what the fuck am i getting myself into with this grad school stuff

I actually did mostly concentrate in computer science in college but I went to a hippie school (no majors/grades, blah blah) and so most of my comp sci classes aren't graded, and I'm missing a few "standard" things that a normal ugrad major would've done. On the other hand, I did some cool things that most normal ugrad majors didn't do (taught a class as my senior thesis project, took philosophy of mind and humanities classes w/ interdisciplinary relevance, etc etc) which I'm hoping is…interesting I guess? I'm aiming to go into theoretical comp sci, which is pretty math-heavy, so I'm hoping they ignore the C i got on an off-campus number theory class my second year.

also realized that if I do become a theoretical computer scientist, I will not be a proper scientist, a proper engineer, or a proper mathematician. but that's ok, it's my ~dream~

You will be a proper new interdisciplinary/brave new world phenom!

haha no the "proper" part is just what the field is like, it is not really science. I have friends who study neuroscience, they are actual scientists; they are too polite to make fun of me for studying a fake science.

data science is science imo!

haha see theoretical computer science doesn't even involve data a lot of the time, at least not experimental data (though it can be useful). It is lots of mathy theorem-proving and imaginary abstract machines. It's very cool, but it has even less to do with the practice of science than systems or AI research does.

at least it's less fake of a science than, like, economics (tho behavioral economics is a field that has generated cool results, like ultimatum game research) (modulo subject selection biases)

man I want this bad, hope I turn out to be good at it

Rescheduled for mid-Nov, should still make most deadlines, huge relief.

Woo!

So is this thread actually about going to grad school again, and not the "rolling academia is a sinking ship" thread?

haha maybe that should be its own thread I guess

well there's the questionable value of a college education thread but that's a bit different.

I had a go at starting an academia thread a while back but it didn't really catch on at the time:

Help, I'm trapped in an ivory tower! Or "what the fuck am i getting myself into with this academia stuff"

I enrol on my MA today (American Fiction and Culture at Goldsmiths). Pretty, pretty excited!

Have my first intro meeting at UCL (art history MA) tomorrow. Quite excited!

I had my first week of classes on Mon/Tue (Uni of Birmingham). It was pretty exciting!

so you feel okay about the leap?

Yeah so far. It probably helps that there are a lot of other people in the program without a background in geography and the department staff all seem pretty aware that people need to be eased into things. A couple of the assignments are unnerving but I imagine they won't be once I've properly ~settled in~ in a few weeks.

ha, i don't think i'd even realised geography was a relevant precursor to your degree. how are you finding the uni/being back at school/embarking on an exciting new chapter thing? it might eventually, in retrospect, be best to just be thrown in at the deep end, re: assignments, etc, idk.

I suppose the most expected precursor to the program is either geography or any sort of 'urban studies' type programs, but geog seems more widespread. Being back is GREAT, anyway. I get to find my way around a new huge library and learn new stuff and think about dissertation topics. In a way it still doesn't quite feel real. I go back to work tomorrow after almost a month off, and I guess maybe once my new routine of uni/uni/day off/work/work kicks in it'll feel more like a 'new chapter'.

Aaargh modular math, why are you so opaque.

Just submitted my NSF GRFP application. Next up, 13 variations on the same statement of purpose, $1000 of application fees, and then waiting.

gl

ty!

np!

I am on a faculty-meeting road trip. It is overwhelming.

Just took the GRE. The new score range is 130-170. Sooo, great verbal score (168, that's like just under 800 on the old scale), terrible math score (147, that's like just under a 500 on the old scale). No time to take it again now before applications are due, so will just have to see which of the ridiculously selective schools that I've put down could possibly live with someone so unbalanced...

wow, quick results! at least it's over.

Yeah, results on screen!

^^

congrats on the verbal score, excellent verbal scores are a lot less common than excellent math scores (for some reason). Plus the good news is that the more selective the school, the less likely they are to look at your GRE score and say "that's a dealbreaker".

The other good news is that now you get to focus on the non-bullshit parts of your application. I fired off my first app last night; just gotta personalize my statement of purpose a dozen more times…

silby, what kind of CS do you do?

I'm hoping to study complexity theory (and some related things); my experiences so far haven't been of a kind that I can claim that I do complexity theory yet (and my specific interests within complexity are more just "things I have read briefly about that excite me") but hopefully once I get more practice I will be able to. I'm also super interested in CS education reform and working on correcting demographic imbalances in the field etc. I'm also also interested in stuff like what intractability results suggest about human cognition. Planning on pursuing a teaching-centered academic career following the PhD. And by "planning" I obviously mean "gambling".

Silby, where are you getting the info re more selective schools being less picky on the GRE? I really hope you are right!

My brain. Mostly I think they are less likely to have a phase where they rank every applicant by GPA and GRE and drop the bottom .

what kind of programs are you applying for, ljubljana?

A mix of developmental psych, education and human development.

hmm would you have to know stats?

Yep! Afraid so...

aw :/

Hoping my weak ass GRE scores aren't going to hold me back this time around PhD applications, or that fact that I'm only 6 weeks into my MA (this makes supplying transcripts a real headache).

That said I'm loving my MA program here at UCL and would be perfectly content to hang around here for another 3-4 years.

copyright term on published bits of my thesis expired so i deposited it in a public archive today. reread bits of it. what a lot of rubbish! (also some great typos)

I misspelled "computer" in the paper I submitted based on my undergrad work; a reviewer noticed. Sent in my NSF application last week with the same typo because I copy-pasted that paragraph.

For what it's worth, last year I accidentally had "Columbia" in a statement I sent to NYU and they still accepted me.

I'm hoping to study complexity theory (and some related things); my experiences so far haven't been of a kind that I can claim that I do complexity theory yet (and my specific interests within complexity are more just "things I have read briefly about that excite me") but hopefully once I get more practice I will be able to. I'm also super interested in CS education reform and working on correcting demographic imbalances in the field etc. I'm also also interested in stuff like what intractability results suggest about human cognition. Planning on pursuing a teaching-centered academic career following the PhD. And by "planning" I obviously mean "gambling".

― whoop, up the butt it goes (silby), Tuesday, November 15, 2011 7:53 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

plz send me notifications of all u publicationz <3333333333333333333

Complexity theory is hardcore! I'm more of an applied guy (NLP), so probably don't have much in the way of advice to offer.

matt might has was seems like good advice for people doing technical subjects in a us-style grad program, esp. compsci

http://matt.might.net/articles/books-papers-materials-for-graduate-students/
http://matt.might.net/articles/how-to-apply-and-get-in-to-graduate-school-in-science-mathematics-engineering-or-computer-science/

etc.: http://matt.might.net/articles/

I have read those articles! I think some of the advice in the latter I willfully ignored out of boastful pride.

Xp to hoos: you are too much.

If I do manage to mold myself into a complexity theorist most of my publications will be impenetrably mathy. Sort of the nature of the gig.