Grad School Applications *theme from ‘Psycho’ plays*

Cue the anxiety and additional stress to your already packed workload: it’s time to talk about applying to Grad school. Many of you may already be in full swing of applications for starting school next fall, or if not, and you’ve still got a year or so before you start, we’ll give you a bit of insight on the process from start to finish. We decided to call up our ole pal and recent Seidenberg graduate Daniel Rings (CS ’14) to ask him a little about his process that led him to the steps of The University of Michigan to study Computer Science and Engineering, his first choice out of the schools to which he applied.

Daniel Rings Dancin'In the start — an early start — Daniel suggests that you get all the preliminary paperwork and requirements out of the way. After deciding which schools you want to apply to (after visiting  campuses or researching schools you’re interested in), the next step is to  take care of the basics, like the GRE, gathering transcripts, getting a start on recommendations, and all the other generic paperwork that all applications will require. GRE testing is available all over the city — Rings took two practice tests leading up to the official exam.

When it comes to letters of recommendation, Daniel mentions that it’s crucial to ask your professors (the ones who have known you or worked with you at your best) as early as possible. Professors are busy people and — hate to break it to ya’ — your letter of recommendation is not going to be their first priority. Luckily, professors are understanding of the fact that your letters are important to you and your success, so giving your professors multiple reminders (constant, Daniel suggests. Daily, even) about the letters is definitely excusable.

Applications take time, for sure, and keeping on top of all their requirements while managing a full course load may be tough, but with a decent head start on the easy stuff (the aforementioned material), you’ll have plenty of time to focus each school’s own requirements. Schools vary on what they need for essays, portfolios (or Github for many of you), websites, interviews, and more. These are the harder parts, and Daniel mentioned the benefits of keeping a To-Do list to keep track of it all, and to have anyone at all read multiple drafts of your essays (even some rando on the train if need be). Time management is important, but Daniel says he didn’t sweat it too much; “On the days that I worked on the application, I played significantly less Smash Bros.”

In Daniel’s case, for many of his applications, he applied to the PhD tracks, since it’s understood that many universities are more willing to accept applicants who plan on sticking around for their PhDs. Even if  you’re not yet planning on picking up a PhD (though you totally should, eventually), you may have a better shot at being accepted, and not all of the PhD tracks require full commitment.

Use your resources (professors, peers, mentors, etc) and use your time wisely! If you’ve still got a few years before the application process, don’t forget to start boosting your resume by getting involved around school or town — you know the drill. Daniel specifically mentioned that “a combination of [his] personal projects/hackathons and [his] most difficult classes” prepared him the most for Grad-life. There’s a lot of work to be done when it comes to applying to Grad programs, but you have all of Seidenberg’s support when you decide to take on the challenge! 

NACTEL receives the Institutional Service Award from CAEL

The Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems offers terrific undergraduate and graduate degrees. However, did you know that they also have a unique online program for adults who are looking to start or complete a degree in Telecommunications? The NACTEL (National Coalition for Telecommunications Education and Learning) Program at Pace University has been providing Associate and Bachelor’s degrees in telecommunications since 1999. NACTEL students are primarily adults who work full-time and are located all over the United States and the world. Students work in a variety of fields within the telecommunication industry and some are also part of the military.

Last month, NACTEL students received the Institutional Service Award from CAEL (Council for Adult and Experiential Learning). The Institutional Service Award typically honors a college or a university for providing exemplary service to adults. NACTEL was given the award because they are an industry-education organization that has provided exemplary service to adults and has made significant contributions to the field of adult learning and workforce education for the past 15 years.

Pictured below is Pace University’s Ward Carpenter, Director of NACTEL, and Nancy Hale, Special Program Chair, accepting the award in Chicago, IL on November 12, 2014 at CAEL’s Annual International Conference.

(Left to right: Ward, Jim Spellane (IBEW), Nancy Hale, Pamela Tate(President and CEO of CAEL), Jeffery Batiste (Verizon), Susan Kannel (CAEL NACTEL Program Director), Rich Hake (Century Link) and Marianne Groth (Verizon).
(Left to right: Ward, Jim Spellane (IBEW), Nancy Hale, Pamela Tate (President and CEO of CAEL), Jeffery Batiste (Verizon), Susan Kannel (CAEL NACTEL Program Director), Rich Hake (Century Link) and Marianne Groth (Verizon).

In the past they have received multiple awards, which include:

  • In 2014 NACTEL was selected by G.I. Jobs magazine as a Military-Friendly School.
  • In 2013, U.S. News and World Report named NACTEL at Pace University #1 as the Best Online Bachelor’s Programs.
  • In 2013, U.S. News and World Report named NACTEL at Pace University as the top Online Bachelors program in the country AND the best Online Program for Veterans.

Hand on Technology Day Workshops, Part 2

The Hands on Technology Day Workshops (HOT Workshops) was back for round two on November 15th with new workshops. This time high school students attended workshops about Cyber Security, taught by Dr. Li-Chiou Chen and graduate student Jonathan Lee, and creating Apps, taught by Dr. Lixin Tao. In Dr. Li-Chiou Chen’s and Jonathan Lee’s workshop, participants did hands-on lab exercises that explored software and methods to achieve online security. In Dr. Lixin Tao’s workshop, participants built three android apps and learned the main principles behind the latest computing technologies including cloud and mobile computing.

Once again, we got a lot of wonderful feedback back, and all participants enjoyed the hands-on experience! We would like to thank all who helped out both in the workshops and behind the scenes. We would like to thank Tristan Pagliari, Justin Santore, and Kaitlin Elliott from the Pace University admissions office for being at our event. From the Seidenberg School, we would like to thank Prof. Li-Chiou Chen, Prof. Lixin Tao, Prof. Mary Courtney, Dr. Jean F. Coppola, Dr. Bernice J. Houle, Lynne E. Larkin, Elizabeth Foster, Nancy M. Treuer, Ronald G. Williams, Anthony Martini, Jonathan Lee, Patrick Prescott, Kaila Marie Letteri, Keke Gai, Mohammad Vahidalizadehdizaj and Matthew Poli.

Here are some pictures from the event:

HOT event 4 HOT event 3 HOT event 2 HOT event

Live From New York, It’s Pace Path!

Selfies Galore

The long-anticipated event #PacePathLive has just blown through campus on this brisk Saturday afternoon. We had an awesome turnout of panelists and participants, making the event well worth the trek, so early in the morning.

It was a great day to hang out with some of our favorite alumni, like Matthew Knell (’00, of About.com) and Alex Quick (’11, of AppFigures) and to meet a variety of people in media and development fields, such as Marissa Lerer (of Compose(d) Creative), Masha Murakhovsky (of 360i), and so many more.

Panelists spent the afternoon describing all sorts of things, from splitting time between professional and personal Twitter accounts, to how to protect your own brand, to the differences between working corporate versus start up jobs in the tech field. They all shared stories of their work lives and internet lives, answered questions from the participants, and took selfies galore, of course, (#SeidenbergSelfie).

While there’s no way to recreate the event for those who couldn’t make it (we truly hope your Saturday Sleep-In was well worth missing out). What we do have are some SketchNotes that offer a touch of insight to the event’s proceedings. [click images for full size]Anya Rosentreter SketchNotesAnya Rosentreter SketchNotes 2

High School Students Explore Robotics & Game Programming @ Pace

On Saturday November 1st, the Seidenberg School hosted their second Hands on Technology Day Workshops (HOT Workshops).  High School students attended workshops about Game Programming, taught by Dr. Mary Courtney, and Robotics, taught by Dr. Pauline Mosley. Participants were able to get a real hands-on experience. In Dr. Mary Courtney’s workshop, participants learned interactive programming using an international programming environment GreenfootThey also used the Java language. In Dr. Pauline Mosley’s workshop, students learned how sensors can assist autonomous vehicles in detecting objects. They each got to program, build, and test their own robot.

We collected a lot of great feedback from the event form both the professors and participants. Participants loved the topics that were covered, the hands-on elements, the instructors, and the current Pace Seidenberg Students who came to help out. The Professors were greatly encouraged by the excitement that the participants brought to the sessions and how they really dived into each of the workshops.

The Seidenberg School would like to thank all the staff from Seidenberg and the Pace University Admissions office that helped make the day a wonderful success.

Here are some pictures from the event:

IMG_20141101_102058_Pace_SeidenbergIMG_20141101_091403_Pace_Seidenberg

IMG_20141101_100104_Pace_Seidenberg IMG_20141101_095601_Pace_Seidenberg IMG_20141101_094419_Pace_Seidenberg IMG_20141101_093835_Pace_Seidenberg IMG_20141101_092258_Pace_Seidenberg IMG_20141101_112042_Pace_Seidenberg

IMG_20141101_111124_Pace_SeidenbergIMG_20141101_104039_Pace_Seidenberg

You Mean You Haven’t Heard about Urban Mill?

It’s that time of year again — PDP season is in full swing! PDP, the Product Development Project Seidenberg participates in, in collaboration with our friends at Aalto Design Factory, starts every year in the Fall and lasts until May. This year we have six students who have traveled to Helsinki this month to get in touch with the teams they’ll be working with for the next eight months. The students participating are Brianna Vecchione (CS), Ethan Garrison (CS), Jane Rabinovich (Graphic Design), Patrick Prescott (IS), and Peta Clarke (MS in IS).

Brianna Vecchione wrote a piece about the team’s experience in Helsinki earlier this month:
[the following text stands in its original form as it appeared on the Urban Mill home page]

“After weeks of planning and with anticipation and excitement, the Pace University PDP team finally arrived in Espoo to formally begin our PDP projects. There are 6 of us split into 2 teams: One sponsored by ABB to innovate maritime engineering and the other sponsored through ComNet to develop a low-cost autonomous networking system through environmental data collection. Our first stop after our 8-hour flight from New York City was the Espoo Innovation Garden, where we were first introduced to the Design Factory grounds. However, we were lucky enough to run into Lars Miikki, who gave us an in-depth introduction to the history of Urban Mill, an urban innovation platform, from its untraditional conception to its future ambitions as the next pioneer for European innovation. The space boasts extremely advantageous features, from their geographical and cultural location in Espoo to their emphasis on sustainable development via intelligent solutions, like smart city design and internationalization.

PDP Group 2014PDP Group 2014 - 2

This ambition is reflected throughout the grounds of Urban Mill. The space embraces the concept of  “ready but never finished,” with startup vision boards, rough prototypes, research posters, and Styrofoam ground plans scattered throughout the spaces. There are small, creatively decorated design spaces throughout the area, giving it a modern, colorful flare. As Lars explained to us, students prefer the “unfinished” space because it invites their own ideas and contributions as well as providing them with a chance to create, build, and innovate in a way that is original and personalized.

Our group was mesmerized by the many inventions we encountered, ranging from workspace bedrooms, to an “active life village,” to data trackers that detect movement. There’s an entire wall full of business cards of individuals who share, collaborate and contribute to the development of the Urban Mill – of course, we couldn’t resist adding our cards as well. We finished the tour with a demonstration of their three-panel, floor-to-ceiling monitor screen (we were pleasantly surprised to see an image of Manhattan in the background!).

Peta Clarke

Urban Mill

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All in all, it was a wonderful introduction to the work to be done here at Aalto University Campus and we are honored to contribute to its visionary expansion at such an exciting time!”

It’s an exhilarating opportunity for all students participating, and we can’t wait to see how the projects turn out!

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