Debating

Hey guys! First time I've visited the website since May I think--I had an awesome summer though . Is everyone at UMass? I got here almost a month ago and wanted to check how everyone else is doing...

You should be able to open a bank account without an SSN and give them that later (you'll need to go to a branch, can't do it online without an SSN). As far as bringing money--I'd go with the money order or a traveler's check, wire transfers are really hard to do to/from personal accounts here. Getting an SSN may take anywhere from a couple of days to several months. Although it's rare, one of my friends had to wait for over two months, which caused her severe problems as she couldn't start working before getting the SSN and she ran out of money. Good credit cards are almost impossible to get without an established credit history, but as mentioned, student ones are a good option. After you've proven you're reliable (usually 6-12 mo later), you can apply for a regular card. To get one with benefits and a good APR, you may have to wait a couple of years. Good luck!

I still haven't heard from one school as well.... I accepted somewhere else a while ago but I didn't tell them because I wanna know if I'll get in or not and since they were very rude and unorganized throughout the whole process....

Internationals get a much lower standard deduction (3200 instead of 8000 for federal) so expect to pay higher taxes, unless your country has a tax treaty with the U.S. You may get a refund regardless of your citizenship status if you get more money withheld on your checks for taxes than you owe. Also, expect to fill out a lot of forms (I totalled 4 for federal only this year). Some of them are fairly complicated (one came with 67 pg of instructions) so talking to a tax expert is a must. The workshop on campus may help but only if they have experience with foreign nationals...

That is generally true (that you pay tax on the lump sum), but through my undergrad experience, scholarships for tuition and fees are non-taxable. That leaves the stipend plus any board/room/insurance waivers you might get as taxable income. Again, this is from personal experience.

I don't want to sound pessimistic but I only know of one LDR that has worked for anyone that tried it among the people I know and in their case he was sent off to Iraq for a year and they got married before he left. I have tried it twice--the first one made me miserable because we kept talking, but it was like we were just friends. We broke up after 8 mo. The second time it was for only 4 mo. but it almost broke up our relationship because we had almost no time to talk at all. I'm glad my boyfriend worked so hard at it (I had given up) so we're still together... I guess what I'm trying to say is that you both have to want it very very much in order for it to work. It sounds like he doesn't want that because he's had bad experience. My advice is, though, either stay together and give LDR a try, or break up. If you keep talking like friends, it will just hold you back because you won't want to let go of the idea that maybe you'll get back togeher some day. Best of luck, I really hope it works out for you!

I'm in the States, and I think the shots are required for everyone according to Mass state law. Meningitis is REQUIRED starting this Fall and you can not get it only if your doctor signs a form saying it's contraindicative to your health, you can't just sign a waiver. It's only one shot, not three, and it costs $70 after the student discount at my school; Hep B is three shots.

I come from a small state college that no one has heard of and it's good for nothing except wrestling and phys ed, and will be going to a big research university in the fall. When I mentioned last year I'd be applying to grad school this one guy in one my classes said: "You'll never get into a good school with a degree from here. Besides, you're a girl!". I haven't talked to him since. Even some professors in my department are not very supportive and one of them is actually jealous and tried to put my grad school down because he went to a much worse one. What the heck, shouldn't these people be happy for me and be proud that one of their students is doing well?? So, I try to ignore them. Soon I will be going to a FAR better school and they're stuck here so I understand they're bitter...

No I-20 yet here... Have you guys taken care of you immunizations yet? I just coughed out $80 for 3 shots :roll:

I'll be getting a new computer as well and have been arguing with myself... I'd really like to finally get a Mac but don't know if I'll be able to afford it quite yet. If you're looking for a PC, Dell, Gateway, Compaq, etc offer amazing deals around and right after New Years (if you can wait) and around major holidays. My sister got an extremely good laptop with a printer for under 900 in January. Many of these also have educational discounts of an addl 5%...

Do research first and find out what kind of car you want in terms of reliability, gas mileage, looks, etc (check out consumerreports.org. Decide on how much you want to spend and how you'll be paying (getting a loan will be very hard w/o credit history). Once you have narrowed it down, you can start looking for dealers in your area, or classifieds in the paper if you're willing to buy from a person. If you'll be going to a city with good public transportation, I'd recommend waiting a bit before you buy to better acclimate yourself and get to talk to locals who may be able to tell you what dealers to avoid, etc.

Ida, from the article you posted: I'm in Computer Science, where the average salary of a Ph.D. is twice that of a B.S.... I made the wrong assumption that applies to other disciplines as well. For me personally, a Ph.D. is a very sound economic investment AND we get paid much better as TA's anyway. Even if it weren't so, I'd still get a Ph.D. because I know I want to work in academia. So serisly rethinking, just think about what you see yourself doing with the degree. Is it going to be worth it and make you happy in the long run? A couple of students in my program had babies, took a semester off, then continued with their studies. It must be hard for them but it's doable and you can also just finish your residency requirement and then do your dissertation remotely. Best of luck!

actually more stress since i'm not planning on spending the summer anywhere in particular, just traveling all over europe . i hope i'll get it this coming week... where's the website to check on you i-20 you mentioned in another thread btw?

You say you don't want to be poor for the next four years, but you seem not to be considering the fact that a Ph.D. will increase your earning potential tremendously in the long run. I think it's worth it, but it's ultimately a decision you have to make.

with an f-1, you can only work off-campus with special permission. you get a year of curricular practicum training (cpt), which is kinda hard to get, and a year of optional " " (opt). once you get your opt it's only valid for a year, so if you only use it for three months in the summer too bad, it's gone. so in short, working off-campus is really hard.