4 ms·

I applied to and got into a bunch of good universities to study for my MS in computer science. My biggest mistake, BY FAR, was not visiting all those schools,

I applied to and got into a bunch of good universities to study for my MS in computer science. My biggest mistake, BY FAR, was not visiting all those schools, talking with prospective advisors and current students, and using my gut instincts on those conversations to guide my decision. I picked the school that I felt was the best but wound up poorly matched with an advisor. I had been a very proactive and driven undergrad (returned to undergrad in my late 20s) but reverted to a passive approach in grad school - it was a terrible mistake. By the end of my first year, I was completely demotivated and very unhappy. I turned it around my second year by dropping my advisor and taking some control in the process back. But I also totally punted on a PhD and settled for a MS. But it left me very unsatisfied in the process and in a position of asking "what if" in many ways. One big part of why I was dissatisfied is that in hindsight, many of the professors I interacted with were simply not very friendly or considerate of students. Maybe they were used to being able to be more dismissive of undergrads coming straight to grad school, but as an adult I expected adult interactions. That experience was partly my fault - there are always people who are prickly to deal with. I should have been a little more self-directed about making sure I was working with better people even if it meant maybe doing thesis or research work in an area that was slightly less interesting to me personally.

CobaltFire 4y ago
Thanks for this. It’s a stretch to hope any real grad degree will accept me, but I’m thinking all they can do is tell me no. The advice about advisors I keep hearing repeated, so I will have to listen (if I can get in anywhere).
- clusterhacks 4y ago
  Your chances of admission are probably significantly better than you think. I did my BS in computer science at a mid-lower-tier state school - it wasn't like I was all-world Stanford/MIT/CMU or anything. I did a bunch of GRE practice tests and have always been a very strong standardized test-taker so I had that going for me. I also had cultivated strong references at my undergrad institution. My references were professors I had multiple classes under and that I had actually spent time with during office hours. You may have those sources available to you but I would guess that a decent fallback might be former commanding officers? The school where I got my MS also had stories about active duty Air Force students coming in full-time for a PhD, mowing through the check-lists of to-do work, and finishing their PhD in the three years the AF gave them to do it. Your military background may be a strong point in your favor. Also, I vaguely remember that military retirees often had some tuition assistance programs. Grad schools LOVE students with external funding sources. Look into this. Lastly, it sounds like you have a good story to tell. Tell that story in your application letter!
  - CobaltFire 4y ago
    I’ve been hesitant to lean on my story, as it were, as it seems too close to the plot of a Lifetime movie. I’ll have to get over that and leverage it I suppose. I have almost no contact with professors outside of class due to the nature of my degree taking a long time and it being online. I do have at least one CO who is a cheerleader for me and is the one who has told me to push higher. He is open to writing any and all letters I need. Most of the others I’ve lost contact with, and due to my situation my most recent ones hardly know me.
    - clusterhacks 4y ago
      You aren't leaning on your story so much as you are demonstrating successful experience navigating a world that isn't laid out in a way that made it easy. Retiring from the military? I expect you know deeply how to navigate a bureaucratic system with sometimes frustratingly weird rules. (translation - can work through grad school institutional requirements without hand holding) Possibly at least partially funded by outside sources? (translation - wait, I don't have to pay the full cost of the student? Has healthcare already? FREE FREE FREE labor to advisor) Earned undergrad degree while working full time and caring for a special-needs child? (translation - nothing here is going to knock this person off course) Truthfully speaking, almost everyone has a good story to tell. People are generally interesting to me and I think to others - especially the type of other people you would probably prefer to work with. Maybe I am being overly optimistic about it but maybe remember that grad school is not a magical place where only super-geniuses tread the halls (internal opinions on that may differ </slight sarcasm>).
      - CobaltFire 4y ago
        You gave me my first honest laugh of the day, thanks! It's a chemo week, so those are in short supply. As for the actual content of your comment... I can see all of those. Never having walked those halls it's very much blind to me and statements like yours help demystify what I'm looking at. Every statement you made there is true: I have stable income, I have paid for health care, I have the GI Bill if needed, I know bureaucratic systems, I'm excellent at project management, and I don't give up or derail easily. Maybe I have a shot. I'll have to sit down and work out exactly what I want to pursue; I don't have long left in the season for applications.
codexjourneys 4y ago
+100 to visiting all the schools after you apply. I believe it signaled serious intent to the departments where I applied and gave me a chance to explain my non-traditional background in person. Ended up attending a school in a location that I wouldn't have ranked first on paper but ended up loving. And vice versa for a school in a location that didn't bother me on paper, but when I visited, I realized I couldn't spend years there.
- CobaltFire 4y ago
  I hadn’t considered doing this. It’s a huge investment, but I suppose just by making that investment it’s a signal to that department. Thanks!

CobaltFire 4y ago

Thanks for this. It’s a stretch to hope any real grad degree will accept me, but I’m thinking all they can do is tell me no. The advice about advisors I keep hearing repeated, so I will have to listen (if I can get in anywhere).

clusterhacks 4y ago
Your chances of admission are probably significantly better than you think. I did my BS in computer science at a mid-lower-tier state school - it wasn't like I was all-world Stanford/MIT/CMU or anything. I did a bunch of GRE practice tests and have always been a very strong standardized test-taker so I had that going for me. I also had cultivated strong references at my undergrad institution. My references were professors I had multiple classes under and that I had actually spent time with during office hours. You may have those sources available to you but I would guess that a decent fallback might be former commanding officers? The school where I got my MS also had stories about active duty Air Force students coming in full-time for a PhD, mowing through the check-lists of to-do work, and finishing their PhD in the three years the AF gave them to do it. Your military background may be a strong point in your favor. Also, I vaguely remember that military retirees often had some tuition assistance programs. Grad schools LOVE students with external funding sources. Look into this. Lastly, it sounds like you have a good story to tell. Tell that story in your application letter!
- CobaltFire 4y ago
  I’ve been hesitant to lean on my story, as it were, as it seems too close to the plot of a Lifetime movie. I’ll have to get over that and leverage it I suppose. I have almost no contact with professors outside of class due to the nature of my degree taking a long time and it being online. I do have at least one CO who is a cheerleader for me and is the one who has told me to push higher. He is open to writing any and all letters I need. Most of the others I’ve lost contact with, and due to my situation my most recent ones hardly know me.
  - clusterhacks 4y ago
    You aren't leaning on your story so much as you are demonstrating successful experience navigating a world that isn't laid out in a way that made it easy. Retiring from the military? I expect you know deeply how to navigate a bureaucratic system with sometimes frustratingly weird rules. (translation - can work through grad school institutional requirements without hand holding) Possibly at least partially funded by outside sources? (translation - wait, I don't have to pay the full cost of the student? Has healthcare already? FREE FREE FREE labor to advisor) Earned undergrad degree while working full time and caring for a special-needs child? (translation - nothing here is going to knock this person off course) Truthfully speaking, almost everyone has a good story to tell. People are generally interesting to me and I think to others - especially the type of other people you would probably prefer to work with. Maybe I am being overly optimistic about it but maybe remember that grad school is not a magical place where only super-geniuses tread the halls (internal opinions on that may differ </slight sarcasm>).
    - CobaltFire 4y ago
      You gave me my first honest laugh of the day, thanks! It's a chemo week, so those are in short supply. As for the actual content of your comment... I can see all of those. Never having walked those halls it's very much blind to me and statements like yours help demystify what I'm looking at. Every statement you made there is true: I have stable income, I have paid for health care, I have the GI Bill if needed, I know bureaucratic systems, I'm excellent at project management, and I don't give up or derail easily. Maybe I have a shot. I'll have to sit down and work out exactly what I want to pursue; I don't have long left in the season for applications.

codexjourneys 4y ago

+100 to visiting all the schools after you apply. I believe it signaled serious intent to the departments where I applied and gave me a chance to explain my non-traditional background in person. Ended up attending a school in a location that I wouldn't have ranked first on paper but ended up loving. And vice versa for a school in a location that didn't bother me on paper, but when I visited, I realized I couldn't spend years there.

CobaltFire 4y ago
I hadn’t considered doing this. It’s a huge investment, but I suppose just by making that investment it’s a signal to that department. Thanks!