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mareserinitatis

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Everything posted by mareserinitatis

  1. One of the things that bothers me about U of MN is that they have no grad student housing. What are you guys doing about finding a place?
  2. That's exactly the problem. Both programs were so awesome and everyone was so nice! What's worse is that when I declined the one program, both the grad director and professor sent me very nice emails wishing me luck. (If they're this nice to the people who turn them down, I wonder how they are to their acceptances!) Fortunately there were no guilt trips. I think if I hadn't already accepted, though, maybe they would have asked me to reconsider. It took me two days to send the email saying no thanks. Seriously got upset every time I tried to do it. But you're right, Chchadder...it's very nice to be wanted.
  3. Did anyone else have a major fit about turning down an offer? I got accepted to the other school I looked at but decided to turn them down. I feel awful even though I know it was the right decision. :cry: Anyone else feel this way?
  4. Unfortunately, that's a wrong assessment of the situation. I've been very careful to pick advisors who I get along with well. I think the problem here may be more of perspective. You're in the social sciences. I'm in the physical sciences and engineering. Perhaps in your general area, people are more open-minded in that regard. In science and engineering, things get awfully cut-throat. My personal experience has been great. I was able to work on an MS part-time while raising a family with no pressure from my advisor. However, I was told by multiple people (professors, most from other schools) that I'd be ruining my career if I stayed here for a PhD. I don't think most places would give my PhD program apps a second look (because of the part-time thing) except for the fact that I started my undergrad at an incredibly prestigious school. Things like that can be the foot in the door. No, it *may* not get you the job, but you certainly can't get a job if they aren't even interested in interviewing you because you're competing with grads from top-notch schools. I hope your assumptions about peoples' motives are true in your area. However, they aren't in mine, and I don't want someone to assume it's like you describe in every field or at every school. I can assure you that I'm not "scare-mongering"...I'm trying to let people know what I've been told. I would personally like to stay here to finish my PhD because it would be a lot easier on my family. But I also want very badly to be a professor...and I've been told flat out that my chances are pretty slim if I don't go to a better school by people who are in a position to know.
  5. Are you thinking OSU? I'd try to talk to some grad students and get a taste for the department. I had a friend drop out of her PhD program there because of political crap. (Just an FYI.) Good luck, no matter what you decide to do.
  6. I would second the Calgary vote. I'm inclined to think that you'll have more options once you've shown what kind of work you can do as a masters student. BTW, the first year the cold is hard to deal with. After that, your body adjusts and you'll handle it fine. We have a lot of folks from India who move to my neck of the woods (North Dakota). No one likes it when it gets that cold, but you get used to it. (And then every place else seems too warm in comparison.) Good luck with your decision!
  7. Uh...in my experience, that's the way it is exactly. Profs don't always see much outside of their careers. Being well-rounded will not impress them, nor will it get you a job. And if you've ever sat on a search committee, you'd know this. As Minnesotan said, you can take two people with exactly the same qualifications and the determining factor will be where they went to school. Those people from "average" schools will not be thrown out, but the people from good schools get bumped up in the stack. Most departments view hires from the top ten or 20 programs in their field as adding prestige to their department. This will make it easier to attract students (which is hard when so many of them want to go into academia...and there are not enough jobs for them all). It will also increase their own reputation. So yeah, the whole thing is self-centered and myopic...but that's the way academia works right now. I'm hoping that within the next generation or two, the whole thing will be thrown out. But until all the old guys retire, this is where we're stuck. And frankly, we have a better chance of getting it thrown out if a whole bunch of open-minded folks like yourself get into big schools and then remember the attitude that "school is not important" once they get out and become faculty themselves. I'm guessing a lot of people get that attitude beat out of them once they get into those big grad schools.
  8. Yes, I was referring to what the prof posted in the other thread. I do completely agree that where you go should be determined by your interests. If you can't be at a good school where your chances of getting a job are better, it may not be worth the time as you won't be doing what you want in the long run. Better to start a career. (I will say that, for engineering, a master's is probably all the further you want to go. *Most* places won't care about a PhD.) There is an exception, though. There are those excellent researchers who are at smaller schools. In those cases, you may be able to run off the reputation of your advisor rather than the school. But still...it's a crapshoot.
  9. So...what I said, basically. I've actually been looking in my area of interest, and I can tell you that most of the places that have the degree I'm looking for have their profs come from places like MIT, Stanford, Caltech. There are profs from other schools, too, but they are greatly in the minority. Furthermore, I can tell you that at my current school, there are not a lot of people from big name schools...and there is a good reason. People from those schools can get better deals someplace else, they don't like the climate, and the working conditions (even for the profs) is less than desirable. So if you don't want to end up in a faculty position for which you can't find qualified grad students and are spending all of your time teaching such that you fear not getting tenure for lack of time to do research, I suggest you look really hard at that big name school. This is not my opinion...this is what my friends who are working professors are telling me. Yeah...the same ones who are doing the hiring for their own departments. :wink:
  10. I was in a similar boat. I did my undergrad at my current school, and then switched to a different department to do my masters. I was planning on staying here for my PhD, but a friend (who is a professor at another school) pulled me aside and said I better get my head on straight. I decided to go to U of MN instead of stay at my current school because of the things he told me about the "inner workings of academia". (FWIW, I'm guessing the reason you didn't get accepted for a PhD is because they wanted you to go elsewhere. It's pretty common for departments to want to "push you out of the nest".) If you want to go into industry, rankings aren't quite as important. If you want to be a prof, they're pretty critical. If you come out of a program in the top twenty or thirty, your chances of getting a job elsewhere in academia are going to be much better. I don't think it would hurt to take a year off to work (especially not in engineering...they might like that you get some practical experience) and then apply for other places the following year if you're planning on the academic route. I'd also encourage you to identify a potential advisor (read their papers!) and visit the places you're thinking about *before* you apply. It might sound strange, but they'll be more likely to remember you and take a closer look at your app. If you also take some time to look into literature pertaining to work you might like to do, you could potentially have a chunk of a lit search done before you go somewhere, so you'd really hit the ground running! Good luck in your decisions.
  11. I don't know if what I have to say would necessarily be applicable since we're in completely different fields...but here's my take. They have a very good program in my area, they have excellent facilities and labs (so I won't constantly be wondering if my results are valid or having to send things to be tested), the people are very nice (seem like they like to do collaborative/interdisciplinary stuff), and the dept. didn't seem stuffy or overly competitive. They are also only a few hours drive from my home, which is good because my husband and kids will be staying here. I'll be living there during the week and coming home on the weekends to see them (or they'll come see me). The other program I looked at had many of the same features, but they seemed a lot more uptight. And there is the fact that it's 1000 miles away and I don't want to have to fly home weekends. dunno if that helped at all. :-)
  12. You might get a sense based on how many of the grad students you meet. If you meet five or six, then I'd be wary. If you go to every single lab and meet most of the grad students (and they seem happy), that's a good sign. Also, make sure you get a bit of time alone with the grad students of your prospective advisor. Most of them will be pretty honest. I get frustrated when they only have you meet a handful of grad students. It gives me the impression they're trying to screen who they let you meet.
  13. I talked with my hubby and decided to accept the offer I have. Primarily, it will make it easier on my family. (The other place was much farther and would have required my husband to change jobs. He's not crazy about that idea.) So if anyone is on the waitlist where I accepted, they'll get a denial. :oops: However, as soon as I hear back from the other programs, I can let them know that I will not be attending, thus making it easier for the next person in line. 8)
  14. I feel for you. I got accepted by my top program (which was, incidentally, Minnesota), but I still haven't heard from the other two places I applied to. I suspect I'm on a waitlist as well. I hope you hear something (positive) soon!
  15. I'm going to say that I've done my masters at a school ranked around #100. I just got accepted to a school in the top 10 in my field, and there's a world of difference in two ways: 1 - The big school has more money and resources for students to do *research* (which, ultimately, is going to get you a job). You'll probably be more productive at a top university. 2 - The faculty may be nicer at the lower ranked school, but I also wonder if they're only that way when recruiting. The question you need to ask is how the other grad students are. If they work well together, aren't stabbing each other in the back or ignoring each other, it's worth it to go. Most of your interaction will be with the other grad students, not with profs, and I seriously don't like that there is so little interaction in my current department. So there's two things to consider that may not be accounted for in rankings or money. :wink: Good luck!
  16. Don't know if this helps at all, but I visited UMN this past weekend. They have a kick-ass facility with XRD and TEMs. (Look up their characterization facility.) I don't think you'll be missing out on anything there, in case you were interested. Other than that, my field is completely different, so I can't say anything about the relative prestige. Good luck!
  17. I applied to three programs. One was a "backup". I haven't heard from the backup or one of the other programs. However, I was accepted to the third (at a Big 10 school) with full funding guaranteed for four years. I'm wondering about the other big school I applied to. I like the place that accepted me, but I'd like to know if the other place is going to take me (and if so, what the offer will be). I'm thinking this won't change my mind if I am accepted, but I'm worried they might come out of the woodwork with a really awesome offer...and then I kick myself very hard for not waiting. Should I just accept the offer I have and go with it? Or should I wait and see on the third school? (FYI, I don't *think* they have a wait list at the place I was given the offer, so I'm hoping I'm not holding anyone up. But I'm worried in case they do.)
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