Bethdv

I'm starting my PhD in Information & Computer Science at UCI this Fall I'm pretty sure I'll be living on campus at least during the first year, I'm very wary of closing deals virtually without visiting the place beforehand. But yeah, I prefer having a roommate and not having to deal with long daily commutes. These pretty much are the only two options from what I've gathered. I'm trying to figure out if I'll be able to afford having a car with all the parking and insurance expenses, it seems pretty hard to get by without one though.

My dad wants me to keep trying to land a government job, and come back home in case I get one. That's the a-lot-of-money-for-a-boring-job option, which I was resigned to until recently because I never thought I'd be able to afford graduate school. He thinks I'm only doing it to live overseas for a while, when for me living on a tight budget while doing interesting research is a much better option than getting loads of cash in a job I hate. He doesn't get it, he never went to college because he knew he could make just as much doing business (and he did). I don't care that he thinks I'm being foolish, but god does it annoy me that he keeps on trying to convince me to give up an incredible opportunity I never thought I'd even have.

Oh my gosh, same. I feel like I said something really stupid. But also, in the end of the interview the professor asked me to send him a paper I wrote. And I just found out that I sent it to myself by mistake - I was using an alias email address and it went to that instead. So that probably didn't help me case. I'm worried about housing, because people tell me I should secure a lease months in advance, but also that I see the place in person before. And I can't possibly do both.

Can you afford to live on partial funding, or can you get by without funding at all for a semester or two? If not, would you be able or willing to work during the program? If not, make an estimate of how much money you would need, worst case. Would you be able to pay off your debts in the couple of years after you graduate from option B? I wouldn't want to start on a PhD program while in debt, but that's less of a problem when you're just looking to get a job. So what you plan on doing after should also be taken into consideration.

I've seen a couple of top STEM programs claiming on their websites that they have a 3.5 cut-off, but one of them said in a email that they would review applications with 3.0 and above GPAs as well. Having research experience and excellent GRE scores will certainly help you a lot. Each school will weigh everything differently, so you might not get in everywhere you apply. But, if you do your homework and apply to programs that are good fits, you should have a good chance of getting a couple of admissions. The SoP is very important and you can address your GPA in it, try and make it work in your favor.

I thought I had my choices all figured out and already had an offer from a better program when I got an email from a professor who had just arrived at my 4th choice. He's both a better fit and more accredited than all my other POIs and he's coming from a much better ranked program (seriously, 50 positions or so better). That had huge impact on my decisions and I'm now unsure where I'm going. You might get a surprise and end up changing your mind, I'd wait as much as possible before making a binding decision.

This. OP, it looks like you wouldn't be committed to the program at all, and honestly a pain in the ass to work with for 4+ years. If there was any hint of that in your SoP, specially trashing previous professors, that's an automatic reject. I personally would pick someone with a less outstanding CV but who would be less likely to make me and my colleagues miserable for years. But still, the school is very competitive and it's very likely that there were just better applications. Being above minimum requirements is not a guarantee in any way. I've also read that LoRs from outside the US/Europe are majorly disregarded because they're all overly praising and provide little additional information about the applicant. All eggs in one basket is very risky business.

I've heard that PhD applicants with masters degrees are held to higher standards, expected to have published more and have more research experience than candidates that are just out of undergrad. That's where being an RA can help, but of course that must vary between schools and departments. Being a TA helps you improve your presentation and communication skills, which is very useful no matter where you end up in your career. But when it comes to jobs, being a TA might give you an edge if you apply for a teaching position and being an RA might help if you apply to a research position. If you can afford to, you should be able to volunteer for a professor whose work you're interested in. These restrictions are most often there because of a limited budget, so if you don't need the cash you can still get the other perks. Working close to a professor should make it easier to get into PhD with them later, and they could possibly help your chances with professors they know in other programs.

I'm having similar issues with my decisions, I love this question, it's so much easier to rationalize everything from a third party perspective. Okay, I think you can do two things that might help: 1- Negotiate for better funding. Having a better offer will give you more leverage for that and, who knows. You might get it. 2- Gather more info on the professor you don't know. There's google to look into their papers and projects, there are sites like ratemyprofessors.com which can shed some light on their personality. You can also e-mail their past and present students and ask questions. One or both of these could tip the scale for one of the two programs.

I'm looking for a private suite + decent shared kitchen, under 30 minute commute for no more than $1500 (rent & utilities). Right now it's looking like a "pick two" situation. I guess I'll see what I can get for funding and go from there. Hopefully I'll have enough to go on to make a decision by April. Thanks!

Does anyone know how the rental market is in August/September in Boston? I've heard everything from "it gets really cheap because landlords are desperate to get rid of units that aren't leased yet" to "prices go crazy high because demand is so massive". I was pretty much set on going elsewhere but I just found out that NEU hired a great professor whom I really want to work with. The rent is my only drawback right now because 90% of the decent places/rooms I've found are way out of my estimated budget, and I'm worried that by Fall those 10% won't be available anymore.