ak48

thanks for the information. i was sort of curious about if there is a metric to "quality of journal" other than asking somebody how the feel about it. is there such a metric as "times cited" that's easily available (for a given journal, as well as professor)? is such a number an accurate count of status? i'm wary because at least with tv/movie/music ratings, most popular/sold certainly does not mean best quality.

Hi all, I'm trying to decide between 2 programs and obviously the PI is going to be a huge part of the decision. Aside from visiting them and 'getting a vibe,' how do you determine how respected a given professor is in his/her field? I'm not too familiar with the prestige level of science journals, and have really little to go by other than size of lab (indicative of funding prowess) and tenure status. How would one get a relatively objective evaluation of a professors standing within his/her field? I believe their own graduate students would be biased.

If working another year would be fine with you, i would probably reapply. i know i'd be a much smarter applicant the 2nd time around with a better chance of getting into programs i like.

You shouldn't rely on this alone. Go out and be active about meeting people, via social meetings and activity groups.

i don't know, a lot of EE professors i've looked at at the top schools tended to have a phd from the intstitution where they teach. of course, there is an obvious bias here: phd students at the top universities tend to be highly skilled, which leads to them getting positions at high universities, of which there are only a few.

Staying up late never really worked for me, as I'm so destroyed the next 2-3 days that it's not worth the extra 4-5 hours of productive work i'd get from not sleeping.

I'm sure it varies hugely from person to person, depending on: -Individual project (some projects are more time consuming than others, skill and luck is a factor here too) -Motivation (stay in lab all day to finish in 4 years or less? or decide for more balanced life) -Advisor/lab environment (some places are more intense than others) You should ask the specific graduate students in the programs and labs you are looking at. It can vary significantly from person to person, and definitely from lab to lab even within the same school.

i'm curious about furniture and my car (although the car decision will be easier once i visit the campuses) i'll be moving across country and not sure what to do with my desk and bed. i guess it depends on the furnishings of possible houses

Internet dating has become much less stigmatized today. if you think about it, facebook is pretty much an online outlet for people to post attractive pictures of themselves and present themselves publically in the most favorable light possible (and the posted relationship status makes this even more online-datey) i know a bunch of friends who have met serious partners through okcupid. it's just another resource to meet people. there really shouldn't be any pride in meeting your gf/bf through a shared class in my opinion.

Anybody who thinks people sign up for a grueling 5 year Phd program in order to maybe meet some potential spouses are probably crazy. And the ones who actually do implement the plan are nuts

i applied to 7 schools in EE (PhD) 2 schools interviewed me: 1 accept, 1 waitlist (now likely rejection) 5 schools did not interview me: 1 accept, 4 rejections

you've sold me quite well on princeton, tarrman!

I think the rule of thumb is a month's notice, which should be enough time for them to prepare replacing you while also not creating too much "lame duck" time for yourself.

Seems like the real decision here is between a Masters and a Phd, not really between the two schools (although the subject matter for the phd is kinda important) what do you want to do in 10 years? from an initial standpoint, circuit design is always going to be in demand for jobs

This thread may be of interest to you

Just bought a Samsung Series 7 Chronos laptop, fantastic machine! Bit pricey at 1300, but it came with i7 processor, 8 GB Ram, 1 TB hard drive and a nice graphics card and touch screen at 15.6'' (altho the screen is clearly a gimmick). Good value I think, at Best Buy

I can't commit to a PhD program without visiting the campus or meeting the professors!! I know nothing about the housing situation lol

Did the experience scar you so badly that you now wear a hideous mask on your face that distorts everything you say so that nobody in the theater can understand anything you're saying?

how good are you at evading security guards?

Direct copy-pasting large chunks of internet material should be punished on grounds of stupidity and inability to think creatively.

Join an activity group! be it a casual sports (we play soccer every tuesday afternoon, etc) or some craft/hobby.

I am Tesla (scholar)

A 10 percent first-success rate? What is the secret, master?

I would probably ask this school if an extension to the reply date were possible, while at the same time asking the 2nd school about your status (with a quick explanation of your situation)

I'm going for electrical engineering, and so I'm not sure how it works in sociology. I have a feeling that many graduate students look to a "star" professor because s/he will have the proper connections/credentials to get you a good job.