Life sucks

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zimu

Diamond Member
Jun 15, 2001
6,209
0
0
chronologically:

- applied to 8 universities (masters) in the US, 2 in the UK. have received 7 rejections so far from US

- take classes for obtaining CCNA. study my ass off. i feel prepared. go to the exam today, fail it (749/1000, 849 required). that's $150 down the drain. have to cough up another $150. what a waste.

- come home, check my mail, see a rejection letter from one of my UK universities.

- am currently lying in bed. trying not to mope, just having a day off where i do absolutely nothing all day. then hopefully pull myself together tomorrow and start over.


i just don't get the university thing. have good grades, great recommendations, good GRE scores. granted i'm applying to engineering and i didn't do engineering in undergrad, but have tons of CS related work experience...

arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
 
A

aidanjm

Lifer
Aug 9, 2004
12,411
2
0
Originally posted by: zimu
chronologically:

- applied to 8 universities (masters) in the US, 2 in the UK. have received 7 rejections so far from US

- take classes for obtaining CCNA. study my ass off. i feel prepared. go to the exam today, fail it (749/1000, 849 required). that's $150 down the drain. have to cough up another $150. what a waste.

- come home, check my mail, see a rejection letter from one of my UK universities.

- am currently lying in bed. trying not to mope, just having a day off where i do absolutely nothing all day. then hopefully pull myself together tomorrow and start over.


i just don't get the university thing. have good grades, great recommendations, good GRE scores. granted i'm applying to engineering and i didn't do engineering in undergrad, but have tons of CS related work experience...

arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
Click to expand...

Find someone who understands how the system works, and ask them what you're doing wrong. Seriously. You need an insider's viewpoint when you're trying to navigate post-grad study options.

Good luck. :)
 
C

CTrain

Diamond Member
Sep 26, 2001
4,940
0
0
Nah, life sucks is when you're a HS dropout, single with 4 kids, no job and absolutely nothing to look forward to.
Of course that's not me but your life doesn't suck.
You can also watch an episode of Jerry Springer and find out that your life doesn't suck
 
T

TexDotCom

Senior member
Mar 21, 2000
367
0
71
Originally posted by: loic2003
My life is great.
Click to expand...

That's wonderful...but some elaboration might prove useful to the rest of us. ;)


Mine has been better (before I got deployed to Kuwait), but it could have been a lot worse (could have gone to Iraq instead).

Zimu,
I'm sorry you're not having any luck. I know it probably doesn't help much, but persevere and things will probably work out well for you. You certainly seem to have the education requirements met...if not exceeded.

*Edited for spelling.*
 
Koing

Koing

Elite Member <br> Super Moderator<br> Health and F
Oct 11, 2000
16,843
2
0
It probably has to be with the technical nature of 'engineering'. Yes have lots of CS related experience which is GREAT but how much 'engineering' experience do you have?

I have seen guys go from Biology/ Biology type of field in to CS but this is different from them going in to Engineering.

What is your undergrad in?

What UK Uni's did you apply to? I live in England so I know some info.

What type of scores and test stuff do you have? Sometimes 'good' isn't enough depending on which Uni's you want to go to I'm afraid. I didn't bother applying to some as I knew they wouldn't take my 'good' grades and they wanted 'the best' sort of grades.

Chin up and good luck.

Koing
 
kranky

kranky

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
21,019
156
106
Don't look at your CCNA results as a waste. In fact, you now know exactly where you stand and you probably have a pretty good idea where you need to study more. You'll pass it the next time. I understand it's another $150, but in the big picture that's not so bad.

I also suspect you're doing something wrong with your masters apps. Either you're not applying to appropriate schools or something. Talk to someone about getting some guidance there.
 
Z

zimu

Diamond Member
Jun 15, 2001
6,209
0
0
Originally posted by: Koing
It probably has to be with the technical nature of 'engineering'. Yes have lots of CS related experience which is GREAT but how much 'engineering' experience do you have?

I have seen guys go from Biology/ Biology type of field in to CS but this is different from them going in to Engineering.

What is your undergrad in?

What UK Uni's did you apply to? I live in England so I know some info.

What type of scores and test stuff do you have? Sometimes 'good' isn't enough depending on which Uni's you want to go to I'm afraid. I didn't bother applying to some as I knew they wouldn't take my 'good' grades and they wanted 'the best' sort of grades.

Chin up and good luck.

Koing
Click to expand...



thanks for the pep talk guys, i'm honestly surprised i'm getting some positive feedback on atot!

re: koing's post. for gre's i was in the lower 90th percentile for math, upper 80th percentile for verbal, and lower 80th percentile for writing. judging by last years average GRE scores of accepted students, i'm way above the requirement for most of the places i applied.

re: UK, i applied to manchester and essex. got the rejection from essex. can you recommend me any good programs to apply to?

specifically looking into networking and communications- stuff like optical networking, internet backbone etc.

my undergrad major was 'cognitive science' but i focused in computer science and got a computing certification in my undergrad. did a lot of programming etc.

work experience wise have taught multimedia, game creation and web design. have also worked 4 years part time during undergrad at my schools computing department, doing hardware installations and maintenance, network management, tech support, web applications designing etc...

koing i'd appreciate any input you have to places that i can still apply to in the UK that you think would accept me given my background.

thanks again guys!
 
James3shin

James3shin

Diamond Member
Apr 5, 2004
4,426
0
76
"Don't stop" first thing i learned when I started running back in HS, also when things don't bounce your way. Keep at it man. You sound like a bright guy, cheers :beer:
 
Koing

Koing

Elite Member <br> Super Moderator<br> Health and F
Oct 11, 2000
16,843
2
0
You have good experience but maybe they want someone that is schooled in 'studies' also in CS? What about the theories and the descrete Maths?

You look set really with all the experience you have.

You could try some London Uni's.

University College London
Imperial College [best for engineering = worth a try]
Nottingham is another great Uni
Warwick
Durham

Just apply online for them and they'll give you a decision.

I'm suprised Essex didn't take you.

I don't know what the Uni's I named offer in the way of " networking and communications- stuff like optical networking, internet backbone etc." but they have all solid 'engineering' courses though.


Lots of info
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/section/0,,716,00.html

Then click on The Times Top Universities.

What Engineering did you apply for at Essex? They should have given you a place, but maybe they had a lot of graduates wanting to do that this year?

Koing
 
Koing

Koing

Elite Member <br> Super Moderator<br> Health and F
Oct 11, 2000
16,843
2
0
Originally posted by: dragonballgtz
Originally posted by: Crazyfool
The world needs tow truck drivers too. :beer:
Click to expand...

Hell yeah. They get paid like $30 an hour.
Click to expand...

And all the free trucker hats you can wear!

Hey zim you should have gotten a place! Your a foreign student! UK Uni's LOVE foreign students because you pay 3-4x as much as a home student.

Koing
 
L

loic2003

Diamond Member
Sep 14, 2003
3,844
0
0
Originally posted by: zimu
Originally posted by: Koing
It probably has to be with the technical nature of 'engineering'. Yes have lots of CS related experience which is GREAT but how much 'engineering' experience do you have?

I have seen guys go from Biology/ Biology type of field in to CS but this is different from them going in to Engineering.

What is your undergrad in?

What UK Uni's did you apply to? I live in England so I know some info.

What type of scores and test stuff do you have? Sometimes 'good' isn't enough depending on which Uni's you want to go to I'm afraid. I didn't bother applying to some as I knew they wouldn't take my 'good' grades and they wanted 'the best' sort of grades.

Chin up and good luck.

Koing
Click to expand...



thanks for the pep talk guys, i'm honestly surprised i'm getting some positive feedback on atot!

re: koing's post. for gre's i was in the lower 90th percentile for math, upper 80th percentile for verbal, and lower 80th percentile for writing. judging by last years average GRE scores of accepted students, i'm way above the requirement for most of the places i applied.

re: UK, i applied to manchester and essex. got the rejection from essex. can you recommend me any good programs to apply to?

specifically looking into networking and communications- stuff like optical networking, internet backbone etc.

my undergrad major was 'cognitive science' but i focused in computer science and got a computing certification in my undergrad. did a lot of programming etc.

work experience wise have taught multimedia, game creation and web design. have also worked 4 years part time during undergrad at my schools computing department, doing hardware installations and maintenance, network management, tech support, web applications designing etc...

koing i'd appreciate any input you have to places that i can still apply to in the UK that you think would accept me given my background.

thanks again guys!
Click to expand...


Ah that sucks, I went to Essex uni and it really rocked, apart from the abundance of chavs in town and of course the essex girls who really live up to their reputation. Whether you think that's good or bad is down to personal choice ;)

Essex was one of the top uni's (top five IIRC) in the country for robotics and AI when I went which was handy since I read AI there. Some really good lecturers, alhough there were a few proper crap ones which resulted in many of us writing in and complaining at the end of the second year.

I've heard that Manchester was a really good university although -I believe- not in a campus like essex. A friend went there and he returned after a few months as he'd been ripped off by some dealer and his life was in danger (a friend of his was shot in the shoulder with a crossed bullet in the first month). The quality of education is high, however.

Try giving essex another call and see if they would reconsider. Ask if scratchy-nuts Sanderson is still there for me, would you? [if anyone knows where I can host a ~5Mb movie I'll be able to host a hilarious movie]

Good luck. Don't give up, you've got the quallies to get in some place decent and it's only a matter of time before you find some place. Don't get down over it!!!
 
K

Kipper

Diamond Member
Feb 18, 2000
7,366
0
0
Drink copious amounts of beer. I know you have a lot of it over there, and it's good.
 
I

iwantanewcomputer

Diamond Member
Apr 4, 2004
5,045
0
0
there are a lot of tough things you learn as an undergrad in engineering and i guess they figure you don't have the background. just keep applying
 
L

LordMorpheus

Diamond Member
Aug 14, 2002
6,871
1
0
Originally posted by: zimu
chronologically:

- applied to 8 universities (masters) in the US, 2 in the UK. have received 7 rejections so far from US

- take classes for obtaining CCNA. study my ass off. i feel prepared. go to the exam today, fail it (749/1000, 849 required). that's $150 down the drain. have to cough up another $150. what a waste.

- come home, check my mail, see a rejection letter from one of my UK universities.

- am currently lying in bed. trying not to mope, just having a day off where i do absolutely nothing all day. then hopefully pull myself together tomorrow and start over.


i just don't get the university thing. have good grades, great recommendations, good GRE scores. granted i'm applying to engineering and i didn't do engineering in undergrad, but have tons of CS related work experience...

arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
Click to expand...


This is probably why. If you didn't do engineering undergrad you probably aren't ready for graduate level engineering courses. CS would help, especially with electrical or computer engineering (I assume this is what you plan to study), but CS does not cover everything that EECE does in undergrad.

Maybe go back to undergrad for a semester or two and take whatever classes you need for an EE degree then try it again? after a CS major its probably not very many classes, and then you'd probably have no trouble getting into a good grad school.
 
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