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That seems like a huge conflict of interest, the money should come from a grant or your PI.

You need to plan time to destress or else you will burn yourself out very fast. Schedule times to do things you enjoy, whether it be playing video games, exercising, reading books, listening to music, etc. That being said, I highly doubt you'll be able to run many games on a macbook air although they do have the Iris integrated graphics chip you'd have a hard time pushing out decent framerates with a ULV processor.

I think most are simply asking you to see if you're capable of proposing research based on experience. A lot of people need to be told what type of research to do, occasionally professors have projects in mind that they just need warm bodies to conduct. But in my opinion, great candidates and scientists should be able to read literature, formulate a hypothesis, and have a plan for executing that research. It seems like you're at point 3 right now, you just need to do the first two points and be able to relay that information.

It wouldn't be too hard to come up with a formula but it's nearly impossible to guess the data required to completely guess your chances. It would be something like: x = number of spots y = number of applicants s = correction factor % = (s*x/y)*100 The correction factor is based on your strength as a candidate and you could probably come up with a way to measure it based on things like publications, research experience, charm, intelligence, program fit, connections, etc. So if the number of spots they have is less than the number of applicants they receive there is a good chance you will receive an offer.

I worked as a lab tech in the immunology department for two years at Yale. You've got a ton of big names there, Ruslan Medzhitov, Richard Flavell, Akiko Iwasaki, Pete Cresswell, Eric Meffre, David Haffler are probably the biggest names. Also a couple of really strong up and coming PIs, Stephanie Eisenbarth and Martin Kriegal. Yale is incredibly high stakes though, most of the PIs there are focused on big name publications (Cell, Science, Nature) but they have really strong facilities and research. I did not like New Haven very much as it never really felt "safe" but I lived in a less than ideal part of town. You can always do a Postdoc at Yale as well if depending on your goals after graduation.

My brother just bought a lenovo yoga 2 pro from BB for $1200, 256 SSD and 8 gigs of ram. I think that it is one of the best values on the market right now if you're looking for a hybrid.

Windows 8 is not very different from windows 7, the only real difference is that the start menu was replaced by the metro launcher. Microsoft was trying to create consistency between platforms (laptop, desktops, mobile, and tablets) much like how the user experience is very similar in the iOS environment. Also Intel makes ULV versions of their i7 line, the haswell iteration is usually marked as ULT, and most ultrabooks that use the i7-4500u can get over 6 hours of battery but still can hyperthread.

One of my neighbors living just north of campus (in the neighborhood directly across from the school of management) I think actually outfitted the space above the garage with all the amenities in a studio style loft, so it really depends on your preferences. There is a lot of housing in the surrounding regions, living alone is expensive though. A fully equipped single bedroom apartment is upwards of $1000. There is plenty of housing so just shop around until you find what you like in a comfortable price range.

Use PubMed, search for publications that use your technique of interest. Quickly skim through the methods section and supplemental materials. Specifics are usually left out of publications for whatever reason which is annoying but you can always email the authors and ask them for protocols.

I was pretty close to my LoR writers so I personalized gifts a bit. Most of it was drinking paraphernalia (dogfish head randall jr, laptop sleeve for a new laptop one of my PI's just bought, some whiskey glasses). Just remember that it doesn't have to be expensive or related to science. Also remember that giving a good leaving gift is very important so that they remember you especially since you might need to have them write you additional letters when applying for fellowships. I think even something as simple as a bottle of wine is acceptable depending on your relationship with them.

For a majority of programs your first year you're not being paid by any particular PI. The money is pooled by members of the department and paid out so it would be impossible to negotiate a higher base starting rate since it is the department that is paying for you rather than an individual. However once you've chosen a lab to join you are then put onto the PI's budget so they must find funding from outside sources to support you. Grants and fellowships supplant department or PI funding so it's not entirely unheard of receive more than your typical non-fellowship peers. It is under the digression of your PI to give you more money, but that funding is coming from their grants if your fellowship is less than the minimum you would normally be paid. In the case where you are not fully funded I think it would be advantageous and economical to ask for additional support. However in a fully funded program I would not consider negotiating a higher starting salary because of the technical reasons listed above, whereas in a non-funded program the PIs are typically sympathetic to your financial needs and will help you get funding to reduce your burden.

My school provides free poster printing so I have no experience buying poster paper but I find it highly odd that any school would make you buy your own poster printing paper (to go in their machine?). If you don't see yourself making a huge number of posters I would just ignore the hassle and have it printed out at staples/fedex kinkos or similar store. They can make it look neat and professional as well as laminate your poster if you're going to be using it multiple times or for travelling.

It's not unusual for some professors to have secondary appointments in other departments. CS and engineering are becoming much more integrated so I would first check which degree program you would be enrolled in. My PI has a primary appointment in the school of engineering but frequently takes students from the molecular cell biology program to fill spots in her lab. However since I am in the engineering program I would still receive an engineering PhD while people enrolled through MCB would receive biology PhDs. Just doublecheck and clarify your situation with your school before making any decisions, there's a good chance that they saw your interest in the other professor and are simply helping the transition of his rolls to other professors.

I grew up in Amherst and it's a very safe place to live. I would say for a 1 bedroom place you're looking at 800-900 in rent alone. Everybody is super liberal there so you shouldn't really feel uncomfortable based on sexual orientation. The areas I would avoid are the North Village apartment area (lots of low income housing, and graduate student housing there so it's usually not very safe). Gas right now is about 3.40-3.60/gallon based on the last time I visited a couple of weeks ago. If you're trying to live peacefully there are a ton of people who rent out single room additions in their homes, I would keep an eye out for situations like that. There is an independent theater in town as well as a regular cinema in Hadley (about 10 minutes drive away). I would say budget $1,000-1,200 to live comfortably. Amherst does charge excise tax on vehicles so maybe live in one of the neighboring towns where rent is cheaper.

Netbooks aren't particularly known for their computing power. Any of the newer ivy/haswell processors with integrated graphics will give you decent performance and allow you to dual-monitor. I think lenovo has the highest ratio of performance+reliability to cost. Dell has a pretty good warranty program, but the problem is that you'll probably have to use their warranty more. It really depends on your budget and performance needs.

I don't think it's particularly rude to let other institutions to let know you've decided on another school. You might want to wait until you've received your package and you've officially accepted before doing so though just in case. Just make sure you a send a very well thought out letter and don't burn any bridges.

I know people who set up experiments with incubations and just go to the gym or a quick run while their experiments are running. If you live nearby to your lab it's simple enough to walk/bike rather than drive. I've always felt that people are disillusioned with the idea of "being busy" in graduate school. Set achievable goals rather than block off your time; so instead of planning to study for 2 hours, plan to read 1 chapter and review class notes. You'll often find that goal oriented planning saves you more time which you can reallocate to other things.

Budgeting is really based a few considerations. The number one thing you should doing is cooking your own meals regardless of your financial situation as other people have mentioned. I spend maybe 90-150 a month on groceries and I eat well balanced meals which boils down to 3-4 dollars a day for food. Eating out would typically cost me 10-15 per meal so that's a huge amount of savings. Housing costs typically will eat up a lot of your paycheck, if you can try to keep it at 1/4-1/3rd of your paycheck after taxes. Depending on the region it might be a better idea to get a place with slightly higher rent but with heat included (especially for cold states). Honestly, I'm paying off some student loans right now and I am still able to save $200+ a month after necessary expenses an some luxuries so I don't think it it's that bad. Of course if I had more expensive hobbies it would probably be harder to keep a good budget.

It would depend on your program, my program requires 8-10 classes + seminars and some research before your 6th semester, so I'm taking between 1-2 classes per semester plus seminars. I wouldn't say there is a strict rule in terms of much time you spend on classes. Most classes I am taking are refreshers of stuff I've already done in lab or in undergraduate classes so I can spend less time on those while other classes have problem sets that take a long time no matter how much schooling you've had. The thing I hate about the quarter system is that things pile on really fast considering that semesters are only 10 weeks, so you'll have lulls in some weeks and a ton of stuff to do in addition to research the next week.

A lot of papers are poorly written and have horrible formatting and worse figures, but you do get used to reading them. Jargon in your field eventually gets easier to understand and once you know enough it's simple to read a paper all the way through without needing to stop and look for specific techniques and acronyms. Of course you eventually learn to read papers for the information you want to extract from them, just practice and like people have suggested join a journal club. They'll teach you how to read papers and the more experienced members will point out nuances that you may have missed. They are also excellent opportunities to learn to properly write a research paper that is clear and readable.

Your school probably has tax advisers as well, you can go and ask them questions. In most cases your stipend is considered taxable income but your don't need to pay into medicaid or SS. I've used turbotax before and it's free federal filing if you make under a certain amount. For any new people, you can probably ask your payroll office to withhold a certain amount from you paycheck each month for federal taxes so you're not left with no money at the end of the year to pay taxes.

I had about 30k after graduating undergraduate. I took two years off to work and gain experience before starting grade school so I was able to get it down to about 24k before starting graduate school. My grad program is fully funded so I'm still paying it off while in grad school. Just remember that you can defer student loans while in graduate schools so subsidized loans will not accrue interest during grad school. So while I was working, my payments were close to $400 but now since most of my loans are subsidized I'm only paying about $250 but the principle payment is still about the same. I'm just working on paying off $4000 in unsubsidized loans right now while in graduate school. I could theoretically pay them all off now but I don't want to dip into my rainy day fund too much.

I did the same thing, I actually worked for two years after I graduated and before starting graduate school but I was able to keep things down to just my clothes, cookware and some essential things. Also living in a furnished apartment really helped, basically all I had to do was buy a table from ikea for $40 and load it into my car for the trip. I don't think it's worth the hassle of shipping furniture or other large items since you're moving to a college town anyway and there should be plenty of cheap furniture there. You're better off selling your large items and buying used furniture at your destination. As for things like books and CDs, just take what you can fit in your car, store the rest at a friend's/family's house and just ask them to ship it as you want/need it.

I went to UofR as an undergrad and spent a couple of summers living there doing research. If you can, you should definitely live in the white coat ghetto (directly across from the hospital). There are some food places nearby which you can walk to and an asian market which made eating cheap without a car fairly simple. If you have a car though it makes things much easier since you can drive to Henrietta for shopping. I had friends living in the 19th ward and the crime rate there was far too high for comfort. That being said there are buses that will shuttle you anywhere without too much issue. If you're interested in night life there's always the south wedge which is close to bars and a lot of the cultural activity in the city.

For me location did matter, but only so far as region rather than specific city. I live about 1.5 hours from my family and I've found that I can take the occasional weekend trip to visit them without a huge issue, since I can still be productive even when I'm not in lab (planning experiments for the week, reading papers, problem sets, etc). Nightlife isn't really important to me so I did not take that into consideration but if you're so swamped as a grad student that you can't plan a weekend off every now and then you're going to burn yourself out very fast.