Mutualimpedancewaffle

I get multiple generations worth of mail too! There are three or four names we get consistently. Usually it's ads, sometimes important stuff that we make sure is forwarded. We even got teen magazines for a few months!

I also love The Mindy Project! I'm so glad that Hulu picked it up. Another fun one that just started up again is Brooklyn Nine-Nine!

I think it depends on what you think the weakest part of your application will be. If your current research has results (publications, notable contributions) and you can count on a good letter of recommendation from your current institution, go for the internship if that's something you really want to do!

Just attended a conference where I presented a paper as first author! Now back to my reality of courses, TA-ing, research, and (a new thing for me) undergrad research mentoring.

The GROW page currently says that a new Dear Colleague Letter will be released soon, the application deadline is expected to be about December 4, 2015 and that GROW with USAID is not offered in 2015-2016. I was interested in GROW with USAID and now I'm kinda disappointed. Does anyone have an idea why it is not being offered this year? Funding maybe?

Got it! Does anyone know how to tell which defense office/agency sponsors you?

Hi! I grew up in the Seattle suburbs before starting my MS in Engineering at Illinois, and I totally understand some of your concerns. Mountains: Yeah, there are no mountains, and I miss them. But cornfields are their own type of charming; they've been growing on me, but will never replace the majesty of mountains. Bars: Did you make it out to downtown Champaign? I know the Green Street/campus bars can have fratty vibes, but there's a lot of diversity beyond those! Facilities: I was surprised by this one; I too went to a smaller, private, religious school and I am constantly amazed at the plethora of resources at my fingertips now! You mention having grown up in a liberal, outdoorsy town, and that culture IS present at UofI! It tends to be on the Urbana side and may be more present in some departments than others. Despite its shortcomings, I've grown to like the area and I think there's a nice balance between Champaign-Urbana being interesting enough that I don't get bored, but not so exciting that it distracts from my work.

I'd like to say I go for a run or cook a nice meal, but in reality, I just listen to covers of Taylor Swift songs on Youtube

I used the purple Kaplan book and while I think it had good review material, I feel like their practice questions are more like ETS' for the verbal than quantitative sections. The benefits of the book is that it has lots of study material, but if your study emphasis is the quantitative section, I would suggest something other than Kaplan. At some point, download the PowerPrepII software. This is published by ETS and will be the most realistic practice exam you could ever take. Good luck!

Submitted! Just waiting on one last letter from my old advisor who is a notorious procrastinator...

I am a national member of IEEE and SWE, but no certifications. Have other people put Dean's List or graduating cum laude as Awards & Honors? If so, how did you fill out the "Presenter" blanks?

I received that email as well. After calling ETS and emailing NDSEG, I received the following response: "It appears you received yesterday’s notice in error. We apologize for any confusion caused and can confirm that your general GRE test scores have been successfully received and attached to you application." Well that was a lot of unnecessary frustration...anyways, time to buckle down and finish some last 400 character responses!

How is everyone else including work experiences, like internships?