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abcd128

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Everything posted by abcd128

  1. I have lived in the South Bend area my whole life, and am now an undergrad at ND. I definitely think you will be okay with a stipend of 23K. Almost everything you’ll need (grocery store, hospital, shopping, etc) are walkable or at most a short, 3-mine drive. Even while commuting 20 miles a day in high school, I would only spend about $80 a month on gas. Food is also INSANELY CHEAP. I think I maybe spend $200 a month on food and I eat a lot. The university health insurance plan is pretty decent, so I doubt you’ll have to worry too much about any major medical bills. The best part of this town is that you can have a lot of fun at little to no cost. ND has lots of cultural events on campus that are usually free to students. The county parks are free on Sunday’s, basketball/hockey games are free for students, and so much more! In fact, from what I can tell, grad students do quite well in South Bend. My mom did her PhD in economics at ND, and our family was able to purchase a home during that time. Many members of my church are grad students, and most have kids and own a home (and a good portion of them are the only major source of income in their family). Of course, stipends do vary, but I think yours will probably even leave you with some savings.
  2. Earlier, this year, one of my classmates (I'm an undergrad, my friend was a grad student) committed suicide, and our department was rocked by what happened. Our department's graduate studies advisor actually stopped class and told us this message. According to our university health center, approx. 2/3 of graduate students will experience depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts while completing their degree. It is important to seek help and also be open with those around you. He said that many grad students may not be comfortable speaking to their research advisor, but that the graduate advisors can be a neutral resource in hard times. He said that many students would go to him since he could provide guidance in navigating academia (and speak to your research advisor on your behalf if necessary) while dealing with a mental health issue. Really sorry to hear that you are going through this. Am cheering you on!
  3. I’m in a similar situation - starting an ECE Ph.D. in the fall, and I don’t want to take too much time off. I haven’t accepted my offer yet, but have already asked my potential advisor if I could start early. He said it’d be a great idea, and that grad students in the past have said that it’s helpful to do so. Also, one of my good friends told me that he “walked across the stage for (undergrad) graduation, and then packed my bags and started research the very next day.” He said that it helped a lot in adjusting to a new school and location. He also enjoyed getting to know his PI and fellow grad students without the pressure of classes and grades.
  4. @fermat68 Yes, the Lafayette Limo is the shuttle from Indy. It's pretty nice that there's a shuttle from Chicago as well, didn't know about that.
  5. Indianapolis International Airport is about 1.5 hours from Purdue, and there is a shuttle that runs every two hours to campus (http://www.lafayettelimo.com/). South Bend International is about 2 hours from Purdue, and if you are flying in on Thursday, I could carpool with you to Purdue since I'll be driving down from the South Bend area. Chicago has two airports - O'hare and Midway that are ~2.5 hours from campus, but generally a bit longer due to traffic. Chicago will definitely have the most flight options, and is a fairly affordable airport. South Bend only has select flights from major airports such as O'hare, New York LaGuardia, Detroit, and Atlanta. But it's size makes it easy to navigate and there is little traffic. Indianapolis would probably be the best option. It's a large enough airport that it has a lot of flight options, way less traffic than Chicago, and also there's the shuttle. I'd also be careful in terms of snow. Winter lasts pretty long in Indiana, and even though Chicago will have cheaper/more flights, Indy is probably a "safer" bet in terms of getting here. It's far enough from Lake Michigan that it isn't as affected by lake effect snow and thus fewer cancellations and delays. Hope this helps!
  6. Hmm, what was your research area? Also, I’m an in-State student, which probably affects funding and tuition in weird ways.
  7. I am pretty sure that I chose MS/PhD. I was admitted for a PhD with 2 year TA ship. What about yourself?
  8. What were the different options that you could select from? My end goal is a Ph.D., but I plan to get my Master's on the way. I was offered a 2-year TAship, and I'll be going to Purdue for the open house in March! Really excited to learn more about the program.
  9. Anyone going to Umich for their ECE visit days in March? Any advice on what to do/wear/see on these visit days?
  10. Try emailing ndsegf@sti-tec.com, that's how I got a hold of them.They responded in ~24 hours. Also, thank you for the heads up about the rate of pay being removed. Best of luck with everything!
  11. I emailed them a few days ago to ask. ndsegf@sci-tech.com was the email that I used. Seems somewhat sketchy... I don't think there is a way to check ourselves. The people at Sci-Tech looked it up for me. They responded ~24 hours later and said: Hi, You have references from: Professor A, Professor B, and Professor C. We are granting an extention of final submission of GRE Scores, Transcripts and References until January 5th. This means that the universities and recommenders need to have your documents to our offices or in this email box by this date. Please let us know if you have additional questions or concerns. Kind regards, NDSEG Fellowship Team
  12. I'm from the Notre Dame area and we are currently in the middle of a deep freeze! Definitely wear lots of layers (at least two pairs of pants, shirt within a sweatshirt/sweater within your jacket). It's also helpful to have multiple pairs of socks on hand, since it's easy for the snow to melt and get into your shoes/boots. For interviews, I just layer extra clothes on top of my interview gear. Baggier sweatpants and sweatshirts are great for this! When I get to the interview location, I'll take off the extra layers. ND is pretty good about plowing its sidewalks in the winter, but they also use a lot of salt to keep the sidewalks clear. I would bring a pair of not-great shoes for walking across campus, and then a second, nicer pair for interviews. The salt leaves stains on shoes If you have time, there are commercial waterproofer's for shoes, which are a huge help in the winter. If you let me know where your interview location is (building-wise at Notre Dame), I can try to find you a route that cuts through other buildings and avoids the cold (we don't have tunnels, so students get creative with their walks to class). The issue with ND is that parking is far away from the academic buildings, which makes winters a little rough. Besides the cold and snow, the campus is really quite wonderful, and I'm really excited that you get to see it. If you get a chance/aren't turned off by the cold, I would also recommend taking a walk around the lakes. It's really pretty in the winter! Best of luck with interviews!
  13. In the FAQ's, it says to put "Awaiting acceptance offers." I put that in every field (location, name, end date) except for the Graduate Major and GRE score fields. For that, I put in my intended major and GRE scores.
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