12o'clock

Yes, I am attending OSU in the fall! I am pursuing a PhD in Electrical & Computer Engineering. I'm not from Columbus either, however, I just visited last weekend to look for housing and I am definitely a lot more familiar with the area now. Feel free to PM me because I know pretty much no one from the area either haha

Hi all. I just received an offer with funding (in the form of a research assistantship) from School X this morning. The letter explicitly stated if I do not respond to this letter by March 14 the offer will expire. Right now, I have funding offers from this school and another school. I am interested in both schools, however, neither of them are my top choices. I am in a dilemma since I am still waiting to hear from 6 other schools. Should I contact School X and (tactfully) ask for more time? I would like to have all the information possible to make an informed decision. Thank you!

I appreciate all of your responses. Thankfully, I obtained the University Fellowship Award at this program so my issue has been resolved. Thank you!

I got accepted to a STEM PhD program without having contacted any faculty prior. My admissions letter did not come with any type of funding information. The graduate coordinator advised me to reach out to the department faculty, as they are the ones that handle funding. So, I emailed several professors whose research interests align with my own and none of them have the funding to take new students. I inquired about teaching assistantships as a source of funding and one of the professors stated that they are typically given to PhD students who already have a long-term RA commitment from a professor. He also said that university fellowships are very competitive and difficult to win. My question is if I am unable to obtain an RA, TA, or University Fellowship, is it pretty much guaranteed that my PhD will be unfunded? Is it a common occurrence where people get into a PhD program but can't find a professor to fund them? In this case, how do people proceed? I think it's odd that I got accepted to the PhD program (earlier than the actual application deadline) if none of the professors have any interest in me. Thanks!

Undergrad Institution: Small public institutionMajor(s): Electrical EngineeringMinor(s): MathematicsGPA in Major: 3.92Overall GPA: 3.87Position in Class: Near top (around 5-10% I'd guess)Type of Student: Domestic white maleGRE Scores (revised/old version):Q: 166 (91%)V: 157 (76%)W: 4.5 (82%)Research Experience: 1 REU, no publications, 2 conference talksAwards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean's ListPertinent Activities or Jobs: Tutor, TA, grader, Vice President of Tau Beta Pi, University ChapterAny Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: 2 summer internships at government agencyApplying to Where:Ohio State University - PhD - ECE - Communication & Signal ProcessingUniversity of Colorado, Boulder - MS - Electrical, Computer & Energy Engineering - Communications, Data, Information & NetworksUniversity of Texas at Austin - MS - ECE - DiceUniversity of Michigan - PhD - ECE - Signal & Image Processing and Machine LearningGeorgia Tech - MS - ECE - Digital Signal ProcessingUniversity of California, San Diego - PhD - ECE - Signal & Image ProcessingUniversity of Washington - MS - EE - Signal ProcessingUniversity of Maryland - MS - ECE - Communication & Signal ProcessingCarnegie Mellon - PhD - ECE - Data/Network ScienceNortheastern University - PhD - ECE - Communications, Control, & Signal Processing