bgk

It'll start to pick up soon. There are a few management agencies whose properties I'd avoid, best to check with someone in town and see if people have heard anything. If you know any current grad students in your program at Cornell/IC you might ask if they know of someone moving out of town.

Hi, If it's a really a fellowship and you're on F1 or J1 you'll pay a flat rate of 14% (federal). If it's a stipend/earnings you'll pay state and federal taxes at the relevant rate - see tax charts. Some countries (e.g. China) have treaties with the US which mean their students pay less tax.

Sounds great. Good luck!

If you want a contract they'll do a credit check and without a SSN and credit history they'll demand a deposit ($200-$500) refundable in a year. It's not such a big hassle :-). Another option is to consult with other international students, sometimes people get family plans and are willing to let you join that way. Getting a credit history seems to be a bit of chicken/egg thing. I suggest you get a credit card with whomever you bank with when you arrive, which should speed up the process.

For me, in my situation, the advisor was most important. I was changing research areas and having an advisor who could point to interesting problems, and steer me away from ones that were too difficult was immensely rewarding. It's also nice to have time to talk to someone who has been through the entire process before, who can make course suggestions etc. If you're new to research/graduate life I think it can be dangerous to tie yourself down to a particular research area to start. After 6 months you may find it wasn't actually what you hoped for and now you've got a busy advisor and a project you're not interested in. I've heard good arguments for hands-off advisor vs hands-on too. So it's definitely a personal thing.

Excel: You asked for my "public" stance: People are entitled to free speech here, that includes moderators. Minnesotan volunteers his time to keep the boards tidy and help where possible and to do that he needs moderator status. I cannot take away his mod status simply because he said something you disagree with. I haven't read every reply in this thread, but what I have read seems largely 'tongue in cheek'. Thus, my reading is, if anyone has taken offense they are taking things too seriously. However, if you still feel you have a serious grievance then send me a PM with quotes to backup your claims and I will consider the matter further. But I will add, I'd rather this issue sorted itself out :-).

Of course, welcome to the cafe

... we're all adults here, so I don't want to lock this thread. Instead, a quick reminder, we have all have to "be nice", by which I mean respect everyone's right to an opinion, and in the best academic tradition, right to debate and disagree with the opinions of others. Provided we can do this without insult, everything should be fine.

Come on guys - let's get back on topic and discuss the merits of 'text speak'. I find it a little vulgar to look at, but that's not an indictment on those that use it. Being a native British English speaker, I also find many so-called Americanisms lazy.

Discuss your 'old interests' on the call and also mention you're interested in the 'new interests' topic too. However, don't be too forceful because you might put the advisor off. If he/she seems interested then you can push a little more. If not, when you arrive you can perhaps look at doing some work with another advisor. Of course, another approach is to say outright, "I don't want to work on X anymore ... " but if the institution that admitted you has no expertise in X, it might not be a good idea.

Let's NOT have a fight -- Please keep on-topic. If we want to discuss the merits and demerits of "text speak", do so in the Lobby

What's your long-term goal? Does MSFE vs MS&E give you a better chance of achieving that goal? If you've got a firm/career in mind, could you see if anyone working there has graduated from either of the two programs? Which seems like a better fit for you? And Stanford VS Columbia is, as you observed, an interesting cultural choice. If you want to work in finance, I'd guess columbia has the stronger connections...

Hi Folks, A quick note for those of you in the US. The board doesn't auto adjust the DST setting, so if you want the correct times to show, you can turn it on here. The setting you want is "Summer Time / DST in effect". Cheers

I'm not a lawyer or immigration expert, but I'd just declare it as a pleasure trip, so that you can travel under the visa waiver program. If the official asks, just say you're there to visit the city and the university. Even if it were a business trip a waiver is sufficient, provided you plan to stay for fewer than 90 days.

It's hard to say. You can check to see if any schools that you've applied to have sent rejections. If so, that might give you some reassurance, but you never know until the email/letter/phone call comes.

What's your program? Even within my department the workload for a TA can vary from just a few hours a week, writing up solution sets, to maybe 10 or 15 hours, writing solutions, grading homework and taking sections/recitations. It depends on the class and professor!

You might be a little more objective about it. Go and find out about the research of the `unknown professors' and see what kind of impact it has. Generally, although not always, a better school means more opportunities later. I wouldn't let the fellowship sway you. If you're thinking about teaching after grad school, then a degree from 'fancy name' might be very helpful. That said, the most important thing for me was the advisor. I had to know I was working with someone with whom I could get along and feel comfortable with. `unknown professors' might be a couple of noble prize winners, but very difficult to work with!

Hrm. To be honest the "Other, Other" messages are driving me mad! I don't mind the occasional "To X, how did you hear, who did you hear from", but when it gets to a full blown conversation or debate, it belongs here on the forum! So thanks to jewelbomb for bringing the discussion here! (And yes, I deleted the 8 Other/Other English submissions, to try to keep the database at least semi-tidy)

Sorry, I should have qualified this. I was referring to students who study engineering or science. Even in these fields one can enter a US uni without having seen such topics. Whereas, I'm sure it's still the case that if you want to go and study engineering or sciences in England, A Level Maths is a prerequisite, and that means they don't need to assume its the first time you've seen basic calculus. (Before I get corrected more, I am aware that many US students will take AP Calculus in high school, but it is not a formal pre-req for science/engineering as it is in England )

I've split this to a new 2008 topic and archived the old one away!

Hmm. I've heard a few other stories about having to deal with profs who are on sabbatical. Sounds like a nightmare. I hope you make the best of this situation and get out of there with some good grades . Isn't there another professor you can talk with whilst you're there?

The Cornell MEng is pretty flexible. I see a few MEng guys in my classes and they seem happy enough. Last semester I know one guy went off to Cisco and another to Microsoft... but there are, of course, a lot of factors that decide on how employable you are.

Well, maybe so, but the professor concerned may already have enough excellent students and still have to decline you.

It's a popular option for many grads. Probably Maplewood? It's fairly priced given its proximity to campus. After a year you'll probably be ready to find a nicer apartment somewhere away from the hill :-).

Well, perhaps he wasn't a match for the school. I know some schools factor in considerations of whether or not there are faculty who match the students interests before admission. So even a very strong candidate may not get admitted to some places. That's why it's important to pick not just the schools, but the faculty too. With regards to the paper. It's rare that an undergraduate would be a first author on a paper, so I'm not suggesting you go and do that. I'm suggesting you get involved with a project and make enough contributions so that you get listed on a paper. Even if you don't but the project supervisor is able to say something like "X has demonstrated to me that he is capable of excellent research. He made a number of helpful contributions to the project including ..... " that's got to mean something. And that most undergrads don't get their name on papers isn't important --- most undergrads don't go on to do graduate work.