platypusomnibus

@astrobuzz I've lived in Lakewood/Golden for basically my whole life. While Lakewood and Golden can be somewhat conservative, I think that most of the people here are accepting, if not friendly, towards the LGBT community. If you're into riding bicycles, hiking, fishing, casual dining, etc., then I think Golden would be extremely welcoming to you. On the other hand, Denver is far more progressive (relative to Golden, that is). I think it still has a ways to go before it's considered a true hub for the Western LGBT community, but it's on the right track. (For perspective: a gay friend of mine from Denver recently moved to Houston, which he raves has a vibrant LGBT community compared to Denver.) Anyways, if you're looking to have easy accessibility to the LGBT community, living in Denver may be better--but more way more expensive than in the suburbs around it. I would recommend living in a city west of Denver, and spend your weekend time in Denver itself. That way you have a low cost of living, but you can have fun in Denver when you feel like you need it. Good luck with your decision!

@LuiB I've lived near Denver for practically my whole life, so I can provide some insight. I can't imagine finding anything near the campus that is under $1000. As for Aurora, my friends and I have joked that Aurora is sort of a cultural desert--it's the very definition of urban sprawl. And it just feels so far away from everything. I've never understood its appeal, aside from potentially lower cost of living...which you'll spend on your car because you have to drive so often. Try looking around Lakewood and Edgewater, closer to 6th Avenue if possible. Both of those cities are really nice suburban neighborhoods that could be great for your family. As for transit from those cities, you can take 6th Avenue to 1-25 for decent transportation to DU. Alternatively, you can use RTD's rail line to get to the campus with one transfer (W Line -> E-Line). I prefer the rail line when going to Denver because of how atrocious traffic can be. DU may even give you an RTD pass. Good luck! I hope you can find somewhere that fits your needs!

I received an offer from Boston University to work on my Mechanical Engineering PhD recently, and am seriously considering accepting it. They offered five years worth of funding and a promising advisor to work for. I'm posting this because I'm interested in what opinions people have about the school. Are there any red-flags about the engineering graduate program, or the school in general, I should be aware of? Anyone else here have experience with their funding for PhD students

Hello and thank you for taking the time to read this! I'm here to ask a question about GRE scores: will my GRE score, given the other desirable aspects of my application, limit my ability when applying to mechanical engineering PhD programs? Here's a (brief) overview of what I have to work with: 161 Verbal, 158 Quant 3.5 GPA 1.5 years of research experience 1 publication (2nd author) 2 years of industry-level medical device manufacturing experience So, really, my question is this: based on your experience of applying to PhD programs (or a friend's), does this application, including my GRE score, seem like it stands a chance at institutions such as NYU or Cornell?