starofdawn

Posting on GradCafe when I should be working...

Sorry abut that, forgot I had already posted it. Congrats on hearing from 2 schools, I hope it was good news!

I've wanted to tell my boss the entire time, but I only started this new job last July. I feel awful for leaving around the 1 year mark, but definitely not worth deferring for a year out of guilt. I think I'll give him a 3 week notice early June.

California State University system might have some campuses that are still accepting applications. San Jose State University, for example, is accepting applications until May 1st. http://www.sjsu.edu/gape/prospective_students/deadlines/fall_domestic/

To those who will not be moving to graduate housing, and be moving to the La Jolla/UTC area: - I recommend looking at bus routes (UCSD shuttles and city bus routes). If you live close to a stop, the bus ride is free and it will be simple getting to and from campus. Parking, for students, is very very tight and extremely difficult after 10am. - Off-campus parking is available but also very difficult: -------- To the north are mountains and the 5/805 freeway exchange. Not doable. -------- To the east is the 5 freeway. Not doable. There are UCSD parking lots to the east of the 5 freeway, and beyond that is a school and some apartment housing. Easily a 15-20 minute walk to campus. -------- To the west of UCSD are beautiful houses. There are parking restrictions; parking is doable for a single class, but not all-day parking. Also, spots are limited. -------- To the south of campus is a big shopping center, plenty of parking is available, but you are forced to walk up a large hill to campus. Easily a 15 minute walk. - If you look for an apartment close to a bus stop, just know that the bus stops along La Jolla Village Drive will be very crowded. There are disadvantages and advantages: while the bus lines will be very long and you may not make it on the bus, there are multiple bus routes along that road and it might only be a few minutes until the next bus comes along. This is from my undergrad experience back in 2008-2010. YMMV. Hope it helps.

Never heard of Lo and Sons - just searched on their website and I love their Brookline bag.

Ha! I was just looking at Coach/MK totes earlier today, but decided not to buy any because I'm not completely sure which size to buy - or if I needed it at all. I, too, have been working for the past 4 years, carrying a small purse, and want to look into other options besides backpacks.

TA/RAs go to PhD students first... and I have no research experience. I don't stand a chance. I MIGHT get an RA after working in a lab for a while and proving myself.

I will look into all kinds of financial aid once I get there, definitely.

I don't want a PhD

Probably not for me (MS student)

No, I don't.

My cousin did his Bioengineering MS at SDSU, and was disappointed with SDSU's lack of help in obtaining job opportunities after graduation. Hope this helps.

All of my acceptances were unfunded... if I had a great applicant profile, I might have received some financial assistance... but a 3.33 GPA + MS applicant = no funding.

Cost of living for Pittsburg is waaaay lower than Los Angeles. I had a friend who went to CMU and bought a house, because it was a better investment than renting an apartment. Unheard of in California! I can't speak to Pittsburg as a city, but you will also be in close proximity to many other major cities in the NE (NYC, DC, Boston, Philly, etc). USC is a great school, and I would love to argue for USC, but it sounds like you know you want CMU.

Wanted to chime in and say I know exactly how you feel about UCSD. I haven't received any "friendly" or "warm" vibes either. Even when I accepted their admission offer, they didn't send a "Yay! Thanks for choosing us" email. It caused some doubts in my choice, but I wasn't surprised(did my undergrad at UCSD). UCSD requires their students to be independent. There is very little pampering. I'm completely fine with that - UCSD is the best choice for me, and I don't expect to be pampered. As long as I get to perform the research I want, get along with the professors, and graduate on time, I'll be happy. USC was much different, they were doing all they could to get me to join. I was tempted to pick USC, but the pampering ain't worth USC's $30K tuition. Edit: I think my post sounded like I was trying to encourage OP to chose UCSD... didn't mean for it to sound like that! Just wanted to say I know what OP is feeling.

Oh yeah, orientation! Forgot about that. I haven't received any emails from UCSD so far! Perhaps they're waiting for the finalized list of students before sending us emails?

Their $43K tuition deterred me from applying to Vanderbilt.

School starts reeeeally late (October 2nd). I was thinking of moving August, just to beat all the undergrads. But I might wait til September...

I just accepted my admission offer last night. I'm going to cool my jets for a week... and then start thinking about it all over again. Lucky for me, since I've traveled to a few 3rd world countries, I get to take a TB test... yay.

Sounds like you know your answer! Why hold out on accepting UW-Madison if you know you probably can't attend BU?

Just accepted my admission offer to UCSD! La Jolla shores, here I come!

I agree that Ann Arbor is very different from Detroit. Ann Arbor is lovely, one should not reconsider UMich just because it's in the same state as Detroit.

It's nice to know that if I prove myself to be useful, some money might start coming my way!

I had a phone conversation with a professor a few weeks ago. Once I said, "I do not require any financial assistance", his tone completely changed and he was willing to introduce me to some professors (and even offered for me to join his lab). I think I was pretty lucky to talk to a nice, welcoming professor - but I honestly believe that if you reach out to a professor and are completely upfront about willing to work FOR FREE, they will take you into consideration.