more school
I guess I don't talk much about anything but school here these days. I don't really want to talk about work, and between the two there's not a whole lot else to talk about. It's a busy life. :-)
This Fall I am taking a course on parallel programming - I am also trying to figure out how best to do the whole degree thing: it reads like a logic puzzle.
As I've mentioned before, I am currently enrolled in classes but not actually accepted into the program, a situation with which the university is fine - up to a point. At most three classes taken before graduate acceptance can apply toward the degree, and (presumably) I will hit that limit in the Spring. If I then apply for admission, I will get an answer over the summer and be accepted (hopefully) for the Fall - forcing me to skip the summer session.
If I apply now, for admission in the Spring, I'll be fine - accept that I will have fewer classes under my belt, won't have taken the GRE (which is not required but strongly recommended), and will generally be a weaker candidate. It's also a hell of a lot of paperwork to get done in the next couple of months, including recommendations...
I think I'm going to shoot for admission next Fall session, and plan on skipping the Summer session next year. If I take two classes that Fall session, and two more the 2012 Fall session, I'll have everything I need as well as the opportunity to take all the classes I want (rather than taking more of what look like fairly uninteresting classes).
Frustratingly, classes offered for the Fall session are prerequisites for other courses throughout the year, as well as being where most of the most interesting classes are. If I don't double down at some point, it will take a lot longer to graduate; if I don't do it during the Fall, my options for classes I care about drops significantly as well.
This Fall I am taking a course on parallel programming - I am also trying to figure out how best to do the whole degree thing: it reads like a logic puzzle.
As I've mentioned before, I am currently enrolled in classes but not actually accepted into the program, a situation with which the university is fine - up to a point. At most three classes taken before graduate acceptance can apply toward the degree, and (presumably) I will hit that limit in the Spring. If I then apply for admission, I will get an answer over the summer and be accepted (hopefully) for the Fall - forcing me to skip the summer session.
If I apply now, for admission in the Spring, I'll be fine - accept that I will have fewer classes under my belt, won't have taken the GRE (which is not required but strongly recommended), and will generally be a weaker candidate. It's also a hell of a lot of paperwork to get done in the next couple of months, including recommendations...
I think I'm going to shoot for admission next Fall session, and plan on skipping the Summer session next year. If I take two classes that Fall session, and two more the 2012 Fall session, I'll have everything I need as well as the opportunity to take all the classes I want (rather than taking more of what look like fairly uninteresting classes).
Frustratingly, classes offered for the Fall session are prerequisites for other courses throughout the year, as well as being where most of the most interesting classes are. If I don't double down at some point, it will take a lot longer to graduate; if I don't do it during the Fall, my options for classes I care about drops significantly as well.