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I checked on Champaign for you, and the website showed 4 cars. This Saturday (tomorrow), one car is available all day and the other three are booked most of the day. All 4 cars are mostly available on Sunday, and next weekend they're mostly available as well.

I've used Zipcar for a few years in Chicago and I think it works really well. I live in the city and I don't own a car. The cars are generally in great condition, and they're all recent models. Good variety, you can get something like a Mazda3 for a quick trip, or a Ford Escape if you need to haul something big. I actually used Zipcars three times when moving between apartments. It's not worth the hourly cost if you're going to use the service as if it were your own car, but if you limit yourself to a few large shopping runs per month, you'll definitely save money over owning and maintaining a car. It's sort of like renting vs. buying a home - you don't have the resale value of your car if you use a car sharing service, but you also don't have to pay for monthly parking, maintenance, insurance or even gas. All those definitely add up to more than the annual and hourly Zipcar fees. One thing that I noticed is that on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, if you try to book a car on short notice, there might be very few available and they might be located far away. This has only happened maybe twice, where I wanted to use a car but wasn't able to. But you can book your time in advance to be sure you get a car (one day before is usually fine). Also, the keycard system works fine, although it's a little awkward to swipe the card on the windshield every time to lock/unlock the car. Agree with the last person, it's probably worth it in Princeton because of the public transit situation - I have buses and trains all around me, and I still find that I need a Zipcar once in a while.

I would certainly consider UW-Seattle. I had a chance to visit there and had a great experience. I have noticed that UW is consistently ranked in the mid-20s or 30s in mechanical engineering, putting it on the same level with many of the UC schools (including UCSD, I'm sure). Aside from the rankings, the campus is phenominal, Seattle is an awesome city (surely more affordable than L.A.!), and the faculty in the ME department are very energetic about their work. UW ME has a core group of seven new, young faculty members who have already won early-career awards and are gaining recognition. The department is definitely on the way up. All the current grad students seem really happy, too. The drawback about UW is the state funding situation - the state of Washington has decided to cut funding to UW by 15-30% for this year as they deal with a budget crisis. But none of that really matters if you establish a research roject with a professor who has guaranteed funding, and many of the faculty either have, or are pursuing, grants from NSF, NIH, etc. that will allow them to operate independent of the public funding situation. I loved everything about UW, but the RA project I was offered wasn't *quite* as good of a match for my interests (also, my better half applied, visited, and loved the school - for a different department - but was more interested in her research elsewhere). So I won't be going there, and I'm kind of upset about that, because so much about UW is awesome. So, should you attend UW? That depends on your preference and what you're looking for in a grad school. But should you consider it? Take this as a big hell-yes.

I can tell you that UIC has a very good reputation for engineering. I work with many UIC grads, and several of the managers of my company got their masters at UIC and have gone on to have very successful careers. You probably can't go wrong with either, but thumbs-up for UIC.

So since I'll be going back to school, I'll need to get a laptop computer. I've been using a desktop since undergrad, but it's time to switch to a laptop for use in the lab or during my commute to school. Can anyone recommend a good, inexpensive model that would be appropriate for engineering grad school use, or has anyone been shopping for a new computer and come across a good deal? I'd like to keep the price under $800, and I'll probably just be using it for MS Office and e-mail/internet (I'll hold on to my desktop for photo/video, itunes, etc.). My company gets a discount with Dell but I'd like to hear if anyone has had good/bad experiences with Lenovo, Toshiba or Sony laptops as well. And does anyone have a strong preference for PC vs. Mac as it relates to getting schoolwork/research done?

I don't know the specific details about NU's MSE program (got my B.S. there) but generally a thesis option prepares you for a PhD program better than a non-thesis option. Aren't you able to choose what track you want to take at NU, or are you specifically admitted to the non-thesis (coursework only) program? I know for a fact that NU offers a thesis option for the MS, but I'm not sure how their admissions work.

Does your program state what "percent" time is estimated for your RA-ship? I was offered a 50% RA position, meaning I would be expected to work 20 hours per week (50% of a 40-hour work week). The professor stated that she would be flexible during exams, class presentations, etc. so that if her RA's had to work fewer hours one week, they could make it up the next week... of course some professors/advisors will be less flexible, and I've heard stories of some students getting phone calls at 2:00 AM to discuss research because the professors are *that* intense about their work. I think the "percent" is just an estimate and doesn't by any means limit you to a certain number of hours, or let you off the hook when the clock hits 5:00, so I'm preparing to let my RA and TA-ships dictate my schedule. I would hope that you could talk with your advisor about your concerns about being on campus late at night (it's a legitimate safety concern) and organize your schedule so that you put in the majority of your time during the day. There will probably be late nights when you're approaching deadlines for proposals, presentations, etc. just like in undergrad, but most grad students I've talked to are able to do their RA hours during the day and early evening, and then get home or focus on their own work at night.

I will be accepting this week... yes, I'm pleased with how organized Davis has been regarding admissions notifications and funding, especially since those issues seem to be weak points of some other UC schools (cough berkeley cough).

I was 0/3 among those three programs, but I'm not getting upset about it. I'm deciding between two top-25 programs, emphasis on the "25" because they're certainly not ranked much higher than that. My supervisor at work has a PhD from Mississippi State, and I look up to and respect him more than most others around here. He's not getting quoted in any newspapers, but he's had a great career for himself. Take a look at some ME department websites and note where the professors got their degrees... sure there's a bunch of MIT, Stanford, Caltech and the like, but also plenty of successful academics from WashU, Rochester, and RPI ... as long as you find a program you're excited about, you'll forget all about your former "top choice" school once you get involved in your education and research.

*Really* don't think that calling the office has any bearing on whether they accept you or not - they're just looking names up in a database.

If you are within the timeframe that the school has said you should hear (ie., "late March") then there's no way it should affect the review of your application if you call to inquire about the status (as long as you are polite and professional). You should contact the graduate studies coordinator - this person likely has an administrative role that has no impact on the decisions other than to collect info from the faculty and process the notifications. If you're worried about sounding desparate/pushy/impatient, don't give your name - just ask generally about the timeframe for admissions notifications. Maybe you'll get hung up on, but at least they won't know who it was that called. (source: I recently contacted the student services office of one of my schools and received my result over the phone, no problem)

Same sentiment here... I've got other visitations coming up, and obviously 4/15 is fast approaching. I'm glad I called, I recommend that others call as well if you're still trying to narrow down your options and if the info from Berekley will help you with your decision process. Who knows when they'll get around to hitting the "send" button. I'm disappointed at the lack of consideration from their admissions dept, although of course they can do whatever they please, since they have more than enough people willing to hang on their every word as one of the top programs.

Just called, they're doing the admission decisions "now." I was able to give my name and have them look up my result... unfortunately I was denied, but hopefully a lot of people here will start hearing better news this week!

I'm in the same boat... haven't heard anything yet. "soon after March 27, 2009" - so just because they didn't send out results on the 27th doesn't mean much. For what it's worth, if you search for 2008 results on this board, it looks like Berkeley handed out a smattering of acceptances and rejections throughout the last week in March, and then sent the rest of the rejections on April 1st.

Hi, I won't be attending UB but I grew up in Buffalo (East Amherst) and lived there for about 20 years. There's a thread about Buffalo in the City Guide section but I can answer some of your questions. The great thing about Buffalo is that cost of living is very low. I have never rented an apartment there, but you should expect to pay about $400-600 for a good-quality apartment in the city (near South campus) if you have roommate(s). Studios and 1-BR's maybe a little more, but way cheaper than a large city. Allentown or Elmwood/Delaware would be nice areas to check out if you're going to be on South campus; they're each a few minutes away by car and they're the more lively, young areas of the city. Yes, you will need a car. It's possible for students on North or South campus to get by without one; there are shuttles between the campuses and there is a city bus system, although it's not very good. But if you want to go somewhere in the suburbs or get downtown quickly, driving is the way to go. Gas is reasonable and there is street parking downtown, and a garage will only run you $8-$10 for a night. The suburbs have ample parking but very poor public transit. That being said, traffic is not a problem in Buffalo except on the highways during rush hour (and during snowstorms). You can get from UB to Niagara Falls in 35-45 minutes, to Six Flags or Ralph Wilson Stadium in under an hour, and to the airport in about 25. I live in Chicago and it takes me 45 minutes to make a 4-mile commute to work. I miss being able to go anywhere in Buffalo and not worry about getting slammed in traffic or waiting a half hour for a bus. Buffalo has a ton of great things about it, I hope you enjoy your time there. I've met people from all over the country, and very few have such a fierce loyalty to their hometown as those of us from Buffalo. It's not the most thriving city, but it's home to great, friendly, hardworking people, and I can't wait to go back to visit.