Signal Eleven

So this is it, many of you already know it, but now I’m telling everyone.

The rumors were true :-) , I’ve decided to apply for a semester (2 actually) at the University of Illinois in Chicago, for a Master of Science in Computer Science.

There are various reasons. First and foremost, I really like the idea of living in a completely different place for a while. And by completely different I mean not Italy.

Then there’s the academic appeal of the whole thing, that I recognize as the only real motivation to study that I have right now.

The next steps to advance the project are many, but most of them can be fit into one of these 3 categories

• Graduation (cause the Politecnico of Milano is still out to get my blood, 1 endterm, 2 full exams and a thesis…)
• Money (in every shape and form I can manage to raise from now to the deadline for the payment)
• A enormous, massive, gargantuan amount of PAPERWORK

Caveat, this project can (CAN!) get canceled anytime, as the number of things that can go wrong along the path is rising at an exponential rate. So expect the “Chicago – UIC” category to turn into a sea of tears. Not saying it’ll happen. But it’s possible.

So what, did I turn this blog into a personal diary? Not really. Although I plan to document my efforts in “full disclosure mode”, everything that happens to me might as well apply to one of my potential fellows in the project (that can feel free to add comments and suggestions, as well as their own experiences). The rationale is that other people that might want to “jump the pond”, and spend some time in the USA, could benefit from this informations.