boneh3ad

3.571 after one semester (4 credits of A and 3 credits of B )... I am incredibly happy about that. The B class I thought I was going to flunk for sure after I bombed the first exam, haha.

Yeah the character limits were incredibly taxing on my ability to actually answer the questions they asked. The summary of goals was the worst for me. They don't want it to sound like a technical paper, but also want you to display your technical competence while still talking about how it fits into your professional goals all in 3000 characters? Give me a break.

/nominate for post of the month

So, does anyone here work in the research area of hypersonics? Just curious. That is what I am about to start my research in (most likely) and I was just wondering if anyone else around here shares that interest.

Well since you are doing an M.S., have you looked at the faculty at both schools? You would be wise to take a look at the research going on at both places and take that into consideration as well. TAMU might be the better school, but if you can't do what you want there, then why even go there? On the other hand, if you can't get a comparably interesting research topic at UIC like you can at TAMU, then it doesn't make a lot of sense to go to UIC over it. As long as you do quality research, you should have good job prospects at either school from what I can tell. Visit both places, do the background research on the faculty, and then factor in the family angle and make your choice. I definitely understand wanting to stay near your family and where you are comfortable, but you have to keep your own career and education in mind.

So, I know this is a long shot, but does anyone happen to know what the average starting research assistant stipend is in Texas A&M's aero department?

Yeah I wish I had the time to buy instead of rent for the first year, but not being that familiar with the area and not having time for the summer, I couldn't go do a halfway decent job of shopping for a real place.... Apartment it is...

Well I signed my life away via lease the other day. Talk about buyer's remorse. I think I might have to take out a loan and get a condo like the next 4 years so that maybe I can try to at least come close to breaking even. And I figure if I buy low soon, it won't be so expensive, and maybe the housing market will recover in the next 5 years and I can actually turn a profit. Hey, it could happen...

I took 14.1" because, for what I use a laptop, I need more power than a netbook, and it helps to have a shit-ton of excel cells visible, but I like it to be a tad bit more portable than a 15.4" notebook, so I go with the 14.1" option.

I am starting my M.S./Ph.D. program in the fall in Mechanical Engineering, but my interests really skirt the line between ME and Aero. Does anyone know how much interdepartmental research engineering departments usually do for graduate students? I found a really cool research group, but it is administered mainly by the Aero department, and I am in the ME department. Also, does anyone know how transferring departments works in grad school if I wanted to just do an AE degree instead of ME? Any advice would be appreciated.

See, when I went, most of the people flat out asked what other schools I was considering.

It sort of does, but at the same time, I am happy with my choice. It had been down to those two for a while, and quite honestly, I would have been happy at either. I am just glad it worked out such that if I want to switch in 2 years, I have basically a free ticket to do so.

Mine is probably more tragic or ironic or something, but here goes... It was May 14th at about midnight, so I had to decide by the next day, and I had finally decided to stop waiting on school A to give me aid (a long shot) so I decided to go to B and sleep on it. In the morning, I felt good, so I sent in my acceptance. Within an hour of that, the prof that I wanted to work with from school A called me (yeah I was surprised too) and basically said he could get me some money, and the conversation that ensued was more than just a bit awkward. It ended well, though, because he said that after I finish my Masters at B, if I want a change of scenery he would be happy to take me on as a funded PhD back at A.

Well that is ok I suppose. I will have to do an apartment for at least the first year, so who knows what their individual rules will be, but hopefully grill friendly.

Does anyone know if we were/are supposed to receive any kind of welcome package from the school? I haven't gotten anything at all, and I would really like to know how to get football tickets, haha.

Does anyone know if many apartments allow grills? That would be a strong selling point for me.

About how many graduate credit hours is it wise to take per semester? I am sure there are some differing opinions here, but I would like to hear them.

That would be useful if I wasn't just about to LEAVE UIUC, haha.

Yeah Georgia Tech gave me an account just for applying, but it is probably shut down by now, haha. I have my NetID for the school already, it just doesn't work when I try to use it for the email system... weird.

I have that same odd desire. Haha. Just out of curiosity, how long did it take you guys to get your school email after sending in your signed acceptance letter saying you were attending there?

I would if I had the email from my school yet. Otherwise I can't join the network.

Bah! Where are the MEs?!?

Well, I just accepted my funded offer to Texas A&M Mechanical Engineering. Anyone else headed to the ME department.

They just declined me. haha. Oh well, I had ruled them out anyway. Anyone hear from Johns Hopkins yet? I applied there and it is really the last one I care about, so I would kind of like to hear from them... =/