Bimmerman

I'm not alone! Also a first quarter grad student who applied wanting a PhD, and now really don't want one whatsoever. I've found that profs really only want to consider you for PhD studies, and having an RA/TA/Fellowship already (I won an external fellowship since I wanted a phd originally) means they and the administration expect you to earn a phd. I've done a lot of soul searching since I applied for the fellowship and chose my school, both from working in an academic research lab for part of the summer and from looking at salary data and hiring statistics....for what I want to do, a PhD is a hindrance. I also just don't have it in me to stay in school for another 5-7 years, especially for a degree that will be ultimately useless and (significantly) reduce my lifetime earnings. I realized that for what I want out of life, I don't need 'Dr' in front of my name to be successful. However....I'm on a three year full fellowship, and am expected to love eat breathe sleep research. I don't, at all. I also can't afford school without the fellowship, so my plan has been to hide the fact I'm leaving with a masters until absolutely necessary, and to just do research rotations until I find an advisor/project I could stay with for couple years while finishing up the coursework masters(no thesis option offered). I feel somewhat bad about leaving with a masters, but at the same time....a PhD isn't right for me and there's no sense being miserable for 5+ years if I already know that. Unless I find an advisor who is OK with me leaving after the MS, I'm really not sure what to do when the time comes to leave. Family pressure to get the phd is also getting irritating. My advice would be that if you are funded, don't tell anyone until your last semester or two. When you put in to graduate with the MS 'on the way' to the PhD, just have an honest talk with your advisor and explain that a Phd isn't for you, and that you are absolutely certain, and just hope that he/she will give you a good job recommendation.

Yea...if grad school doesn't work out, I already have a BS degree and can very quickly get a high paying engineering job locally, so...yea. Suicide is the coward's way out.

I didn't bother explaining away my poor GRE math score, I just acted like it didn't happen. Worked well enough since the rest of my application was good.

Well, I bombed the quant GRE as far as engineering is concerned (didn't get an 800), and was quite a bit below all the schools' average GRE scores (i.e. 800). I got a 620 verbal, 730 math, 5.5 writing. Took it again, did much worse, said screw it. I'm at Stanford now. GRE doesn't matter, it's only ONE part of the whole application. I was below the averages at ALL the schools I applied to, and I got accepted to every single one (Berkeley, Stanford, Michigan, Ga Tech, CU) except UCSB; some even offered me funding. Don't sweat it too much.

um.... the application period probably doesn't end until January or February. You won't find out anything until March at the earliest. If you're worried, apply to a safety school? Otherwise chill, you won't find out anytime soon.

I wish I knew what I had wanted to specialize in before I went in to grad school. Now I'm here and have external funding but have no clue what I want to do whatsoever. Everything sounds interesting, and in a field as broad as mechanical engineering, this is a problem. For now, I'm taking whatever classes I am interested in and not really concerned with how they relate to any research area; I want to be employable and learned above all else. I really don't know how I am going to go about doing the required research for my funding and department. I'm more than a little worried about that. I also applied wanting to do a PhD, but after working this summer and talking to industry contacts, I'm pretty certain I won't be going for one.

I'm taking two classes this quarter (first grad quarter), and it feels like I'm having my butt handed to me. Getting sick sure didn't help right around the time of the first midterms...I dropped a class over that. You're not the only one. My solution so far has been to make friends as far away from campus as possible just to get a mental break and a reality check a couple times a week.

Simple. I want to be able to buy Porsche GT3 RS. I can't do that without a big salary from an awesome job, which requires a grad degree. Whenever I get to the point of not caring anymore, or reminding myself that I already have a degree and that I'm burnt out already, I remember that that Porsche ain't gonna buy itself. Call me materialistic, haters gonna hate, but it works for me. Find what you really want to do with your grad degree, and use that as your motivation.

I wasn't told who my roommates were until I was unpacking and met them. Anyone up for beers next week?

70-80k, so not much more than a Masters.

Pander to the reviewers. Seriously. If you've ever done a tour or instructed a group of students, and underrepresented/disadvantaged minority students or women are somewhat of the focus of the group, put it in the essay. It's better to have more concrete things that aren't so much of a stretch, but if you don't have anything yet, volunteer for any and all things relating to diversity in your field (school tours/mentoring/tutoring/etc) as possible. Time is running out though. I don't think NSF ever learned of my GPA.

This is very true. I simply wanted to let folks know that even if you haven't done academic research or anything commonly considered "research" you can still apply. Case in point: I designed spacecraft components and instruments for science-gathering missions and counted that as research. It is all in how you word things and in how you explain things, on the face of it my design experience isn't hard research since there were no publications or any objective aside from get the spacecraft in the air and to have it meet certain requirements. Still was research, and is hardly the only case that would count as research experience in industry. All that matters is that the applicant can explain their role in a project and how they view it as research, and it will help their case. I used every trick I knew, 8pt or smaller font for citations, half-spaces (and "8pt" paragraph breaks) between paragraphs, 6-8pt punctuation marks, etc. A strategy that helped myself and my brother to win the NSF was to clearly mark the paper in sections i.e. BOLD and UNDERLINE the "broader impacts" "intellectual merit" etc things that the readers are looking for. It might sound patronizing to them, but remember that each page is worth ~$50k or more in value to YOU if you win.

I also won a 2011 NSF, but I took another angle at it than most. I'm glad the GREs weren't counted or considered since I did not do well (for an engineer)....yet got in everywhere I applied. Conclusion: GREs don't matter at all. Anyway. I never did research as an undergrad, and since this coming fall will be my first year as a grad student, I clearly have never done academic research. I won an NSF anyway, based on projects and industry research that I did while working part/full time as an engineering intern. I'm not an academic, I like real practical hands-on projects. I did internships throughout my undergrad because I never intended on going to graduate school; hell, I only applied when I found out I could get paid to do it. My internship experience was purely in research, but not in academic research where publication is the end goal; it was in product research and development (vehicle emissions) where publication is an "if you have time, sure, go publish it" thing. My research proposal was to continue the work I had begun during my internship and to further investigate why near-zero emissions measurement is limited by a few key factors. This was a valid proposal, but industry and academia are different realms. I spent a while searching for universities and professors that did similar emissions-related research that most importantly would have the required equipment (remember, I won as a senior, so I was not tied to a project or PI). I wrote my application with this school and professor in mind, even though I had never met or spoken to the professor before. NSF awards the fellowships based on your ability to concieve and describe a proper research plan, and NOT on whether or not you even know the prof in question (the prof never sees the application, and NSF doesn't follow up on them). It is very important to make a note of the school and prof (or research lab) you intend to carry out the project with, because NSF is looking to see that you KNOW what equipment you will need to conduct your proposal, even if you never do. This is KEY, as much so as the broader impacts and intellectual merit stuff. I did not end up attending the school I wrote the application around even though I was accepted, and NSF didn't mind. As many posters have said, they award the researcher, not the research. I'd be happy to share my essays if anyone is interested, they are for Mechanical Engineering. I wanted to let people know that even if you worked through school doing internships and co-ops (and not toiling in a research lab) to pay for undergrad you have equally good chances at winning an NSF. You just have to write it from the perspective of "how does this benefit my chosen industry and the public" rather than "how would this create publications, win me tenure, and affect the public?" Different philosophies, but not any less valid.

I'm moving in to EV on 9/9, anyone want to meet up for beers/exploring sometime before school starts?

Mech E MS/PhD student looking to find housing as well! Thinking Escondido Village.

I'll echo the Greeley smelling like a feedlot comment. It's overpowering the first time you're there, but you quit noticing it after a while.

"Award Offered" !! Time for beer.....

There are plenty of eating options for vegetarians, don't worry about that. No clue on grad housing being better for internationals, but it will be pricier and smaller than normal houses/apartments for rent. Depends whether you want to insulate yourself from the community and town and live with fellow internationals or not.

For whatever it's worth, I grew up in Boulder and went to undergrad here(mech E, have friends in PolySci). I'd be happy to answer any and all questions. As far as the weather goes-- Yesterday, sunny and 80F. Today, it rained/snowed. Tomorrow, 60F. We average 300 days of sunshine a year.....and it's been average high of mid 50s for March.

I'm 99% set on going to UMich in the fall for a MechE PhD, and am definitely looking for a place to live! Questions about the town though: how bad are the roads? I'm a car nut as well as a soon-to-be grad student. Is there any good trail biking nearby? What is the average monthly rent for a room in a decent house/apartment?

I didn't email any professors before I applied; hell, I didn't even decide on going to graduate school until about a month before NSF applications were due. I ended up getting in everywhere I applied, all top MechE schools. So...I don't think it's necessary. I emailed professors after meeting with them on visit days as a courtesy thank-you type of thing, but I never emailed anyone asking questions about research, funding, and so on. It probably wouldn't hurt, but I didn't bother/think about it.