evolution786

Yeah I've decided on UIUC for a master's. My RA-ship starts this summer though so I'll be down there in June. Are you going to Illinois?

From the professors I've spoken to, GA Tech is a much more reputable school than Cornell, especially in structural. They really are a phenomenal school and I think you could have a better chance with it in the job market.

Any input on public transportation in the cities? Also, I'm curious about parking near residential areas. Is street parking fairly prominent or will I have to pay for parking every month? I'll be near the engineering campus if that helps.

Haha yeah I visited them a couple weeks ago too. Open house? I was there. I agree with you regarding flaws in the U.S. News Rankings, but I think the main factor in UCSD's absence from top 10 rankings is that they have a "Structural Engineering" department, which doesn't get ranked in "Civil Engineering". I would definitely say they are in the top 10 for structures. Likewise, funding is really important to me. After the open house, I had a few extra days to kill in San Diego (my flight didn't leave till Saturday) so I tried meeting with a few profs on campus. I could only meet with 2 out of 3 that I wanted to see and both said that they just don't take many master's students because of how short the degree is. One prof (Shing) said he has only advised 2 master's students in the past and they both did research with him as undergrads. So they technically started and finished a 2.5-3 year research project with him. The other prof (Uang) said he has never worked with master's. The projects at UCSD are simply much larger so they require more time and, therefore, a PhD student. I'm just assuming I won't get a research position at SD and will just have to TA or be incredibly poor. I've been accepted to UW-Madison (my undergrad school) and have a strong possibility of a great research project with funding, so that's on my mind. I just feel like it's a cop-out if I stay at the same school without exploring, but I also have the option of not coming out of grad school $60K+ in debt. Still waiting on UIUC but I have little hope left there. What other schools are you looking at? If you're the one I'm thinking of, you also applied to North Carolina and Austin?

JPeterman- what are your thoughts on UCSD? Are you considering going there or does it depend on other acceptances?

Any news on UIUC? They're taking forever and it seems like very few people have been accepted so far.

Does anyone have access to the full US News rankings?

Are you going to UCSD's open house this Wednesday?

My profile from earlier in the thread: I've only applied to 3 schools for a masters program: UW-Madison, UIUC, and UC-San Diego. Overall GPA: 3.76/4.00 Major GPA: 3.87/4.00 GRE: 160(V), 160(Q), 4.50 Experiences: 2 full time summer internships, one of which lead into the school year part time for the past 2 years 1 semester as a TA in structural analysis 1 semester of research Yeah, my buddy with Virginia Tech went to their visitation weekend last week.

My friend got into Austin (master's), another one into Vieginia Tech (PhD), and I got into UCSD (master's).

I think it's varies greatly from school to school. I called my top school last week (it's also the top grad school for my major) since I hadn't heard anything yet. They said professors haven't even looked at most of the applicants yet. They've only found the top ~10 students and accepted them, otherwise nothing else. So I wouldn't lose hope yet by any means. It just suggests that you're not in the top 1% that has applied there, but you might still have a good chance. It's frustrating to wait this long, but there's nothing we can really do at this point.

Are those hours including class time? Or do you only conduct research?

It's not that bad- you'll get used to it. I was born in India, lived in the Middle East, and now live in Wisconsin

I spoke to the UIUC grad office and she said that they've admitted less than 10 students so far. She hasn't heard anything about funding from the professors yet either. Traditionally, they admit many students right before their spring break (which is March 16th this year) but she's not sure if that'll happen this time. Just a heads up, it's going to be a long couple months

Wow that sucks. Is there a list or map that shows which routes won't be running? And do you know how much a bus sticker costs? I'm debating whether that would be cheaper than driving and paying for parking at on campus, but I doubt it

I live near Mound/Adams area (~2 blocks south of Regent) and it's a great area. It's little west of the "Sophomore Slums" as someone mentioned and it's fairly quiet. Though football weekends can get a little rowdy, it's nothing like the rest of that area. And it's only for a handful of days in the fall. It's close to the bus line and apartments are fairly cheap and much nicer if you look at the right places.

For those of you who have visited "open houses" at campuses: What did you do during the visit? If you met with professors, what did you talk about? Was it formal or more relaxed? I'm visiting UCSD next week and would like some guidance...

I thought I saw some of the UTA admits say that they were structural, but I might be mistaken. I'm not applying to UTA but my buddy got accepted for a master's in structural. He actually just visited the campus this past weekend and said it was an incredible place and city. Best of luck!

So I spoke to a couple other people who visiting schools during their open houses and they all strongly recommended going to my school's open house (UCSD). Though, I do agree with you, that it probably wouldn't have been a huge deal. Either way, I spoke to the department, explained the situation as you suggested and they sent out an email to everyone shortly after saying they'll reimburse a portion of travel. For me, that ends up being about 80% of my airfare, so I'm very happy! I just don't know why they didn't send out the reimbursement email earlier, it would've made this situation less stressful. Thanks so much for your input!

Search the results page. It looks like a few have been accepted

I was just accepted to one of my dream schools late last week for a master's and was notified of an open house/recruitment event that's happening on Wednesday 3/13. First of all, I think that's pretty short notice and second, it's in the middle of the week! I can't quite afford to fly across the country for just one day but I really want to speak with professors and try to nail down some funding. Do you think it's fair to ask the admissions department if they'll cover my travel expenses? It seems like every other school does that except this one! They also hold recruitment events on more convenient days... I'm thinking of going the following week (my spring break) and am scared that I won't get the same experience meeting with faculty. Are these events pretty serious for getting funding? Do I have any hopes of getting funded if I go the following week?

Where are you flying out from?

Wow congrats to all of you guys! I didn't apply to MIT but I know they have a good program. Nice work

Thanks! Hope you hear good news soon

Madison is SUPER bike friendly. There are bike paths all through the city and around the lakes, makes it very easy to get around...in summer. The bus system is pretty good- it covers most of the city and like someone mentioned, it's free. However, on very busy days (i.e. when it's snowing and frigid) the buses tend to run late. At those times, get to your stop early. I lived in India, Bahrain and San Diego before coming to madison 14 years ago, so the temperature was a big shift for me as well. As Canator said, invest in good winterwear! And not Uggs. You'll get used to winter in about 2 months