mgmuscari

Douglas Hofstadter is a very well-respected Cognitive Scientist. I'm just assuming that CogSci and neuroscience are somewhat related here .

I definitely feel like my results have fallen together exactly the way they were meant to - I realized too late during undergrad that I was really destined for academia, and it's taken me two years to retool and set myself up to jump back into it. Working in industry has certainly been a valuable experience for me, but I honestly can't picture myself maintaining this kind of day-to-day schedule and work for the next 40 years. Sure, I'd retire with a ton of money, but somehow having the next 9 months always blocked out on my Outlook calendar and knowing exactly what I will be working on (and knowing how mundane it is) for the next year just isn't appealing to me. I know that I'm positioned well to advance here, and my coworkers love me. This is probably one of the best places in industry that one could find a job. I feel privileged to be here, but in all honesty the corporate culture here and the kinds of projects that we work on just aren't my thing. In September, right before the economy self-destructed, I almost moved to a job at a small startup, thinking that the change would do me good. I quickly reconsidered the ramifications, however, and realized that it would greatly impede my progress toward grad school. So, 67% pay-cut, here I come. The next 5-7 years of my life will be spent in near-poverty enduring extremely challenging academic endeavors, as opposed to seated in a cushy chair pulling down the big bucks. The opportunity cost may be high, but the real value for me is the reward of entering a challenging program and creating something new by the end of it. It seems to me that motivated people are always striving to achieve something - no matter where you are or what you're doing, you will yearn for something that is different. Working toward that goal may be a struggle, whether it means getting rejected from grad school, getting side-tracked, or working in industry for a few years, but I think ultimately satisfaction comes from knowing that you've tried your best. If you are really dedicated, you will also often find yourself reaching the places you want to be (whether you previously knew you wanted to be there or not). If I hadn't been forced to work in industry for two years, I don't think there's any chance that I would be as focused oh achieving my PhD as I am now. I think going to grad school straight out of undergrad would have amounted to going off half-cocked for me. By now I would probably be struggling just to maintain my GPA, and probably would not have any funding lined up for next year. Be patient .

Too early to tell?

It seems like a lot of grad students are looking for housemates at Rutgers NB/P campus! It may be easy to coordinate on here - I know that I will be looking for something in the $500 range come August. I may have a nice two-family house lined up in Edison, very close to the train station, and also to Livingston and Busch campuses. The downstairs neighbors are friends of mine - one CS grad student, his sister, my old classmate and current coworker, and his girlfriend. The rent is $1500/mo and there is a large back yard. My only restriction is that I am bound to a lease until October 1st. I may sign the lease in Edison a month or two earlier, or if I can find a suitable subletter for my current place, I'll be ready sooner than that. Please PM me if you're interested in talking about grouping for housing - I'm willing to discuss personal habits, lifestyle, etc to determine housemate compatibility.

Cheryl, Housing costs in New Brunswick are exorbitant. Expect to pay MUCH more for a 1BR apartment - I lived a few miles north of New Brunswick (in Woodbridge) in 2008 and was paying $1015/mo for my 1-br apartment. If you want to pay less than $850/mo in rent, you will have to have housemates to live off campus. Consider living in Edison instead of New Brunswick - prices are lower as students generally want to live closer to the party scene in New Brunswick. On campus housing is generally a bit restrictive, and the dining halls leave a lot to be desired; I recall that when I lived in undergrad suites and then an on-campus apartment, it wasn't a particularly luxurious experience. I lived in New Brunswick my senior year, and paid entirely too much for a tiny house with friends. The landlord was not a nice person. New Brunswick isn't a great town for living in if you want peace & quiet, or a clean house. I will probably be living off-campus with friends in Edison, which is about a 5 minute drive or 10 minute bike ride from Busch campus. My suggestion for you is to find a 3 or 4 bedroom house and some housemates who are grad students - there are plenty of people around so finding matches shouldn't be terribly difficult. Grab a large bedroom and turn it into your sanctuary, and put a keyed lock on the door.

I've been accepted to Rutgers for PhD in CS. A full-time TA-ship at Rutgers includes a pretty good stipend, full tuition & fee remission, and comprehensive health insurance (NJ Direct 15 - VERRRY nice. Better than what I have at work now which is already great). The information is available here: http://uhr.rutgers.edu/Students.htm This is a huge university - different departments respond to applications at different times, depending on their review process and number of applicants to their programs. I would probably expect a response soon, but don't quote me on that.

Anybody else planning to enroll for the fall at Rutgers for CS?

While I would take these statistical comparisons with a grain of salt, here is a list comparing graduate programs in neuroscience: http://graduate-school.phds.org/rankings/neuroscience/rank?w1=5&w9=3&w7=5&w32=5&w12=5&w17=5&w8=5&w100=rw

All you need to know about Indiana University and anything related to the brain is that this guy works there: http://www.cogs.indiana.edu/people/homepages/hofstadter.html Read his book G

R U Rah Rah! Congrats on also getting into Rutgers. Is your program criminal justice? AFAIK it's a good one. I can't say I'll be running into you at Rutgers Newark, though; I'll be spending all my time holed up in study lounges on Busch Campus in Piscataway. See if you can make it to some football games - Rutgers Stadium is a great place to be a student.

I had a few minutes of down-time at the end of the day today so I called my first choice school to inquire about the date for notifications. The Administrative Assistant said she was working on them as we spoke, and asked me my name. I have been accepted for Ph.D with 2 years guaranteed TA-ship, stipend, and insurance. I have 6 minutes left until I can leave the office and I can barely contain myself... I'm shaking as I sit here due to the need to jump and shout for joy. So much was riding on this; without grad school I would be stuck in corporate purgatory indefinitely. I am so completely ecstatic right now... I feel like a tremendous burden has been lifted from my shoulders. Did anyone else feel this way about their first acceptance? 8) :mrgreen:

... I'm willing to take a 75% (assuming I get avg. support, i.e. full tuition + stipend) pay cut to do it.

I met last month with a professor at my top choice school who is working in my exact area of interest... We had a hurried, but interesting conversation about our mutual areas of interest, and he fired off a few questions about my test scores, and asked if I had a copy of my personal statement. I did, so I handed it to him, and he took a brief look at it, remarking "very interesting" as he was reading. He then said he would talk to the admissions committee, and offered to take me across the hall to meet his students. I went over there and talked to them for a while, and we had a nice conversation. When I left, the professor told me he'd be in touch. It's now been about five weeks and I haven't heard back from him again. This guy is chair of the graduate program in the department I'm applying for my Ph.D in. Coupled with the fact that he and I share very similar interests, I figured that talking to him and gaining his interest would be a huge boon to my application. Now I'm afraid that he has either lost interest or forgotten about me. I recently sent him a thank you letter just in case of the latter, but I still haven't heard from him. Should I try to contact him again, or should I just sit on my hands and wait it out? According to this site, people tend to hear back from the school in question around mid-march.

If it were intellectually challenging or emotionally easy, why would we be fleeing back to school?

Rutgers is frustrating me... get used to what's known as the "RU Screw." If you end up there, celebrate with a 'boli and a beer at Stuff Yer Face.