NewDex

Hey everyone! I've been thinking about applying to the 2018 batch of this fellowship. I'm a first year PhD student at a state university (Ohio State University), but I have an MS degree from the University of Chicago and have gone for internships at UW-Madison and ETH-Zurich. My GPA is around 3.5. On the one hand I feel like applying, but on the other hand I feel like I don't stand a chance (it seems like most recipients are enrolled in higher-tier institutions). I know no one can tell me whether I would be awarded or not, but I was wondering if you could shed some light on what you honestly think my chances are... Thanks in advance for any feedback you can provide! Hey everyone! I've been thinking about applying to the 2018 batch of this fellowship. I'm a first year PhD student at a state university (Ohio State University), but I have an MS degree from the University of Chicago and have gone for internships at UW-Madison and ETH-Zurich. My GPA is around 3.5. On the one hand I feel like applying, but on the other hand I feel like I don't stand a chance (it seems like most recipients are enrolled in higher-tier institutions). I know no one can tell me whether I would be awarded or not, but I was wondering if you could shed some light on what you honestly think my chances are... Thanks in advance for any feedback you can provide!

Hey everyone! I've been thinking about applying to the 2018 batch of this fellowship. I'm a first year PhD student at a state university (Ohio State University), but I have an MS degree from the University of Chicago and have gone for internships at UW-Madison and ETH-Zurich. My GPA is around 3.5. On the one hand I feel like applying, but on the other hand I feel like I don't stand a chance (it seems like most recipients are enrolled in higher-tier institutions). I know no one can tell me whether I would be awarded or not, but I was wondering if you could shed some light on what you honestly think my chances are... Thanks in advance for any feedback you can provide! Hey everyone! I've been thinking about applying to the 2018 batch of this fellowship. I'm a first year PhD student at a state university (Ohio State University), but I have an MS degree from the University of Chicago and have gone for internships at UW-Madison and ETH-Zurich. My GPA is around 3.5. On the one hand I feel like applying, but on the other hand I feel like I don't stand a chance (it seems like most recipients are enrolled in higher-tier institutions). I know no one can tell me whether I would be awarded or not, but I was wondering if you could shed some light on what you honestly think my chances are... Thanks in advance for any feedback you can provide!

I was offered RAships for two of the programs that accepted me and the difference between them is $400/month. Both are much below the national averages on the link you posted, though...

Hi everyone, I was just wondering, would anyone know what the average stipend for Materials Science and Engineering PhD positions is? It turns out there's a somewhat large discrepancy between the offers I got. I'm more interested in some options that are paying less than others. I thought I could try to negotiate a better stipend if what they're offering is too much below the national average... Thanks for the feedback!

Awesome! Thanks for the feedback. I'll try to get in contact with those two schools this week and see what they say. Wish me luck!

Hi everyone, I applied to 12 programs total this year. I was already taken by 3 and rejected by 4 of those; however, I am still waiting to hear from 5 of them (2 of my favorite programs included). It's March 23 and at this point I'm wondering - is there a chance I may never hear back from those programs? Do all schools have the commitment of telling you either "yes" or "no"? Any thoughts on this one? Thanks for the feedback!

Hey everyone! Thanks for all the replies! They do make me feel a bit better about myself! hahaha! So, I'm applying mostly to Materials Science and Engineering programs. My first deadline was on Dec 13 and my last one was on Jan 8. OMG, this situation is so nerve-racking! Glad (and sad) that I'm not the only one in this situation, though... Good luck to all of us! (I guess luck is all we can count on at this point...)

Title pretty much says it all. What do you all based on your experience honestly think?

Thanks a lot, everyone! I'm only taking it next year, but thought about starting to prepare this fall.

Hey everyone, Is there anyone else out there currently preparing for the GRE Physics!? If so, what materials are you using? I tried to find an entry on this, but wasn't able to. Please refer me to the right place if you know that there is one. Thank you beforehand for all responses!

rising_star and TakeruK, thanks for your responses and insights! I really understand how things work and feel better prepared to design the best payment plan for me now!

Hi everyone, It's my first time taking federal loans. This question may be stupid or may have been asked before, but here you go: I'm going to a school whose academic calendar goes in quarters; therefore, the total amount of money that I am borrowing from the federal government will be paid out to me in three installments over the course of the next year, and not a single one before the year even starts. It is my goal to pay interest off as it accrues at the end of every month, so it doesn't capitalize. I've been wondering: Does interest accrue over the entire amount you were approved for right off the bet or does it accrue only over amounts already disbursed to you at the points where it is calculated (at the end of every month)? In my mind, it does not make sense that interest always accrues over the entire amount I was approved for, since only 1/3 of it will have been disbursed before the first quarter starts, for example. In this example, shouldn't it accrue over only 1/3 of the entire amount for the first three months? Since I am unfamiliar with the rules of federal loans, though, I thought about asking. Just in case that information is relevant, the loans I am planning on taking are the Unsubsidized Stafford and Graduate PLUS ones. Thanks a lot for any help!

Hey y'all, thanks for your feedback! So, I was thinking, would it be a good idea to contact the program coordinator of the PhD program I'm thinking about applying to see what he/she thinks would be best as far as which program to go for? Is this standard practice in academia? Thanks for your input, again!

Hey everyone, I already asked this in another thread, but thought it'd be better to start a new one for this specific question since others could be facing the same dilemma. I'm hoping to go for a PhD at UChicago. I was taken for a MS there and also at a couple of other equally prestigious schools. Which would make my application to their PhD program stronger: to go to there (UChicago) for my MS or to venture out to a different school for that? The area of these programs is nanotechnology (or, more broadly, physical sciences). Thanks for your feedback!

Thanks y'all! I guess I have a better idea of what I'll probably do now. I'm almost 100% sure UPenn would be best for me at this moment. As a final question, though, the situation is that the PhD program offered by UChicago is really wonderful and would be the top choice one for me once I'm done with my masters. Under that light, would either choice increase/decrease my chance of being taken there better? In other words, which would help me best if my final ambition is to pursue a PhD at UChicago: the network I'd establish as a masters student there or venturing out to another equally prestigious school for my masters? I'm sorry for how entangled what's going on in my head looks like and has come across! I just want to make sure that I make the best choice I can right now thinking long term and where it is gonna take me.

Hey perpetuavix, thanks for your reply! The point is that the MS at UChicago is less area focused than the one at UPenn. They're not exactly in the same field. The former is a MS in the Physical Sciences Division (this program is designed for you to take whichever classes you need in that division to make up for deficiencies and build up knowledge in the area of science you want to pursue in your PhD) and the latter is a MS in nanotechnology (all classes are necessarily in that area of study). There are a bunch of classes I would like to take before taking the ones offered by the program at UPenn, and the ideal case scenario for me would be if I could go for both. They currently do not offer a PhD in nanotechnology there, so I'd have to go for this MS if I wanted to take those classes, I guess. I'm not familiar with the nitty gritty of the US superior education system, so let me ask this: would it be possible to take those MS-level classes as a student in whichever UPenn PhD program later down the road? In other words, are all MS/PhD-level classes typically open to all grad students within a university? Thanks for your insights, again!

The titles of the programs, just so you know how broad/narrow their scopes are: 1. Case: MS in macromolecular engineering 2. UChicago: MS in the Physical Sciences Division 3. UPenn: MS in nanotechnology 4. NYU: MS in applied physics

Hi, So, I applied to MS programs at Case, UChicago, UPenn and NYU and got taken for all of them. I never thought that would happen and would honestly be excited to go for all of them - too bad I can't! What I've been thinking is: 1. The program at UChicago is the best fit for me if I take into account where I currently am. I graduated in a field of study and hope to transition into a different one, and the program there is designed for people just like me. The program at UPenn, however, is more prestigious, traditional and entirely within the area of study I want to later pursue. That being said, I don't feel like I'm the best prepared to go for the program at UPenn right now, but that the program at UChicago will prepare me for that. So my question is: would it be unlikely that they would accept me again if I declined their offer now and reapplied in 2 years, in case I still think that would be a good idea? Or declining their offer now means I'll never ever be able to attend that program one day? 2. I asked for extra days to think about the UChicago offer (the 1st one I got), they asked me how much time I'd like, I said 3 weeks, and they gave them to me. I know it sounds silly, but after reading some other posts describing similar scenarios and realizing that most people ask from 5 to 7 extra days only, I'm freaking out that I might have been too much of a glutton and that they might be feeling pretty upset at me for that. Should I let go of these thoughts? Apologize? Any thoughts on this? Thank you very much for any insight, you guys! I really appreciate any feedback you can provide me on this!

Great, guys! Thank you for the insights!

Hi everyone, I was just recently accepted to a MS program at the University of Chicago. I love the program and everything, but unfortunately the financial aid package they offered me was a bit below what I expected. I also applied to the University of Pennsylvania and NYU. My deadline to accept/decline the University of Chicago's offer is April 15. I was there in person recently and they told me they could give extra time to think about the offer they extended me if I needed it. I'm afraid that asking for extra time to think would not be the best way to start out my relationship with them, though. So, what should I do? What do you guys think? Thanks for your insights!

Thanks ARJS!

Thanks for all the hints, y'all! The freshness of nanoscience/nanotechnology as a graduate school field of study makes it hard to find stats about it anywhere. I'm already back to preparing to taking the GRE once again and doing as I can to put up the best applications I can. Wish me luck!

Hi everyone! I am applying to masters programs in nanoscience and nanotechnology starting in the fall of 2015. I am currently applying to the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Chicago, to the State University of New York - Albany (SUNY), to Johns Hopkins, and to the University of North Carolina - Greensboro (UNCG). I tried to find lower tier schools that offered programs in nanoscience/nanotechnology, but was not able to. Could you tell me if all the schools I mentioned are equally competitive and/or if you know of less competitive ones? U.S. News and other sources don't have much information on programs in this area...

Hi everyone! I am applying to masters programs in nanoscience and nanotechnology starting in the fall of 2015. I am currently applying to the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Chicago, to the State University of New York - Albany (SUNY), to Johns Hopkins, and to the University of North Carolina - Greensboro (UNCG). I tried to find lower tier schools that offered programs in nanoscience/nanotechnology, but was not able to. Could you tell me if all the schools I mentioned are equally competitive and/or if you know of less competitive ones? U.S. News and other sources don't have much information on programs in this area...

New here, didn't realize there were specific forums by field. Sorry...