ahlatsiawa

I had that bed for about 10 years and it hadn't been used regularly for the past four years. I don't even know how they got there in the first place.

My bed was made of MDF (except for the railings) and boy had those bugs found their way to even the tiniest of crevices and nooks & crannies.

rising_star - Lack of underbed storage was the least of my worries. I am going to have plenty of storage space in the apartment. I found out later that the bed I had chosen initially might not be able to handle my weight (~80kg) and also it did not have a headboard. Plus, low height as mentioned above. Quantum Buckyball - Wow! That sounds awesome. I wish there was in Ikea in Syracuse. Would have given me a broad range of choices. dat_nerd - I am going to see if Amazon can help me with the rest of the stuff that I have yet to buy. Thanks for your suggestion! victorydance - I had a very bad bedbug problem last month. That is why I did not want to go for a second-hand frame and mattress.

So I finally ordered all my stuff today. In the end, I decided to go with this bed since all others in my price range were quite low in height. I found a very good three-piece office set (desk+drawers+printer stand) and I think I am going to use that last piece as my night stand until I can find a good one on Craigslist. Thanks everyone for your help.

^ This comment could be taken in a very different context.

WriteAndKnit - That is actually a really good idea. I will keep that in mind when I am out shopping. GeoDUDE! - I am eyeing a $140 memory foam mattress at one of the local stores. I will see if it works for me by trying it out. geographyrocks - Saw a listing for an 8" Spa Sensations for $150 at Walmart. WIll be sure to check it out. perpetuavix - The bed I am going for does not require a box-spring or frame as it already comes with wood rails. But it does look good and would pair well with a nice headboard. Thanks for your input!

Off-topic, but I feel I should share this. Visa officers tend to get suspicious and ask more questions if you are going to a city or state where you already have relatives. I was asked if I had any family in the US and when I said yes, the very next questions were which state and on what visa status. So just a heads up for you. If you're applying in Chicago, apply to only one university and, as suggested by Adil, broaden your pool a little. 5-7 universities should be healthy enough.

Civil engineering is not my field so I won't be able to help you there but will just offer some general advice. You have a decent GPA but the GRE score is lacking. If you can, retake the GRE and try to score 163+ in Quant and ~320 total. Other than that, good LoRs, a well-written SoP and strong research matter a lot more than these numbers. Also, spring intake is relatively limited as compared to fall in most universities so you might want to reconsider and apply for Fall 2015.

Monochrome Spring - The nearest Ikea is ~200mi away and they charge $99 for shipping. So have to cross that off the list. Maleficent999 - I found a whole bedroom set (platform bed+nightstand+drawers) for $199 at Walmart. Wow! Would I be a terrible person if I were thinking of buying some other stuff from there too? I have looked at all the local furniture stores in my area (those who have an internet presence) but I couldn't find anything which I can afford, honestly. Lifesaver - I *am* looking for throwaway furniture, yes. I have not yet decided on what I want to do after my Master's. If my research takes off (literally, I have a UAV project), I might continue for a PhD. But things are not clear at this moment so I don't want to spend any more than I absolutely have to. I will take a look at the websites you suggested, thanks! rising_star, kyjin, TakeruK - I slept on a 3" foam mattress all four years of my undergrad. We weren't allowed to bring absolutely any of our own stuff with us so had to stick with the dorm furniture. I think I am now so used to having such lousy sleeping arrangements that I have become almost immune to all those aches and pains. But I really like your suggestions and think that's what I am going to do. Although there is a Macy's nearby but I think I will go to some local places first. Found a few reasonably priced options on the internet.

I move to the US in less than 10 days. Since my apartment is going to be unfurnished, I am currently looking for some basic furniture items (bed, drawers, desk, dining table) on the internet. For everything else I am okay going with Craigslist but I want the bed and mattress to be new (had a really bad bed-bug problem a few weeks back). I found a nice wooden (meranti wood) twin bed at Target for $145 with free shipping. Is this good value for my money? It has good reviews with a 4.5/5 customer rating. Although I have never bought furniture online before but I want the bed and mattress to be already there when I arrive so am looking to make a purchase today or tomorrow. Would appreciate your help.

starofdawn - AFAIK Macs can run Windows.

TakeruK - I am guessing the OP is from India. Visa officers in India almost always ask why the person has chosen to go to the US for graduate studies and how they came to know about/chose a particular university. adeolu - Please post your question on Edulix forums (http://www.edulix.com/forum/index.php) or go through the 100 possible visa questions thread.

Well I have used Ovi maps on my father's E-52 many times in the past few years here in Saudi. The app receives regular updates to inform us of any possible roadwork that might have popped up and automatically assigns alternative routes. I myself have a Galaxy S4 but I have had several instances where its Google Maps failed to stay on top of any developing changes to the road network. Nokia has never given us any such trouble. Yes, the maps have free life-time updates. This is even their tagline: http://here.com/

Yes, by nation-wide I mean the United States. The older devices which run on Symbian can be used worldwide. The newer Lumia devices apparently only offer coverage in the country whose SIM is inserted in the phone. There is an upgrade that you can purchase for EUR15.49 (one-time payment) for older Lumia phones which lets you use the phone overseas. This feature, caled the Drive+, comes pre-loaded in the newer Lumia models (link). AFAIK Ovi does not have Cloud support. Here does. Now if I were to make a suggestion, I would say go for a cheaper Lumia and make the upgrade to Drive+ when you need to use it overseas. Of course it goes without saying that if you do not use a SIM card, you won't get access to stuff like real-time traffic & weather monitoring and A-GPS. But rest assured that the phone will automatically reroute for you in case you miss an exit or make a detour.

You could look into an old Nokia Symbian phone (N8 or N9) with Ovi Maps or a cheap Nokia Lumia phone with Nokia Here. Both offer free nation-wide turn-by-turn navigation. Use it solely for GPS.

HP offers some great value for the price in its Envy line. I recently got this one for myself and it cost me $1220. It's only available in the Middle East market though. You could check out the following in the United States: 1) HP - ENVY Leap Motion SE 15.6" Laptop - Intel Core i5 - 8GB Memory - 1TB Hard Drive - Natural Silver 2) HP - ENVY TouchSmart 17.3" Touch-Screen Laptop - Intel Core i7 - 12GB Memory - 1TB Hard Drive - Natural Silver 3) HP - Refurbished - 15.6" ENVY TouchSmart Notebook - 16 GB Memory - 1 TB Hard Drive I don't know where you stand on touch-screen laptops but I will tell you that I was quite skeptical at first when I got mine (it was a compromise since the one I really wanted wasn't available) but I've grown rather fond of it. Windows 8 works great on touchscreens.

Well, I hope these work out for you. Seem quite pricey though.

Found these for you: http://www.hypershop.com/External-Battery-for-MacBook-iPad-iPhone-USB/ http://www.thebatterygeeks.com/External-Laptop-Batteries-for-PC-Mac-Tablets-s/1.htm Plus, Google is your friend.

I will, thanks.

^ Gnome Chomsky in 3..2..1..

Oops sorry I wrote that by mistake. I think I am going to ask her to break down the 1250 and state 625 separately for both first and last month.

Although the lease states that the monthly rent is $650 it does not state that I have paid the first and last month's rent. Only the rent receipt has a figure of $1250 listed under first month's rent. Should I ask her to make amendments both in the lease and the receipt?