10/17 I'm a non-CS major and want to go to grad school in CS. Do grad
schools care what your major is? What kind of chances do I have (with
good grades etc.)?
\_ Yes and depends on school.
\_ I agree.
\_ I disagree.
\_ Are you serious?
\_ Expect to take a lot of undergraduate CS classes. In fact, you
might want to start already at some other (local? less
expensive?) school before applying.
\_ Talk to the graduate adminisistration folks and some profs at the
schools you'd like to attend. In many cases, attending classes
elsewhere first as suggested above can hurt you.
\_ Might not hurt your wallet. Depends on the situation.
Usually schools will want you to take remedial work with
them, but one has to question their motives at times. Taking
classes may not help but will *never* hurt in spite of the
scare tactics that Top Ten programs use.
\_ happens frequently, mostly w/ people who already have Math or
Physics degree. My former roomate, a former astro-physics Phd
candidate, dropped out of his Phd program got into a CS Phd
program back in 96. I'm not saying that anyone should give it
a try. It is for the selected few. If you don't have a good math
or technical background or don't have good grades, don't even
waste your time.
\_ Ok, so I am hoping for a really good program like Berkeley or MIT
or maybe CMU. Can anyone say if it is common here? (I'd be a
math major, so I think I'd have the background needed.)
--original poster
\_ Berkeley, MIT, Stanford, and CMU are the top 4 schools.
Washington, UCLA, Princeton, etc are second tier. Whether
or not you can get in depends on what you want to study
and how much effort you plan to invest. If you just want
a masters degree to boost your salary, then you don't need
one of the top tier schools. A master in systems from
Washington will do just as well. If you're serious about
getting a PhD, then you should first figure out what you
want to study, and it had better be something you already
know something about. Then you should figure out which
professors you want to work with at each school, and read
up on their current research. Then go talk to his/her
grad students to get the inside scoop and get a feel for
your chances at being accepted. This is just generic
advice about grad school. If you want to describe your
situation in more detail, I can expend with more free
advice.
\_ You need to do something really cool, or show solid time
investment and do something somewhat cool.
\_ oh by the way, anyone can get into a 3rd tier graduate school
like Santa Clara. So if prestige is not a big deal (e.g. if
you're not aiming for Berkeley or MIT) then go for it.
\_ what is considered 2nd tier?
\_ Santa Clerkeley
\_ UCLA, Princeton, Duke, for instance. Schools with a
developing program that's showing signs of hope but isn't
saturated enough with prestigious faculty.
\_ I would think 2nd tier are those ranked around
11-20. 3rd are those around 21-40. 4th, are places
like Santa Clara.
\_ don't go to santa clara. it's just a shit
school for rich assholes anyhow.
\_ it really shouldn't even be deemed a grad
school. just a masters degree purchase program
\_ What's wrong with being rich? Why does being
wealthy automagically make someone an asshole?
Is this one of those "too much time with bh"
communist things?
\_ Yea, I think it should be "rich dumbasses"
instead of "rich assholes".
\_ They got rich by being stupid? I'm
still waiting to hear the problem
with being rich and why the wealthy
are somehow flawed compared to the
poor.
\_ Santa Clara -> rich and stupid
because if you are poor, you
can't afford it and if you are
smart, you go to a better school.
As for why they are rich in the
first place: it's their dad
who is rich. As for why their
who is rich. As for why the
dad is rich and yet the kid is
stupid, there are two possbili-
ties: (1) genes work in funny
ways, (2) The dad got rich not
by being smart, but by being
an asshole (i.e. He is a rich
smart and an asshole (i.e.
asshole). If you are both
smart and an asshole (i.e. a
smart asshole), you get to be
really rich. eg. Billy Gates.
Got it now?
\_ I see. So this is all Santa
Clara specific? Glad you
have this all worked out.
\_ Huh? Wasn't Santa Clara
what it was about all
along?
\_ No.
\_ What about USCS, SJSU?
\_ What about UCSC, SJSU?
\_ UCSC's CS program seems to be showing signs of
hope -- at the very least, some of their faculty
aren't totally anonymous. Still doesn't qualify
as "2nd tier" to me, but it may get there soon
if they work on it. (This pertinent to grad
school only)
\_ uh, shit schools for poorer folks.
there's this one asshole at my company
from san jose state, he's a dumbass,
and my cousins went to sjsu. mind
you, they are not that dumb, just
strapped for cash. the school
you go to doesn't necessarily
determine how intelligent you are
when you leave...i mean, i left
cal, which is supposed to be a "good"
school, but i have all kinds of
pricks asking me "didn't you
already learn this in school" type
of questions at work, from place
to place. the best determiner
is mainly how much you push yourself.
\_ From your English and the questions those
'pricks' ask you, it doesn't sound like
you pushed yourself very hard, you lazy
fuck. I hope you get fired. You got
quite an attitude for someone who is
obviously dead weight. |
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