Edge

Thirty-two, about to start my PhD after a 11 year career working in the real world.

Early Admissions/Actions are typically dates reserved for applications to schools you DEFINITELY want to attend. The way it works is you apply a month or so earlier than the regular application due date, and if you're accepted you're basically automatically enrolled. So you should only do this for your top choice. Keep in mind that several schools, including the ones I listed, DO NOT have early admission dates for MS/PhD programs. Almost all apps are due between Dec 1 and Jan 15th. If you're applying for next year you should be prepping to take the GRE in Sept/Oct, and working on your applications during that time as well. You don't want to be writing SoPs and studying for the GRE while you're taking midterms and group projects with your normal class load.

Reapplying only looks poorly on the candidate if the candidate/application has not changed since the original application. If she does get rejected, it is important that she does her best at her job to gain experience and get better recommendation letters, perhaps even a better SoP topic. That time should also allow her to possibly get a higher GRE score than the original.

Aside from changing "University of Whatever would be a perfect fit for me" to the corresponding university, every SoP was exactly the same. I got admitted to three of six schools. I do know people that have applied to grad programs and have written individual SoPs for each school that focus on a particular professor or nuance of the program or facilities, and have done equally well.

Your chances of getting into a good ChemE graduate program are dependent on a lot more than just GPA. Specifically, your GRE scores, recommendations, experience, application/SoP and the X-factor. If your 3.8+ GPA is reflected in your GREs, they will probably ignore the bad semester you had. Recommendations are important because it shows if you are a standout student to your advisors/professors/whoever. Remember that your competition will receive similar recommendation letters, yours needs to be different. Experience could help since you've already co-authored two papers, any work experience would be helpful. Your application/SoP should focus on you, what makes you want to attend graduate school, why you want to attend, what motivates you, what your goals are, etc. Lastly, the X-factor is something you can't control, i.e. the number of qualified applicants to a particular school in a particular year, availability of funding, availability of professors, etc. MS and PhD usually only differ when it comes to funding. Keep in mind that some schools don't accept MS/PhD students, you'll have to get a MS, THEN apply for the PhD program. As for your school choices, I'd consider MIT, UDelaware, Cornell, Columbia, Georgia Tech (it's not NE, but it has GREAT funding and opportunities), etc. If you branch out and look at the midwest you can consider UIllinoisUC, Purdue and UT-Austin. Hope everything works out!

Hi Jim, It is certainly possible to obtain funding while obtaining only a Masters degree, however it is much less likely. The way funding for student fellowships/assistantships works in most universities is that phD students get funded first. If a phD student declines to attend, then Masters students could benefit from that funding. Sometimes, Masters students are funded separately from phD students, typically it means a research topic is short term (less than two years) and so it is structured for Masters student research instead of a phD student. As far as Teaching Assistanships are concerned, they are rarely given to first year students because they don't know anything about you. If you take the class and excel in it, it is possible to become a teaching assistant the next semester or following year. I can't help you with the EE questions, I'm a CivE. Hope I helped.

The thought of having a french press IN my office seems difficult to clean. I have one at home that I use, it makes enough for a travel mug and a thermos full to keep warm throughout the day. Spring/Summer months I cold brew and the thermos is switched to iced coffee.

This really depends on your mindset and personality. Breaking it down you can compartmentalize into three aspects, class, research and life outside of school. Class: It's class, you have to do your 32-64 credit hours. Some classes you'll love, some you'll hate, some you'll tolerate. You'll be stuck in a few group projects which everyone seems to hate. In my opinion, try not to focus too much on the classes, by all means do the assignments and attend the lectures, I tend to pay more attention to the professors. Specifically, their teaching styles, how they act, how they command respect/attention, how they lose the attention of the students, etc. Even if your end goal is not being a professor it doesn't hurt to learn public speaking styles. Is it "enjoyable"? Sometimes. Research: Much more important than classes. After your class hours are completed, this is all you do in school. This is how you'll spend your time, obtaining research, organizing thoughts and eventually preparing your thesis or research paper. This is the culmination of your graduate education, a massive 150+ page paper with your name on it that other people in your industry can/will read. This is your impact in your field so you should focus more on this than on classwork. Is it "enjoyable"? That depends on if you like your research topic, if you think you'll be making a difference, if you find your work fulfilling, etc. Life outside of school: It is what you make of it. Join some clubs, meet people, make friends. Is it "enjoyable"? If you're doing it right, yes.