gillies@m.cs.uiuc.edu (08/17/90)
I believe that recommendations and your statement are the essence of
an application.
(1) The ideal recommendation is from a full professor, preferably
known in his field, and it demonstrates that he/she KNOWS YOU. In
other words, you need to work closely with a faculty member to get a
good recommendation. Taking classes does not count. Out of 3
recommendations, at least 2 must be from Ph.D.'s. Don't be afraid to
send more than 3 recommendations, if you can guarantee that they will
all be excellent.
(2) Your statement of purpose tells the university 3 things. First,
it explains what sort of drive and motivation will sustain you through
4+ years of lonely work. Second, it indicates whether you will make
good use of a ph.d. Third, your statement indicates which faculty
members you are likely to work for.
At my school, I've heard rumors that C.S. applicants are rejected if
they want to go into computer architecture/design, because we recently
lost some architecture professors to retirement. I.e. make sure the
school at the moment has professors and space in your area.
I can imagine that at princeton, it would be substantially easier to
be accepted in computer systems, than it would be in theoretical c.s.
I.e. try not to apply to the overly competitive areas. You can always
go there and switch areas (although funding may be a problem).
I can imagine that at MIT, it would be virtually impossible to be
accepted to do numerical analysis (try applying to the math
department). Make sure the school has a program at all.
(3) If you are clever enough to visit a school and sell yourself to a
professor you want to work for, and there are no surprises on your
recommendation, then he can have you admitted.
Don W. Gillies, Dept. of Computer Science, University of Illinois
1304 W. Springfield, Urbana, Ill 61801
ARPA: gillies@cs.uiuc.edu UUCP: {uunet,harvard}!uiucdcs!gillies