Armanda Lewis is a third-year, part-time student with the CDS MS Program. We spoke with Armanda about admissions, balancing work, school, and life commitments as a part-time student, life at CDS, living in NYC and much more.
October 6, 2020 | 15:37
(INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC PLAYS)
TIM BAKER (HOST):
Welcome to the Center for Data Science Admissions podcast. I’m your host, Tim Baker. This week, I’ll be speaking with part-time MS student, Armanda Lewis.
ARMANDA LEWIS:
My name is Armanda Lewis, and I am in the masters of data science program. And I started in fall of 2018.
TIM BAKER:
So when you applied, was it your first time applying?
ARMANDA LEWIS:
Yes, it was the first time applying to CDS.
TIM BAKER:
OK, and how did you find the application process?
ARMANDA LEWIS:
I found it super straightforward. I’ve done other graduate study before and just in comparison, it, I would say the GSAS process makes it very streamlined and, you know, all of the materials that you are expected to, to submit and then you submit them.
TIM BAKER:
Do you have any sort of words of advice for applicants who are considering the fall 2020 application?
ARMANDA LEWIS:
I would definitely say to start early with your recommenders, that’s probably the number one thing, because that’s what you have less control over, is their timeline. So, I probably gave my recommenders probably about five months of headway, which is, it’s probably more than the average person would need, but I knew that they were very busy and so I didn’t want them to be, you know, crammed or either not get to it. So, that would be the number one piece of advice.
TIM BAKER:
That’s actually a good segue because we get a lot of questions from potential applicants asking, you know, who they should use for their letters? What, how they should ask people to write letters for them. Do you have any advice that speaks to that?
ARMANDA LEWIS:
I do. So number one, I think it depends on the applicant’s background. So for me, I wasn’t coming from a professional data science background. And so, I, you know, my supervisors could speak to my professional kind of demeanor and the way that I work and think my ability to think strategically, but they couldn’t speak to me being doing data science. So I would say if you have those recommenders definitely use them.
But I relied a lot on my professors, so I had taken previous coursework that related to data science specifically in, you know, educational data mining and like ethical data science. And so they could speak to my performance in those courses and kind of extrapolate how I would possibly do if it was a program dedicated to data science.
I think it’s probably always good to have a mix of supervisors if you can and someone who can speak on your academic performance. That would be my, my advice if it is possible.
TIM BAKER:
OK, that’s good advice. So when you came into the program, it sounds like you were coming from a working background rather than academic background at that point.
ARMANDA LEWIS:
Exactly.
TIM BAKER:
Yes. So what has your transition been like coming from, you know, a working background into a master’s program again?
ARMANDA LEWIS:
So for me, so I’m currently a part-time student and I’ve always been a part-time student in the program. And so I think the transition is always one of being super organized and having balance. So there are things I’m required to do professionally as part of my nine to five job. But then the MS program, it really is a full-time program and it’s very intensive. It’s very technical, you have to work really hard. And so just balancing all of those things.
And it’s challenging, but it’s also really rewarding. Not to say that I always do it well, but, but I will say, yeah, managing that balance between kind of working but also the academic piece and then also the social piece as well, I would say.
TIM BAKER:
OK, so would you mind sort of speaking a little bit more about life as a part-time student?
ARMANDA LEWIS:
Sure. So I’ll go back to that word balance. So one of the great aspects of the master’s program at CDS is that, the CDS team structures the program so that you get this really excellent academic background, but you also have these opportunities to apply your knowledge beyond just individual coursework. But then you also have opportunities to interact with other students and to… You know, that socialization piece is super important.
And so as a part-time student, you know, there might be a talk that, you know, you just can’t attend because you’re working or something, but then there are opportunities after hours of different experiences that you can either attend an intellectual talk or, you know, the networking and… and just the downtime that you provide for students.
I would say sometimes you do have to make choices, so you can’t do everything that a full-time student would do, but I think if you target, of saying, you know, for example, once a month, I’m gonna do something social with my peers at CDS. And then you’re not so stressed that, oh, I have to make every single event and then you feel guilty. But I mean, if you kind of I guess manage your own expectations and know that you can’t do everything, but you can do a little bit of everything,
TIM BAKER:
I think, because I know a little bit about your background. You were already living in New York when you started in the program, right?
ARMANDA LEWIS:
Yes.
TIM BAKER:
OK. And are you originally from New York or?
ARMANDA LEWIS:
No. No, but I’ve been here for a while, but…
TIM BAKER:
OK.
ARMANDA LEWIS:
But moving to New York, even though I will say now it is a renter’s market, so there are some super great deals if you do have to find an apartment, that probably won’t be the case in like two years. But now I will say that usually that’s the piece that we always warn people about is, oh, finding an apartment so difficult, but now it’s, it’s actually pretty straight forward. I mean, it’s actually pretty straight forward to find that piece now.
TIM BAKER:
Yeah. I mean, I know when I first moved to New York, it was like, look in the newspaper and look on Craigslist to hopefully find something. (CROSSTALK). It seems there’s so many more tools at, that the students will have at their hands to find a place, so that’s good. Do you have advice for anybody moving to New York for the first time? Like, you know, what they should prepare for?
ARMANDA LEWIS:
So I will say, I will say the GSAS offers a lot of really good tools for students. So for example, if you know, you don’t know where to start, you know, looking for an apartment. Sometimes they even broker apartment-shares between fellow GSA students. So I would definitely say check in with everything that GSAS is offering. And then CDS also has tons of resources as well. If you do know any students that are already continuing and just finding out, you know, but I mean, in terms of housing, like if they have any tips, that’s really good too. I would say just be open to all of the wonderful things about the city.
TIM BAKER:
OK.
ARMANDA LEWIS:
It depends where you come from, but it, it’s an exciting place.
TIM BAKER:
Excellent. So, now that you you’ve been at CDS for a few years, how do you find the culture there, both in the classroom and socially?
ARMANDA LEWIS:
It is such a great environment. I mean I can’t kind of stress enough. I know a lot of different graduate school cultures, and the supportiveness of CDS is really amazing. And I, I feel like that, that’s from the top all the way, you know, down to the student level is people will help you. They’re supportive. If you don’t know something, that’s not a bad thing, you know, and so you don’t feel like, oh, we’re all like cutthroats and you know, it’s just, everyone’s worried about themselves. It really is a community. And that’s something that you get that impression, like from the outside, but then I feel like it’s confirmed when you, you are a student and you see just all the collaboration. You know, the courses are set up that you can collaborate with your fellow students.
You can also collaborate with, you know, the faculty and they’re really accessible. And yeah, it’s just a great, a great place. I would say CDS also knows how to have fun. So like data science is very technical, it’s very serious, but there are these opportunities for levity and just to, you know, enjoy being in the city and with your fellow students, I think is really exciting.
TIM BAKER:
Cool, awesome. So have you had a chance to conduct any research at CDS?
ARMANDA LEWIS:
I have. So, when I started that was one of my goals in terms of what I wanted to say that I have done in the program. I will also say don’t, I’m not a mathematical genius and so I knew that I was never gonna be kind of that person who could just kind of plug themselves into any project and you would be kind of the math whiz. So it was also a matter of thinking, OK, what, what skills do I have? And, and what courses really resonate with me?
So I took… So I am part-time. So in one spring I took a new course called responsible data science by Professor Stoyanovich. And, at that time I hadn’t actually finished all of the core courses and so technically I didn’t really have, you know, as much experiences as, like some of the like PhD students that are in the class or other students. But I identified an area that I really did have expertise and I felt like I could contribute to. And I just approached her kind of near the end of the class and said, you know, are there opportunities to continue working on this? And we’ve actually just submitted a paper a couple of months ago based on that research.
So I would say if you’re entrepreneurial and you can kind of know what you would bring to a project, then the professors are super engaged and willing to support you in that.
TIM BAKER:
Excellent, thank you. So the final three questions are coming up, so these are the big ones. These are the ones we’re going to bring it all home with. Why did you ultimately decide to come to the Center for Data Science for your masters?
ARMANDA LEWIS:
So, so first of all, academically, it’s one of the best in the country. I mean, it’s, it’s one of, it maybe actually the first to do a doctorate and one of the first in for a master’s. So it, it really is at the cutting edge of data science education. I would say also it sits within NYU. And so NYU, of course, it’s big, it’s decentralized, but it’s super dynamic.
And, it also does interdisciplinary studies, I think better than I would say any university, probably in the country, if not the world of just this idea of data science is not siloed within computer science or like within math or, or something like that. It kind of permeates in the humanities, the social sciences, the sciences, and there’s something super exciting about, yeah, about that interdisciplinary aspect of, of what CDS offers.
TIM BAKER:
Cool. Sorry, I had mute because my dog is snoring, so I don’t know if it’s getting picked up on the mic. So what is the one thing that you would recommend people do once they get to New York city?
ARMANDA LEWIS:
I, yeah, that’s a good question. I would say get lost. And one thing about New York city is that whatever you think you know about it, whatever you’ve seen about it, when you’re here walking the streets and really not having necessarily any destination in mind, I think is one of the best ways you can get to know the city. And specifically if it’s not where you’re living. Because very soon you’ll find that wherever you’re living becomes your own little city, you know, where you can shop, you know, your friends will be around there. The kind of forcing yourself out into the city and just seeing how diverse it is, I think is, that’s what I would recommend.
TIM BAKER:
I would agree with that. When I first moved here, that’s what I did. I would throw on my headphones and I would just wander. And I’ve felt so many cool little like restaurants and shops and just corners of the city that I didn’t even know existed and never would have known existed if I didn’t do that. Yeah. So that’s, that’s great advice. Final question. You know, everybody’s nervous, they’re getting ready to apply, they have, you know, a ton of questions. Am I qualified, am I this, am I that? What is like just some final advice that you would have to sort of hopefully ease their concerns?
ARMANDA LEWIS:
I would say, think about and make sure that your application communicates how you would use data science really beyond the program. I think that’s, that makes a very compelling application of, you know, it’s not necessarily about… I mean, it always helps if you’ve gotten As in like every single data science related course, but I think it’s much more about what this knowledge would enable you to do to impact the world. You know, because in two years you will graduate and then it’s more about, you know, what are you doing with this knowledge and how are you making an impact? So it’s a major application in parts that in addition to kind of all of the checkbox-y aspects that you have to do.
TIM BAKER:
Excellent. Well, thank you so much. I appreciate you taking the time out to speak with us. And yeah, thanks again.
ARMANDA LEWIS:
You’re welcome.
(INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC PLAYS)
TIM BAKER:
Thank you for listening to the CDS admissions podcast. If you have any questions regarding the admissions process, please email us at datascience-group@nyu.edu.
The music for the podcast was composed by the instrumental artists, Cryptic One. You can find his work at crypticone.bandcamp.com.