twocosmicfish

These schools are right next to each other on most of the rankings, for whatever that is worth. I think you will get a comparable education and subsequent opportunities either way. Even the funding sounds similar., although I am unsure of cost of living at Georgia Tech. If you go with UIUC, Georgia Tech will be PO'd but they are not going to open some blood feud to go after you 5 years from now. Nonetheless, I would not apply there again. For anything. I would also try to avoid the professor in question at conferences, at least until he has forgotten you. If you go with GTech, nothing is lost except you will be going somewhere you would rather not be. However unreasonable that may sound to others, it will influence how well you can do at that school. This is a tough choice to make. Good luck!

Make the jump. It sounds like you have a reasonable expectation of funding after your first year, and the difference in income across your career will probably well exceed a semester or two worth of loans. This is all assuming that the top-10 school is also better at your specific subfield than your current school - otherwise I might swing the other way on this decision.

Science and engineering often hire a few people with industry experience and a masters degree to compensate for the huge number of professors they have with a PhD but no time in industry. Again, these are usually lecturer or instructor positions only, although there are exceptions - at least one Assistant Professor at my undergrad had a masters. The downside is that these positions lack both the privileges of professors (esp. tenure) and the salaries of industry.

3.00 is the bare minimum at most schools, so you barely clear the bar (not counting your semester abroad). GRE's will help, but the biggest factor is research, as evidenced in your publications (if any), SOP, and LOR's.

I asked this question of an engineering professor (and potential advisor) - his response was that US citizens never do post-docs in engineering because there are too many good opportunities compared to the life of a post-doc. International engineering PhD's do post docs because (1) it lengthens their study in the US, (2) lets them have a more directive and supervisory role than they did as a grad student, and (3) gives them more to hang their hat on during faculty applications.

It is fairly normal - it just means your ego does not yet own you. It's a good thing. Schools do not generally rescind offers of admission unless there is fault or fraud on your part. If you fail to graduate from your current program, or if it turns out that you made significant-pause kind of errors in your application that they catch - then they will rescind their offer. It has happened occasionally that schools have sent out "accidental" acceptances that they then rescinded, but it has (to my knowledge) always been at the undergrad level where it is less of a personal decision and mistakes can slip through. Remember that grad admissions is very individual and personal - make contact with your prospective advisor and tell him/her how exited you are to be coming. If there is any error, that person will know and will bring it up.

Nowadays, I would expect to pay $500+ a month for an efficiency, $600+ a month for a 1-bedroom. You could find nicer for an extra $100, but you will not find anything cheaper from an apartment complex. You could drop that by $100-200 if you do not mind sharing a bathroom and renting a room in a house - there are a bunch of houses rented out to students a room at a time.

It sounds like you made a very common mistake in the application process: you applied to schools to which you would not be happy going. You are now in the awkward position of having only been accepted to a school you really do not want. There are really three big issues here: (1) Where you will be able to study the subject of your choice, (2) where will you be happiest and most successful during grad school, and (3) which school will get you the job you want? (1) If you still want to remain a modernist, you either need to go with your current option or else defer to next year with na improved package. If you were waitlisted at those schools you were at least in serious consideration, so you may need only a small improvement to clear the bar. You will need to have some serious discussions with your advisor and (preferably) advisors at your schools of choice to see if this is realistic. It does sound like you could switch focus and be admitted next year, but only you know how important the specificity of your field is to you. (2) With your background, are you going to be happy and successful at your current school? While they will likely shower you with attention and assistance, will you still feel like you "lost", especially a decade from now? Remember that you will get one chance only to change your mind - bailing out after the masters - but once you have your degree, there are no do-overs. Make sure you get it right, or you'll wind up that bitter guy who never got what he wanted. (3) Whether you want to go into academia or not, you need to know where you want to go and which shcool will get you there. A PhD in humanities from an Ivy will usually take you whereever you want to go, even in areas only peripherally related to your thesis. A PhD from a state school, especially one without a strong rep in your field, means a harder time getting a job from anyone not familiar with your thesis. So it is not just about placement rate, but more about placement distribution - where do the grads go?

My masters is non-thesis, I did it part time on the company dime. It certainly does not help as much as a thesis masters, but it does not inherently hurt you.

My info is on the third page of the 2009 Applicant Profiles thread.

I will again recommend talking to Falk Realty, especially for Colony Apartments - it is right downtown next to campus, and while it is in the same area as some undergrad apartment buildings Falk itself does not rent to undergrads - the building is pretty quiet. Toftrees is very nice, but it is a little further out and pricey - as you noted it is on the local golf "resort". Bellefonte is unmanagable without a car and difficult with one - just too far away.

Just finally pulled the trigger - UIUC or bust!

Any recommendations for family housing in the area? I am interested in a small house or large (2+ bedroom) apartment, and am not sure where to go / avoid.

Probably, but nothing is guaranteed. Most of the schools that are offering the higher-paying jobs in any industry start at the schools that have (a) the best rep in the overall field and ( match their specific needs. Not knowing your specific field and who needs it for what, I can only say that on average high-value offers are more likely to come to Columbia.

I would recommend that you avoid campus housing - its small, regulated, noisy, and expensive. Unfortunately, that describes most student housing in the area. Being a small town, MOST apartments are sold towards a captive student customer base that lacks them jack up prices and keel-haul you on checkout. My wife spent 2 days cleaning her Lion's Gate apartment and was still torn up for $500 off her deposit. I would recommend Falk Realty from personal experience - I stayed in Colony Apartments for 3 years, the apartment was great, location was really good, rent was low... just cannot say enough good things about the place. They do not generally rent to undergrads, so it is also a bit quieter. It has been a few years - I left that apartment in 2001 - but I have heard it has not really changed.

Did you get funding at either school? Or at least the chance of funding down the line? I would never recommend a PhD program unless you had a reasonable expectation that you would be funded over the majority of it. Do you want the PhD? You mentioned doing business as well, and if you make that switch down the road the PhD is not really much help. If you (a) want the PhD and ( think an RA/TA slot will pop up in next year, go for Columbia. If you just want the masters, UMich is a stronger program, and if you are going to be unfunded it is better to get a quick but high-quality masters and reapply for PhD's in a couple of years. This is all assuming that you really have no preference in the strength of the advisors and the areas of research at the two schools, since that should always be the dominant factor.

Typically, a masters degree adds between $10-20k to the undergrad value, and the PhD another $10-20k after that. $50k with an MS is very reasonable after UPenn, should be a cakewalk after Columbia.

I mean that the fellowship is generous, but they knew when I applied that I already had a more generous funding source. Since there is only about a 20% chance I would be in a position where I would choose to take it (which they knew from my app) it is not really useful.

Okay, I am in a pretty good spot, all things considered. US citizens going for engineering PhD's are now few enough that my defense contractor employer is going to pay my way through grad school. Upsides: They pull full tuition, fees, books, etc. Keep my benefits Get 50-60% of my base pay (well above the most generous RA/TA positions or fellowships) Potential housing stipend above and beyond salary Downsides: I will be expected to maintain an average of 20 hrs/wk doing company work besides being a full-time grad student. Kind of like being a TA, in theory. I will periodically need to appear at a company facility... more on this later I will incur an obligation to stay with the company for a number of years past graduation This is all subject to a whole seperate approval chain through my company Schools: PrivateU is located near a company facility, is the alma mater of the boss that made this all happen, does very interesting work, and offered me a generous but largely ornamental fellowship. PrivateU is less prestigious in engineering (if higher overall), has a higher cost of living (my income is invariant), and will take longer to complete, but is still very much a possibility for me. PrivateU wants some advance notice of my April 15 decision so that they can award the fellowship elsewhere - quite reasonable and understandable. PublicU is located 2 hours from the nearest facility (making weekly meetings an impossibility), also does very interesting work, is more presitigous, faster, and much more affordable. It is also the school to which my wife would like to apply next year. PublicU's problem is mostly the remoteness - much of my work I can do from home, but I would probably need to make that drive every week or two for meetings and classified work. PublicU did not offer me any funding - I was ineligible for TA because I have a masters already (odd policy), did not get a fellowship, and my advisor is still sorting out potential RA funding. Should not be an issue... The Issue: My company approval process. Although I was given a verbal go-ahead for the apps, I did not get all of my decisions until a few weeks ago, and could not visit until last week. I have put in the paperwork for PublicU through my chain of command, but the VP who needs to approve it is gone for the week - the best I can hope for now is to get a decision on 4/13. I will not know (1) if I can even go and (2) if I will get a housing stipend. If the VP says yes to PublicU, I am golden. If the VP says no to PublicU (because of the remoteness) I either stay at work or go to PrivateU. If I do not get the housing stipend I may want the fellowship, as the difference in income is not worth the workload. So to recap: I will not know until 4/13 where I can go to school and if I will need the fellowship. I have a professor who is asking me for advance notice that I cannot give, so I can either take a blind leap and possibly screw myself, or else hold fast until 4/13 and probably screw someone else out of a fellowship opportunity. Any suggestions? I am mostly venting, but would appreciate advice on the screw others vs screwing yourself issue.

Just like whether someone is black or Jewish isn't an issue? The question is never "Are there bigots around?", it is "How MANY bigots are around, and how many of them will have a beef with me?"

My last $70 million program? We went after two guys from UCF and one from Michigan. Every school produces experts in some areas, and no school covers everything. The only real advantage of the big schools is that their name and resources allow you to tackle more widely applicable problems - no guarantee you will succeed. Go whereever you get excited. That is the path for success.

Vannik, I am also interested in CEM - where are you going this fall?

Just as a quick note, the new adminstration likes Harvard grads - HKS may provide a good set of contacts for future employment, provided you graduate during this administration...

I only applied to 3 schools - I was accepted by my "probably" and "maybe" schools, but was rejected by my "probably not" school, so I guess that counts for "as expected." That does not mean there was not unreasonable dissappointment, of course.

I would avoid Lion's Gate if possible - somewhat shabby and they rake you over the coals when you leave (i.e. kiss your deposit goodbye). Parkway plaza is a little better, and Allenway seemed really nice. Never went into Nittany Gardens. I heartily recommend Falk Realty's Colony Apartments - lived there 3 years, best apartment and best treatment I ever had.