Bimmerman

Car guy here. To directly answer your question, sorta-- the daily driver came with me carrying all my stuff while the racecar stayed back home in time out since I needed to rebuild the engine. What I did to put it in storage: first, tell your insurance company you want to "lay up" the car, not pull the insurance. You will pay a really low rate that still covers it for freak accidents like trees falling on it, people crashing into it, etc, but you cannot drive it on 'lay up.' The benefit to this, aside from being insured against damage, is that when you do start driving it again you and it still have an insurance history (i.e. lower rate) don't drain the tank but instead use gas stabilizer. I used this and my car fired right up 6 months later without issue. You can get this at autozone/o'reilly/napa/etc parts store you don't need to change the brake fluid despite its color IF it is just going to sit for years. The reason you change brake fluid is because moisture gets in there which flashes to gas when the fluid is heated, causing mushy pedal and/or severely lengthened braking distances. However, brake fluid attracts moisture just sitting, so if you are going to let the car sit there is no reason to change the fluid-- you'll need to do it again anyway once you start driving the car. Changing the oil and filter are good ideas. Do both. Changing fuel filter is not a bad idea, but I wouldn't bother until after you start driving the car again. My reasoning is this: if the tank does get nasty even with fuel stabilizer, the fuel filter will protect your engine. I would change this AFTER you have run through whatever is left in the tank once you start driving. I would not bother changing the air filter. It will only get dirtier, so don't bother until you start driving again. Timing belt-- this I would replace. Contrary to common thought, the mileage on the belt is less important than the age of the belt. I would replace it now and expect to replace it again after the two years, or wait until you start driving again to change it. Cooling system hoses-- these tend to age out. If they are hardened or rough or have a broken up texture, replace them before use. Coolant- change this too once you start driving again. Hope that helps! The big thing is to use fuel stabilizer OR drain the tank. The other things are less important. All of these things are easy to do with a cheap set of sockets and wrenches, you don't need to pay a mechanic to do this sort of super basic stuff (timing belt excluded, that's a bit major).

Well, yes, if you're an ocean person. There are beaches aplenty! The water is colder than you'd think though. Yes, it does-- look at my post though, I mention the top universities. They're in coastal big cities, which have millions of people. If I were attending a school out of one of the cities, then things would be different. El Camino Real, 101, Central Expy, Oregon Expy, 1, 237, 880, etc etc etc. I haven't found a well-maintained road yet, they're incredibly bumpy, inconsistently paved, potholes, crumbling, heaving pavement, deteriorating concrete, etc. Like I said: crap condition. You did notice the title of the thread is asking for opinions, yes? I gave my opinion, not my fault you don't agree or like it. I didn't come here for outdoors access, but it is startling how long it takes to 'get away' vs other places. For someone moving to the state, like the OP, it's something worth mentioning. FWIW, I grew up in the bay area before moving to CO, and now I'm back to finish school. I have spent a LOT of time in CA. I'm not from the less urban areas, which I imagine are amazing. However, those areas aren't near my university or even most universities here....so...see my comment on time it takes to 'get away.' I've enough experience with both kinds of environments to have a clear preference and to notice the things I miss about CO and wish I had thought about more ahead of time.

I didn't need them when I won in '11. Probably a good thing too, my scores were middling-poor at best.

This, otherwise you'll be surrounded by similar students in the fall, all clamoring for a position. I'd suggest getting a part time job/continuing a job, more money now is one less thing to stress about. Alternatively, travel, pick up a new hobby, be creative. Do something in the summer that you won't get a chance to do during grad school, i.e. anythign that takes a lot of time/energy/money. I worked and went racing for my summer before grad school started, and it's been a treasured memory while staring at computer monitors until 4am.

This might have been mentioned, but your stipend is most likely NOT tax-free. I.e. you will have to save money and send in quarterly estimated tax payments. These aren't bad, and the amount won't be too high either, but you will want to plan for them. Talk to your financial aid folks and see if the 15k is pre or post tax.

Absolutely true. However, in terms of relative ease of access to mountains/getting away, CA is nowhere near as nice in that regard as other states where the top universities are located. Back in CO, a 15min drive got me either to university or to hiking and camping areas; 30 min to ski area and the ability to go backpacking for days and not see anyone...and I live in the city. While the same sort of outdoorsy things are possible in CA, and the terrain is just as nice, it's a half-day event to just get to the starting point. It's not possible to go backpacking or skiing on a whim after class on a Tuesday, things require more forethought and more time. Whether that's a negative or not is debatable, but it's one reason why I'm only out here for school, then going back home for jobs.

I moved to CA from CO, and it's a nice state.....but the total lack of money is very obvious even outside academia. From an outsider's point of view, CA spends way more than it needs to on feel-good things while allowing infrastructure, education, and more to fall into disrepair. The roads are the best example-- they are crap because there is no state money to spend to fix them, as it is instead spent on things that appeal to voters' emotions. The state itself is nice to live in, sunny, green, but it is WAY too urban for my tastes; there are sooo many people that it is impossible to get away. Taxes are double what I'm used to, cost of living is ridiculous, rent is out of control, food is expensive, gas is $1/gal more....etc etc. I'm here for my education but I won't be here past graduation. If you like big cities, this is a great state. If you like wide open space, mountains, and not being crammed in with millions of other people, it's probably not the place for you (or me). My concept of a 'big city' is ~100k people, not 7.5m people....so feeling like sardines packed in a tin is not my thing.

Take it. Considerably more money AND a guaranteed job? Winner winner brazed marinated chicken filet dinner.

This thread makes me extremely thankful my car is a wagon. I managed to fit all my things inside-- desktop, monitor, 2x tool chests, 2x trombones, many books, supplies, clothes, kitchen stuff, and (on top), my bike. Definitely would have needed a Uhaul otherwise...subaru wagons can carry an awfully large amount of stuff.

Car guy here. Do you know how to fix cars or are you willing to learn? It's really not hard, and you'll save an awful lot of money. I find working on cars to be a nice distraction from school and academia. Plus, learning how to fix them yourself will make future interactions with mechanics a whole lot more pleasant since you'll know more about what they are doing. I'd recommend joining a relevant forum for your car (google) and reading/asking for help. The feeling of fixing your troublesome car with your own hands is amazing, and gives you a confidence boost for the day. In the space of two years, I went from being able to do an oil change to fixing my transmission and rebuilding my engine. If I can do it, anyone can. An alternative would be to sell your current car and buy a more reliable one. Mitsubishis are many things, but reliable is not a word I'd describe them with. I would sell your car and buy a $1k-ish Honda Accord or Civic. All you need to do to one of them is put gas in and change the oil every 3k miles. They're the perfect grad student A-B transportation machine. Craigslist is a goldmine for good cheap cars. A Honda, Subaru, or Toyota would be my recommendation. Figure out your budget and then find a car that matches. I'd personally buy a cheaper car up front that needs a little work, factoring the cost of repair (get a prepurchase inspection from a qualified mechanic!!!) into the expected cost. I have a 95 Subaru Legacy that is unkillable (I've tried for seven years now) and incredibly cheap to maintain and run, I'd recommend one. Wagons are really really really useful. edit-- I should probably note that the transmission/engine rebuilds were not on my Subaru. Those were on a different car.

Engineer here, but our workloads sound similar. I also invested an awful lot of money and time into my hobbies (music and motorsports), and refuse to give them up. I'm almost finished with my first year of grad school, and my experience is that I actually have a LOT more time on my hands than I did in undergrad. Granted, during UG I was working 10-20hr/wk on top of a full course load, on top of projects, on top of grad app stuff, on top of racing, fixing cars, and hanging out with friends. I discovered over the last two years of UG that I only need 3-5hrs of sleep a night to be fully functional, and I've just maintained the constant sleep deprivation since. I try as best as I can to treat school like a 9-5 M-F job, and schedule exercise/music/car stuff/social stuff outside those hours. That obviously doesn't always work, but it helps keep me sane. My advice is to be as efficiently lazy as you can be. Do what you need to do for the degree and to stay on top of things, but don't get sucked in to your research to the detriment of your mental and physical health. Do just enough to get by, any more and you start to lose perspective on what matters-- your life, not your research.

I was sort of in your position. I won an NSF and was accepted to an engineering MS/PhD program at a top 5 school.....and over the summer while working in a prof's lab I realized I had zero interest in continuing down the research path. I worked in industry all during my undergrad and really enjoyed that world, and want to go back there. I also realized that in industry in my field a PhD gets you the same starting salary as an MS.....so when you factor in promotions in the intervening 4 years the MS holder will be earning much more than the PhD guy, all else equal. That said, the more specialized kinds of jobs I would get with a PhD don't interest me at all. There's no incentive to getting a PhD, so....I'm not going to tilt at windmills anymore. Thankfully NSF does fund Masters' students, so I don't lose my funding. My school requires every incoming PhD student to earn a masters first from them, so I'm just doing a masters and going into industry. If I ever go back to school it'll be in 10+ years for an MBA. I tried the research world, realized I didn't like it whatsoever, and changed paths. There isn't anything wrong with that, if it's not right it's not right. After a lot of thinking and reflection I realized the only real reason I had applied to PhD programs was family 'encouragement' (read: expectations), which really was not enough of a reason for me to be miserable for 5+ years. My advice would be to try the field you applied to, try doing a research rotation or something. You will find out quickly if it is really for you or not, and that's something only you can decide.

I worked full time and went to school full time...in undergrad. Also did formula SAE (in itself 20-40hr/wk commitment). 3hrs/night of sleep was average, 5 was a particularly good night. Definitely could not do that in grad school, even though I still get 3-4hrs/night of sleep (rewired my brain, can't help it). The classes are harder but require you to put much more time and energy into them. And that's without research.

@AbaNader, UCSB is a great school, but the reason so many students have funding is they only accept those whose interests line up with a prof who has an opening. I was accepted to stanford, georgia tech, umich, cu, and berkeley, but was rejected by ucsb. Was quite amusing to find out after I'd been admitted everywhere else.

alternatively, find a hobby that makes you use your hands. Part of the reason working on my car is stress relief for me is that I am fighting with my hands to take something apart, repair it, and put it back together again. The sense of accomplishment after doing so is a great feeling. I used to do model ships and cars, they filled the same need with far less bloody knuckles and shouted expletives. Doesn't matter what really, I know people who do puzzles, who carve, who go shooting, who do all sorts of things that require hands over brain. Helps deal with stress greatly.