ChoBaka

A PhD is not the best way to learn how to build a successful business. PhD research is very theoretical, focusing more on mathematical models and analysis. Building and running a successful business requires intuition, leadership skills, luck, a large network of people who can help you out, and practical training/knowledge (none of which you gain from doing a PhD). My suggestion would be to do an MBA instead, or get a job and learn things from the inside while saving up money to start a business yourself.

It sounds like the professor who teaches Labor already knows you well and can write a strong LOR for you. If you think taking the course will strengthen your LOR even more, by all means take it. Gaining knowledge is important, but one thing I've learned in grad school is that a lot of times, it's who you know that's important, rather than what you know. Besides, you can always self-study the material if you really need to learn it.

I don't think Washington State was ranked for CS. I think you're talking about CE (Computer Engineering) which is a slightly different field. So are you in WSU for CS or CE (or is the department joint, as CSE)?

WSU is Washington State University in Pullman, WA. You're thinking of Washington University in St. Louis, which is a private school. As for the OP, hard decision. Both schools aren't ranked for CS, so you might want to e-mail students at both schools and decide which one is better for you.

Which military? Israeli? I don't know of any militaries besides Korea and Israel's that requires more than 2 years of compulsory service...

What's a good MS GPA? I currently have a 3.65 in my first year, and I'm not sure what it will end up after this term (probably stay around that level give or take 0.05). It's funny, cause my undergraduate GPA is higher -_-;; This might be bad, eh?

Professors in the USA generally tend to value international publications (in English) more so than local publications. At the top schools they don't really look at your local (or local language) publications unless there's something that specifically interests a professor on the adcomm (and that professor can read the language, or can get an English version of the paper). The more famous the journal/conference, the better your paper will be received, regardless of what language it was written in. It just so happens that English language journals/conferences are the norm in Computer Science.

I wouldn't recommend USC's MS program over a PhD with fellowship...

Heh gforce, congratulations yet again! I don't think you need to change your decision, unless living in California appeals to you so much so that you would give up Georgia Tech... But yeah, UC-Irvine rejected me a year or two ago and they did so in late June...I had already made up my mind by then but I wondered why they mailed their decision so late.

I've never really looked at what's taught in the CE department. I went to college where there was only a CS dept, and I'm in a grad school where (again) there's only a CS dept. After 5 years of CS education I'm beginning to think that it's a lot like Applied Math, but with lots of hacking code involved.

Oh, one more thing. Start meeting with professors you might want recommendation letters from, and let them know you want to go to grad school. Ask them for advice on how to go about doing things, what you should do to prepare, and be sure to ask them if any of them would be interested in working on some research with you. Either you can make your own project, if you have an idea of what you want to do, or you can join an existing professor's project. Try to get summer research experience this summer (even if it's unpaid!).

Grad students at Columbia are highly self-motivated and have good industry contacts because of the school's location. New York attracts a lot of self-motivated go-getting achievers. The undergraduates tend to be bratty and rich, but they are also smart and go-getters themselves.

Coming from a rank 20 engineering program is actually a very good background. Also, for computer science the GRE verbal score doesn't matter so much (you just have to get above a minimum, which is somewhere in the 400-500s). For MS, I don't see you having too much trouble getting into some of the mid-ranked programs. Getting some sort of aid might be difficult, though.

Heh, no need to be sorry. I don't think anyone is right or wrong about this kind of stuff. In fact, I'm probably more paranoid than necessary (due to my terrible results in 2003-2004)! But yeah, it sounds like you had a very firm background due to your MS thesis, so coining a research term would be safe for someone coming from such a strong background.

Is it okay to 'coin' a research field in your SOP? I had wanted to do something like that the last time I applied, but I figured it might be ridiculous to try and do something like that in front of seasoned professors who have way more knowledge than I do about the subject matter. Also, what if you have a 'bad' idea?

Congratulations, you've got an admit with fellowship to one of the best CS departments in the world! Good luck in your studies. Enjoy the weather down there :)

Don't you have to leave the country after two years on a J-1 visa, or change your visa status? I'd look into that...most people do their PhDs on F-1 visa since J-1 visa has so many restrictions. Best of luck!

I think it may have more to do with how expensive the program and living costs are than with Columbia's reputation or quality as a school.

Studying English grammar won't really help you on the Verbal GRE section. It's mostly about having a very large vocabulary and reading a lot. Because I'm a non-native speaker of English, though, I feel that I might have had an advantage over native speakers since I had to study the language more methodically. Getting a good GRE score doesn't matter as much as most people would have you believe. Just make sure you score above the minimum the department/grad school requires, and then the rest is up to your credentials.

Friend of mine graduated from Top5 CS school with MEng or MS (I forget which), and he's earning around $85K, but that's in NYC. I think the tax withholding alone is around $2500 a month, out of $7000 that he should be getting paid. :(

If your goal is academia, that only reinforces Georgia Tech as the best choice. Even if you already have a Masters from somewhere else, it'll still take 4-5 years to get a PhD, wherever you go. Might as well go to Georgia Tech and try to get your status changed to a doctoral candidate. Some schools let Masters students take PhD Quals, and if they pass they get to move straight on as PhD candidates. Make sure you check out what Georgia Tech's policies are before you commit to another school. Best of luck!

I didn't get anything :( But anyway, congratulations! Best wishes, and I hope you have the best time of your life in Atlanta!

Binghamton isn't really an option for CS in the SUNY system...Stony Brook and Buffalo carry CS. You might want to go to SDSU for the job opportunities there (not sure how the scene is, but I heard it's decent). Northeastern is ranked by USNews (at 60), but I don't know anything about their program. I hear Auburn's a good cheap school, but not for CS (same thing someone posted before me).

You gotta be careful, though, since the Ivy league power applies mostly to pure sciences and humanities areas. Computer Science is more of an engineering discipline (or at least, that's what the job market is like), so having graduated from an Ivy league school probably won't open doors like it does for an Econ graduate or History grad. That being said, I'd probably go to Columbia or Georgia Tech. Purdue's got a good program, but I'm not a big fan of the area that it's in (or the lack of stuff to do around there, especially if you're not into college sports). You should check out the faculty at both schools and see which one is stronger in Networks. Edit: Oh, you've already decided to go to Georgia? Did they offer you any financial aid? Anyhow, congrats on your final decision!

I concur! Don't pity yourself. But! However! I believe everyone is allowed to wallow in self-pity for a short period of time. Remember, though, make it SHORT, or you might get yourself into long-term depression. So, do what you have to (wallow in self-pity for a while, cry, whatever you need for catharsis), then pick yourself up and move forward. And last but not least, good luck next year! (Oh, taking some SAT 2 subject tests might be a good idea. Choose three subjects and start preparing!)