LifeIsGood

I'm not in CS and was at Lehigh for part of my undergrad, so please take my input with a grain of salt. It's a nice campus in the middle of a small formerly-steel town. There are a couple of bars just off campus, but otherwise social life revolves around the fraternities (which are frequent and open to everyone for parties). My understanding is that the CS and Engineering programs are well-regarded and rigorous. I don't think you should hesitate to attend based on program strength or ranking, and if the research fit is better, it would be a good choice. Just be prepared to suffer through a social/city life that might not be ideal, and live far enough from campus that the drunk idiots won't puke your your front stoop every weekend.

I grew up there, actually. It's fine. It's got the same issues as any city, so just follow the same precautions. There are plenty of great new restaurants and things to do.

The only thing I know about being a TA in the first year is that when I spoke to a potential advisor, she said that, if I were admitted, I'd probably be assigned to teach in the first year because I'll be coming in with an MA. I inferred that people without an MA would be given grading duties or other grad assistantships.

Hmm, this may throw out my calculation, since your marks are not linear. Every mark given in the US (for every place I'm aware of, anyway) has equal weight based on the number of credit hours. You could probably generalize that each of your courses is worth the same amount (unless you have a bunch of laboratory or short seminar courses). If you go back and use your raw credit points to calculate an average that gives each subject equal weight, that should help. If there isn't a description of how your original marks are calculated somewhere in your application packet, you may want to send one as an addendum to your file.

I'm just waiting on UNC at this point. Waiting, and initiating Plan B.

One down, one to go.

I'd keep a couple of grand in a non-ATM or debit card savings account for emergencies, then would pay down the debt with the rest. It's nice to be completely out of debt, but better to have a contingency fund.

Oh jesus, there's another one.

I think it's funny that, last week there were usually one or two people looking at this thread, but today? Eight.

Oh, wow! Who is this? How'd you find out early? Details! We need details!

I'm applying to history programs, but my focus is on African American history (free people of color in the antebellum, in particular). I'm vaguely interested in Africa, but am intensely interested in the history of race in America. I'm applying to just two places, so we'll see how that turns out. :o/

Good teamwork, people! Let's get these questions answered! About your GPA, if we assume a linear scale, and if I'm reading you correctly that there are never any zeroes given, only 1s, this should be how to calculate your GPA. Your history GPA would be a 4.0. That one's easy Your cumulative GPA would be: (5.75-1)/(6-1) = X/4 If X is the GPA. So X = 3.6 Disclaimer: I'm just going on the logical math, not on any particular knowledge of the system.

I wouldn't worry too much about it; just take action to compensate for it. I flunked out of school during UG. Twice. And didn't have any history experience; not a single history class since junior year of high school. I got into a history MA program, am doing well (GPA, LORs, research experience, and GRE are all competitive), and am being encouraged to apply to high-level PhD programs, so my profs must think my UG performance won't kill me.

I do check them, mainly because I'd noticed several results postings that mentioned specifically that the application status had changed and they hadn't received other notification. And I only have two schools, so it's an easy thing to obsess about.

I've read the reverse. If you're staying in academia, the hiring committee will want to know who you've worked with and what you worked on. If you're working outside, they'll want to see a prestigious school. I have no personal experience either way. I would personally go by fit, but if you're flexible on topic, then you can have your cake and eat it too, right?