FW: graduate schools for my nephew

[Robert <http://dummy.us.eu.org/robert>]

Below is advice from Brian.

 > From: Brian <http://www.eecs..edu/~b>
 > Date: Mon, 28 Aug 2017 09:24:51 -0700
 >
 > P.S.  If he gets into a good CS PhD program, the program will pay him (tuition 
 > plus a salary that he can live on, although not spectacularly) from his 
 > advisor's research grant.  If money is an issue, he should make sure that's 
 > true at the places to which he's applying.
 > 
 > And the right way to think about it is that you're not picking a school; you're 
 > picking a professor whose research is what you want to be doing for the next 
 > seven years or so.  Be in touch with the professor before you apply, to make 
 > sure he's taking new students, etc.

 > From: Brian <http://www.eecs..edu/~b>
 > Date: Mon, 28 Aug 2017 09:20:40 -0700
 >
 > We have a similar program (not free, though) in which seniors can apply for a 
 > "fifth year masters."  It's definitely not a pathway into the PhD program; it's 
 > mainly intended for people who want to be entrepreneurs.  If his ultimate goal 
 > is a PhD, meaning that he intends a research career rather than a development 
 > career, I think he should just go straight into a PhD program.
 > 
 > On 8/28/17 9:00 AM, Robert wrote:
 > > My nephew (you met him once), Alex, is looking into graduate school.  Of
 > > course, he'll be taking the GRE and Computer Science GRE.  He has been
 > > looking into a certain program at his school (UMass) where he can enter
 > > into a Masters program there and have tuition and fees covered.  I know
 > > nothing about this program.  I do know that it's selective about its
 > > participants and that it only covers Masters programs, not PhD.  (He'd
 > > prefer a PhD.)
 > > 
 > > Have you heard of such a thing?  Is it better to just apply to a bunch of
 > > graduate schools and try to apply for financial aid later?
 > > 
 > > Thanks for any advice.