eklavya

I don't understand what students mean when they say they want to work in "industry" after they get out when they're asked "so what are your future goals and career aspirations?"


Basically it means they have no idea what the hell they're doing and they're just hoping, maybe even expecting, that there will be a job there for them waiting when they get out. Sorry, a PhD after your name doesn't mean there will be anything there after you graduate. Being honest with yourselves, how many of you are hiding out there in grad school really only because you have no idea what you want to do with the rest of your life, or because you didn't want to get a job, or because you couldn't find a job? I laugh every time I hear someone say they want to work in "industry" when they get out, that's like saying "i like food".

few of my friends have done this on their trip to mexico and back, but they also took their i20s with them... just to be on the safe side. and i recommend that you do the same. the additional endorsement is nothing but a signature and new time stamp from your international center and shouldn't take more than few minutes to get. but, given that the semester hasn't started yet, they might need to change the 'enter US no later than' date, or something similar. it shouldn't take more than a day to make the change, imo. but whatever you do, please follow the rules and guidelines as directed by your international center. we int'l students have a LOT of rules to follow and one slippage could lead to disaster.

one who orders things in the lab, takes care of equipments, provides training to every new face, handle safety stuff and all the 'background' stuff that happen yet grad students and post docs are unaware of/indifferent to

Ouch. Could be worse, though. (While working on M*A*S*H, Alan Alda commuted from New Jersey to Los Angeles every weekend for eleven years. He didn't want to have to move his family, and he figured that sooner or later the show would be cancelled.)

My first year I was ~4 miles away. Now I'm about 1.5 miles. The shorter commute is sweet, but (as my friend who lives 1/2 hr away says) the community is "a bit incestuous"...i.e. everyone you bump in to at the grocery store etc. is affiliated with the school somehow. It's kinda weird to run into your profs around town, and your cohort in the laundry room.

I hope to be moving farther out, 6-7 miles, next month.

My commute is 15 minutes by bike, 25-35 minutes by bus/subway. I like not living too close to campus, I actually enjoy having somewhat of a commute - some time I spend every day listening to music or reading a book and not working. I agree, though, that living too far away from campus can be difficult too. It depends both on the way you commute and the distance you have to travel. For me an hour would be too much, but 40-45 minutes is still reasonable.

the whole point of owning a pc is to keep it personal. so whatever pirated stuff you have downloaded, no one is going to know/care about it. but if you are caught downloading stuff from unauthorized p2p sharewares, that will most probably put you in risk. there are ways to do it undetected, but the risk factor is huge. so don't do it unless your life depends on it.

Just recieved full online score report; I had 800V 800Q, but somehow, a 4.5 in AW. I really, really was expecting a full-on 6. During prep times I had one set of essays marked by Princeton Review's essay review, and it was 6s across the board. On the day of the exam, I also feel like I wrote solid essays; it wasn't like I was nervous and just crashed through the first section. I studied social sciences in undergrad and did a lot of researching and writing, with a couple papers presented at major conferences too.

I am wondering if anyone had experiences with regrades, is asking for a regrade is worth it? Can someone please share some experiences? Also, if this is the AW score I have, will it significantly hurt my chances? I am applying to a political science PhD program, and will generally go for the big names (Harvard, Stanford, etc). I heard social sciences and humanities take AW scores fairly seriously, and I even heard that some schools consider the writing score more important than the other two scores. Is it true, and would it be a good idea to prepare for a retake? Thanks for all the help!
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Sorry to be a pain in the butt, but you're better off getting a Mac. I've had a couple of PC laptops, and they just don't have the longevity of my MacBook. You could use a comp that will last the entire program, and a Mac is the safest bet. It's worth the student loan $$$.

The first thing you can/should do right away is search for a Singaporean association in the city, or perhaps in your grad school. There might not be a whole lot of them, but even 1 is enough. You can also contact the international student association at your grad school to forward your message to someone who is willing to help you - it necessarily doesn't have to be someone from Singapore.
Also, as someone suggested above, using craigslist isn't that bad of an idea. After you find a nice place, you should exchange multiple correspondences to make sure that the person/party is not a scam. Calling them is also a good idea. I can personally vouch for craigslist as it has always worked for me... wherever I have moved so far, short or long term, I've used craigslist to find places to stay and I haven't been scammed or anything. That said, you do need to be careful when you are dealing from overseas.

Exactly the reason why folks like you and I and others from different areas should contribute to this thread. 1 thread with all info is better than few hundreds on 'what are my chances'. Don't you think?

Admins/Mods, we need a sticky on this one. Perhaps other members (those who already are in grad school are preferred) should contribute to this thread too, if they'd like.

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Why don't you read the second post of the thread and notice the poster...

Also, with good conscience I can not tell someone to get a Windows PC. Sorry.

I would recommend a mac book pro over a pc... you already have an iphone!

I am shocked you dared to ask this question. Aren't you the one who started a thread on furby?
ETA: here's the thread: http://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/22886-post-your-worst-purchase-ever-in-this-topic/

You have no right to judge unless you yourself have not made a single ethical compromise. We've all lied, cheated, and stolen before. The difference between you and I is the difference between Master and Slave morality.

So the key is to avoid getting caught working.

My idea was that I should just work at a startup company and code for them while studying for the MS. I know several PhD students who actually have their own companies while studying for a fully funded PhD. As long as I prepare a research project before I begin the MS program, I'd be able to show to my advisor that I'm actually doing some research.. lol. She'll think that I'm having reasonable progress for a first year student.

But thanks for the comments guys. You've really helped me solidify my plans to do this. I promise myself that I WILL do this, IF (1) I don't get admitted with a full-time scholly from an MS program or (2) My employer does not sponsor a part-time MS for me.



That's the thing, I can definitely pull it off when it comes to work load - I worked 42 hours a week during the semester as an undergraduate, and during one summer, I worked 70 hours. Not to undermine the experiences of other people or anything, but all this struggling has made me realize that money's important, and feeling all guilty about ethical ramifications is just for suckers who had it good in life.

But it's unfair to say this, but it's just a generalization.

The whole point is to get a Master's degree for free. In the U.S., those are very rare. I know this is off-point in a way, but tHe U.S. education system is pretty unfair if you ask me. Now we have people undergoing indentured servitude, not for a house/mortgage, but for a life-long repayment of college loans. We have English majors paying $30K a year without any prospects for having a real job.


edited:



You're right.. those people aren't really accountable, and I just pulled a reason out of my arse. I just realized that i said that to justify what i intend to do.

First of all guys, I lied - it looks like I really DON'T have a conscience compared to some of you. But think about it, I could spend $70 at a really, really nice restaurant 1,000 times with the money earned/saved.

But you guys raise some good points - I think that the university assumes a good faith attempt at pursuing a PhD, and if my actions don't convince them that this is the case for me, then I could get in some big trouble. I can see that professors *might* have some reach in industry. But let me say that the WHOLE point of this plan is NOT to get caught. There are people who legitimately quit their program and leave with an MS after just one year. I just have to appear to be one of them.


-But what do you guys think professors would say if I go ahead and invest my twenty hours of TA, 12 credits of coursework, and then do another twenty hours of software development at the same time?
-I do have research experience, and I can continue to pursue one last LPU and one last conference on it while doing my 1.5 year MS.

Any other insights that some of you might have that would enable people like me to have an easier time doing this? Thanks.

How difficult would it be to "pull off" this plan?

If a software engineer works for about three years, and decides that he'd like to have a masters degree in order to bypass Human Resource screenings for new recruits, then couldn't he just apply for a fully funded MS/PhD program?

I plan on working like 20 hours a week without the department noticing, and after the MS requirements are finished, I just drop out, saying a PhD is NOT for me. Free masters, additional work experience (probably at a start-up).

Can't believe we don't have a thread dedicated to Chuck Norris!! No wonder life is boring as hell during the waiting period! (Why? Cuz Chuck Norris ain't here to keep us company, y'all!!)

Anyhoo, the obvious question to ponder about, while I/we are stuck in this limbo, is, how would Chuck Norris go through the application and admission process?

1. Chuck Norris doesn't fill out the application forms. He stares at them till they finish up and pay after themselves.
2. Personal statement of Chuck Norris: "Me".
3. Chuck Norris never accepts offers made by any schools because he is tired of being the only smart dawg on campus.
5. If Chuck Norris doesn't get accepted, he simply calls up the admission office and says "No".
6. Chuck Norris got rejected at all schools he applied to. But the adcomms haven't gathered the courage to break the news to him.
7. While on a campus visit, the graduate student who was supposed to pick Chuck Norris up from the airport didn't show up. Enraged, Chuck Norris roundhouse kicked the whole city and dropped it far away in the ocean. People say that's how the Liliput came to be.
8. There are no PoIs for Chuck Norris. There is only CNoI for the POIs.
9. When asked what his career goals are, Chuck Norris answered "To be Chuck Norris".
10. Chuck Norris didn't get into any Eco/Evo program because no professors was willing to buy the idea that the mass extinction of dinosaurs was due to chuck norrisaurus and no meteor.
11. Chuck Norris was instantly hired by the math program because he could divide by zero.
12. Chuck Norris doesn't wait during the whole application process. He goes back to the future and gets his degree.
13. Chuck Norris was let go from the immunology program. Not because he caught the diseases, but because he crushed them with his bare hands after catching them.
14. Chuck Norris once possessed satan. To investigate how, the religion program was created.
15. When applying for physical fitness programs, Chuck Norris was asked how many push ups he could do. He answered "All of them".
16. Chuck Norris was invited for recruiting weekend because, well, Chuck Norris needed to recruit workers.
17. Chuck Norris was once called to the Dean's office because the Dean was in trouble.
18. There is no 'Middle Name' form field in the applications given to Chuck Norris to fill out. Because the schools are smart enough to know that nothing should come between Chuck Norris.
19. Chuck Norris doesn't contact PoIs. He pokes them in facebook.
20. PoIs don't poke back Chuck Norris on facebook. Who in their right mind would finger Chuck Norris?

screw the quant section. your 'mohr' there suggests that you need to be memorizing some vocabs dude.

screw the quant section. your 'mohr' there suggests that you need to be memorizing some vocabs dude.

screw the quant section. your 'mohr' there suggests that you need to be memorizing some vocabs dude.