attackonthedoctor

Rejected. Kinda figured it would happen since I am biomedical engineering. At least I've funding through my university and there are other sources to pull from once I'm officially enrolled. Good luck to everyone else!

Series circuit

For me, it was a variety of different things. I never really liked working or even being under people. (Blame it on my rebellious high school years and a bad environment growing up) In my field, if you want to be the boss in R&D, you've a better chance of becoming one by having a PhD. Throughout my undergraduate, everyone, from professors to my fellow classmates, were pretty much convinced that I would make an awesome professor. Keep in mind, I don't look remotely close to the part of the "college professor" but I guess it was my open-minded personality that made them believe so. It also helped that I do like creating new knowledge and never stopped asking questions, no matter how stupid they seemed at the time. In the end, it just felt right to go to graduate school and get my PhD so I can do what I feel I should do. Of course, I worry that I won't fit in because I come from an atypical background and think differently than most in my field. But I know that would be more of a help than a hindrance after everything is said and done.

SOS Brigade

Thank you for this advice! I already have a school that is considering to sponsor me as a GEM Fellow, though I'm already funded through the school. This would just be a bonus to help with school expenses and gain job experience. Do employer sponsors usually contact you directly, or do they do so through GEM?

Jack Harkness

Invisible dagger

My SO and I are going on a mini road trip to both de-stress and celebrate.

That's pretty awesome! Yeah, I've two professors from my top choice that both felt that we clicked in our interests. I wanted to wait until other offers came in, but since no one is getting back to me from the other schools, I'm thinking that I'll accept this one and be done with the stress. It IS my top choice after all.

Looking for housing when you're from out-of-state is a frustrating experience! Especially when you have to adjust your affordability because your stipend doesn't equal your current income. There are so many good deals in the region I'm moving to, but I don't move until August, so I don't get to take advantage of those deals. I never had to deal with this on such a scale before. But at least I have been looking since mid-February for an August move-in date, so that has to mean something, right??? And don't get me started on how to coordinate a showing of a place in another state. You don't, that's how.

Time warp

From what I've been told by professionals in the R&D field, it really depends on the level the independence you would like to have with research. If you don't mind having to work under a senior scientist or similar, then a MS is good and you'll still get to indulge in research practices without the pressure of having to find funding. On the other hand, if you'd like to run a lab or department in a company, a PhD will get you to that position better than a MS. There's also a lot of other factors. For instance, you said that you've had two internships in the industry, right? Through your connections and internship background, you could still end up running a lab or department with a MS, given the right connections pull through for you. If you're really unsure of which program to choose based on your career goals and your MS-funded program allows you to go on to do a PhD, I would go with the MS. It's two years tops and gives you a better idea of what pursuing a PhD would be like. Even if your MS-funded program doesn't do a path to their PhD program, a couple years in industry as a full-time employee won't hurt your resume if you want to pursue a PhD in the end. That's my two cents.

Haha, I knew that I would not like anywhere but the Northern states (Including Northwest and Midwest) because I can't handle warm weather year around. As for the OP, you have to choose what makes you happy. Graduate school is going to knock you down over and over. You don't want to let location make those frustrations even worse.

Following up with this, most schools will understand and encourage you to participate in any free ESL workshops they have. Also, speaking is something that you can improve on by simply being immersed with English speakers and not being afraid to speak up with them. Your other scores are pretty impressive and I'm sure that the lower speaking score won't be a red flag. Good luck!

point taken

I understand that. Luckily for my SO and I, we were pretty lean about our belongings and things that will be donated. We are also lucky to find out that there are a bunch of second-hand shops in the area that we are relocating, so that reduces costs of any additional furniture we would need.

For those of us who didn't get enough funding to alleviate fees and overall relocation expenses, how are you pooling the money to prepare for those massive "start-up" costs? For me, I recently graduated from undergraduate and I am taking a part-time gig. I'm planning on getting another one soon. I've also considered selling some college stuff that I won't really need in graduate school. It's just me and my SO, so it will be interesting financing everything.

Panic attacks

It must have been a pretty good shot. From what I've heard from my mates in liberal arts, getting into a PhD for history and English is hella competitive. Now, it is just a matter of affording fees and moving expenses. I'm going to have to get creative when it comes to that, but I love creating new knowledge so it's worth the financial pains.

When I went to my interview weekend, there were people who were at one extreme, like me, in which they only heard back from the school we were all visiting, to the other extreme, in which they had acceptances from everywhere they applied. Meanwhile, we were all pretty much in similar stats. It really does come down to fit and who knows your recommenders. Coming from a SLAC, I was lucky to even get the one acceptance and double-lucky for it to be my top choice.

I called the office and I was told that they won't stop offering fellowships until mid-to-late April, as other applicants accept or deny offers. It's mostly due to the employers being given much leeway in when they can finalize their choices. I recommend for future reference that you call the office directly than email them. They tend to be more forward with you over the phone than over email.

Areas of Interest for Looking for Apartments: As far as neighborhoods go, Bloomfield and Shadyside are good neighborhoods for good transportation and reasonable rental prices. You could also try your luck with Squirrel Hill or Point Breeze, but these neighborhoods tend to be more expensive. If all else fails and you cannot find housing in those areas, it doesn't hurt to look into the neighborhoods of Highland Park or East Liberty. Although they aren't as public transportation-friendly as the previous neighborhoods, it's still fairly good. Avoid living in Oakland if you like quiet hours to focus on your graduate school work. The housing there also tends to be overpriced because the local landlords know they'll get any college student willing to pay to be close to campus. Things to Know about Pittsburgh-area Apartments, in general: Pittsburgh has a mix bag of types of apartments, from complexes to old Victorian houses converted into apartments. In the forementioned neighborhoods, this is no exception. I recommend making sure what your rent includes and doesn't include. It is rather rare to find apartments that include heating into the rent. If you are not familiar with Northeast to Mid-Atlantic winters, you can expect to pay a pretty penny for heating during the winter season. It is also important to consider if the apartment you'd rent will have either off-street or on-street parking. Pittsburgh streets tend to be narrow, even the two-way streets. So if you have or are planning to have a car, I would recommend trying to find housing that has off-street parking. It also doesn't hurt to contact your department graduate secretary about off-campus housing. They may point you in the right direction and possibly connect you with current students to get a better idea of the housing situation. I hope this helps!