<p>Hello! I'm about to start my senior year of college and will almost definitely pursue a PhD after graduation. I've made a list of potential graduate schools, but I need to cut it down significantly. I would appreciate general feedback or suggestions - how's the university, any notable faculty, surrounding environment, good spread of reach/safety, etc. Thanks all!</p>
<p>Academics
- Honors program, 4.0 GPA, though not from a particularly prestigious university
- GRE: 167Q/166V/4E
- 3 separate research experiences</p>
<p>Desired Location
- Urban (think NYC, Boston) but OK with others if they aren't too remote</p>
<p>Areas of Interest
- Human Computer Interaction
- Graphics (as relating to HCI/interactive media)</p>
<p>(Already considered but cut from list: Texas A&M, Cornell, Carnegie Mellon)</p>
<p>MIT (Media Lab)
Stanford
NYU
U of Washington
UC Berkeley
UCLA
UC Irvine
Stanford
Columbia*
U of Maryland
UT Austin*
UPenn
Harvard**</p>
<ul>
<li>= on list primarily due to location
** = on list primarily due to funding opportunities</li>
</ul>
<p>I wouldn’t put a school on your list only because of possible funding consideration. You can reasonably expect a funded package from any of those schools. If they don’t offer it, then don’t go there. One of the schools on your list accepted my daughter with no funding. When she asked the prof he said the state budget has made their situation difficult, and at the time her area was theory so there isn’t so much outside funding in that area. A Master’s student from her college did get a funding offer. I see occasionally students reporting on gradcafe offers with no funding, but it is still the exception.</p>
<p>Your list seems reach heavy, but I guess it depends on the quality of your research and the fit with professors at those schools. (Congrats on the amazing gpa) If you are going to aim for the tippy top schools why not makes them the HCI powerhouses Carnegie Mellon and GA Tech instead of some of the reaches with smaller dept? I don’t think the concept of Safety applies for PhD programs because of the small admit rates and the question of which schools have how many slots vs how much money, and the whole question of fit. But these are almost all difficult.</p>
<p>This list may have some useful info for you
[HCI</a> Bibliography : Gary Perlman’s Ratings of HCI Education Programs](<a href=“http://hcibib.org/ratedu.html]HCI”>HCI Bibliography : Gary Perlman's Ratings of HCI Education Programs)</p>
<p>Thank you! I appreciate your advice about not choosing schools based on funding. I will definitely be contacting professors once I get further into the application process, and will try to arrange face-to-face meetings with some in schools nearby.</p>
<p>Actually, I’ve already considered GA Tech and CMU (and most from the list you linked), but cut them from the list for non-academic related reasons. I agree though, CMU would have been an amazing institution to aim for!</p>
<p>This is perhaps a little petty, but my reasoning was since I didn’t attend an undergraduate institution with a “name”, I need to get my terminal degree from an institution that is at least reputable in the field I’m studying.</p>
<p>I would pick a school where they do research related to what you want to do in the future. For example, if you wanted to work for Disney then you should pick Carnegie Mellon since they have Disney Research lab on their campus. </p>
<p>Check these school’s specialty in research. Just because they are prestigious doesn’t mean they are the right school for you.</p>
<p>Are you saying CMU doesn’t have a name? You do know it is perpetually co-ranked #1 in CS and has the universally recognized best program in HCI? How is that not a name? I’d say that is THE name.</p>
<p>allie91 is on the right track. These programs all operate very differently in how they are organized within the college and how they do research. It is worthwhile to dig deeper and find out more information on the departments. Same for the professors in the departments. If you can identify what aspect you want to work on, you can identify what professors are publishing in that area and then you will have a better chance where you apply because you will be a good fit. </p>
<p>I don’t know if you will get any face time before acceptance. That is not usual. Talk to the professors at your school for guidance.</p>
<p>BrownParent, I think you missed the part where I mentioned taking CMU and other institutions off my list due to reasons unrelated to their academic and research qualities. Yes, I have done enough research on my own to know CMU is pretty much the top HCI institution at the moment.</p>
<p>Thank you both - I really do need to ground myself and start focusing more on fit, less on prestige.</p>