yhakak

told by who? again, i'm not trying to be dismissive, but locally IDC is known as the place rich kids from north Tel Aviv go to buy business and law undergraduate degrees. I'd be very wary of a graduate degree from a non-university institution in israel...

I have my own bias (a graduate of Tel Aviv University), but why IDC? Honestly, it's not as well known as the Israeli universities abroad, and less well-regarded domestically as well...why not try a program at one of the Israeli universities (Hebrew University, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Ben-Gurion, Bar-Ilan)? You'll get better name recognition, access to better faculty (especially if you can get your hebrew to a level that allows you to take classes in Hebrew) and probably a lower price as well...

It's important for getting loans (mortgage, car loan, etc.) and for credit cards. The better your credit, the less you'll pay for a loan. Of course, if you have no intention of settling in the states permanently you don't need to worry about that. However, as you have better credit, you'll be eligible for better credit cards, which will give you better rewards, points/miles, that sort of thing. There is a whole subculture of people who get lots of these points/miles, and for a graduate student it can be a nice perk (i.e. not having to pay for travel). First things first - when you get to the USA, open a check account (make sure it's no-fee) and a savings account (if you can, especially if you get your funding in a large sum and don't need it all right away). Then, ask the bank about bank credit cards (again, try to get a no-fee card) so you can start building your credit history. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_score_in_the_United_States

I don't see how this paragraph advances your argument. If you want to question the assumption that eating in restaurants is more common than it was (which is of course a fair point) then you need to clearly state why you're doing so - strengthen the argument about restaurant nutrition info being less and less relevant, start with that and back up that claim with your subsequent statements. However, i'd take the whole thing out.

if you have the time and decent credit, you can get into credit card points, a good way to travel for free or get points that you can cash in for gift cards, etc. Try http://thepointsguy.com/ for some tips. It takes some time and there's a whole subculture that can get really strange, but if you're willing to switch cards every few months and be smart about optimizing (i.e. using different cards for different things) you can save some money and get yourself nice experiences you wouldn't be able to afford otherwise.

Not to be pedantic or anything, but didn't the OP say he's in EE?

You're joking, right?

I have found that most acceptances are sent between Jan 1st - Dec. 31st. Pavi, please don't bother to thank me with specific information. Jeez, do your own work.

toy pistols

code violation

i would use a tool such as Zotero. Then if needed you can change your citation format at the press of a button.

I would just point out that if you're counting on this conversion for a major presentation, try it out beforehand. It doesn't do everything (for example it messes up animations, etc.) and sometimes there are font issues. Regarding the OP's question, i'd say the only reason to cart around a laptop is to type. I write on my laptop and do everything else on my tablet, I keep a few adaptors (HDMI, VGA) in my bag so i can present from anywhere. Also, check out Prezi. It's a completely different way of thinking about presentations. Some people love it, it makes me dizzy...

magic marker

Hi Kaneisha, While I agree that they won't let you change anything after the deadline, before the deadline there was a button marked "exclude" where you could basically cancel a recommendation. I don't know exactly what it does and I wasn't about to try to find out, but evidently there was such an option...

That would have been a great first sentence for my SOP Best of luck to all.