| Author |
Message |
Peter
Guest
|
| Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2003 7:39 pm
Post subject: What to do on a college visit to MIT and Harvard |
|
|
Hi all
I'm an undergraduate student at the University of Cape Town, and am
presently studying towards a B.Sc. in Electrical and Computer Engineering. I
still have 3 years to go, but I'm starting to think about U.S. graduate
school admissions now, since I have to apply before the end of my third year
because of the differences between the academic and admissions calendars in
South Africa and the U.S. So, in essence, I have 2 years before I must've
done all my research on the U.S. schools I'd like to attend, taylored my
undergradute "career" to fit into what they like in a student and have
submitted my applications.
In April next year I will be visiting the U.S. to attend a conference, and
while I'm there, I plan to visit a friend of mine at MIT. MIT and Harvard
are two of the universities that I'm strongly considering applying to, and
although I realize they're "extreme reaches" (less than 0.1% of MIT's
student population come from South Africa, and quite a few people from South
Africa apply each year), I would really like to at least try my luck.
Unlike with undergraduate admissions, where getting your name known amongst
the faculty doesn't really help, apparently graduate admission decisions are
made by the faculty in the department you're applying to study in. As such,
I would imagine that having your name in the back of the minds of the
faculty there when you apply would be an advantage.
My question: when I visit MIT and Harvard next year, besides talk to
graduate students and inspect the facilities, what should I do? Or more
particularly, is there anything I can/should do while I'm there (and I'll
only be there for 1 day) that will/might improve my chances of admission
into the Ph.D. electrical engineering/computer science programmes at those
schools? I only have one day, so I need to do as much as possible to improve
my chances in that short space of time. I don't know any faculty members at
either Harvard or MIT - should I go through the faculty lists of both
universities, find professors with research interests that are related to
experience I have and try and set up an informal chat for when I visit via
e-mail, or will I just be wasting their and my time? What about official
tours by the International Students Office or the Admissions Dept.? Would
going on one of those (and getting to know the staff) do anything to help my
cause?
On the topic of chatting to professors, does anyone have any suggestions as
to which kindly professors at MIT and Harvard might be willing to spend 15
minutes chatting to a meager undergrad student from the tip of the Dark
Continent?
While attempting to improve my chances of admission is my main objective,
I'd also like to see compelling evidence of why MIT and Harvard are so good
while I'm there, just to keep me motivated. What facilities/labs etc. should
I definitely visit, or what people should I talk to, that will leave me (and
my friends back in South Africa) going, "We *need* to get in there."?
Thanks in advance for any advice, tips, hints or comments you may have.
Cheers
Peter
mcmpet002[at]mail.uct.ac.za |
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Hank Murphy
Guest
|
| Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2003 4:23 am
Post subject: Re: What to do on a college visit to MIT and Harvard |
|
|
May I make a suggestion?
There will be a huge culture shock coming from South Africa to the US, and
that's true for any college you may choose.
However, the two you've picked are also weather shocks. Cape Town is about
34 degrees south latitude. Boston is about 41 degrees north latitude.
Check average weather temperatures before you strongly pursue these. You
may be miserable.
Some other schools I think you should consider:
Cornell
University of Illinois
Stanford
Berkeley
UCLA
UCSD
And Cal Tech while you are at it.
Cornell definitely has, um, cool winters. I can't speak to Illinois.
Stanford and Berkeley are probably the best two schools for this particular
major IMHO. Acceptance there will be very competitive. Latitude is about
37-38 degrees north, so not quite Cape Town weather, but not as cold as the
others mentioned so far.
The last three are about the same latitude as Cape Town, 33 to 34 North, and
I suspect you will find the weather there to your liking. (I know I have
 ) ) So I'd consider these strongly.
Two other tactical issues: I've found that air fare prices on the internet
are cheaper in the US than they are in the UK. I don't know if this is true
for other countries, particularly for South Africa. But you may find that
you get cleaper fares within the US by buying them within the US, even late.
Also, while internet fares are great, you may find that you'll be quoted a
better fare calling the reservation number than you can get over the
internet with an out-of-US address. YMMV. Also check out
www.studentuniverse.com.
The other issue is contacting professors. I don't know if it's any cheaper
or more convenient for you to get to Europe, but you might keep an eye open
for conferences in areas closer to you and see which professors from your
target institutions are attending.
Good Luck,
Hank Murphy
speaking only for myself |
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Peter
Guest
|
| Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2003 4:48 am
Post subject: Re: What to do on a college visit to MIT and Harvard |
|
|
Hi Hank
| Quote: | There will be a huge culture shock coming from South Africa to the US, and
that's true for any college you may choose.
|
I would expect there to be some sort of "culture shock", but I don't expect
it to be *that* big; I have a number of friends in the U.S. (friends of mine
who have immigrated to the U.S.) and all of them say that while it's a
little bit different there, the biggest difference, is, yes, the weather.
| Quote: | However, the two you've picked are also weather shocks. Cape Town is
about
34 degrees south latitude. Boston is about 41 degrees north latitude.
Check average weather temperatures before you strongly pursue these. You
may be miserable.
|
I don't think cold weather would get me to turn down an MIT admission!
Seriously though, I appreciate that living in snow for a good portion of the
year and having temperatures considerably lower than those in S.A. will take
some getting used to, but I'm more of an indoor-type anyway, so I don't
anticipate that being too much of an issue.
| Quote: | Some other schools I think you should consider:
Cornell
|
Yup. Heard good things about Cornell in our CS dept. Have already requested
their brochures etc.
| Quote: | University of Illinois
Same for UIUC. |
| Quote: | Stanford
Definitely. |
| Quote: | Berkeley
UCLA
UCSD
|
For some reason the UC schools don't have the "star power" here in S.A., and
I'd probably be better off doing grad study in SA than at UCLA or UCSD -
Berkeley's quite well-known, but not the other 8.
| Quote: | And Cal Tech while you are at it.
Definitely. |
| Quote: | Cornell definitely has, um, cool winters. I can't speak to Illinois.
Apparently Illinois gets pretty cold too. |
| Quote: | Two other tactical issues: I've found that air fare prices on the
internet
are cheaper in the US than they are in the UK. I don't know if this is
true
for other countries, particularly for South Africa. But you may find that
you get cleaper fares within the US by buying them within the US, even
late.
Also, while internet fares are great, you may find that you'll be quoted a
better fare calling the reservation number than you can get over the
internet with an out-of-US address. YMMV. Also check out
www.studentuniverse.com.
|
I'll check this out - I'd prefer to get all my flights done "under one roof"
so that I have one place to call if anything goes wrong, but if the flights
are much cheaper here, I'll go for them.
At the moment, I'm looking at paying $500 to go from Atlanta -> Seattle (via
Salt Lake City), and then from Seattle -> Boston (via Cleveland), and from
Boston -> Atlanta. Does that sounds reasonable?
| Quote: | The other issue is contacting professors. I don't know if it's any
cheaper
or more convenient for you to get to Europe, but you might keep an eye
open
for conferences in areas closer to you and see which professors from your
target institutions are attending.
|
The conference I'm attending in Boston is a private Microsoft conference
(i.e. not an academic one), and my only expenses are the airfares - i.e. I'm
not going to the conference to "network" with grad colleges. Going to visit
MIT/Harvard is just an afterthought of mine, since I'll be in the U.S.
anyway - so, back to the original question, given that I will be visiting
MIT and Harvard for a day, what do you recommend I do while I'm there?
Thanks, I'll need it!
Cheers
Peter |
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nrf
Guest
|
| Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2003 5:34 am
Post subject: Re: What to do on a college visit to MIT and Harvard |
|
|
"Hank Murphy" <hmurphy@earthlink.newt> wrote in message
news:Z43Fb.12753$0s2.8360@newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net...
| Quote: | May I make a suggestion?
There will be a huge culture shock coming from South Africa to the US, and
that's true for any college you may choose.
However, the two you've picked are also weather shocks. Cape Town is
about
34 degrees south latitude. Boston is about 41 degrees north latitude.
Check average weather temperatures before you strongly pursue these. You
may be miserable.
Some other schools I think you should consider:
Cornell
University of Illinois
Stanford
Berkeley
UCLA
UCSD
And Cal Tech while you are at it.
Cornell definitely has, um, cool winters. I can't speak to Illinois.
|
It is damn cold at UIUC in the winter.
| Quote: |
Stanford and Berkeley are probably the best two schools for this
particular
major IMHO.
|
Those two are very very good, but MIT is still the best.
| Quote: | Acceptance there will be very competitive. Latitude is about
37-38 degrees north, so not quite Cape Town weather, but not as cold as
the
others mentioned so far.
The last three are about the same latitude as Cape Town, 33 to 34 North,
and
I suspect you will find the weather there to your liking. (I know I have
) ) So I'd consider these strongly.
Two other tactical issues: I've found that air fare prices on the
internet
are cheaper in the US than they are in the UK. I don't know if this is
true
for other countries, particularly for South Africa. But you may find that
you get cleaper fares within the US by buying them within the US, even
late.
Also, while internet fares are great, you may find that you'll be quoted a
better fare calling the reservation number than you can get over the
internet with an out-of-US address. YMMV. Also check out
www.studentuniverse.com.
The other issue is contacting professors. I don't know if it's any
cheaper
or more convenient for you to get to Europe, but you might keep an eye
open
for conferences in areas closer to you and see which professors from your
target institutions are attending.
Good Luck,
Hank Murphy
speaking only for myself
|
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nrf
Guest
|
| Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2003 5:43 am
Post subject: Re: What to do on a college visit to MIT and Harvard |
|
|
"Peter" <go@away.com> wrote in message news:3fe4c3a4.0@news1.mweb.co.za...
| Quote: | Hi Hank
There will be a huge culture shock coming from South Africa to the US,
and
that's true for any college you may choose.
I would expect there to be some sort of "culture shock", but I don't
expect
it to be *that* big; I have a number of friends in the U.S. (friends of
mine
who have immigrated to the U.S.) and all of them say that while it's a
little bit different there, the biggest difference, is, yes, the weather.
However, the two you've picked are also weather shocks. Cape Town is
about
34 degrees south latitude. Boston is about 41 degrees north latitude.
Check average weather temperatures before you strongly pursue these.
You
may be miserable.
I don't think cold weather would get me to turn down an MIT admission!
Seriously though, I appreciate that living in snow for a good portion of
the
year and having temperatures considerably lower than those in S.A. will
take
some getting used to, but I'm more of an indoor-type anyway, so I don't
anticipate that being too much of an issue.
Some other schools I think you should consider:
Cornell
Yup. Heard good things about Cornell in our CS dept. Have already
requested
their brochures etc.
University of Illinois
Same for UIUC.
Stanford
Definitely.
Berkeley
UCLA
UCSD
For some reason the UC schools don't have the "star power" here in S.A.,
and
I'd probably be better off doing grad study in SA than at UCLA or UCSD -
Berkeley's quite well-known, but not the other 8.
And Cal Tech while you are at it.
Definitely.
|
CalTech's engineering is not a strong as widely believed. Caltech's great
strengths lie in the natural sciences, especially physics and the earth
sciences. When it comes to engineering at Caltech, I'm afraid that the
substance does not meet the hype. Don't get me wrong - Caltech's
engineering is very good, but it's not MIT caliber. Even Berkeley and
Stanford are significantly better.
If we're talking about EE/CS, let's not forget Carnegie-Mellon.
| Quote: |
Cornell definitely has, um, cool winters. I can't speak to Illinois.
Apparently Illinois gets pretty cold too.
Two other tactical issues: I've found that air fare prices on the
internet
are cheaper in the US than they are in the UK. I don't know if this is
true
for other countries, particularly for South Africa. But you may find
that
you get cleaper fares within the US by buying them within the US, even
late.
Also, while internet fares are great, you may find that you'll be quoted
a
better fare calling the reservation number than you can get over the
internet with an out-of-US address. YMMV. Also check out
www.studentuniverse.com.
I'll check this out - I'd prefer to get all my flights done "under one
roof"
so that I have one place to call if anything goes wrong, but if the
flights
are much cheaper here, I'll go for them.
At the moment, I'm looking at paying $500 to go from Atlanta -> Seattle
(via
Salt Lake City), and then from Seattle -> Boston (via Cleveland), and from
Boston -> Atlanta. Does that sounds reasonable?
The other issue is contacting professors. I don't know if it's any
cheaper
or more convenient for you to get to Europe, but you might keep an eye
open
for conferences in areas closer to you and see which professors from
your
target institutions are attending.
The conference I'm attending in Boston is a private Microsoft conference
(i.e. not an academic one), and my only expenses are the airfares - i.e.
I'm
not going to the conference to "network" with grad colleges. Going to
visit
MIT/Harvard is just an afterthought of mine, since I'll be in the U.S.
anyway - so, back to the original question, given that I will be visiting
MIT and Harvard for a day, what do you recommend I do while I'm there?
|
It would be good to meet grad students and socialize with them. You should
get the goods on those schools straight from the horse's mouth. Depending
on when you are there, there are certain, uh, watering holes I could
recommend.
| Quote: |
Good Luck,
Thanks, I'll need it!
Cheers
Peter
|
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chung
Guest
|
| Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2003 9:28 am
Post subject: Re: What to do on a college visit to MIT and Harvard |
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|
Peter wrote:
| Quote: |
For some reason the UC schools don't have the "star power" here in S.A., and
I'd probably be better off doing grad study in SA than at UCLA or UCSD -
Berkeley's quite well-known, but not the other 8.
|
http://www.coe.berkeley.edu/explore/facts.html#rankings
Check out the list at the bottom of the page. If you believe in USNR
rankings, Cal is #1 in Computer Science/Engineering, and #2 in EE.
EECS is such a broad and diverse field that you have to look at the
strength of the school in the discipline that you are interested in.
Overall, MIT, Stanford and Berkeley are the strongest, with Carnegie
Mellon and UIUC closely behind. The proximity to the silicon valley (as
well as to Asia) is an advantage for the two Bay Area schools, IMO. |
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Irrational Number
Guest
|
| Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2003 2:02 pm
Post subject: Re: What to do on a college visit to MIT and Harvard |
|
|
Peter wrote:
| Quote: |
I'm an undergraduate student at the University of Cape Town, and am
presently studying towards a B.Sc. in Electrical and Computer Engineering. [...]
My question: when I visit MIT and Harvard next year, besides talk to
graduate students and inspect the facilities, what should I do? [...]
should I go through the faculty lists of both
universities, find professors with research interests that are related to
experience I have and try and set up an informal chat for when I visit via
e-mail, or will I just be wasting their and my time?
|
Go through the faculty lists and send email to the
professors you would be interested in working with.
They are always interested in someone who expends
the effort to learn of their research and contact
them.
Since you only have one day, try to set up at most
visits with two professors. Have a list of questions
ready to send both in your email and to ask in person.
| Quote: | What about official
tours by the International Students Office or the Admissions Dept.? Would
going on one of those (and getting to know the staff) do anything to help my
cause?
|
I have found official tours to be useless. I don't
know about the admissions office... I would think
for grad school that the professors are more important.
| Quote: | While attempting to improve my chances of admission is my main objective,
I'd also like to see compelling evidence of why MIT and Harvard are so good
while I'm there, just to keep me motivated. What facilities/labs etc. should
I definitely visit, or what people should I talk to, that will leave me (and
my friends back in South Africa) going, "We *need* to get in there."?
|
This is a good objective. The first thing to do is
to see if there is any research going on at MIT or
Harvard that YOU are interested in doing. And that
YOU think is cool, then see if they have the facilities
for doing what you think needs doing. Once you have
that, then you don't need anything else. Even if an
institution has great resources, why would you go
there if they don't do what you want to do?
-- Anita --
--
SUCCESS FOUR FLIGHTS THURSDAY MORNING ALL AGAINST
TWENTY ONE MILE WIND STARTED FROM LEVEL WITH ENGINE
POWER ALONE AVERAGE SPEED THROUGH AIR THIRTY ONE
MILES LONGEST 57 SECONDS INFORM PRESS HOME CHRISTMAS. |
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Peter
Guest
|
| Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2003 5:14 pm
Post subject: Re: What to do on a college visit to MIT and Harvard |
|
|
Thanks. It's all fair and well that some of the UC schools are very strong
in EECS, but if I want to/have to work in South Africa and they're not
recognised as being better than the South African universities (which
they're not), then I'd be better off just staying here.
Peter
| Quote: | http://www.coe.berkeley.edu/explore/facts.html#rankings
Check out the list at the bottom of the page. If you believe in USNR
rankings, Cal is #1 in Computer Science/Engineering, and #2 in EE.
EECS is such a broad and diverse field that you have to look at the
strength of the school in the discipline that you are interested in.
Overall, MIT, Stanford and Berkeley are the strongest, with Carnegie
Mellon and UIUC closely behind. The proximity to the silicon valley (as
well as to Asia) is an advantage for the two Bay Area schools, IMO.
|
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Peter
Guest
|
| Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2003 5:22 pm
Post subject: Re: What to do on a college visit to MIT and Harvard |
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|
Thanks, Anita.
| Quote: | Go through the faculty lists and send email to the
professors you would be interested in working with.
They are always interested in someone who expends
the effort to learn of their research and contact
them.
Since you only have one day, try to set up at most
visits with two professors. Have a list of questions
ready to send both in your email and to ask in person.
|
My main problem here is that since I'm only going to be in sophomore year at
the time of my visit, it's unlikely that I'll be able to get into an
in-depth discussion with a professor about his/her research. Should I ask
one or two questions of the research he/she is doing, then focus on more
general questions such as, "What does [MIT/Harvard] have to offer me?" and
"What would you like to see in an grad school applicant from South Africa?"?
| Quote: | What about official
tours by the International Students Office or the Admissions Dept.?
Would
going on one of those (and getting to know the staff) do anything to
help my
cause?
I have found official tours to be useless. I don't
know about the admissions office... I would think
for grad school that the professors are more important.
|
Great.
| Quote: | While attempting to improve my chances of admission is my main
objective,
I'd also like to see compelling evidence of why MIT and Harvard are so
good
while I'm there, just to keep me motivated. What facilities/labs etc.
should
I definitely visit, or what people should I talk to, that will leave me
(and
my friends back in South Africa) going, "We *need* to get in there."?
This is a good objective. The first thing to do is
to see if there is any research going on at MIT or
Harvard that YOU are interested in doing. And that
YOU think is cool, then see if they have the facilities
for doing what you think needs doing. Once you have
that, then you don't need anything else. Even if an
institution has great resources, why would you go
there if they don't do what you want to do?
|
Do you have any particular suggestions of labs I might visit in Harvard/MIT
that are doing "cool stuff" in EECS?
Thanks
Peter |
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Abe Kohen
Guest
|
| Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2003 8:59 pm
Post subject: Re: What to do on a college visit to MIT and Harvard |
|
|
"Peter" <go@away.com> wrote in message news:3fe44363.0@news1.mweb.co.za...
| Quote: | Hi all
I'm an undergraduate student at the University of Cape Town, and am
presently studying towards a B.Sc. in Electrical and Computer Engineering.
I
still have 3 years to go, but I'm starting to think about U.S. graduate
school admissions now, since I have to apply before the end of my third
year
because of the differences between the academic and admissions calendars
in
South Africa and the U.S. So, in essence, I have 2 years before I must've
done all my research on the U.S. schools I'd like to attend, taylored my
undergradute "career" to fit into what they like in a student and have
submitted my applications.
In April next year I will be visiting the U.S. to attend a conference, and
while I'm there, I plan to visit a friend of mine at MIT. MIT and Harvard
are two of the universities that I'm strongly considering applying to, and
although I realize they're "extreme reaches" (less than 0.1% of MIT's
student population come from South Africa, and quite a few people from
South
Africa apply each year), I would really like to at least try my luck.
Unlike with undergraduate admissions, where getting your name known
amongst
the faculty doesn't really help, apparently graduate admission decisions
are
made by the faculty in the department you're applying to study in. As
such,
I would imagine that having your name in the back of the minds of the
faculty there when you apply would be an advantage.
|
Absolutely right. However getting your name known in a positive manner
entails bringing something to the table. So unless you have made already
made a name for yourself in your field, this maneuver might be premature.
| Quote: |
My question: when I visit MIT and Harvard next year, besides talk to
graduate students and inspect the facilities, what should I do? Or more
|
MIT has many facilities related to EECS. Hang out with some grad students
who can show you their research projects. Are you even sure that your grad
studies will be strictly in EECS? A lot of research nowadays is done jointly
with other departments. Your interests might become more fine tuned in the
next couple of years.
| Quote: | particularly, is there anything I can/should do while I'm there (and I'll
only be there for 1 day) that will/might improve my chances of admission
into the Ph.D. electrical engineering/computer science programmes at those
schools? I only have one day, so I need to do as much as possible to
improve
my chances in that short space of time. I don't know any faculty members
at
either Harvard or MIT - should I go through the faculty lists of both
universities, find professors with research interests that are related to
experience I have and try and set up an informal chat for when I visit via
e-mail, or will I just be wasting their and my time? What about official
tours by the International Students Office or the Admissions Dept.? Would
going on one of those (and getting to know the staff) do anything to help
my
cause?
On the topic of chatting to professors, does anyone have any suggestions
as
to which kindly professors at MIT and Harvard might be willing to spend 15
minutes chatting to a meager undergrad student from the tip of the Dark
Continent?
|
Search the web sites. Find some interesting profs. Email them just like you
posted here. See if they'll give you 15 minutes.
| Quote: |
While attempting to improve my chances of admission is my main objective,
I'd also like to see compelling evidence of why MIT and Harvard are so
good
while I'm there, just to keep me motivated. What facilities/labs etc.
should
I definitely visit, or what people should I talk to, that will leave me
(and
my friends back in South Africa) going, "We *need* to get in there."?
|
I've been to MIT many times (as a parent), and I still don't have a handle
on everything they do there.
Stay away from arranged tours. Have students show you around.
Depending on what interests you, the Media Lab, the AI Lab, Nano Tech lab
(not in EECS) among others, you might find interesting.
Oh yes, ideally you should visit in February, when it's cold and dreary, to
find out if you are hard core.
Best of luck.
Abe
| Quote: |
Thanks in advance for any advice, tips, hints or comments you may have.
Cheers
Peter
mcmpet002[at]mail.uct.ac.za
|
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Abe Kohen
Guest
|
| Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2003 9:04 pm
Post subject: Re: What to do on a college visit to MIT and Harvard |
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|
"Peter" <go@away.com> wrote
| Quote: | Hi Hank
Some other schools I think you should consider:
Cornell
Yup. Heard good things about Cornell in our CS dept. Have already
requested
their brochures etc.
|
Excellent school. Winters are even more severe than at MIT. (Richard Feynman
left Cornell for Caltech, when he had had enough of the bad weather.)
Abe |
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Abe Kohen
Guest
|
| Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2003 9:06 pm
Post subject: Re: What to do on a college visit to MIT and Harvard |
|
|
"chung" <chunglau@covad.net> wrote in message
news:14307$3fe50540$c247604$27331@msgid.meganewsservers.com...
| Quote: | Peter wrote:
For some reason the UC schools don't have the "star power" here in S.A.,
and
I'd probably be better off doing grad study in SA than at UCLA or UCSD -
Berkeley's quite well-known, but not the other 8.
http://www.coe.berkeley.edu/explore/facts.html#rankings
Check out the list at the bottom of the page. If you believe in USNR
rankings, Cal is #1 in Computer Science/Engineering, and #2 in EE.
|
If you believe in Santa Claus ...
Cal is definitely good.
Abe |
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Abe Kohen
Guest
|
| Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2003 9:10 pm
Post subject: Re: What to do on a college visit to MIT and Harvard |
|
|
"Peter" <go@away.com> wrote in message news:3fe57285.0@news1.mweb.co.za...
| Quote: | Thanks. It's all fair and well that some of the UC schools are very strong
in EECS, but if I want to/have to work in South Africa and they're not
recognised as being better than the South African universities (which
they're not), then I'd be better off just staying here.
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Absolutely true. However, the quality of the EECS programs at MIT, Stanford,
Cal and CMU are really indistinguishable. External factors such as weather,
job opportunities, etc may make one better than the other three.
BTW, Cal is a synonym for Berkeley.
Abe
| Quote: |
Peter
http://www.coe.berkeley.edu/explore/facts.html#rankings
Check out the list at the bottom of the page. If you believe in USNR
rankings, Cal is #1 in Computer Science/Engineering, and #2 in EE.
EECS is such a broad and diverse field that you have to look at the
strength of the school in the discipline that you are interested in.
Overall, MIT, Stanford and Berkeley are the strongest, with Carnegie
Mellon and UIUC closely behind. The proximity to the silicon valley (as
well as to Asia) is an advantage for the two Bay Area schools, IMO.
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Abe Kohen
Guest
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| Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2003 9:17 pm
Post subject: Re: What to do on a college visit to MIT and Harvard |
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You are not going to get better advice than what Anita wrote below.
Abe
"Irrational Number" <nospam@nospam.com> wrote
| Quote: | Peter wrote:
I'm an undergraduate student at the University of Cape Town, and am
presently studying towards a B.Sc. in Electrical and Computer
Engineering. [...]
My question: when I visit MIT and Harvard next year, besides talk to
graduate students and inspect the facilities, what should I do? [...]
should I go through the faculty lists of both
universities, find professors with research interests that are related
to
experience I have and try and set up an informal chat for when I visit
via
e-mail, or will I just be wasting their and my time?
Go through the faculty lists and send email to the
professors you would be interested in working with.
They are always interested in someone who expends
the effort to learn of their research and contact
them.
Since you only have one day, try to set up at most
visits with two professors. Have a list of questions
ready to send both in your email and to ask in person.
What about official
tours by the International Students Office or the Admissions Dept.?
Would
going on one of those (and getting to know the staff) do anything to
help my
cause?
I have found official tours to be useless. I don't
know about the admissions office... I would think
for grad school that the professors are more important.
While attempting to improve my chances of admission is my main
objective,
I'd also like to see compelling evidence of why MIT and Harvard are so
good
while I'm there, just to keep me motivated. What facilities/labs etc.
should
I definitely visit, or what people should I talk to, that will leave me
(and
my friends back in South Africa) going, "We *need* to get in there."?
This is a good objective. The first thing to do is
to see if there is any research going on at MIT or
Harvard that YOU are interested in doing. And that
YOU think is cool, then see if they have the facilities
for doing what you think needs doing. Once you have
that, then you don't need anything else. Even if an
institution has great resources, why would you go
there if they don't do what you want to do?
-- Anita -- |
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Peter
Guest
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| Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2003 10:10 pm
Post subject: Re: What to do on a college visit to MIT and Harvard |
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| Quote: | Excellent school. Winters are even more severe than at MIT. (Richard
Feynman
left Cornell for Caltech, when he had had enough of the bad weather.)
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Seriously? I hadn't read that in any of his books (or biographies)!
Apparently Einstein also really liked the environment (both academic and the
weather) at CalTech...
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