mechengr2000

Also, I don't understand why you are arguing with us. You went on the internet asking for help with a problem you didn't feel comfortable approaching without hearing the advice of others. People gave you their opinion. If you don't like the opinions that you yourself ask for, then dont act on them! Why are you arguing??

I do not understand. It sounds like you don't enjoy their company. Why are you bothering to ask us if you can hang out with MA students if you dont even like hanging out with them?

I have moved to my grad school early and I am loving it. I am taking advantage of every opportunity to social that I can find, and I have been actively pursuing looking for chances to meet people. Doing this, I find I have about three events a week I get to attend (e.g. grad housing social event, student org social event, dinner with new friends, etc). What else can I be doing? I go to cafes, but it seems like people are not interested in making new friends there. Same goes for bars - it seems like people go there with their friends and they only seem interested in talking to their friends. (fyi, i do not like bars, but I was going to them just for the sake of possibly getting the chance to socialize)

3 courses a semester is the standard for science and engineering. 4 courses is perfectly fine if you are not doing else (e.g. research or teaching)

This is the equivalent of moonlighting in industry. I think its unethical to accept a 2nd RA ship without asking your current PI.

As my name implies, mechanical engineering.

That depends on the program. You should find out for this program and let us know - that has a strong influence on what my advice will be.

Is it possible to obtain second fellowships from NSF/NDSEG/DOE/NASA etc for further support? For example, if you had three years of support from agency A, after that ends are you eligible to apply for support to agency B? I am currently pursuing MA and PhD concurrently in different departments, and my PhD advisor has stated he will not give financial support for my MA.

I hate how involved LaTeX is, but I feel it is unavoidable that I learn it. Does anyone have a good resource that teaches LaTeX in a quick and "to the point" fashion?

I have prelim exams in January! This will be on everything I learned in undergrad. Anyone else have to take these? How did you develop a plan to study for such comprehensive coverage?

Should I leave it out because it looks snobby?

What is the point of this? Are you trying to exaggerate on your application?

From what I can tell, NSF doesnt abide by their own rules. I have met a whole slew of people that had vast professional experience (~3-4 years) between graduatings from undergrad and then applying for PhD/NSF support and they WON. NSF's own rules state you cannot have that much professional experience and then apply for it, and yet I have many people who have won funding from them with this. Since you are actually doing something legitimate by their own written rules, I think you are in the clear, but make sure you still write your eligibility essay well, just in case.

Most of the schools I applied to (~20) specifically said on their application that they WOULD NOT accept your application if you had procured such services. I myself consider it unethical to use one, since the quality and voice of your SOP is supposed to accurately represent your abilities, not the abilities of a paid substitute.

When I send out very formal emails and letters, if its the first time I am in contact with someone, I include a signature that stays my title e.g. phd student researcher the name of the university e.g. university of X my office "address" e.g. Smith Hall Room 555 email and phone number e.g. John Smith PhD Student Researcher University of X Smith Hall, Room 555 555-555-5555 john@smith.edu -- I have extensive research experience (5 years) and have completed an MS with Research Thesis at a different school. (I recently started my PhD here). I have noticed if I dont mention this to people, I am treated like someone who does not have this experience. For this reason, I was thinking of mentioning it in my signature as follows: John Smith PhD Student Researcher University of X Smith Hall, Room 555 MS Thesis, University of Y 555-555-5555 john@smith.edu -------- What are your thoughts? Is this the right way to approach the problem? If not, what is a better way to approach the problem stated above? Thank you!

I think most people who do that program are sponsored by an engineering firm. I think the best route is to get employed and have your company pay for it, since it is intended to be a professional degree. Is that your reason for pursuing it? Why do you want to pay for it yourself?

Field: Mechanical Engineering I already have an MS , by the way

What matters is what has happened most recently. You will actually look really good because you show an upward trend. Good luck and nice job! i wish my GPA was that high!

This is a very strongly related to the organizational culture at your insitution. At my institution, phd students are seen as colleagues, so I have been told by my advisor to call him by his first name. At other institutions, some professors would see it as offensive if the "apprentice" called them by their first name. You have to feel it out at your institution and ask around since it is specific to your locality.

I have to say I have a different approach then the ones suggested above. Just DIRECTLY say, like a human being, "Hey, I can't do those times. They're not good for me." and "Hey, I don't think that needs to be done for this project. Here's why: ,...." Dont be condensending. Be the opposite of what he is doing: be an open human being that is willing to listen and communicate and change when they hear a good idea. Be the kind of person who accepts others without needing to hear an explanation. Just be open!!

I suggest you continue talking to as many different people as you can. Also, make sure you know what you want to get out of your experience. Do you want it to be about learning how to do research? About how to work individually? in teams? With lots of freedom? Or with lots of mentorship and guidance? Make sure you have thought about this when you talk to people so you can evaluate how happy YOU would be in their lab. Just because they dont like it doesnt mean you wouldnt. Get the facts!

I just finished my undergrad and moved to grad school one month ago. I love it here. I really got lucky with this school. It is really a perfect fit for me. It is also the best school for my research field. I had applied to jobs a few months ago as a back-up in case I did not get into any grad schools I liked. I am now being contacted somewhat aggressively for interview by a company I would like to work for as part of an internship. I previously gave an "informal interview" at a table at a research conference where a recruiter spoke to me, took notes about me, and told me they were interested. This was back in November 2010. Is it too early to go on internship? What do you think? I know my advisor likes his students to keep their summers free for doing research, so this might strain my relationship with him. Also, I was recently awarded NDSEG. I know if i take time off for an internship, NDSEG will cut funding during that time, and not give it back to me at a later date. They will, however, resume funding once I return from the internship.

Dang! OK. Hmmm Since you were a Math major, and you have all those other things supporting your ability to do math, I think you are in the clear. 730 is not bad, though it may feel that way to you now because both you and I know you could get an 800 if you were feeling better that day. Your fine dude. Good luck!

Are you an international student? Why is the verbal score so low? I think you can get into the best schools in the country if your verbal score was higher. Verbal score matters because many programs require you to teach.

I am not sure what your question is. Why not just retake the GRE? I am sure you know that it does not test Math knowledge, but rather critical reasoning. (I scored 800/800). Were you stressed out during the exam? What happened? What was your attitude going in?