Well, after the two month-plus ordeal of getting off my Churchill and Cambridge applications, I have to start all over again. Most Computer Science graduate school applications are due in roughly 1 month, so now is prime time for making sure that everything will get turned in on time.
The past few days I have been spending most of my time on the Statement of Purpose. While I have already written more than 6 drafts for my Personal Statement (for fellowships), these two documents are completely different entities. While recommendations, transcripts, and GRE scores are common to both fellowship applications and graduate school applications, the personal statement serves two very different purposes.
For fellowships, the Personal Statement is a motivational essay about how you enjoy research, how it's your only goal in life, and to present the air of having your whole life and research direction planned out. In this way, it is a contest to have the most appealing story, and it shouldn't be surprising that these are more airy and idealistic. This is not helped at all by competitions like the NSF's Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP), which demands that in every section that you demonstrate how your research proposal, personal statement, etc. has "broader impacts" on society beyond Computer Science. This may be easy if you work in a cancer lab ("I want to cure cancer!"), an oceanography lab ("i want to save the whales!"), or a climate lab ("I want to stop global warming!"), but invites foolish writing. How can you tie researching process calculi to saving humanity?
For graduate school applications, the statement of purpose is much simpler: you only need to say what research interests you and why, explain why you would be a good graduate student, and why you should attend school X. In this way it is more of a written interview for a research job. Phillip Guo makes the same distinction in his useful writing on fellowship applications. I have also found Jean Yang's series of posts about applying to graduate school as a useful measuring stick, as she applied to the same caliber of schools that I intend to apply to (and in the same field approximately).
Speaking of schools, here's my preliminary list of schools to which I'll be applying. I hope to have the list finalized by the end of the week, because GRE scores and such need to start moving to the schools soon.
1. University of Washington
2. University of Maryland
3. University of Texas-Austin
4. University of Colorado-Boulder
5. Purdue University
UW is the overwhelming first choice, because Steph has a full time position in Redmond. There are also several professors at UW whose research I like (Grossman, Ernst, Notkin, Eggers, Ceze, to name a few). In the event I don't get accepted there, I would still find research at any of the other institutions to be interesting, but would not like the living situation very much.
There are two remaining hurdles before my applications are made: transcripts, and GRE scores. I have yet to get my Tohoku classes transferred to my Purdue transcript due to a series of frustrating delays. Hopefully the last of those will be a meeting on November 20. I also have yet to receive my GRE score report, since it was lost in a mailbox malfunction a few months ago, apparently. Should be receiving it this week or next.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Cross-compiling backwards
Lately I've been working on some Safari/webkit hacking, which means that I've become somewhat familiar with Xcode, C++, and vaguely familiar with the Webkit codebase.
As part of our research (to be detailed later) we forked a random nightly of Safari 3.2-era WebKit, and made some various modifications. A few months ago Snow Leopard came out, which is OS X 10.6 for those of you not keeping track. This new OS version only uses Safari 4.0; this led to several difficulties in trying to compile and run Safari 3.2 against OS X 10.6 SDK.
Eventually, I found out that you can retarget development against specific OS SDK's. Thus the solution to the problem was in effect to cross-compile downwards to 10.5 on my 10.6 machine. After most of yesterday spent recompiling WebKit with various combinations of flags, I can finally run our research project on my personal machine.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
New Music
Lately i've been getting into some fairly underground electronic music. Here's some pointers:
- soma.fm has some really nice radio stations, especially Groove Salad (chill, downtempo) and Beat Blender (downtempo, minimal, ambient)
- Dublab also has a good radio station, but tends to have a lot more variety in programming
- Pipedown. is a nice music blog that seems to cover downtempo, bass, and dubstep. Sort of like Mary Ann Hobbs. They also have pointers to other blogs, lots of shorter mixes, podcasts, etc. if you want to explore new artists and sounds.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
De facto blogging hiatus
Since I've landed in America and started the old flow of things, I'm been extremely busy. In fact, I've scarcely had time to read the New York Times, Metafilter, or any other pleasure reading in the past few weeks. If not for my deathly boring Abstract Algebra class, I doubt even my diary would keep (mostly) updated.
This month, I'm taking a light credit load (Operating Systems, Astronomy, Abstract Algebra, and an Honors Project). Despite this, I'm at least as crunched for time as the infamous semester from hell when I had 20 credit hours and a job. Part of this is the honors project: it is a lot of work, but in the end I will be proud to be one of the few to submit a report describing a non-trivial development. More important to the formula is my jumble of applications that are being assembled and spat out like foam out of a nerf gun.
This month, I'm preparing my applications for CRA Outstanding Undergraduate Award, Winston Churchill Fellowship, Gates Cambridge Fellowship, and an application to study at Cambridge for an MPhil (like a Master's). Next month, I will be working on the NSF fellowship and going to OOPSLA conference in Orlando, and in November it will be crunch time not only for 5+ graduate school applications, but also paper writing. At least i've gotten the GRE out of the way (that was last week).
For all these reasons I seldom have time to write interesting posts here. I'm not entirely certain this will change, at least until the end of application season (next semester). For now, you can follow my Twitter microblog.
Brian
Monday, August 3, 2009
Why I am alone at ChoCo Cro
Japanese culture never ceases to amaze me. There is always some new idiosyncrasy that sneaks up behind me, giggles a little bit, whacks me in the head and runs away. Other times, these visibly small but deep cultural differences are like a flickering monitor, too inherent to notice if you are staring too directly, but easy to discern if you are looking less intently. In a country with unwritten social codes, polite service, and leniency towards foreigners, many interesting cultural quirks go unexplained or unnoticed.
Today I decided to do some writing in one of the many trendy ‘coffee shops’ in downtown Sendai. Trendy because, independent of the taste of the product, they are almost always crowded with yapping women. While this is almost the same as McDonalds in Japan, there is a much more specific crowd for coffee shops. Simply, Japanese patronize coffee shops for one of two reasons: to feel ‘Western’ by drinking Starbucks or Tullys, or to partake in sweet pastries.
In my current location, it is mainly the sweets that drive business. ChoCo Cro is a store whose namesake is their chocolate croissants, and whose origin and flagship store resides in the ever-trendy Harajuku neighborhood of Tokyo. To be fair, the chocolate croissants are very delicious in their own right, and are much better than croissants I’ve eaten in America. With such tasty food, you would expect the tables to be full of caffeine-addled young professionals working on their laptops and the occasional boisterous conversation. However, in this shop I am the only member of the former, and everyone else in the cafe is in the latter group. To make matters worse, I’m the only one in this section not wearing high heels.
In Japan, sweet pastries have only one target audience: women, ladies, and girls. It is seen as a sign of weakness or indulgence for a male to eat sweets past childhood; ironically enough, wearing skin-tight, circulation-restricting jeans, or spending an hour on your man-hairdo, has much less of feminine connotation here than chowing down on a dainty donut or flaky chocolate croissant. Struggling to understand this state of affairs, I consulted a female Japanese friend. According to her, the pressure for women to be unhealthily thin and prim does not conflict with their consumption of sugar-laden snacks; on the contrary many of them simply substitute a balanced meal for a sweet treat and a brisk walk between clothing stores.
Of course there are some men who sit in this store, but they are invariably conversing with one of the opposite gender. It would seem that they are punishing themselves with over-steeped black coffee (or some drink darker than their partner’s) as penance for their presence in a sweets store. The rules of sweets consumption are not quite as black (and white) at a Starbucks, because nearly every drink sold there has a week’s worth of sugar. That said, I’ve never seen any Japanese men pick out a chocolate chip scone from the glass case.
All of this complicated posturing is par for the course in Japan- I’d have to write for a few days to scratch the surface of Japanese psyche concerning gender stereotypes. Needless to say, its no surprise I’ve had little success independently breaking into the underground queer scene in Sendai: if it is common to put so much social judgement into something as simple as eating a chocolate croissant, then I can’t begin to fathom how elaborate and layered the Japanese gaydar must be.
Today I decided to do some writing in one of the many trendy ‘coffee shops’ in downtown Sendai. Trendy because, independent of the taste of the product, they are almost always crowded with yapping women. While this is almost the same as McDonalds in Japan, there is a much more specific crowd for coffee shops. Simply, Japanese patronize coffee shops for one of two reasons: to feel ‘Western’ by drinking Starbucks or Tullys, or to partake in sweet pastries.
In my current location, it is mainly the sweets that drive business. ChoCo Cro is a store whose namesake is their chocolate croissants, and whose origin and flagship store resides in the ever-trendy Harajuku neighborhood of Tokyo. To be fair, the chocolate croissants are very delicious in their own right, and are much better than croissants I’ve eaten in America. With such tasty food, you would expect the tables to be full of caffeine-addled young professionals working on their laptops and the occasional boisterous conversation. However, in this shop I am the only member of the former, and everyone else in the cafe is in the latter group. To make matters worse, I’m the only one in this section not wearing high heels.
In Japan, sweet pastries have only one target audience: women, ladies, and girls. It is seen as a sign of weakness or indulgence for a male to eat sweets past childhood; ironically enough, wearing skin-tight, circulation-restricting jeans, or spending an hour on your man-hairdo, has much less of feminine connotation here than chowing down on a dainty donut or flaky chocolate croissant. Struggling to understand this state of affairs, I consulted a female Japanese friend. According to her, the pressure for women to be unhealthily thin and prim does not conflict with their consumption of sugar-laden snacks; on the contrary many of them simply substitute a balanced meal for a sweet treat and a brisk walk between clothing stores.
Of course there are some men who sit in this store, but they are invariably conversing with one of the opposite gender. It would seem that they are punishing themselves with over-steeped black coffee (or some drink darker than their partner’s) as penance for their presence in a sweets store. The rules of sweets consumption are not quite as black (and white) at a Starbucks, because nearly every drink sold there has a week’s worth of sugar. That said, I’ve never seen any Japanese men pick out a chocolate chip scone from the glass case.
All of this complicated posturing is par for the course in Japan- I’d have to write for a few days to scratch the surface of Japanese psyche concerning gender stereotypes. Needless to say, its no surprise I’ve had little success independently breaking into the underground queer scene in Sendai: if it is common to put so much social judgement into something as simple as eating a chocolate croissant, then I can’t begin to fathom how elaborate and layered the Japanese gaydar must be.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Thoughts on persuasive writing
[This is an edited version of a discussion required for my technical writing class. As I rather like my own analogy, I thought I would crosspost here as well]
As a full-time student, I do lots of persuasive writing on a nearly daily basis: I complete my work for class.
Of course, this is more or less expected of most such students, but do not be fooled by the myriad topics of your homework- in the end, they are all just variations on persuasive communication. The trick is that you have to correctly identify whom you are persuading, their attitude, take into account their likely reactions just as you would in any other form of persuasive communication (say, as in writing a business memo). As I'm sure all of you are intimately familiar with homework, let me review a few key concepts of persuasive writing, interpreted through the analogy of homework.
Being cooperative: If you want a good grade from your teacher or grader, being cooperative is always important for setting the tone of the interaction. This is especially important in writing assignments, because whoever ends up reading your assignments likely would rather be doing more interesting things (as opposed to figuring out why you didn't follow instructions). If you complete the assignment in the incorrect format, or submit it to the wrong place or in the wrong manner, you are being uncooperative. This gives the impression that you do not value the time of those who read your writing, and you are less likely to be given the benefit of the doubt.
On modesty: Invariably, once in a while you think that you deserve exception. In school, this can take many forms- I deserve an extension, I deserve reconsideration, I deserve leniency, and so on. However, stating that you deserve any of these things to your teacher is a quick way to be ignored or worse. The best way to compromise on a potentially troublesome request, idea, or argument is to express yourself with modesty. Explicitly adding that “you may be asking quite a bit” to your exceptional requests acknowledges that you may be inconveniencing someone else, and have the thoughts of others under consideration.
Exemplifying fair-mindedness: Chances are very good that your teacher has been studying the topic of your coursework for much longer than you have. Thus, when making arguments it may be helpful to show that your line of thought has considered alternative opinions and viewpoints. To do otherwise insults the intelligence and background of your teacher by doing nothing to allay their likely questions and concerns. More importantly, relating your idea to other ideas demonstrates that you have a deeper understanding of the topic at hand. In the same vein as being cooperative, avoiding logical fallacies and disingenuous arguments also demonstrates the fair-mindedness of the student.
As one moves in either direction between school and work, keep in mind that the rules for communicating persuasively are largely the same, but the environment and audience differ.
As a full-time student, I do lots of persuasive writing on a nearly daily basis: I complete my work for class.
Of course, this is more or less expected of most such students, but do not be fooled by the myriad topics of your homework- in the end, they are all just variations on persuasive communication. The trick is that you have to correctly identify whom you are persuading, their attitude, take into account their likely reactions just as you would in any other form of persuasive communication (say, as in writing a business memo). As I'm sure all of you are intimately familiar with homework, let me review a few key concepts of persuasive writing, interpreted through the analogy of homework.
Being cooperative: If you want a good grade from your teacher or grader, being cooperative is always important for setting the tone of the interaction. This is especially important in writing assignments, because whoever ends up reading your assignments likely would rather be doing more interesting things (as opposed to figuring out why you didn't follow instructions). If you complete the assignment in the incorrect format, or submit it to the wrong place or in the wrong manner, you are being uncooperative. This gives the impression that you do not value the time of those who read your writing, and you are less likely to be given the benefit of the doubt.
On modesty: Invariably, once in a while you think that you deserve exception. In school, this can take many forms- I deserve an extension, I deserve reconsideration, I deserve leniency, and so on. However, stating that you deserve any of these things to your teacher is a quick way to be ignored or worse. The best way to compromise on a potentially troublesome request, idea, or argument is to express yourself with modesty. Explicitly adding that “you may be asking quite a bit” to your exceptional requests acknowledges that you may be inconveniencing someone else, and have the thoughts of others under consideration.
Exemplifying fair-mindedness: Chances are very good that your teacher has been studying the topic of your coursework for much longer than you have. Thus, when making arguments it may be helpful to show that your line of thought has considered alternative opinions and viewpoints. To do otherwise insults the intelligence and background of your teacher by doing nothing to allay their likely questions and concerns. More importantly, relating your idea to other ideas demonstrates that you have a deeper understanding of the topic at hand. In the same vein as being cooperative, avoiding logical fallacies and disingenuous arguments also demonstrates the fair-mindedness of the student.
As one moves in either direction between school and work, keep in mind that the rules for communicating persuasively are largely the same, but the environment and audience differ.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Figuring out how to complicate my semester
Over the past week or two i've been getting serious about narrowing down the fellowships I plan to apply for later this year. I started off looking at quite a handful:
Fellowships for study in the UK
Of these, many of them are for 1-2 year tenure of study in United Kingdom institutions. To narrow down the field, I looked at departments to see who has the greatest number of possible advisors, and surprisingly Oxford does not have a computer science department quite nearly as impressive as my two top picks, Imperial College London and Cambridge University. This rules out the Rhodes, which is specifically for study at Oxford. Similarly, while the Marshall fellowship recipient can study at many tenable universities in the United Kingdom, sadly Imperial College is not one among them. Thus, I am left with a choice between the Churchill, Gates Cambridge, and the Marshall scholarship; since the Marshall does not have as good of a stipend as either of the other fellowships, I might as well not apply (since there will be much competition among Marshall applicants to attend schools other than Oxford/Cambridge).
At this point I'm going to concentrate on the Churchill Scholarship; explicitly concentrating on the Gates Cambridge is not possible, as it is part of the normal application to Cambridge graduate programs. There are only 10-15 Churchill Scholars per year, but I think I have a decent chance, considering my attempts at research thus far and the awards it begot; at least half of the Churchill scholars have previously received the Goldwater scholarship. Moreover, it is definitely time for a Computer Science major to recieve- the last time it happened was in 2003.
Were I to be awarded either distinction, it would fund up to 2 years of graduate study in a MPhil program (like a Master's degree), plus a decent stipend for living. The likely plan of study is split into two options: the first option is 10 classes and a small report/thesis, and the second is 6 classes plus a substantial research project. There is also the advantage of being at one of the best institutions in the world, and being in very close proximity to Microsoft Research Cambridge. Without the award, the chances of studying at Cambridge for a year are slim due to financial considerations (especially if someone is coming with me).
Fellowships for the United States (Doctoral)
The considerations for normal doctoral graduate fellowships are not completely understood yet, due to the inherent uncertainty involved in concurrently considering a PhD program in the United States and a MPhil program abroad (followed presumably by the PhD program in the United States). Many doctoral fellowships cannot be taken abroad, nor can they be deferred for a year as many graduate admissions can be. This will require a lot of flow-chart diagrams and tough decisions, but as the deadlines are in the later half of fall semester, I have some time to figure out my options.
While almost all doctoral students in Computer Science receive tuition waivers and research or teaching assistantships, recieving a graduate fellowship can significantly increase your options. I have heard many stories of automatic grad-school acceptance following the announcement that the applicant has a multi-year fellowship funded by an external agency. Furthermore, you are not limited by the availability of grant funds in choosing your advisor or thesis/research interests. Probably most exciting is the permanent honor of listing a fellowship on your CV :)
At the outset, there is the Hertz, the NDSEG, and the NSF fellowships, which are listed here left to right according to prestige. The Hertz is an ultra-competitive national fellowship similar to the Churchill, Rhodes, and other non-acronym fellowships; however, it has an infamous reputation for a grueling and masochistic 2-round interview process. I believe my application is probably quantatively similar to others who would apply for the Hertz, but it may not be in my best interests to pursue it. For one, it would be extremely stressful to apply for the Hertz and the Churchill (and others) at the same time, and if I do end up going to Cambridge for a year, then I cannot use the Hertz there.
The NDSEG and NSF are still quite competitive (about 100 and 2000 awardees a year, respectively) but may be a better probabilistic use of my time. Furthermore, they are due in November and January, so by that point I will have my personal statement polished to a diamond, my GRE scores satisfied (hopefully), and I will be nearly done with my graduate school applications anyway.
Any way you look at it, I still have a mountain of application work to do this coming fall, so I am already in June beginning to plan and triage all of the myriad statements, prompts, reference letters, and so on. Here's my top-level list so far:
Churchill Scholarship Application
Cambridge Graduate Studies Application (required for Churchill and Gates Cambridge)
NDSEG Application
NSF Application
CRA Outstanding Undergraduate Application (again)
Senior Awards at Purdue
(tentatively) 5 Graduate school applications
Each of the above involves a personal statement (of varying lengths and foci), at least 3 letters of reference, mundane form-filling, official transcripts, statement of research plan, and in some cases GRE scores.
...I suppose I should start thinking about how I can thank my recommendation-writers if I actually win any of these things :)
- Hertz Foundation Graduate Fellowship ('the Hertz')
- Marshall Scholarship ('the Marshall')
- Churchill Scholarship ('the Churchill')
- Rhodes Scholarship ('the Rhodes')
- Gates Cambridge Scholarship
- 'the NDSEG' (National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship)
- 'the NSF' (National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program)
Fellowships for study in the UK
Of these, many of them are for 1-2 year tenure of study in United Kingdom institutions. To narrow down the field, I looked at departments to see who has the greatest number of possible advisors, and surprisingly Oxford does not have a computer science department quite nearly as impressive as my two top picks, Imperial College London and Cambridge University. This rules out the Rhodes, which is specifically for study at Oxford. Similarly, while the Marshall fellowship recipient can study at many tenable universities in the United Kingdom, sadly Imperial College is not one among them. Thus, I am left with a choice between the Churchill, Gates Cambridge, and the Marshall scholarship; since the Marshall does not have as good of a stipend as either of the other fellowships, I might as well not apply (since there will be much competition among Marshall applicants to attend schools other than Oxford/Cambridge).
At this point I'm going to concentrate on the Churchill Scholarship; explicitly concentrating on the Gates Cambridge is not possible, as it is part of the normal application to Cambridge graduate programs. There are only 10-15 Churchill Scholars per year, but I think I have a decent chance, considering my attempts at research thus far and the awards it begot; at least half of the Churchill scholars have previously received the Goldwater scholarship. Moreover, it is definitely time for a Computer Science major to recieve- the last time it happened was in 2003.
Were I to be awarded either distinction, it would fund up to 2 years of graduate study in a MPhil program (like a Master's degree), plus a decent stipend for living. The likely plan of study is split into two options: the first option is 10 classes and a small report/thesis, and the second is 6 classes plus a substantial research project. There is also the advantage of being at one of the best institutions in the world, and being in very close proximity to Microsoft Research Cambridge. Without the award, the chances of studying at Cambridge for a year are slim due to financial considerations (especially if someone is coming with me).
Fellowships for the United States (Doctoral)
The considerations for normal doctoral graduate fellowships are not completely understood yet, due to the inherent uncertainty involved in concurrently considering a PhD program in the United States and a MPhil program abroad (followed presumably by the PhD program in the United States). Many doctoral fellowships cannot be taken abroad, nor can they be deferred for a year as many graduate admissions can be. This will require a lot of flow-chart diagrams and tough decisions, but as the deadlines are in the later half of fall semester, I have some time to figure out my options.
While almost all doctoral students in Computer Science receive tuition waivers and research or teaching assistantships, recieving a graduate fellowship can significantly increase your options. I have heard many stories of automatic grad-school acceptance following the announcement that the applicant has a multi-year fellowship funded by an external agency. Furthermore, you are not limited by the availability of grant funds in choosing your advisor or thesis/research interests. Probably most exciting is the permanent honor of listing a fellowship on your CV :)
At the outset, there is the Hertz, the NDSEG, and the NSF fellowships, which are listed here left to right according to prestige. The Hertz is an ultra-competitive national fellowship similar to the Churchill, Rhodes, and other non-acronym fellowships; however, it has an infamous reputation for a grueling and masochistic 2-round interview process. I believe my application is probably quantatively similar to others who would apply for the Hertz, but it may not be in my best interests to pursue it. For one, it would be extremely stressful to apply for the Hertz and the Churchill (and others) at the same time, and if I do end up going to Cambridge for a year, then I cannot use the Hertz there.
The NDSEG and NSF are still quite competitive (about 100 and 2000 awardees a year, respectively) but may be a better probabilistic use of my time. Furthermore, they are due in November and January, so by that point I will have my personal statement polished to a diamond, my GRE scores satisfied (hopefully), and I will be nearly done with my graduate school applications anyway.
Any way you look at it, I still have a mountain of application work to do this coming fall, so I am already in June beginning to plan and triage all of the myriad statements, prompts, reference letters, and so on. Here's my top-level list so far:
Churchill Scholarship Application
Cambridge Graduate Studies Application (required for Churchill and Gates Cambridge)
NDSEG Application
NSF Application
CRA Outstanding Undergraduate Application (again)
Senior Awards at Purdue
(tentatively) 5 Graduate school applications
Each of the above involves a personal statement (of varying lengths and foci), at least 3 letters of reference, mundane form-filling, official transcripts, statement of research plan, and in some cases GRE scores.
...I suppose I should start thinking about how I can thank my recommendation-writers if I actually win any of these things :)
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