2010 was a year of decisions. Decisions that would significantly impact the rest of my life. Whether to find a job, or pursue graduate studies? If job, then what field to pursue, and if grad studies, then what field to pursue. After a successful research experience with Prof. A during the summer of 2009, I became more inclined towards graduate studies. I felt like with my personality and skills, I can make a contribution to the research field, specifically the field of FPGA CAD and FPGA architecture. I loved being in the research environment with other like minded people during the summer. The best thing I liked about research was the inherent honesty and passion towards making a genuine contribution to the society. Being in an environment surrounded with such professors and students made me realize that I would be truly happy if I were to be part of such an environment. While a working life has its own rewards, I realized that at the current state of my life (where there were no serious financial obligations, or the need to get 'settled' quickly), a logical next step for me would be graduate studies.
Secondly, a masters degree opens up doors that I would like to pursue- the doors leading to an R&D position in a company, a phD, or maybe even becoming a professor. There is also this sense of implementation vs. design, where I feel a masters degree would lead (more probably) to a position with more design and creativity, whereas a bachelors degree would lead (more probably) to implementing the ideas of others.
With this mentality, I started applying to some top schools in the US, and a few schools in Canada. For peace of mind, I also applied to a few jobs. Just like in high school, the application process was an enriching experience as I was forced to look back and think about how I arrived at my current position. I think this is an important exercise to stay grounded and gain perspective on things.
The application journey was an adventurous one. Firstly, my marks were not very competitive, so I had to leverage my research experience and publications. While this stirred some interest in a top US school, it did not have enough leverage to get me full funding for a masters program. While I had applied to other schools in Canada, my heart remained at UofT because of the familiarity and the reputation that it has in FPGA research. I had very little doubt that I would not be accepted to this school. However, due to some miscommunication, one of my reference letters did not get through and I was not considered during the first round of admissions. Thankfully, Prof. A was on my side and he notified me soon enough for me to repair the damages. As the weeks rolled on, I became more and more nervous as I had not heard anything but a few predictable rejections.
An interview with a professor at a good Canadian university had some potential, however the professor turned out to be incredibly egotistical and critical as during the interview, he mentioned that I did not have the potential for a good masters thesis, and that I should reconsider my goals in life. He strictly advised me against doing a phD, which was disappointing. However, I did not take it to heart and I mentioned it to prof. A, who reassured me.
As a few more weeks passed, my prospects were looking very grim. Prof. A mentioned that due to funding issues, he will be unable to take any students, which impacted the other professors' decision as well. While I did not have the marks, I had the research contributions. However, if A himself would not accept me, then why would others? While all these experiences were heart-breaking, I recognized that this could very well play to my advantage. I now have to prove myself to the critical prof and all others who doubted me. While they had good reasons to reject my application, they also had good reasons to accept. They fueled my fire to prove to them that marks are only a part of the whole application; that attitude and personality makes a considerable impact in one's success in life; that I am a creative researcher who can make more contributions; and that my publications with Prof. A was not merely a fluke.
My shortcoming was the fact that I went through my undergrad without caring for marks. I genuinely enjoyed the subject matter and always did enough work that I wanted to without consideration for marks. During my exchange in NUS, Singapore, the marks did not count towards my GPA. However, I put in as much effort as I would have had it counted for my GPA. This was because the amount of effort was independent of the mark factor. I felt that this was the purpose of education and to truly learn, the drive and motivation must come from the inherent desire to learn and grow, rather than external factors such as marks, or the prospect of getting into a reputed school for graduate studies. While I realized that this was my flaw, I never regretted this view. I wanted to prove to myself that my outlook towards education is not faulty. For this, it was imperative for me to get into a good graduate studies program.
In my desperation, I realized that I had not applied to University of Waterloo and the deadline had passed. I immediately contacted a professor and explained my situation. After a few exchange of emails and a face-to-face meeting, the professor was nice enough to make an exception and accept me as his student for the upcoming year.
Meanwhile, other forces of fate were at work. While walking down Bay street in downtown Toronto, I passed a professor with whom I had worked in first year. He casually inquired about my application status since he was one of my referees. Soon after, I received an acceptance from him to MASc. at University of Toronto. He is a very renowned professor with numerous international awards and publications. Only catch was that his field of research is not on FPGAs. Also, he had recently started a company which consumed most of his time and it seemed as if he would not be a good research supervisor at this time. However, he had the name and overwhelmingly positive feedback from his past students.
The main case of certainty I had against the renowned prof. was the mismatch in the field of interest. This case became less 'certain' when I got accepted by another professor at UofT who worked on computer architecture. While this isn't FPGAs perse, it is incredibly similar and I was considering making the crossover. However, the professor was fairly new to the university. So now, the two options I had were Computer Architecture at UofT vs. FPGAs at UofW. Both seemed like great choices. A lay person would blindly choose UofT because of it's reputation and seemingly better future prospects. However, with all the information that I had, it was incredibly difficult to make a decision.
I finally gave in to the Waterloo professor's sincerity and belief in me. I realized that not only is he working on something I know most about, he is also a nice guy. People always make a difference in the quality of one's life and I simply felt better (only slightly) energy coming from Waterloo. So, this was a case of "Waterloo, couldn't escape if I wanted to.." Somehow, the forces of fate forced me into pursuing an MASc. at the University of Waterloo. It would be interesting to see how this displacement will impact my life.
So far, the impact has been minimal. I feel socially displaced due to lack of familiarity to the place and environment. Waterloo is a small university town with lots of college students, so the lifestyle is different and it will take some time to get used to. All my current friends in waterloo are international students from India who are also perhaps feeling socially and culturally displaced. In terms of Academics, I would assume that I am having an easier time here since I am taking only 2 courses, as opposed to 3 that I would have taken at UofT, and the difficulty is presumable lower here (although, I can't say this with certainty). In short, the displacement has probably not had a significant impact so far.
