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OnceASundevil

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  • Location
    Michigan
  • Program
    Political Science PhD

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  1. i mean... some of what you say is true. but i will just say, i don't read much, i studied with a book of flashcards from one of the major test taking companies, and i got an 800 on the verbal. some of my studying came a few months before the test, but because of a work situation, most of it came in the last week before. i DO have a solid vocabulary, what i do read IS at a decent level, but i am not a voracious reader of the 'canon.' i just studied for it, hard. and i got a little lucky. it's possible.
  2. we use a LOT of salt in the winter in Michigan, which can be sort of rough on cars. are you bringing a car from somewhere else, or buying one here? i think most of the cars here already have an protective coating on the undercarriage (not like for off-roading, but to protect things from the rust that the wet-freeze-salt-wet-dry cycle can cause) and maybe a layer in the paint job that helps too. (i am no car expert, i'm just saying, our cars somehow do not rot through immediately.) so if you're bringing a car, you might want to check into what kind of protection it has against this kind of stuff. if you buy a car with regular winter weather in mind, you should pay more attention to whether the heat works than the AC, whether it has any leaks in the sunroof or windows at all (snow just stays on your car and melts, so if there's a leak, it's a bit like rain every day), and whether it's front wheel or rear wheel drive (you want front wheel, or four wheel). some people insist you need a 4WD SUV for winter driving, but i disagree totally - i just wouldn't try it with a small, rear wheel drive car, like a Miata. that wouldn't work very well at all. try to get something with rear defrost. (i forgot -- one little bonus of having a car in Michigan is that there's absolutely no emissions testing. i mean, it makes me sick ideologically, but it's super convenient.)
  3. i got an acceptance from ND on 2/10. American though.
  4. you're getting some good feedback from sankd, but i figured i'd add my two cents. i've spent a little time in Mount Pleasant and on CMU's campus a few different times, over the last 15 years or so, and my first answer is, it's a lot like any place in Michigan with under 30,000 people in it. (got that from city-data.) what i mean is, it's big enough that the place is self-sufficient - you don't have to go 50 miles to buy an appliance, or furniture or something - but it doesn't have any of the characteristics of a big city. good or bad. as was already mentioned, if you drive out of town, after not long in any direction it's just farm land. the casino is a plus for some people, but i don't care much for it. as for where to live, i have no specific intel - but most places like this in MI run the same way; there's definitely a student ghetto somewhere, i'm sure there are terrible over-priced student apartments somewhere, and the real rent deals are probably found in single-family dwellings a bit away from campus. this is the sort of place that's suffered from foreclosures and falling home prices, so with a little work on your part you can probably find a steal, if you're willing to live in a slightly shabby (but not at all dangerous) family neighborhood. two things to keep in mind about Mount Pleasant: one, there are as many students at CMU as there are residents of the city, which partly means a lot of students technically live in a neighboring township or commute to campus, but also means the university is THE defining presence in the city. two, i can't speak to the bus system, which is probably small but serviceable, but you will not be able to go ANYWHERE outside MP without a CAR, or a friend with a car. Michigan operates on cars. there's no reasonably-prices intercity transport anywhere in the state. finally, i really like the campus.
  5. i agree with houseb to some extent. i don't want to leave you with the impression that East Lansing is an expensive city - it's not, especially compared to East Coast places like the Boston area - but i also don't want you to think $16k is going to make for easy sledding. you really will have to minimize your rent - find people that need roommates and you might be able to do $300/mo or even less - and keep in mind that Michigan is terrible for public transit (in ALL cities). there is a bus system in the Lansing area, but it's not going to remind you of the T. a lot of bad things were said about Lansing (which is different than East Lansing) earlier in the thread (like a few years ago it looks like). be advised, most of Lansing is not dangerous at all, and median rent is cheaper. you could find a bus to campus (probably takes 30+ minutes by public bus). i work in Lansing, and although i don't like it as much as my native Kalamazoo (also in MI), it has really come a long way in the last few years. it's not as drab and boring as it was even in 2007.
  6. yeah, definitely did not go to U Michigan for undergrad... but anyway, apologies accepted. i really appreciate all these posts. I'm going on at least three visits, maybe five, and we'll see if i get into either of the programs i'm waiting on. i'm really hoping that it "clicks" at one of them, because i'm looking at a really tough decision if all i have to go on is answers to questions. (although all of the suggested questions are great, they all seem to answer these in ways that make them sound great!) i will come back to this thread, so if anyone has any other advice, please keep it coming. thanks again.
  7. first, i wish i'd found this website a lot sooner. this is great. ok. i applied for Political Science PhD programs at 13 schools. I had a 4.0 at my most recent undergrad and a 1600/5.0 GRE. however, my degree is from a second(or third?)-tier public university in Michigan, and i have old transcripts from Arizona State and a local community college that are truly terrible (like, sub-2.0 GPA total). i applied to a lot of the top programs, and a few backup choices. so far i've been accepted at eight of the schools, with two decisions outstanding and three rejections. so now i'm in the decision phase. all of the schools have offered 5 years (in one case 4 years) of guaranteed tuition waiver and stipend, which is great. (i'm trying not to take the financial side into consideration, because the difference between any of them is not that great.) the top programs i'm into are Michigan, Princeton and Berkeley. i would appreciate any advice anyone has. i'm not looking for anyone to tell me where to go; i know i need to make the final decision, and i'm perfectly capable of doing so. i would be very interested, though, in what current grad students (or even applicants, or faculty) have to say about what i should take into consideration. so far i'm thinking a lot about placement after graduation, collegiality of the departments, and the work the current faculty are doing. are there big things i'm missing? is there any use trying to distinguish between three great places objectively? any Ivy Leaguers want to make an argument for the private school option? thanks!
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