Graduate School!

“Why did Ryan just blog about the Stanford academic calendar?”

Well, I’m heading off to graduate school in the fall! In fact, I’m going to be enrolling in the M.S. of Computer Science program at Stanford University in sunny Palo Alto, California!

When I finished my undergraduate studies in 2001, I wanted to get out of school as fast as possible. I was not particularly impressed with GW’s Information Systems program, I already had a job writing software, and I was learning a lot more at work than in class. But I always assumed I would get a master’s degree at some point. I’d toyed with the idea of enrolling in a part-time program at a school like George Mason University, which has a good Software Engineering program. I’d thought about getting an MBA, perhaps in a technology management program. I’d even considered the possibility of going to law school: I think I’d really enjoy studying law, even if I have no desire to practice law professionally.

Last October, I went to Startup School, a one-day seminar on technology entrepreneurship, organized by Paul Graham, a well-known software developer and venture capitalist. There were 8 or 9 different speakers, and Paul’s speech in particular got me thinking about graduate school again. Paul was trying to answer the question, “Where can you meet like-minded individuals and develop ideas for startups?” Paul spoke highly of graduate school:

Grad school is the other end of the spectrum from a coding job at a big company: the pay’s low but you spend most of your time working on new stuff. And of course, it’s called “school,” which makes that clear to everyone, though in fact all jobs are some percentage school.

The right environment for having startup ideas need not be a university per se. It just has to be a situation with a large percentage of school.

The more I thought about it, the more grad school started to feel right. I know I want my career to focus around software development — commercial software development. I don’t know that I want to be a coder for 40 years, but I realized that I wasn’t going to learn anything more about software development with an MBA or law school. No, computer science is really the clearest way to learn about software.

Once I realized I wanted to study computer science, two other conclusions jumped out at me. First, there’s no point enrolling in a rinky-dink CS program just because they’ll give me an easy diploma. I should strive for the best school I can possibly attend, and learn as much as possible while I’m there. This is especially true since I wasn’t a computer science major as an undergraduate.

Second, if I’m going to enroll in a competitive, difficult CS program, I should do it full-time. This will give me a better opportunity learn the most, to get involved in the community and make professional contacts, and to maximize my chances of completing the program successfully. (I had taken a technical writing part-time last year, and I quickly lost focus because it wasn’t my primary responsibility. I was doing more writing at work than in class, and not getting much out of it. I realized that I’m probably just not a good part-time student.)

So in November, I set out to apply to graduate school. Unfortunately, many schools’ deadlines were in December, so I had to get on the ball quickly. I only had two weeks to study for the GRE, but I managed to secure a competitive score for the programs I wanted to apply to. I applied to four CS programs, and in March, I learned I was lucky enough to be admitted to two of them.

Stanford’s program is particularly good for my interests, because of its ties to Silicon Valley. Everyone knows that Google was started at Stanford, but outsiders forget just how many other successful companies got their inspiration at Stanford. Attending Stanford should give me a good springboard for applying to tech companies in the Valley. Plus, I’ll be surrounded by like-minded individuals, interested in both technology and entrepreneurship. And, the campus is beautiful, and the weather can’t be beat!

Classes don’t start until September 25, so I’ll be staying in Washington for at least four months, until mid-August or so. I’ve already started thinking about making preparations for the move: studying up on the program’s prerequisites, researching the moving process, and putting my condo on the market. I know a ton of people in Washington, and very few in the Bay Area, so I’m a little disappointed about having to move so far away. But I’m really excited about the program and the opportunities in California, so I’m sure it’ll work out for the best!