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MathCat

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Everything posted by MathCat

  1. I wouldn't get a cat in grad school at all, and definitely not in a masters when it's just a year or two. As random_grad says - what happens when you're done? There's too much up in the air still, you're not settled yet. I've grown up with cats (2-3 cats in the house at at time for the most part) and really love having them, but I've also experienced a number of vet emergencies - as in rushing the cat to the vet late at night because he could hardly breathe. It can be extremely expensive. My family has vet insurance, so we get 80% of the costs back, but we still have to shell it all out upfront. I think it's irresponsible to get a pet that you couldn't afford to get care for if needed - and this can be in the thousands of dollars. Putting a pet down because you couldn't afford to treat it is terrible. There can also be significant time commitments in treating a sick pet. One of ours recently had an infection, and we had to give him antibiotics every 8 hours for a week. That would be pretty difficult on a student schedule. It's also not just about expenses - cats tend to hide that they're unwell until they no longer can, so you tend to not get a lot of warning that you need to take them to the vet. It could happen in the middle of finals week or quals or something, which would be very disruptive and stressful. Also, as random_grad said, some cats can be hard to sleep with. Our youngest cat will sleep quietly if you let him on your bed, but starts screaming to be fed every single morning at 7. It drives me nuts and I would definitely not want this experience in grad school - and it's hard to tell how the cat is going to behave until you've adopted them.
  2. I know nothing about financial math, so I've got no specific advice there, sorry.
  3. I'm speaking in broad generality here, as a disclaimer... The main issue is accessibility. In pure math, an undergrad often wouldn't even have the background to understand an original problem, let alone going about solving it. If they can, there's probably going to be a lot of supervisor involvement. Something like taking a paper and slightly generalizing or translating results is more likely - for example, maybe a paper focuses only on results about spaces satisfying certain conditions, but the proofs could be easily modified to extend to a slightly larger class or something. Basically, after completing an undergraduate degree in math, you've still hardly seen anything. There's a fair chance you've never even seen an introductory course in any of your professors research areas. If you have, it was probably in your final year. Thus, it's hard to get any "real" research experience during your bachelors. I did little research projects throughout my degree - mostly they were tackling some little, basic case of some problem. Even then, most of the time was spent learning the background, and then the actual "research" was just tackling one specific situation. None of this was publishable. It's kind of like doing a directed reading course in a way. It was only in my final year that I was able to tackle something that could be publishable. This is contrasted with something like statistics or applied math, where you can undertake a completely original project by applying the techniques you know to a new problem. It's also easier to be a research assistant if there is data to analyze. In pure math, it's generally about proving things, not computations or data analysis. edit: As far as lit reviews go, it's quite possible an undergrad could spend a semester learning enough background to understand one paper. And one semester might not even be enough, depending on the paper!
  4. What kind of math? I wouldn't consider CMU a tip-top math school in general. I guess it might be in your area. I know that in pure math it seems that it's generally not expected that you have truly original research as an undergrad - it's simply not accessible. Even very top schools like Stanford explicitly state that they do not require or even expect you to have research experience. It's very hard for us to guess if you stand a chance, because I think your LORs carry a lot of weight and we obviously can't know what they say. I think your lack of research experience doesn't help, but may not be a deal breaker (especially since you do have thesis experience). I would talk to your LOR writers about your applications and see what they think. In any case, don't consider ranking alone, but also how well they fit with your research interests and whether graduates get the kinds of jobs you're after. edit: Also, there is no real benefit to applying early unless the school has rolling admissions. Most places won't start looking at applications until the deadline has passed. And you won't get your subject test score until late October if you write it in September.
  5. I don't think it even matters. I selected Math and still got emails from business programs. In fact, very few emails came from math programs (and they were all useless anyway).
  6. Woohoo, congrats! I was awarded a fellowship that I didn't even know the department had nominated me for, so that was pretty exciting. It was apparently a longshot that I'd get it when they nominated me, but I of course didn't know that, since I wasn't told...
  7. I looked into a fair number of things and ended up getting student travel insurance from Scotiabank. They sell a student travel plan that is pretty much exactly for this purpose - you can buy emergency medical coverage for up to 30 days prior to the start of your program. No issue about return dates or anything like that.
  8. That doesn't sound that weak to me. Some people only have letters from profs who only know them from having taught them in one big class, while you will already have two strong research related letters. This prof actually sounds like a good third choice to me - she obviously knows who you are, she has seen your recent work in an area of interest, and if you aced it I'm guessing she thought you were capable. She will probably want to talk to you or at least read your SOP to get a better idea of your background and interests, but I doubt this is going to be a weak letter. A really weak letter would be more like "this student took my class X and got grade Y. That is in the top Z% of the class." She probably knows you better than that if you took a seminar course with her. As for asking, I think you should just ask. Drop by her office hours and talk to her, or set up a meeting to discuss grad school with her.
  9. I think it is best left to the CV unless you think it is a necessary part of the narrative. Don't waste space in your SOP repeating what can be found elsewhere in your application. Use the SOP to tell them what they don't know from the rest of your package.
  10. Well, I'm not coming from Ontario, and the Blue Cross rules here seem to state I must actually be returning to my province on the end date of my travel insurance. The rep I spoke to on the phone told me I would need to purchase travel insurance until I am back in Canada next. I saw the same language in the other travel plans I looked at (it's a return date, not an "end date", and they specifically state in the terms that you must return to your home province), but I will call again to make sure. I may just plan a trip home earlier and get travel insurance, if that's the only barrier. I'm not sure if MSP will be an issue.
  11. Well, every single travel insurance option I've looked into has the same issue as Blue Cross - they want me to buy coverage until I will return to Canada next. That is much longer than the 3 weeks I need coverage for, but I might end up going that route anyway. I'm not completely positive that there's no other issues with it though - e.g. I will have told MSP I'm going to the US for school. I'm not sure if that affects my eligibility for travel insurance. I will call and ask for clarification on these potential issues tomorrow.
  12. @rising_star I have had medical experiences that could have financially ruined my family if I'd been in the US without insurance, so I'm not willing to risk it. I can afford to pay for insurance I probably won't use, and I could manage to pay the deductible on a cheap plan, but definitely not hospitalization costs if it did happen. @TakeruK Thanks a lot, this is very helpful information. I'll look into these plans!
  13. I did ask the school about it, and they were quite unhelpful. They just told me to look into private short term plans. My main concern is to have coverage in case of catastrophe. I wouldn't plan on going to the doctor except for an emergency, but I don't want to risk thousands of dollars in expenses if something does happen.
  14. Does anyone have specific suggestions for short term private coverage in Southern California? I'm Canadian, and I'm moving 3 weeks before my university health care kicks in. Blue Cross won't provide travel insurance unless I buy for the period until I next return to Canada, which would be very expensive and far more than I need. I only want/need catastrophic coverage, but I'm really overwhelmed trying to figure out the options. I won't hold it against you if your suggestion isn't the very best option or anything - just somewhere to start looking would be good. My university hasn't been helpful.
  15. Fair enough, but I'll clarify: most people in my department, at all levels, wear backpacks or backpack-style messenger bags (that is, those that don't look any more 'professional' than a backpack anyway). Some people don't even wear shoes or socks around the department, so I don't think wearing a backpack raises any eyebrows. I have seen attire is generally the same at conferences and open houses as well. I think math is just casual, generally. Or maybe I'm being judged for my attire and am clueless about it I don't really see how a presentable backpack is any less professional than a presentable messenger bag anyway.
  16. If you can find a backpack without mesh on the back, it won't ruin your clothes like that. I had to hunt for awhile, but High Sierra sells a few. I like it, but it's not exactly professional looking. Most of my professors carry similar looking backpacks though - I don't think people care that much in math.
  17. This depends a lot on the department and the field. I don't think we can answer this for you - ask the department advisor these specific questions. Don't be afraid to ask for clarification.
  18. You might also consider Masters programs in Canada. Unlike in the US, they are likely to offer funding.
  19. I agree with this. Your application is obviously competitive for top places, but frankly some parts of your post come across as bit arrogant/bragging. For example, I think you've overstated the prestige of an NSERC USRA. I'm not suggesting you said you would, but definitely don't tell them how prestigious the awards you've won are in your application.
  20. I'm pretty sure the ETS software on the website is accurate for the actual test day. I didn't notice any differences. So, if you can't do it there, I assume you can't do it on test day. If it will give you trouble, I think you should ask for accommodation.
  21. I think you should transfer it anyway. Most schools want all transcripts submitted, so they will see this course. I doubt they will care too much. Some might not ask you to submit it because you attended for less than a year, but definitely do not omit this transcript if they ask for it.
  22. This sounds like what I'm looking for! I'll look into the coverage where I'm headed. Do you guys think it's worth buying an unlocked phone before I head down to the US?
  23. In most countries, a Masters is required to enter a PhD program. The US is a different system than most, and this is why a Masters is viewed as a more serious degree abroad I think.
  24. I would suggest you look outside of the US, because Masters programs are viewed very differently in the US than abroad. For example, in Canada, most pure math masters programs will be funded, whereas most in the US will be completely unfunded.
  25. They will likely write one LOR and submit it to all 6 schools. This is totally normal, and it's (almost definitely) what they expect to have to do when you ask.
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