Heading to UCLA

After fighting with this choice, I finally decided to attend UCLA for graduate school. I really did enjoy my visits to the other schools I (UCSD and UT Austin), but I am happy with my choice. At first, I has my doubts about living in either L.A. or Austin and finding research that I am interested in anywhere, so I am really glad that I decided to visit these schools. However, when it cames down to it, UCLA was a better fit for me.

It surprises me to say it, but I really like L.A. (aside from the traffic) and the UCLA is beautiful. Westwood is a really nice city and far different then what I expected for L.A. The downside to being really nice is that it is also really expensive. OK... it is ridiculously expensive. Luckily for me, I received a couple of fellowships and I'm not a big spender. I even believe that I can save money throughout grad school.

Being in L.A., I thought that UCLA would be all concrete and asphalt, but it was really green. There are a lot of different types of trees on campus. I kind of think that a couple of landscaper decided to have a contest to see who could plant the larger variety of tree. Oh yeah, they also added the rule that there couldn't be any logical pattern in the placement of different types of trees. It's kind of funny, but there really isn't any discernible pattern in the trees' placement. Nevertheless, it still looks nice.

Another thing that is nice about UCLA is that my family is close by. I spent a day down in Long Beach with my cousin Ray. It had been about eight years since I last saw him, which is too long. My aunt had a barbecue and I was able to see a lot of family member I hadn't seen in many years. I love my family, but to be honest I was unsure how I would be received. I thought that I might be treated as and outsider, but I don't things could have been better or more fun. I am looking forward to hanging out with Ray and my other cousin more often.

I know that I'll hate the moving process and I don't want to leaving all of my friends behind, but I am excited about starting grad school at UCLA.

My Trip to Visit UT Austin

My first thought about UT Austin was, "But it's in Texas." I am not even sure what that means, but it kind of bothered me. I mean UT is a great school (ranked 12 by US News and World Report, whatever that means), but I'd actually be in Texas. Somewhere along the line, the idea was ingrained into me that Texas was full of... well, I don't really know. I want to blame Boulder, or maybe CU, regardless, I had my doubts.

I first arrived there in the late afternoon and had a few hours to walk around the city. I met couple of guys waiting for the shuttle at the airport. One of them was a guy name Ryan. I mention him specifically, because he was the one I hung out with the most. Well anyway, we spent our free time walk around the 6th Street area looking for a place to eat. I was struck by how quite it was. I would say that about two-thirds of the shops were closed. While we were walking around there was this old homeless man who tried get Ryan to give him his shirt. Ryan tried to ignore him, the old man just wouldn't quit. I told the old man that Ryan needed his shirt and he eventually stopped. We finally found a place to eat at a place called, Torchy's Taco's. They have some of the best tacos I have ever had, but you will need to order 2 or3 to make it a meal. After eating, I just went back to the hotel and slept until the poster session at 9:00 (lame, I know).

The poster session was the first official event on the schedule, and my oh my... was it boring. Not only was the poster themselves designed poorly, but most of the students didn't want to be there and weren't afraid to show it. With that said, it wasn't all bad. I was able to meet a few of the other students and one the grad students was pretty cool (sadly, I cant remember his name). Ryan and I spent about 45 min talking with him. They didn't have a dinner for us, so Ryan and I asked around and found am I.H.O.P. Again on our way to I.H.O.P. we were harassed by a different homeless man. One is OK, but two in the span of just few hours... come on. Needless to say, it was starting to get on my nerves. Asking for money is one thing, but getting upset when you don't get any... are you kidding me? After eating we decided to head back to 6th Street and see if it was still as dead as it was earlier.

Oh My God!! From what I tell, everyone in Austin was on 6th Street... partying their asses off. Whoa! This sleepy little of stretch of road transformed into, possible, the largest party I've ever seen. It was really fun. There was tons of live music and dance clubs. Some places were crazy, raging parties. Others were chill establishments; where one could sit back and talk with friends. This night we decided to hit-up a couple of dance clubs. The game plan was:

1. Look for some girls to talk to/dance with
2. After girls seen, go and start a conversation
3. If step 2 fails, repeat step 1; else proceed to step 4
   
4. Talk, dance and generally have a good time

Kidding. To be honest, I was just fine when we were just chillin', but I asked if he wanted try to meet some girls and he said yeah. It ended up being a lot of fun and we didn't do too bad either. Things started to close at around 2am and we headed back to the hotel.

The next day we went to the campus of the first time. I hadn't notice before, but the campus was huge. It was like a city onto itself. The next few hours a were filled with a series of dull talks from researcher and grad students. At 12:30, we broke into small groups and went to lunch. Each group was lead by a grad student working in a different area. Initially, I wanted to go with the student doing research in mathematical physics, but he was late. Consequently, I ended up going with the biophysics group, and I'm glad I did. The general plan was to go the lunch, then visit different departments to meet people and ask questions. However, I just spent the whole day with the biophysics group. If decide to go attend UT I know that I would be complete happy working with either the biophysics or non-linear dynamics research groups.

We finished this day the same way we finished the previous day, on 6th Street. This time we went out with a larger group. Our group consisted of Ryan and myself, as well as three other visiting students we met. We spent most of the night at a really chill, outdoor bar. There was a indoor section with a band playing, but it was too loud for casual conversation. After that we went dancing. One of the the students in our group was a girl named Katie. I spend most of the time dancing with her, occasionally, Ryan would grab me so that I could be his wingman. We were all tired and so we decided to leave at around 1:30.

I have not seen UCLA or UCSD yet, so I am not ready to make any conclusions. There is also matter of money, and small things such as location, climate, etc. to consider. However, I have learned that I would greatly enjoy attending UT Austin.

Which School to Choose?

"So Craig, where are you going for grad school?" Well the truth is... I Don't Really Know. It is a little concerning because the deadline for deciding (April 15) is quickly approaching. I am about make two more campus visit, UCLA and UCSD, and I don't want to make any decisions before seeing all of the school. Having said that, I have developed a couple of opinions about different schools. Of the four schools I got in to, UCSB is out of the question. I barely got in and was unsupported (support is a must); however, that's understandable. Over the past four years I haven't exactly been the best student (That's a different story). That leaves UT Austin, UCLA, and UCSD as possible options. I have received fellowships from both UT and UCLA, which places them ahead of UCSD. In Addition, the fellowship from UCLA spans the first four years, as appose to the one year fellowship from UT. I am not sure how that factors in yet, but it is something to consider. Next week is my visit to the Californian school. I had better know where I want to go after that. Let hope.