNY, Rice, Dartmouth Admitted: UIUC anyone know if any of the other schools have started sending out decisions yet? any idea how soon they may be doing so? anyhow, I'm pretty excited about UIUC as I know it's CS department is ranked very highly.