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Teaching Faculty Wannabe

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    Should I accept UCLA this year or hold out another year for MIT for my PhD?

    in Engineering

    Posted

    6 hours ago, samkaru said:

    I was wait-listed by MIT EECS and accepted to UCLA ECE with generous funding this year. When I applied, my bachelor's degree was not complete and my GPA increased significantly after the last semester to be near-perfect. One of my papers was also accepted after the application deadline to a very good journal. So I feel that if I continue doing good research, I'll have a generous chance of getting to MIT next year.

    The problem is: does the prestige of MIT matter so much that it makes sense to hold out another year? I know that I could do more or less the same quality research at both places. I plan on being an entrepreneur after graduation, so I wonder whether the "name-effect" of MIT has a better impact when finding investors etc.

    If I were you, I would go to UCLA. If you like UCLA, if you have a good advisor or good potential advisors, if you have good and reliable funding, if you can see yourself at UCLA and would be happy there, you should take this opportunity given to you. MIT does have prestige, but I don't think that why you should choose a place because of prestige. There is also no guarantee you will get in next year, sorry to say.

    So, do what feels best in your gut. Good luck!

    Vision and Dental?

    in Officially Grads

    Posted

    On 1/7/2019 at 7:50 PM, kendalldinniene said:

    Hey y’all 

    Can anyone tell me if university health insurance typically covers dental or vision? Trying to plan ahead. Thanks!

    I would definitely ask someone who works in the graduate school office, a grad student in your department, and/or your future PI. Looking up health insurance can be confusing (the school I plan on going to has two health insurance types/premuims along with two different premiums for vision plans), so getting a definite answer from the school reassured me.

    Good luck!

    Perfect Advisor but Mediocre Rank :/

    in The April 15th is this week! Freak-out forum.

    Posted

    22 minutes ago, Whovian said:

    I did contact them. And got vague-ish info that the students their have a record of completing on time and get placed at academic institutions well enough. 

    I tried to run the numbers yesterday and found that this department has placed at least 8 recent graduates in tenure track positions in the US. I think that's quite good. 

    But to be even more specific, my concern with this place being unknown is that I am in international student (I need this university as a whole to be well known in my own country and others where I might consider living). And two, that I am from anthropology, and the prestige of the university appears to be a major factor when it comes to hiring in this field.  :(

    That is a tough decision. I sadly don't know much about anthropology and how to get a job after doing graduate school in that field, but the fact that you have a good advisor should definitely be something of importance. In my mind, more important than the ranking on the university, but since I am limited in my knowledge, I feel like I am not the best voice here. Good luck!

    Perfect Advisor but Mediocre Rank :/

    in The April 15th is this week! Freak-out forum.

    Posted

    2 minutes ago, Whovian said:

    Thanks, Moods!

    I have just been feeling concerned because this department has not published its placement data. And I have been apprehensive about whether it is because it is does not look good for them. 

    Hmmm, I see. That can be concerning and I see why you are hesitant. I would maybe contact some grad students already in the department and see what they say and maybe you can get a vibe that way?

    U of Arizona vs. NCSU - PhD in chemical engineering

    in Engineering

    Posted

    On 3/6/2019 at 11:54 AM, Colaman said:

    I was accepted by U of Arizona and NCSU for PhD in chemical engineering and received full funding from both schools. My research interest is semiconductor processing or materials.

    U of Arizona: I know that U of Arizona has a long history in semiconductor research and semiconductor companies, especially intel, hires a lot of students from U of Arizona every year. But the department is relatively small and I heard that grad students over there tend to take longer to graduate (over 5 years) with few publications. 

    NCSU: I think they have a better reputation/ranking for their engineering program and have a bigger department, but the department only has a few faculties who do semiconductor-related research. And according to the alumni profile from different research groups in both schools, NCSU seems to have fewer people who went into semiconductor industry after graduation compared to U of Arizona. Many alumni graduated from NCSU who did semiconductor research went for postdoc for some reasons. 

    Any opinion/advice? Any insight into the PhD program in chemical engineering in both schools is also appreciated.

    I don't know about U of Arizona, but I did my undergrad at NCSU in MSE. MSE and ChemE share the same building, which I think would be useful for you since your research interests seem more materials-based. I know that some MSE professors at NCSU do semiconductor work and I wonder if you could maybe have two advisors or be allowed an MSE professor be in your committee. At NCSU, there is a separate campus for engineering called Centennial Campus. On that campus, there is this facility called Monteith Engineering Research Center (MRC) where there are clean rooms for semiconductor development as well as tons of equipment for material characterization. There are also a lot of industry partners on the campus. Raleigh is part of the Research Triangle, which means that there a lot of companies in the area. Good luck with your decision.

    Perfect Advisor but Mediocre Rank :/

    in The April 15th is this week! Freak-out forum.

    Posted · Edited by Moods

    4 hours ago, Whovian said:

    I don't know whether to take an offer from a "not top tier, not well known, but not unknown" department. 

    The funding is hand to mouth, but everyone there tells me they are happy. I couldn't possibly "fit" better in too many other places. I idolize this advisor too--great work, great experience, happy students. But I cannot shake off the nagging feeling that I will never be able to compete with TT jobs with PhDs from famous places. 

    I have been a star student all my life. But do not know how to choose a grad school -- what to prioritize and what to ignore. I don't want to be jobless five years later :(

     

    From what I've seen, school rank doesn't matter too much at the PhD level. The research you do. The papers you publish. The advisor you work with. Those things are important. Good luck!

    Storrs, CT

    in City Guide

    Posted

    On 2/16/2019 at 2:09 AM, WildeThing said:

    Anyone with recent experience of Storrs I could ask a million questions to?

    I just visited UConn Storrs and UConn Health for a weekend. I THINK I will be attending there.

    Biomedical Engineering/Bioengineering Applicant Profiles for 2019 Admission

    in Engineering

    Posted

    1 hour ago, MDawkin said:

    Thank you for the information , I did not get to visit despite my POI reaching out to me rather early. Were you informed about the UConn fellowship within the acceptance letter? I'm still unsure where I'm leaning , I would have loved to visit UConn.

    Yeah, they told me that sadly not everyone was able to visit UConn. Like I said, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to PM me or something.

    I was actually nominated for the fellowship by my POI, and was informed about receiving the fellowship before I got the acceptance letter.

    I will say that the BME department is newer (only a couple years old), so it seems like they are still trying to figure out things and get established. However, there are tons of faculty and they are hiring even more. I met about eleven BME professors or so, and every one of them was super nice. The environment seems really collaborative and it also seems common for professors there to be affiliated with another department, so research is interdisciplinary, which I really like.

    Also, I just got rejected by University of Rochester. Haha, it hurts to be rejected by two schools in less then 24 hours, but I'd rather know than not know.

    Biomedical Engineering/Bioengineering Applicant Profiles for 2019 Admission

    in Engineering

    Posted

    1 minute ago, MDawkin said:

    Sorry that's unfortunate. Did you hear back anything from UConn with regards to funding?

    Thanks! It's alright. It wasn't really my

    Oh cool! You got into UConn as well! Yay! Nice to meet you!

    I contacted my POI there about funding and she hasn't gotten back to me yet, but I will let you know more when I find out. I actually got two fellowships, an external one that gives me money for my first year and a UConn one that gives me some funding for five years. So, my situation is a bit complicated. However, I will also have to be an RA or TA.

    I know some about the program because I was able to visit last weekend. I think the stipend for most graduate assistants is about $30,000 a year, depending on the funding your POI has for you. Tuition is covered, but I think we would have to pay for some fees. Health insurance is not covered but it is not as expensive as typical health insurance because UConn has a union for its grad students, which means that grad students have a lot of people looking out for them and we would get great benefits at a low cost. You will probably TA for one semester. It isn't required, but it seems like the BME departments really encourages. So, you will get funding by TAing and then the semesters you will be an RA.

    I would reach out to your POI and/or the BME department there. If you have any other questions, please let me know. I think I am leaning more towards UConn, FYI.

    New to Adulthood? Welcome, you have come to the right place!

    in Officially Grads

    Posted

    21 hours ago, ringoandme said:

    Thanks for starting this thread! I'm curious what advice people have regarding renting? I'm unsure where I'm going in the fall, but my husband and I would like to rent a home or townhome. He'll be searching for work in the area too, so budget is of course up in the air. We'd like to avoid apartment living if at all possible (mostly due to the noise factor). 

    I've read up on some articles detailing what to look for when renting a house, and I got the sense that it's not a whole lot more complicated than apartment searching. We've just never done this before. 

    Are there things to watch out for? Can a realtor show you both townhomes AND houses for rent, or do you have to go to two different sources for those? If anyone has done this before, what did you wish you knew when you started looking? 

    I haven't rented a townhouse or a house before, but I feel like a realtor can show you both. There are also many online sources/phone apps you can use to find places to rent, and the school you are going to attend might have its own online resource for finding off-campus housing.

    When renting a house or townhouse, you might just have a landlord instead of management. You want to ask them about their rules, if utilities are included, if they will cover the maintenance of the house, etc.

    Good luck!

    Johns Hopkins MSE program in Biomedical Engineering

    in Engineering

    Posted

    6 hours ago, Anxiously Hopeful said:

    Hey all!

    So I got the most awaited acceptance letter from my dream school today, that is, Johns Hopkins University. I am super excited about it. However, I received the letter from the Vice Dean of Graduate Education and not from the department and it included the following statement:

    Please see the welcome letter from your department for more detailed information regarding any individualized funding support, program specifics and options, advisor arrangements, and program orientation requirements.

    I haven't received the welcome letter yet. Should I wait for the letter or start contacting the faculty or the program manager for the available TA-ship positions?

    You could always email the department to ask about next steps or when you will receive the letter.

    New to Adulthood? Welcome, you have come to the right place!

    in Officially Grads

    Posted

    Hey everyone!

    I wanted to start a forum where people can ask questions about various topics related to adulthood, especially for those that didn't have to worry about it much until now.  So, feel free to ask questions about:

    • Health care and health insurance
    • Budgeting
    • Having a pet
    • Owning a car
    • Renting and renter's insurance
    • Finding an apartment
    • How to files taxes
    • Having children
    • Moving and its costs
    • Vacationing
    • And else you can think of

    FYI, I am nowhere near an expert. I created this to get a discussion going.

    Stipends and Taxes

    in Officially Grads

    Posted

    23 minutes ago, NeilM said:

    Hi GradCafe,

    I have no idea how I'll be paid (W-2 vs other tax forms) and I plan to ask graduate students at the university I will be attending, but how do you all pay your taxes? Are they automatically withheld or do you pay them quarterly? Do you use a CPA?

    Hi there! Taxes are not typically withheld from fellowships, but are usually withheld from stipends for TA and RA positions. I only know this from doing tons of research. I have included a lot previous forums about this subject. I am sorry it is a lot, but taxes are super complicated and I am still trying to figure them out myself. I hope this helps!

     

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