twocosmicfish

Most programs have some method for making the MS available to PhD candidates en route to their doctorate. You may need to do some additional work, but many schools award it automatically if you reach a certain point in the PhD program. Check with USC for their own procedure. You ALWAYS have the option of leaving your program. Most schools will allow you to receive an MS if you have completed an appropriate amount of work. Some are even famous for it: The only ways to get an MS in engineering at MIT are (1) by doing an integrated undergrad/grad program or (2) by dropping out of the PhD program.

I work for a defense contractor, and we have a lot of Rose-Hulman alum's here, but all for undergrad. I believe that of the schools you mentioned USC is considered the best for graduate engineering, regardless of the number of admits - remember that it is a bigger school to start with, and the bigger issue is who you will be working with.

Most schools have a 2-stage selection process. First they weed out those they consider underqualified, then they up-select their favorites for funded positions, leaving the remnants in the waitlist often forever. Stanford basically admits their waitlist for unfunded masters programs. Some small number of these may be able to transition into a funded PhD at the school, but more often that does not happen. This process does somewhat dilute the prestige of a MASTERS from Stanford - anyone who knows their admission policy knows that, due to the lack of the up-select, the standards are lower for the masters than it would be at other schools. However, you still get to work with the same prof's in the same labs, so it is still a great opportunity. In return, Stanford gets extra tuition as well as a chance to look closer at the marginal group and up-select the best down the road. Remember, the prestige of a program is usually measured in the number of individuals who get Nobels or other prizes or recognitions.

I had this happen to me in 2006 with UT Austin - I was accepted, and after interviews I had 1 TA and 2 RA offers. When I asked how much, they told me they would not know until AUGUST! I said no.

I just got another "admitted" email from UIUC, this time indicating that the graduate college had made an offical admission decision - viewable on the app.applyyourself website. So if anyone is still waiting on UIUC, it might be a good time to check your mail...

Warning about Lion's Gate - their apartments are almost never as nice as they initially seem, and they will rake you over the coals on your move-out inspection. I heartily recommend Falk realty - I lived in Colony Apartments (near the Hooter's) for 3 years while my gf lived at lion's gate. I had nicer apartment, for cheaper, and when I checked out they took off no money for the apartment condition and gave me the interest they earned on my deposit over 3 years.

I grew up in State College and then went to Penn State, and it is worthwhile to realize the inherent dichotomy of the town. Penn State is very multicultural and generally tolerant, although leaning a little more to the right than most universities (still overall to the left). The surrounding townships about 15 minutes away are mostly farmland, overwhelmingly white, and decidedly right-wing. The town of State College is the mixing layer. Races/multiculturalism: In my experience PSU is short on african-americans and hispanics. It's a state school and those are very low demographics in the state. In engineering, women are pretty uncommon as well. I am aware of no overt anti-hispanic racism and little overt anti-african-american racism, although I have no particular reason to be sensitive to either so I may have missed some. I believe gender issues are pretty universal. LBGT: As I said, the campus is a little to the right for a US university, but is generally tolerant. The only real problem is that as a state school it attracts a lot of ... well ... rednecks. But they are usually under control. None of my gay or bi friends ever seemed to be particularly put down. Campus: Big, sprawling, and not particularly attractive. Generally pleasant, however, and lots of resources - there is very little that PSU does not do. Entertainment: The campus attracts a surprising array of shows and acts, because students are in abundance and represent the prime audience. There are also more bars per capita than anywhere else in the state and a good local music scene. There is some typical small-town type stuff (bowling alleys and movie theaters), otherwise head for one of the cities. Also check out the 4th of July fireworks, which is one of the biggest displays in the world and is entirely volunteer, so you can sign up and shoot shells. Dining: Bars aside, the restaurants are surprisingly good for the area - I have met only a couple of restaurants in the Baltimore area that I would put against Spats or Zola, and they all cost much more. This is also the town where Ben and Jerry learned to make ice cream - check out the PSU Creamery for rich ice creams or Meyer's Dairy for fresh glass-bottled milk and fruitier ice creams - there is no good reason for buying "name brand" ice cream in this town. None. Housing: Surprisingly expensive compared to other costs in the area, the result of being a college town. With a car you can find houses in the $800 range, downtown that is about what a 1-bedroom costs. Proximity: ~2.5 hours to Pittsburgh, ~3.5 hours to Philly or Erie or Baltimore, ~4.5 hours to NYC. Crime: Serious crime is very low - for most of my life the murder rate was on the order of once a decade. Lots of petty crime, mostly DWI or possession, very little that affects those not partaking. School system (for those with kids): SCASD is highly regarded and provides a ton of opportunities for kids - the result of so many parents in academia. The school is part of the mixing pot, so there is some conflict between groups. Weather: Not horrible, but nothing to look forward to. A lot of extremes. Any question, feel free to ask.

RA: These positions are almost always controlled by the individual prof's - some schools even use that as part of the admissions process (Prof Y has 2 RA spots to fill, so he goes to the pile of screened applicants and selects 2 to admit) in which case all RA offers are made simultaneous with admission. Contact individual professors with whom you are interested in working, explain that you have been admitted and are interested in working with them. If things click, ask if they would be interested in having you in their lab and if they think they will have any funding this year or after. If they say no, go on to the next. TA: Some are filled by the teaching professor, others are assigned by the department - your best bet is to contact the department directly and ask. If you can identify individuals you can interview with them as above, otherwise just ask the procedure and see what you can do to get on the list. For all of these, the more personal the contact, the better - in 2006 I flew down to UT-Austin after finding out that I would probably not be admitted due to a problem with my app. I was able to plead my case and show that I was a good candidate, and left with admission, 2 RA offers and a TA offer. And a t-shirt.

Don't just ask for more money!!! This is bad salesmanship! There are dozens of reasons to pick a particular grad school, and the size of the stipend is one of the worst. Generally, the lower stipends come from the better schools, and they know that - UIUC engineering will not care that Johns Hopkins engineering is offering more, but Hopkins would probably worry about being outspent by UIUC. If you want to ask for more money, you need a coherent reason better than "school A is offering more". Also, remember that right now departments are hurting for money - they often lack additional funds.

Does anyone know anything about family friendly areas near Evanston? Advice on local elementary schools would be especially welcome!

Does anyone have any info on the school systems? Any opinions on whether the Urbana schools or the Champaign schools are better, or any specific school recommendations?

Final status and corrections Undergrad Institution: Penn State (top 25-ish for EE) Major(s): Electrical Engineering Minor(s): None GPA in Major: 3.9 Overall GPA: 3.85 Length of Degree: Um... honestly? 13 years all told, but there was a 6 year break in the middle. And I started in aerospace. Position in Class: top 5% Type of Student: Domestic white male GRE Scores: Q: 800 V: 720 W: 6.0 Research Experience: One summer REU (basically a meaningless publication), 2 years of R&D at work which is unpublishable. Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Graduated with high distinction, Tau Beta Pi, Eta Kappa Nu (chapter Prez), Phi Kappa Phi, Boeing scholar, some university awards. Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Undergrad TA for 1 year, 2 1/2 years as a working engineer Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: I look snappy in a fedora Applying for PhD at: MIT - EECS - Rejected / 2-17-09 / NA UIUC - EECS - Accepted / 3-16-09 / possible RA (otherwise nada) Northwestern - EECS - Accepted / 3-6-09 / IGERT fellowship At this point, no longer waiting on anything from the schools... hallelujah!

I think they fell a little behind. They admitted the fellowship admits weeks ago, and have been kicking around the rest of us since then - I do not think many (if any) others were admitted yet. I just got my "Admitted" email an hour ago, but I asked them for an answer a few times over the last few weeks because I have an outside funding source that needs to approve my decision. I would expect them to get the rest of the decisions (both ways!) over the next week or two.

I am not sure if the whole non-degree student thing applies - that category is usually for students not admitted to any degree in any major at any level. I am asking how it would apply to a grad student in another department. It does at least imply that getting into the courses may be difficult. The basic question still applies - if you are able to convince the aviation department to let you take courses, will your tuition waiver cover the additional fees?

Any current UIUCer's, especially current grad students? Just following up on an old practice: A few of my professors from my undergrad days had gotten their PhD's at UIUC. They indicated that during their stays, the tuition wavers for grad students covered all the supplementary fees for aviation classes - the reason two of them had gone on to get their pilots' licenses while they were there. Does anyone know if this is still a practice? It seems likely, given the amount of said fees, that it was probably discontinued. Still, it would be a nice incentive to go there...

It sounds to me as if they are planning to admit you, but have not yet sorted out the aid package. It would be a major screw-up to send an email like that to a rejected candidate.

Dear twocosmicfish, Sorry. Sincerely, John Smith, Admissions, Department of Electrical Engineering

Okay, for anyone familiar with the Stafford Loan process in grad school: I am planning on taking out some amount of loans while in grad school - I will have some moving expenses to cover and would like to use the opportunity to consolidate some higher-interest debt while I have the chance. I am not anticipating using a huge amount, but it has been a while for me and I need to figure out how it all works now. Yes, I already have my tuition covered. (1) Does the listed lifetime limit of $138,500 include consolidated undergraduate Stafford loans? I have a balance from my undergrad and am not sure if it counts against the limit. (2) When are loans disbursed, and when do excess funds become available for withdrawal? (3) Can I still apply for loans this year (I am currently a 1/2 time masters student) and get money before AY 2009-2010 money is disbursed? Thanks all!

It looks like UIUC started sending out masters admit emails today - no word yet on PhD admits (other than fellowships which went out late Feb).

It is probably a good thing - he saw something in you worth keeping even if you were not a match for his department. Just remember that the MPA program has a different admissions committee (might be some cross-over) and a different applicant pool, so nothing is guaranteed.

You might want to check out Ohio State as well - I am in electrical engineering and their application deadline is in the summer sometime. I am not sure if that is a quirk of the department or the university.

It is a hard one to answer - the young one is more likely to be doing cutting-edge kind of stuff, but the older one has the network and system already established. The younger one has more risk but potentially more pay-off if he hits big and you are one of his first real students. With the older one it will be easier and less risky, but also harder to stand out. One quick note: older PI's tend to take a slow approach - they are often in no rush to see a well-trained grad student graduate. A young professor usually has six years from hire to prove himself for tenure - one of the criteria for which is the number of grad students mentored. I know a few PhD's who got through quickly (3-4 years) and well under the new guy, and a few who went 7-8 years under the more experienced prof.

Ah - I found that email. All the McCormick site does is refer you to the app.apply... site I mentioned above.

Thanks! I had never seen that website, and am not sure what application number it is asking for - when I submitted I did not receive one. I got my admission notice through the application website: https://app.applyyourself.com/?id=nwu-grad I had been contacted previously by one of the professors, who had indicated that I would be accepted, but have not heard from him since. I have not had any other communication from the department.

Just heard from Northwestern - my first official acceptance! For those wondering about UIUC, I had talked to a professor and he had said (a week ago) to give it a week or two for everything to get decided. So still waiting...