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crontab

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  • Location
    Seattle
  • Application Season
    2015 Fall
  • Program
    AeroAstro/Robotics

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  1. For what it's worth, I think asking a few good questions about a PI's research (that show that you understand their previous work and have thought about the extensions) is much more effective in garnering a PI's interest in you as a student than detailing your background/"selling" your previous experience.
  2. First off, my deepest condolences for you and your supervisor in this difficult time (seriously, fuck cancer). I recently went through a similar transition, albeit under circumstances that are not as tragic as yours: I'm about a third of the way through my phd program and at the start of the summer my PI abruptly decided to leave the university (and the field, so things like working with her remotely or relying on her for references/advising are also off the table). My department has been very supportive throughout the process (making sure I don't "fall through the cracks"), and I'm sure yours will be as well. In response to your more specific questions, though: I think the good news (and it's important to focus on the positives throughout the transition) is that if you are currently writing your thesis up and preparing to defend then you already have a good idea of what you need to do to graduate. This is a positive because you don't need your new adviser to completely direct your research, you just need someone to offer feedback and invest some of their time and attention towards your project to make sure your thesis is sound and your defense goes smoothly. Even without complete overlap with the research interests of another faculty in the department, you should be able to find a faculty member that is willing and able to take the time before your defense to actually read your work and be able to appreciate it academically (which is more than enough prep to serve as your chair). Your department head/grad chair should be able to give you some guidance on this if you don't already have someone in mind. You should also take full advantage of the mentors you have outside of your department. While they might not be able to serve as your chair, they can probably be on your committee. I'm sure they would also be more than happy to take a larger mentoring role given the circumstances (such as actually reading/offering edits on your thesis). This will depend on the specifics of the funding (that the department head probably has at least an idea of), but in the case of my former PI, some of her grant funds were able to be accessed by the department to continue funding students for the summer after she left. I was lucky enough to have secured outside funding that started just as she left, but two other students from our lab are currently being funded using the money she left behind. If your current supervisor's funds can't be used in this way, the department may be able to fund you directly; you should not be timid about asking your department chair to explore all the possible options to fund you the rest of the way. If your current supervisor is willing, you might consider getting him to write you a reference letter now. My former PI gave me a "generic" reference letter before she left with her permission to use it for anything that I needed it for. If not that, your supervisor can provide a reference letter about you to your new supervisor or department head and they can use to write you a letter. Either way, you should be able to get a reference for the work that you've done while in your department.
  3. I'm not sure what your field is, but in engineering (at least at my university) it's not uncommon for students in my department to find TA positions in adjacent departments (like physics and math). It can be a bit difficult because those departments also prioritize their own students, but departments that run a bunch of undergraduate labs (like physics) are frequently in need of TAs. I imagine an RA type position would be harder to come by, but I have seen RA positions in adjacent departments (but always within engineering) advertised to all engineering students so it's definitely possible.
  4. I've discussed this question with multiple professors (because I'm leaving an industry position to go to grad school), and all of them said that it can be a positive. Having work experience can show that you are a professional - you've proven that you can be given tasks and complete them in a timely fashion, are proficient at learning new things independently, and can put in regular (required) hours. Those points may seem like they should be a given for most grad students, but the point is that these things are proven for you, whereas they are potentially not for someone straight out of undergraduate. If you are working in an field related to your graduate work (and you probably are), you are also probably already familiar with some of the open questions in your field - and how current research is being applied in the "real-world." This can definitely be a strength. That being said, all of them cautioned that while industry experience can look good - it can also start to be a negative if there is too much of it. After about 2-3 years, there start to be questions about why you want to leave industry for graduate school, so articulating that becomes an important part of your application. Also, there is the (true) concern that after years in industry you will be out of "academic shape", and dropping you into graduate classes will be setting you up for failure. No advisor wants that for a student. That's not to say that it is impossible (I've been working for more than 4 years), but I think that if you are planning on that you need to make sure you can prove that you are still sharp academically, and also looking to be involved in research while you are working so that you can demonstrate strong research experience when it comes time to apply.
  5. At UW's visit day (last Friday) they said they are planning to have funding decisions out by the end of this week.
  6. Yeah, super vague. I had the same thought about paying my way to the visit day, which is especially conflicting if it impacts the funding decisions. If you do email them and get a response, I wouldn't mind hearing their response (if you don't mind).
  7. Has anyone who was accepted to UWashington Aero/Astro heard more about the visit day? They said more information would be coming soon in the initial acceptance email, but I haven't heard anything yet. I suppose I could just email them directly, but would hate to bother them if they're busily working through the list sending out additional information.
  8. Just got a reply - they got a lot of applications and are still working through them. Decisions will be made through mid-April. They do appreciate my patience, though, so I got that going for me.
  9. I'm still waiting as well. I'm going to send them an email this morning asking about my status/when to expect a decision, but they are fairly up-front about offers being made in March and April so I don't know if I'll get anything beyond that. I'll let you know if I do, though!
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