joro

I have an old HP printer which costs about $50 at the time I bought it. I used during my entire undergrad and never had any kind of problems with it. I think the best printer for a grad student is anything reliable regardless of cost. If you plan on printing a lot, maybe you should also find a printer which is compatible with a continuous ink system so that you can save money.

I like those hobo gloves! I wasn't sure what to call them either. I do like to fix my hair so I think the 180s earmuffs would be great, but I'm thinking I may end up just wearing a hat in the end because of the cold. I don't plan on buying clothes right now, but I thought it would be good to find out what I should be wearing during the winter. Something specific I didn't really know about were the winter boots to keep my feet warm and dry. I would have walked right into the snow with my Onitsuka Tigers and end up freezing my feet off in class. I like fashion, but it has to be functional and comfortable fashion.

Thanks! My main concern was the winter shoes/boots. I'll be sure to check out Columbia and Timberland for those. Any brand suggestions on gloves and earmuffs? Wow, heels in the snow? I can't help, but laugh at that image in my head. I think I might also carry those instant heat packs in my pocket. Hopefully I won't need them.

I'm going to graduate school where it snows and I've lived in an area where it doesn't snow for my entire life. What should I wear during the winter/snow seasons? I'm pretty sure normal sunny California winter clothing doesn't cut it.

I'm currently 24 and only going for my MS. I plan on doing my PhD when I'm 28 after working for a little while.

Also thought I'd mention that if you need more space, then you should also look into SkyDrive. They offer 25gb of free online storage space.

Awesome advice with remote storage. External hard drives really range in price. The sweet spot for a 1tb external is about $80 - $90.

Just email asking if you could defer enrollment for a semester or year.

1. working out 2. online classes 3. reviewing old notes 4. learning new topics because I'm apparently supposed to already know them 5. planning out the next 2 years of my life

I think it depends on your industry. I spoke with the Outreach Supervisor at a company I dream to work for after graduate school (just hinting at the company with bold). We talked about various things such as the school I will be attending, jobs I could do if I didn't attend, internships, and the jobs I eventually want to settle into. Anyways, he said that 4 out of 5 people in the job I'd like have graduate degrees (MS & PhD) and that I also would make more money with a graduate degree in my industry. I know what I want to do as a career and now all I have to do is make sure my coursework, projects, and research are all geared towards that goal.

If I had a choice between McGill and Stonybrook, I would go with the first. My reasons are based on classes, research, and goals. Both of them offer totally different things for me and it would be pretty easy to choose. I don't think you can go wrong with either if you're just trying to do the normal get a MS and get a job as a software engineer at a software company.

I will definitely miss my parents too. Then again I'm going to have a better job after I graduate which will allow me to help them better financially. I definitely will miss having winter without snow and just having nice outdoor weather all year round. Errs...this is about what I won't miss, right? It's tough to say, I think I will miss everything.

I'll be headed here this Fall. I'd really like to know what apartments are nice and close by the school. And any suggestions on safe apartments would be pretty good.

I'm definitely considering this and the school I got into is a good school. I can't help but keep looking towards the school that rejected me. I personally need to get over it and continue moving forward. I will just try getting into that school again after I finish a MS.

My first choice finally got back to me and mentioned that everything about my application was strong except for one particular area. If I were to improve in that area by taking classes, then I should get in. I don't know what to do. Should I just take another year off to apply again? This is all really confusing for me.

I wouldn't panic so much about the April 15th deadline since you haven't heard from anything besides that one rejection. They do send acceptances and rejections after April 15th, but I would probably just check in with the department about the status of your application.

Coming from the SF Bay Area, that looks like a lot of snow to me. Although the weather here is more shorts and a shirt, maybe an occasional sweater if it gets cold or starts to rain a bit.

Did someone say no snow? By the way, I'm still waiting on this school (my first choice).

Still nothing...I called today and was caught off guard when the person I was hoping to speak with wasn't available. From what I got from the conversation, they mailed out all decisions so I should expect something in the mail soon? I did receive an extension for a few schools, so I can still continue to wait. I also did receive a formal letter from OSU saying I was admitted.

You might have a chance considering your 4+ years of work experience. Although your lack of publications, especially since you have a MS in CS might hurt you. I think you're expected to have a few publications under your belt if you have a MS in CS.

Oh no. I'm still waiting on my first choice, but I have a feeling that I will have the same outcome as you. I already know where I will go if I don't get in, but I'm actually not too happy about it. It isn't a bad school or program, but the thought of not going to my absolute first choice and perfect fit program is really irritating.

I'm sorry that you and your friends bought machines with tons of bloatware and thought you guys had to buy anti-virus software, but that's pretty much what PC manufacturer's include on their computers when sold. Apple packages their computers with only their applications hence why you see no bloatware which is great. Again, there are free anti-virus software. There are ALWAYS free alternatives, you don't HAVE to pay monthly fees. I don't know about you, but my PCs last a long time. My 7 year old PC is alive and kicking. I did add more memory, swapped out the CPU, and added a bigger hard drive to give it a bit more life so that it could run more modern games. I'd rather have the OP (original poster) make an informed decision rather than a blind one based on someone's bad personal experience. As timuralp has mentioned, Windows is more attractive to virus programmers because of the huge community of Windows users. They have an opportunity to affect more users than on an Apple computer. Now if Apple ever gets to the point where they have more users than Windows, then that would change and virus programmers would attack Apple users. Apple has their share of vulnerabilities that haven't been patched and a quick search on Google will bring those up.

The operating system is the only thing that's good about the Mac. I think the smart option is just to get whatever is necessary. If you absolutely need a Mac because the Mac has the software which you need to use, then go for a Mac. If a Windows based computer has the software you need, then go with Windows. If it doesn't matter, then go with whatever makes you happy. Laptops can last a quite a long time assuming you take good care of them whether it is an Apple or PC. As a little side information, the main companies that make the Apple laptops are Quanta and Compal. Compal laptops are great by the way and available to purchase for Windows users. Here's a copy and paste of information from a user on a notebook forum who has disassembled various Macbook Pro laptops: The above can basically be found in a bunch of other laptops so I wouldn't start talking about hardware.

I received an extension for a school. I have until May 1st now to make a decision.

I don't think I'm on an unofficial wait list since they said I should see all decisions online (by wednesday of last week), but their system is so slow to update. I was told by current students that the school is old fashion and also sends decisions via snail mail. I've only heard of 2 people being accepted.