u/tini_wings

Hi:)

So I‘m about to apply to Master‘s programmes in computer science and initially intended to apply to Ivy League universities and Stanford.
The reason is a mix of real ambition, ego and the feeling of „I can, so I have to“, because I am academically strong and now feel like I need to make the most of that potential.

Howeveeeeer I do wish for a great student life experience. I‘m from Europe and always wanted to go to an American university for the student experience. I know it‘s probably highly romanticised through movies etc., that‘s why it would be nice to hear about some first hand experience!

I imagine student life to be less fun at Ivy League universities and I am worried that I might miss a great experience if I decide to go there.
I know it might be „better“ for my career but I think that a great experience is worth just as much. I would love to make friends, go to cool parties and we’ll just live the life :-)

What do you think? How‘s student life at Harvard, Stanford etc.? What other (non-Ivy) universities do you recommend for the best fun experience?

PS: Another interest I would like to explore is acting. Not in a professional way but maybe in terms of student groups or some occasional castings. I‘m taking acting evening classes while studying my bachelor‘s and think the states would be a great chance t explore this further :-)

Pls don‘t mock me, just a lost someone trying to find their way :D

Edit: if this post would fit better into another subreddit, feel free to tell me :-)

Hi,
Hat jemand Erfahrung mit Stagepool, insbesondere dem Abo für 30€/ Monat? Lohnt das?

Sie sagen sie machen das Abo weil sie dafür keine Provision nehmen, was ich etwas shady finde. Laut Internet ist die Firma aber grundsätzlich seriös.

Hat jemand sonst andere Empfehlungen zu Schauspiel-Agenturen in Österreich für EinsteigerInnen?:)

Does anyone have any experience using stagepool (preferably in Germany or Austria) ?:)
Was wondering whether the 24€/month subscription is actually worth it!

Does anyone have any experience with the scholarships provided by educations.com?
I am wondering whether these are serious because they seem a bit sketchy.
Also it says in the terms & conditions that the award money is paid directly to the university and not the applicant?

Hello fellow German Cam students,

Does anyone know any scholarships for German applicants apart from the usual DAAD & Studienstiftung?:-)

Danke danke danke! 🧡

*Opinion Poll*

PROS
- Reputation/prestige is a major asset on a CV (reportedly leading straight to a six-figure salary)
- ⁠Potential benefits for a research career (which I could imagine)
- ⁠A fantastic experience (student life) that I’ve dreamed of since I was a child

CONS
- The teaching isn’t great & isn’t in my specialisation (HCI) (7 months of courses in fairly basic subjects. I could, however, do my Master’s thesis in my field with an excellent supervisor)
- A Master’s at my current university would be tailored exactly to my interests
- 70,000 EUR IN DEBT

ALTERNATIVES
- Master’s at my current university in my specialisation (international mid-field, living for 2.5 years costs approx. 30k)
- ⁠Apply again next year with a chance of scholarships (covering a maximum of 30k)
-> study until then (living for 1 year approx. 12k)
-> work until then
- ⁠Try for a PhD in Oxford later? (It’s funded, but you don’t earn any money -> another 4 years without income) Do I even want a PhD?
- ⁠???

Your opinion let’s goooo (pls dont mock me because I am so indecisive, this is a big decision for me)

Ich würde gerne neben dem Master Studium eine (studentische) Stelle in der Forschung bekommen (10-20h), da das für einen späteren PhD super hilfreich wäre. Ich sehe im Job-Portal der TU immer mal studentische Stellen in der „Forschung & Verwaltung“ ausgeschrieben, aber leider selten in meinem Fachbereich (Informatik).

Weiß jemand wie man eine Stelle als Research Assistant / studentische*r Mitarbeiter*in in der Forschung bekommt?:)

Läuft das hauptsächlich über Initiativ Bewerbungen bei Profs/Forschungsgruppen? Oder über connections?:)

Meinen Bachelor habe ich auch an der TU gemacht.

Falls jemand schonmal sowas gemacht hat freue ich mich über Ratschläge!😊

Overheard some say this and have been thinking about this.

After all up to 50k is a lot of money for 1 year.

I guess in addition to the teaching one could consider the value of international connections & prestige and of course the „invaluable“ experience :) Still doubting if that‘s worth it though…

Do you think your programmes are worth their fees?

Hi,

I recently finished my bachelors in computer science and I want to continue a master‘s programme. I‘m mostly interested in HCI with a touch of visual computing & AI. I’m interested in research and could imagine a future career on that path.

I just got an offer from Oxford University for the Master‘s in Advanced Computer Science. Obviously receiving an an offer from Oxford is crazy. However since I am probably not getting a scholarship, I would have to pay for it myself (which would be around 70k for course fees + living costs). I am struggling whether I should do this or not. The programme is mostly oriented around logic & algorithms and machine learning, mathematical & theoretical stuff. There’s no modules aiming directly at HCI. However, since the Master‘s only takes about a year, courses would only take up ~7 month anyway and after that I would be working on a Master‘s thesis, hopefully cooperating with one of the profs in the HCI research field.

Of course Oxford in general is very prestigious but the HCI people don’t seem to be the most prominent researchers in that field (still very good though).

Then again I’m just a Bachelor’s graduate so what do I know… I just googled and looked at a lot of rankings etc ..:D

Right now my alternative option would be to take up the Master’s Media & Human-Centered Computing at the TU Vienna. This programme is rather practice-oriented of which I don’t know whether that’s a good thing. The researchers here are good but not world-class to what I know.

I also looked up some other universities/ research groups and some like ETH Zürich or Aalto University looked interesting too and I could imagine applying for a PhD there later…

So basically I am looking for advice on what aspects to consider for my decision. How important is the university’s reputation in HCI? Does the Master’s matter at all or is it all about the PhD anyway? Should I mostly look at the faculty’s researcher’s reputation? How would you make your decision?:)

PS: I have already thought about this a lot and considered many sources of information. It’s not like I do not know what to do at all, I’m just leaving this question open to get as unbiased advice as possible. Please do not post mean/mocking answers.

Thanks to all:)