jehane

Thanks for all the replies. I get the point that I may gain new insights, and I sincerely hope that will be the case. It's what I initially hoped for, but given the current pace of the class (extremely slow) and the material covered (high school level chemistry) I'm not overly optimistic.

Hi all Of the two classes I've just started, one is an undergrad level course which is required for my MS. It's required even if the student has completed an equivalent elsewhere. Only if the MS/PhD student has taken this class at this university are they exempt. Of the grad students in the class, one has just finished a BS in the field at another university, one has just completed a MS in the field at another university, and I hold a GradDip and over a decade's worth of professional experience in the field (as well as a BS). So far the material covered is at high school level, not even what I would consider to be 3rd-year undergrad. Is this typical in US universities, not having recognition of prior learning? RPL was standard practice in Australia, at least when I was a student. I would rather be taking a more challenging and more useful (to me) class. There will be another two classes I will have to take that are similar. Thanks

Do you know if the $10 international add-on is valid with that one? I currently have the $50 unlimited plan with $10 international add-on but I hardly make any US calls. I had a look at Ultra. I'd be looking at the $39-49 plans. What is your experience with them?

None in Columbus, Ohio. Which was most annoying since my home bank has fee-free ATM withdrawals arrangement with BoA. I think when I looked it up there was one ATM in Ohio, in Cincinnati. I've already run into this problem. Think I'll look into the Citi and Capital One cards though.

How long do you have to wait before getting a credit card? I arrived in the US just over a month ago, and opened a checking account almost straight away. I applied for a credit card from the same bank and just received a rejection letter on the basis that my checking account hasn't been open long enough. I realise that I've probably now damaged my previously non-existent credit rating. btw, I actually went into the bank to discuss it and apply, and the people I spoke to know that I'm a recently arrived international student. And in this day and age, why aren't there international agreements for checking credit history?

Thanks, I'm glad I'm not alone! Mostly I've only gotten one or two emails from any given university, but Columbia has been really persistent in pushing their quantitative studies program - although their last email had a subject line of approaching application deadlines so hopefully it will stop soon. gmail has been very good about sending them to spam! I guess I'm wondering how they got my details. I strongly suspect the GRE - I doubt the universities I actually applied to would pass on or sell my personal information to their competitors.

Hi all I did my GRE and applied to a couple of schools in January. Before that I had been in professional work for several years, in Australia. Since the GRE and applications I've been receiving mail from various US universities telling me about their grad school programs. Most of it is email, but at least one brochure was sent to me by post in Australia! Most of it is also for disciplines other than those I applied for. Is anyone else getting these?

Hi all My situation is a little different. I'm currently working (in my home country) and had planned to use up my paid leave before resigning. However the amount of paid leave I have accrued is longer than the time I have before I start in the US, so there would be some overlap. I'm not sure whether this violates the employment rules of the F-1. I can resign earlier and get my leave entitlement paid out, but there would be tax implications. Has anyone been in this situation before? I have written to the relevant visa authorities to get an official answer as well. Thanks

This has been an interesting discussion. I graduated in Maths/Environmental Science back in 1999 and have been working in Atmospheric Science for 13 years. I recently decided to go back to study and I've just been accepted to do MSc/PhD in the field. As someone who works in a decidedly male-dominated field in a variety of locations and workplaces all I can say is that it varies. While I never had problems at uni, I know other women who did - including professors who basically told them that women couldn't do maths and they were a waste of space in the class. A good friend of mine (biochemistry) decided to go out into the workforce for a bit instead of going straight into a phd and her professor told her that if she didn't do one straight away she never would because she'd get married and have kids and that would be the end of it. As it happened, she hasn't gone back to uni and has no plans to, but that is because her career went in a different direction. I know someone (not in my workplace) who said that he wouldn't promote women to senior positions because they all leave or want to work part-time when they have kids. Luckily I don't think he's actually senior enough to be on selection committees. In the workforce, it's been mixed. I've personally been successful but I have encountered individuals who definitely have a professional bias, possibly unconscious, and especially don't like to be subordinate to a woman, even more so when she's younger than them. I also have friends and colleagues who have experienced discrimination based on their gender. Having said that, I also know people who are overly sensitive on the issue and see bias where there probably is none (not gender-based, anyway). Clients actually tend to be the worst for gender bias. In one place I worked we regularly took calls from the public. Whenever one of the females answered it was not uncommon to be asked to be transferred to someone else on the assumption that you were a receptionist. Naturally we complained to each other about it while the males in the office generally thought it was amusing and that we were making too much of it. That is, until the one (and only, AFAIK) time it happened to one of them... His astonishment and sense of offense were priceless.

Thanks for the advice so far. I now have a formal offer which I will be accepting. I guess since I've been in contact with the professor at uni#2 and she was quite keen to have me on board I feel a bit bad about withdrawing my application before they've had a chance to make me an offer. Then again, it's not the first time I've withdrawn a job application because my first choice came through earlier.

I've got applications in for two places, and my #1 choice has advised that they will be sending me a letter of offer soon. Since they want me to start over the summer doing research, they want a quick response. The other location would be a regular August start, so they may not be as far along in their selection process. How should I let them know that I've accepted elsewhere, and should I wait until after I've formally accepted the first one, or before? Provided it's an adequate stipend, I'll definitely be accepting the #1 offer. Both are GRAs with specific projects and I contacted both professors before submitting my applications. If it's relevant, I'm a foreign student applying to USA universities. Thanks

Hi, newbie here I've been looking at studio/1bed rentals and noticed that they specify window vs central ac. Which is generally considered better? I guess that window has the advantage of personal control, but would central mean that the energy cost is already paid for in your rent? Thanks