spade20k

Hey, I'm a current grad student in Civil Engineering at Davis now. I'm looking to fill the second bedroom in my duplex. It has a washer/dryer, dishwasher, awesome backyard, carport, etc. It's about 1.5 miles to campus. Message me if you're interested. Thanks!

I just left UT Austin but housing in Austin ranges depending on what you're looking for -- pretty much like any place. Craigslist is going to be your best bet (unless you use one of those apartment locators -- they're free too). I would strongly suggest living somewhere where there is a UT Shuttle -- my first year I lived in an area served by only CapMetro and it was a pain. If you guys are looking for an apartment finder, I would suggest MrWestCampus (just google it). He's not affiliated with any management company -- I used him my second year and it worked out pretty well. Also, if you can get in I would strongly recommend university graduate housing as a good cheap option. The complexes are a bit far from campus but they are served by the shuttle and they're SUPER cheap. Hope this helps

I'm in a transportation PhD program now. When I applied two years ago, I didn't really hear back from anyone until February. My first notification was from Texas A&M in the beginning of January but I think only US students were given admission at that time. Just be patient and remember, for transportation graduate programs, most programs probably won't begin to look at applications until after TRB. Congrats on getting into Missouri!

Northampton is definitely more interesting than Amherst. It's a totally different crowd in Northampton -- much less "undergrady". I think Northampton tends to be a bit more expensive, but don't quote me on that. So the bus system is really reliable, even in the winter. It is also free for students (on the Northampton bus, you NEED to show your student ID to ride for free though). If the buses can't run because of weather, the school is most likely closed. The bus that goes between UMass and Northampton runs every 15/30 minutes (I'm not sure which because I don't ride the bus to NoHo-- but it does run regularly). Without a car, commuting from Northampton may be difficult because it will be time consuming; google "PVTA B43" and it should bring up the bus schedule. I'm not sure when people "start looking for housing" as I started grad school mid year. I do know that my neighbor has already signed a lease for a new place, so you may want to start looking now. If you haven't done so already, check out UMoch.org (UMass Off-Campus Housing) and craigslist to find housing. The cool thing about UMoch is that you can specify rent, bus route option, utilities, pets, location, etc. UMoch is a really great service and I'm super disappointed that other institutions do not have a similar service. If you choose to live in Amherst, I would avoid using Kamins Real Estate -- their properties are poorly kept and the few times I tried to contact them, I felt like I was a second thought and I //really// had to stay on them to call me back. I hope this helps!

If anyone has any questions about UMass or the general Amherst area, I'm currently a master's student at UMass. Feel free to shoot me a PM or something Congrats to all of you!

Craigslist is always an option. Also, talk to people who are currently in the program -- maybe they can point you in the right direction

Hey! So I'm having a lot of trouble deciding between two schools for a PhD in Civil (concentration Transportation). I've visited both and I can't seem to decide between the two. The professors at each university are highly reputable in their fields. Both are fantastic schools -- although, after talking to the professors at my program, I have the feeling that Austin has a better reputation than A&M (One professor basically said, "Why consider anything BUT UT Austin"). The support (which isn't that big of a deal in the long run) from A&M is a lot better (2600/month) than UT Austin's support (1845/month) -- also the cost of living at College Station - Bryan is much lower than Austins. Aside from the money there are few things about each school that worry me -- for simplicity I'm going to list them below. Concerns: UT Austin - I found the students to be a bit cold. They're a bit older and most of the students I met were married and I didn't get a huge sense of community among the students. - Austin, Texas -- Everyone loves Austin, but I'm not sure if I really want to live in a city. I go to UMass now and one of the things that I love about Amherst is that it is a nice and small college town. During the Spring and Summer there are cute fairs/festivals/carnivals/etc. on the town green. All in all for UT Austin, I'm just concerned about fitting in and connecting with the other students, which is a big deal for me now because that's part of the reason why I'm leaving UMass after my Masters. Concerns: Texas A&M - I want to teach and although A&M has TTI (a HUGE Transportation research center -- the largest in the US), I know that they don't send many people into faculty positions unlike UT Austin. - The town is a bit (and by a bit, I mean very) conservative -- which wouldn't necessarily be an issue but I've always been in very liberal environments. I love the students at A&M, the size of College Station, but I'm wicked afraid that going to A&M could severely jeopardize my chances in the future. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

you guys SHOULD be able to do this with no problem. I have a friend who goes to A&M for civil and she's making money her stipend is so high and the cost of living is so low. My only advice is to avoid the university apartments.. they seemed incredibly expensive and you don't get a lot for your money. (I should probably mention that when I went to visit they gave us a tour of the university housing and one apartment complex, neither of which were incredibly impressive) Be aware of the living communities that do roommate matching -- they seem like a good deal but you have to live with someone and it's none of your furniture.

And American students too (for science) You may want to have a safety school too though, just in case. There are so many international applicants applying to the same schools and clearly they can't get into all of them -- there isn't enough space. So keep that in mind too

Any suggestions as to which apartment complexes? Craigslist is a mess with all the apartment hunters Thanks!!

Hey! I'm most likely attending in the fall too. Anyone from the College of Engineering around?

So I'm from the NY metro area and when I was younger, my friends and I would visit Fordham and watch the kids do jug (we were terrible but it was funny) so I'm pretty familiar with the Fordham University area. Anyways, Brooklyn to Bronx: That's a hike and multiple subway and bus transfers. Look at it like an Oreo, Manhattan is the cream and the Bronx and Brooklyn are the chocolate cookies. It's probably around a 2hour commute via bike but maybe only an hour and a half on the subway. You may just want to convince them to live in the Bronx. I think it may be easier to commute to Central Manhattan too from Fordham. In addition to the subway, the MetroNorth has a stop at Fordham and that's about a 15 minute train ride to Grand Central Station. I hope that helps!

Hey! So I'm likely going to UT in the fall too. Does anyone have any insight into the living situation there? I guess what I'm really wondering is if it is better to spend $900/month (includes all utilities except for internet and tv) for an apartment right next to campus with parking and a w/d or live out further towards Far West and spend less for the same amenities? Is the UT shuttle reliable? I will have a motor scooter there too that I would register to park on campus -- if I live in Far West or not right next to campus. Any ideas? thanks!

And I'm saying bye bye to MIT. Decisions were posted on the website. Oh well... Has anyone heard back from ASU or Irvine yet?

And if you care, they have a //really// good basketball team.