starofdawn

Hello GradCafe, I accepted UCSD's admission offer ~1 month ago and I'm very excited to attend. Before accepting UCSD's admission offer, I spoke with a professor on the phone about the program. He invited me to come to UCSD to speak with him in person, visit his labs, and meet his other graduate students. He also invited for me to join his lab (although he cannot offer funding. I said this was perfectly fine). This professor is well-published, and his current research projects are very interesting. I meet with him on Friday. This is not a formal admissions interview, and although there is no pressure since I'm already admitted, I still want to show that I am interested and competent. I'm tempted to ask questions such as, "Can I use the research in your lab towards my thesis?" or "How many hours/week do you expect for me to be in the lab?" but I don't know if these questions are insightful or rude. Which questions should I be asking?

Yikes, I probably spend close to $60/week on food. I probably spend ~$25-30 on groceries, and the remaining is when I eat out. I probably eat out 3 times a week (two days for lunch and once on the weekend). I'm worried about the price going up once I start school. I will be spending lots of time on campus, probably without access to a refrigerator. I will be tempted to eat on campus.

I think my undergraduate major was "Environmental Systems with a concentration in Environmental Chemistry", which I normally shorten to Enviro Chem. I tell friends and family that I'll be getting an MS in Materials Science. Much simpler!

If you think about it, people normally like salty + sweet. Popcorn and soda, peanut butter and jelly, etc.

I've did some research and I can understand your predicament. CMU is ranked #1 for computer science and UCSB is ranked #34. CMU also has a location in the Silicon Valley, which is another great advantage. However, CMU's Silicon Valley campus is new (only founded in 2002) and it seems like CMU's Silicon Valley campus mainly attracts working professionals who want to go back to school part-time for a degree (although I haven't found any hard evidence to support this). I am not SE, CS or an IT professional... but if my opinion means anything, I'd lean toward UCSB. As a California native, UCSB has a reputation of being a good school all-around, even if they're not famous for CS/EE. UCSB's amenities might outrank any prestige that comes with CMU's name. I would suggest reposting your question in the CS GradCafe page for better opinions

Can you clarify why you want to go to UCSB? Seems like you prefer CMU. Also, are you sure CMU's Silicon Valley location can offer the same amenities as UCSB? Just a question... I've never been on a satellite campus.

Unfortunately, society plays a heavy weight on the "value" of a person in relation to their higher education. I've met a few people who feel uncomfortable around college graduates. I've never felt "better" or "higher up" than someone who does not have a Bachelor's - but I learned a few years ago that a cousin's girlfriend is uncomfortable around me and my boyfriend because we are college graduates. I was shocked when I first heard this. Another example - a friend of mine (UCLA graduate) recently broke up with his girlfriend of 7 years (no college degree). I'm sure there were many reasons for the break-up, but I heard that she was insecure that her boyfriend was a college graduate. Quantum Buckyball, it sounds like your date is insecure about not having a college degree. That's very sad, because as we can see, none of us look down on anyone who does not have a college degree. Having been to college, we know that unintelligent people can get college degrees! I hope your date will realize that there is no reason to be worried about dating someone in graduate school. If she can't get past that, then it might cause trouble in your relationship.

Raspberry sherbet + orange Italian soda

Leaving the La Jolla area without a car won't be easy. Trader Joe's in La Jolla might have non-GMO foods. If you can make your way to Ocean Beach, OB People's Food market is a co-op and is AWESOME. They have many healthy, non-GMO, sustainable foods to eat.

Lived in California all my life, studied abroad in Peru. Have also been to Mexico, Canada, Costa Rica, Chile, Denmark, Netherlands, Israel, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. I love to travel! It's hard to pinpoint a favorite... my trip to Costa Rica was wonderful and I recommend everyone to go there. Namibia, on the other hand, had a weird and uncomfortable vibe.

Spoilers galore in this thread! I never got to finish Inglorious Bastards... oh well

I'm not knowledgeable about IE admissions, but sure! Why not? This professor can speak to your ability as a responsible and intelligent student. And if I'm not mistaken, IE is economics heavy, so statistical methods class would be relevant (as opposed to a history class or a biology class).

Still no email from my department. Has anyone received information on orientation, when to sign up for classes, etc?

That's the million dollar question, isn't it? Which school would provide more job opportunities after graduation?

When I was researching programs, I was surprised to find that schools in the Cal State University system didn't require the GRE for my program as long as my GPA was above 3.0. However Arizona State did require the GRE... this tells me that GRE requirements could be program-dependent. Anyways, the CSU system might not be much help because I doubt they offer online degrees. What are you interested in studying?

I don't know what "UMB" stands for... but I am a big fan of SJSU and strongly considered attending SJSU for a different program. SJSU is in the heart of the Silicon Valley, which is fantastic for networking, job placement and summer internships. San Jose is an expensive place to live, but I think it will be worth it because once you graduate, jobs in software have great pay. I'm native to Los Angeles (where CSULB is located), and while I love LA, Silicon Valley is much better suited for the computer/software industry. I can't speak to the infrastructure of either schools. Lastly, because SJSU and CSULB are in the same school system, I can't imagine their total costs will differ by a lot.

I feel that SF Bay Area and Boston are better "tech cities" for possible jobs after school, but that's my opinion. Probably not a relevant fact if you want to go into academia.

You can block people?! I'll get to that in a minute... I'm turning 26 next week and my biological clock has not started ticking. I've never felt the desire to be a mother, have never wanted to pick out names... I'm worried I won't ever want to be a mother. I love people who are child-free and content with their choice, but I'm so comfortable in the "you're still young enough to be childless" category and I'm worried that rude comments are just around the corner.

When I first read the title, I thought, "Is she nuts?! Why would someone chose CSUF over UCLA?" After reading all your thoughts and reasons for choosing Cal State Fullerton, it makes sense why you would make that choice (as the_sheath said, as long as prestige is not a huge deal in your field). It's better aligned with your academic interests, it's considerably cheaper, and they have extended a warm welcome to you. You're not crazy for choosing CSUF.

It's a whole bundle of emotions! I'm excited, but also a little scared. I've been out of school for a while, and I'm diving into a graduate program where I have very little background experience, and it's a great engineering school (and it's extremely competitive). I'm not looking forward to the stress, the unknown, the failed experiments, the possible all-nighters. It's going to be a major change - change of cities, lifestyles, day-to-day, change of friends... I'm excited, but I'm not jumping off the walls because I'm realistic. This is going to be difficult! Having a job seems so easy. All I have to do is show up on time every day, do what I'm told, and I get rewarded with a paycheck. I'm about to throw my current lifestyle upside-down... I don't think we're alone. Have you noticed other gradcafers posting how they wish the book list would be available so that they could get a jump-start on reading? That could be pure excitement and love for their subject, but it could also be nervousness and anxiety! I also don't want to point fingers (cough cough) but some schools are really great at psyching up their future graduate students, while other schools are more laid-back in the spirit department. This could have a major effect when we see other people's excitement level. Hopefully once I start to see everything fall into place (apartment, class schedule), the anxiety will wear and I will be giddy as ever... until I actually start graduate school. Hope my rant helps

Congrats justinmcummings maybe living in Wisconsin will turn you into a Packers fan!

Oh man - going through that right now. Just declined USC's admission offer. Very happy to be going to UCSD in the fall, but USC's school spirit, beautiful campus, and world-renowned alumni network was strongly captivating me. However, UCSD is 1/2 the cost, and the research is more in-line with my interests.