Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm a bachelor Computer Science student form Russia, and I will graduate this spring. I was accepted at three univercities for attending CS PhD program, with funding for the first year, but I have some problems of making a choice. Here's the impression I got so far:
SUNY Buffalo, Buffalo, New York
pros:
-the first university that accepted me, and I was contacted by several professors who asked if I was interested in working with them.
-the highest CS rank (63)
-I already received my I-20 form from them (needed for applying for visa), along with detailed information about campus, housing, International Student Orientation etc.
cons:
-a rather small city. Even my current city here in Russia is twice as big. I believe this is quite important for me because larger cities tend to be frendlier towards gay people. Buffalo is also pretty chill, no difference from where I live currently.
-the lowest funding ($34k total, $15.5k without tuition). This is also important for me because I will be fully dependant on university due to unfavorable situation with ruble exchange rate (dollar got twise as expensive as it was several years ago) and economic situation in Russia in general.
-I'm not 100% happy with my advisor. His research should be interesting enough, but not exactly what I wanted.
-The deadline for accepting the offer have passed, and I did not state my intent to enroll officially, so I'm not sure if this option is still viable. But since they sent me an I-20 form and continue to email me, I assume there is a chance they still consider me?
Temple, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
pros:
-the highest funding ($55k total, $33k without tuition, $24k stipend).
-my future advisor is very friendly and very interested in me. He regularly emails me to check how the process is going. His research should be very interesting.
-a large (and relatively inexpensive!) city that seems to be very nice and underrated.
-there is a chance that I'll be studying together with my classmate friend. This is the only university that seems to accept him as well, he was rejected from the others.
cons:
-I might not be able to study with my friend after all. Department said they like him and are going to accept him, yet unlike me, he still didn't get neither Acceptance letter nor funding offer. Professor promised to try to find something, but chances don't seem to be particularly high.
-the lowest CS rank (112).
-the area where the university is located is not good. Although not really far from the center which is very nice, Temple is still in northern Philadelphia. I heard rumors about high crime rates and delinquents, broken glass and spilled trash all over the place, and the lack of good restaurants and supermarkets nearby.
-I also heard rumors that the administrative management is terrible at Temple, and from my personal experience I have the same impression so far. This is the only university (out of 8) that required me to send them all the materials in a hard-copy form, nearly all other universities were perfectly fine with uploading scans. They mixed up my transcripts with ones of my friend. They sent me a wrong Acceptance letter that informed me that I was accepted at Physics department (wut?). Finally, they didn't provide much information about the forms I have to fill out and things I have to do. Their package is bleak and uninformative in comparison with what I received from Buffalo, so now I try to figure out things on my own.
George Washington, DC
pros:
-funding is good enough ($22k without tuition + a Tuition Fellowship of 18 credit hours).
-CS rank is good enough (82).
-the city seems to be quite big and nice.
-I don't know much about my advisor yet, but her research interests fit well to mine.
cons:
-the city is the most expensive
Overall, I don't know much about Washington DC and GW university yet. Even though this is the middle option by all parameters, it seems to be the only one with no serious disadvantages (aside from the fact that they sent me their desicion so late). Can somebody help me to make an informed decision? Will GW be a good choice for me? And maybe some of my concerns are groundless?
Last edited by UchuuStrange; 05-05-2016 at 01:29 AM..
GW's computer science program is decent. DC is very expensive but I know for a fact GW has helped foreign students find housing and has dorms for graduate students which are affordable. There are also group houses out there, especially ones which are LGBT focused. I think for the first year you can stay in the student housing, and find your way into a group house later. I think taking you are gay DC and Philly are both good options. DC's affordability issues are a bit more complex, it is more difficult for people with children, as supposed to a single person who has greater flexibility in terms of where they live and who they live with.
Your concerns are not groundless by the way. I know this may be a duel thing, both getting your Ph.D. and leaving Russia gives you both the opportunity to be more free to be yourself. DC and Philly both are gay friendly cities.
DC's affordability issues are a bit more complex, it is more difficult for people with children, as supposed to a single person who has greater flexibility in terms of where they live and who they live with.
It's nice that they can help with housing, I heard that Temple is pretty unhelpful on that account. I have no dependents, so this is not an issue for me. But will $2k per month be sufficient to fully cover room & board without counting every penny? I don't think I mind small apartments or roommates, although I lived in my parents' house for my entire life to be honest, so I have no experience in that =)
I guess I'll wait for the reply to my friend for a few days. If he definitely isn't going anywhere, I won't have much regrets turning Temple down. If I really can afford DC of course.
It's nice that they can help with housing, I heard that Temple is pretty unhelpful on that account. I have no dependents, so this is not an issue for me. But will $2k per month be sufficient to fully cover room & board without counting every penny? I don't think I mind small apartments or roommates, although I lived in my parents' house for my entire life to be honest, so I have no experience in that =)
I guess I'll wait for the reply to my friend for a few days. If he definitely isn't going anywhere, I won't have much regrets turning Temple down. If I really can afford DC of course.
You should not have a problem finding housing for $2k a month. Studios and English basements generally go for around $1500-$1800 a month. You can get a shared room in a house between $600-$1000 depending on the location. Rooming with somebody in a 2 BR would be about $1400. It really depends which route you go and where you are living.
Advice from a PhD student (not at any of the above universities): go with the best advisor fit. The differences in rankings aren't that significant and rankings aren't as important in PhD programs as in undergrad anyway. What matters is what you can publish, which in turn depends on having a good relationship with an advisor who shares your research interests at least enough to give good advice about them. The last thing you want to do is find yourself being pushed towards research you don't care about because it's what your advisor's into. A good advisor can also help you deal with stupid bureaucracies.
If neither of the advisors is clearly better than the other, I'd choose based on the program. Are there other faculty at the school besides your prospective advisor who are doing research in your area of interest? Also, check the fine print of your support offers. Are any strings attached? If you have to TA, that's going to cut into your research time.
And if all else is equal, $24k in Philadelphia is going to be a lot more comfortable to live on than $22k in DC. I would not want to try to live in DC on $1833/month.
If neither of the advisors is clearly better than the other, I'd choose based on the program.
Well, they both were helpful and seemed friendly, and their interests seem to match, so neither of them are clearly better than the other, but it's hard to judge based on the information available and limited communication opportunities.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zhym
Also, check the fine print of your support offers. Are any strings attached? If you have to TA, that's going to cut into your research time.
Yes, I have to TA, and I intentionally seeked the position. I don't believe I have a choice, especially considering that I don't have a right to work off-campus on F-1 visa. I got the impression that most PhD students do TA to support themselves during PhD, no? I can't afford to pay for PhD even partially, I can only rely on full support. Half of the infinity is still infinity.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zhym
And if all else is equal, $24k in Philadelphia is going to be a lot more comfortable to live on than $22k in DC. I would not want to try to live in DC on $1833/month.
Do you think so? Some other people told me that there's nearly no difference, and both sums are pretty small but sufficient. You probably know better, but I don't know if you have the same notions of what is absolutely necessary for comfortable life and what isn't. As long as I have enough money for housing, food, internet and some minor expenses, I think I'll survive. But you still got me worried...
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
