GeoDUDE!

3 Year PhDs are usually reserved for outside of the USA. Those PhDs generally require a MSc before entering as well. For example Cambridge, Oxford, ETH Zurich all have 3 year PhDs but require a first class degree + an MSc to enter. Postmasters PhD that did their masters at my program take 5 years total (2 for MSc 3 for PhD). I'm doing a post masters PhD, but got my masters at a different school, and they expect me to graduate in 4 more years (so 5 total). Most good programs in the united states want you to stay 5 years total for a PhD, even if you have no field work.

A defense of the command line (and programming languages). Maybe in fields where you don't have to deal with big data GUI's are OK, but you are sacrificing flexibility for convenience with GUIs. And even thats a stretch, since once you write a program (and if you do it well) you have it forever, and just have to press one button to get it to work. I couldn't do the statistics I need to do with SAS or excel, there are just too many calculations and too many data points for it to run efficiently. Try loading millions-billions of data points in SAS or Excel, not to mention actually doing work. I dont want to wait days for calculations when I can do them in minutes in Matlab. R was actually made as a free alternative to Matlab, which is great. Matlab was made to be an easier (but still very flexible) alternative to Fortran. The difference between fortran and Matlab is fortran is computationally faster but Matlab is easier to use. They both can "do" the same things. The real reason GUI's were developed is so people could do simple tasks without having to learn much. As a researcher, you should be thinking further ahead imo, or else you will be seriously limiting the questions you can tackle in the future. I taught a matlab based geophysics course last quarter, and on the first day I gave them a speech (they didnt know matlab at all) about how they will discover a new, quantitative side of themself through learning matlab. All of a sudden, statistics on large data sets is easy. All of a sudden its easy to get numerical solutions to equations that have no solution. All of a sudden its easy to plot anything in whatever quantity you want. All of a sudden its possible to load any type of data in any type of format. All of a sudden you have an entire community constantly developing new features that are being added into the language's library every day. Another thing I want to mention is that eventually, if you use the computer enough, a GUI actually becomes reasonably slower. On OSX, I almost completely live in the command line. I can type faster than I can click (around 130 wpm). There are tons of single button shortcuts you can create. This isn't actually meant to be directed at you shadow claw, but my frustration with people in general who are completely dismissive of learning analytical techniques. Sorry I am using the literal "you", instead of "people". Even if you never have to do this, chances are you will collaborate with someone who does (or want to use one of their scripts) and you will need to learn how to use it to be an effective scientist (or journal article reviewer). /rantoff

Who doesn't hate their thesis when they write it? Find me a person and collect your reward!

I agree, I generally here am the one harping at people to let the schools give you the experience they want to give you during their recruitment so you can see what they are really like, but Takeruk is right: the room will just be used for sleeping (or in some very unfortunate cases, the rooms were used for more on one my visits... don't do that people, its not a good look, and everyone knows). You should also NEVER do soemthing that you are uncomfortable doing if you are willing to make it comfortable. You want to be able to give it your all. Shell out the extra cash for the separate room.

Some programs let you, but you need to get a faculty to sign off on it, or secure your own funding. For example, if you win the GRF, they will probably let you switch. At my MSc university (low ranked) they made you reapply. IE, they aren't just going to let you into their PhD program just because you got accepted into their MSc, even if it a thesis based masters. This is something you should ask the department you end up at before accepting if this is important to you. But I would advise you, unless you really love the place you are at, to go to another program as it will help build your network of collaborators.

Fellowships can be from a number of places, and tend not to be bounded by restrictions : Generally all TAs and RAs make the same amount in a given department (more or less) where as fellowship money you can make over 100k a year (if you can find that kinda thing). Sometimes people get a fellowship (say 10k a year) + an RA/TA so they can make even more money. Departments use them as recruiting tools. Since there are a very small number of exceptional applicants compared to good or average ones.

Your next move is to reply to that acceptance thanking for their exciting offer and letting them know that you are still waiting to make a decision. When is your deadline to accept ? Well if you don't have any other acceptances you can't leverage your offers: In my experience leveraging offers only works if you have a higher ranked (or similar) program give you an offer, and you probably wont get much more. I was able to guarantee summer funding for the first summer, which helps a lot but in reality is only an extra 6k or so (not much considering how much they are paying me over 5 years). I don't know the Canadian system, but I would be shocked if they offered you substantially more (tuition remission on top of 88k). They will probably just pick another candidate who is more willing at that point.

When Jupiter was at 3.5 AU (where Mars is now), Mars had not yet formed. By the time mars had found its way out of the planetary nebula, Jupiter had already moved far enough away. Sure, Jupiter might have stolen some mass and stunted Mars's growth, but the likely hood of the planetary body that would become Mars colliding with jupiter is far fetched: I suggest you read up on N-body simulations on the formation of our solar system.

If they don't offer you funding their is nothing you can do, as funded decisions are the only thing that the Council of Graduate Schools deals with. I don't think its binding, you might lose your deposit (if you have to give one). Its also important to note that the Council of Graduate Schools isn't legally binding, its just something that nice programs do. I hope they give you an extension, but you might let your POI know about this before hand. If you do accept, get funding and then decide to go to the higher ranking school it will burn some bridges. But it might be worth it.

I spend around 100 dollars a week including happy hours ( craft beer is expensive!). This isn't including dates of course, which adds to the bill.

bethileptic I don't think its weird in your case since UC Irvine is one of the finest departments in atmospheric science. Good luck! Let me know if you have any questions about Davis (though you applied to a different department).

You should show him specific options too.

My mother was a straight A chemistry student at UCSB and dreamed of being a chemist. She did research in a lab, and one day her PI told her that she just wasn't smart enough to get a PhD in chemistry. Being the fragile person she was, she became a pharmacist. Its probably not a good excuse to pin it on that one point, but the fact is that the only reason she was told she wasn't smart enough is because of his impression of women. This kind of situation does not happen to men as frequently as women. As a male in STEM, it is imperative that we be empathetic to the difficulties that women have. We need to be an open tent. I am very happy to be at a department that is waaay ahead of the curve in gender equality. The problems that we find interesting are difficult to solve, we shouldn't be hindering ourselves by oppressing an entire gender. Women do worse in graduate school for the same reason women are paid less; societal bigotry. I believe this is true of standardized test scores. There is no biological evidence suggesting that men are able to test better (in fact, there is more to the contrary). I'm sure you would like to see more ladies in your mathematics office than you currently have, as that is one of the most male dominated fields there is. Just because it didn't affect you does not it doesnt mean it does not affect a majority. Sometimes we are privileged, and lucky.

Same here... perhaps we will see each other! (if we both get it)

This is the prefect check your privilege moment. Minorities often live in areas where the economic class is much lower than average, and thus, go to worse public schools. This might mean they have a weaker education in basic skills which is what the GRE tests. Though, If you are able to get a bachelors degree, one would think that you would be able to pick these skills up. I haven't looked up if there is a correlation between economic upbringing and and GRE score, but the SAT is a massacre with over half not meeting the minimum college readiness requirement. You might also argue that people who have less money in college also will have a harder time buying prep materials. But I think there are enough free online test prep stuff at this point (and at colleges depending on where you go) that you can adequately prepare. People study for the GRE like law students prepare for the bar: thats ridiculous. The Bar is a pass fail test that costs thousands of dollars to take and encompasses knowledge that you acquire doing an advanced degree. The GRE on the other hand can probably be taken by advanced HS students during sophmore or jr year without much trouble. Its a tricky thing, trying to make this fair. But lets all admit that we aren't trying to climb mount everest or K2. I don't think the GRE is responsible for keeping many qualified applicants out of graduate school. There are much deeper issues.

GRE correlates with graduate student success more than people who do bad on it want to admit. That being said, of course it is not perfect. Though I disagree that the GRE does not measure something that is useful: if you are a graduate student and cannot do easy tasks in a timely manner you will have a much more difficult time in graduate students than who can. You, in theory, as much time as you need to prepare for the GRE. Its not as if the material is unknown, as most of the material is covered in high school. If you learned it then, you should be able to learn it after you have completed your bachelors degree. There are of course extended circumstances, but we are talking about the general application pool. I think the GRE overall does differentiate stronger students from weaker ones, which is the goal of the test.

You should probably ask them. They can answer it best.

I still think its too early, and Earth Sciences doesn't do many interviews. Most acceptances are in February and march. Remember its been just a little over a week since 1/15.

What's your research interest ?

It means he is interested in your application and that you fit in the program. You should respond thanking him for the links to his articles, if you have any questions, ask him and say that you look forward to hearing from the program in the future (and that your excited).

So you go to SDSU? That's the only CSU that is offically recognized as a research institution. I wouldn't call San Diego the same city as Los Angeles, despite how big LA county is. USC is a private school. This is not relevant the conversation. This entire argument started from you saying you doubt the idea that it costs more for a PUBLIC institution to take an international student. Engineering programs are mostly professional/industry related programs. An MSc(engineering) or MEng is considered a professional degree, even with a thesis. Those types of programs are mostly self funded. Its 60 grand a year regardless of where you live at USC. But even USC mostly funds students in PhD programs. The reason they can take more international students is because they are a private college (and there is no difference in cost). There are surely many qualified (if not more) international students applying for US phd programs, but at public schools the department must decide if an international student is worth 2 domestic students, so only the very best of best tend to get in. Ted, you have provided no data that is relevant to your case. Perhaps because you go to a school that is criminally underfunded (all the CSUs) you have a more jaded outlook than the statistics seem to suggest about the relevant programs.

This is false. UCLA says that 10-15% of their incoming class is international (biology graduate program). They say this on their website. I lived in LA for 18 years. My mom teaches at USC. USC is a private institution which has nothing to do with our discussion. Just because someone is asian does not mean they are international. LA is home to many asian americans. There are many asian americans in the UC system. Your observations would make more sense if every asian person was also international, but a majority of them aren't. If that is your assumption, it's incredibly bigoted. You are making claims without any relevant numbers. You have not stated a valid argument. If you go to a state school in LA (one of the many CSUs, too many to list, or UCLA, UCR, and UCI) you have to realize the difference between the UC system and the CSU system. The CSU system is centered on undergraduate and professional degrees. Their aim is not scholarship. There are only a handful of PhD programs in the entire CSU system (over 20 colleges). Do you think there are many unfunded PhD students in STEM in any of the UCs? Do you know how embarrassing that would be for them when they claim they are flagship public research institutions? The people who run the UCs care just as much about prestige as any other vain college system ( Ivy League).

You realize those are for professional degrees and not for PhD programs, which most departments finance their students? Also, it took me 5 seconds to google UCLA biology graduate program and see that they only 10-15% of their incoming classes are international. Lets have a little bit of intellectual honesty here, this isn't republicans arguing about climate change. Its fact that international students in california can never establish residency and therefore if they want to get funding their PIs or department must pay their out of state tuition for the duration of their program. What % of PhD students in biology pay for their degree out of pocket? All of your arguments (both posts) clearly lack the context that peachypie's and the person she is addressing with her post. If you are going to be so condescending, your going to want to be correct. People online might not care, but in whatever graduate program you end up getting into, the people in your department will see right though you.

southern Illinois university carbondale is 2/15

finish up manuscripts/posters from old department. save money. have fun.