ktel

I only applied to two schools for my Master's and really had no doubt I would get into either of them.

I'm assuming they are not going to pay for your visit? If they are refunding you, the decision is obvious, you should go visit. I still think some sort of visit is extremely worthwhile, even if you do have to pay out of pocket. It could help your chances, especially if you are meeting professors who could vouch for you or who would offer to be your adviser (in programs where this is necessary for admission)

And I will note that I tend to be better at confronting men than women. I have no problem calling my male friends out on their inappropriate behavior, but I more often than not let my female friend's bad behavior slide. I'm not sure exactly why this is, but I think it's because the female friend is more likely to just be pissed off and hold a grudge.

I think they would appreciate the more direct question. Whenever I was e-mailing people about administrative things, I would just jump into "I am a future applicant, here is my question"

I think I have experienced some of the things you listed in smaller doses. I don't remember particular instances, and I think that's because I always deal with the situation up front and it's done. If someone is belittling my ideas, I call them out on it. If someone is gossiping I do the same (although I find it very strange you're dealing with gossip in a male-dominated environment). Basically, if I feel wronged, I point it out, usually calmly, sometimes not (depending on the situation). I feel I have garnered a lot of respect from my male friends and colleagues as a result of this and they tend to try to not have the situation occur again.

I included a transcript, which would make it clear to most of my professors which relevant courses I have taken. You could include a list of which courses you feel are most relevant to give with your transcript.

Yes, the initial expenses are quite high, and honestly the only reason I could afford them was because I didn't pay for them, my boyfriend did. He probably incurred at least $5000 in setting up our new apartment. If I was doing this on my own I honestly would have probably lived in the graduate residence to avoid having to pay for furniture and the like, or my parents would have supported me. I did have a reasonable amount of savings for my summer job so I probably could have supported the move-in process but with severely downsized furniture purchases.

I would often lend my notes to friends, but I know I could have easily charged them and others for it (my notes are very nicely organized, well summarized and colour coded). Something about letting my notes out there for everyone to use makes me uncomfortable.

I'm a mechanical engineer, and was one of only 10 women in my graduating class. There are still probably only 10 women in my department now (aerospace engineering). I've been able to maintain very good friendships and working relationships with the men in my classes, either because I outperform them or I make it clear that I don't take any crap. I don't think I often got angry with them, but if I did they knew it was serious, as I was usually quite happy and willing to help. If I was in your situation I would (if possible) try to fill the dominant role in the group. This means you get a large say in how the project is handled and can minimize some of the negative experiences you were described.

I miss my dogs so so so much. I've been bugging my boyfriend about getting a dog but we both know it's just not practical right now. He works overtime every week and I am away from the house for school and rugby for long hours during the days. And a dog is a huge commitment, especially if you get a puppy. I'm also not sure that I want to have to have a child-like being dependent on me when I'm this young. I don't want to have to ditch out on things because I have to feed and walk the dog. When you already have kids you do this anyways, so a dog makes sense.

I have had many of my LoR writers show me the letter before it was sent out so that I could edit or correct anything. If your letter writer is OK with that and wouldn't be offended by you editing his/her English, I think that would be the best option.

Sounds right to me

I have quickly learned that while the subway here (Toronto) is great, buses and streetcars are ALWAYS late. So luckily I live right near a subway station, but have to take a bus past the last subway stop to get to my building. The bus runs on half hour frequencies (practically unheard of here, most are more frequent) and like I said, is always late. I had the pleasure of driving the other day, which was infinitely more convenient and there is free parking. But the subway is very convenient for me to get to rugby practice. All-in-all my location is the best it could be given my circumstances.

I think I just sent them the list of programs I was applying to and a resume/CV. I didn't include my SoP because I honestly didn't think it was that important to my application (maybe I was naive) and I also seem to recall I hadn't written it fully yet.

I am quite pleased to discover that the general start time for most of the grad students in my group right now is 10am. If I come any earlier most of the rooms are deserted. There are also several students with kids and spouses, so it seems like they have a pretty good work-life balance. I always see people taking group breaks in the cafeteria and they have lunch time sports and stuff. I'm at a huge university but our building is very isolated, so it makes for a really close community. We'll see how things go when the semester gets into full swing.

I would be honest and tell them that you won't be able to write them a strong reference letter. If they have nobody else to ask, maybe just write it if you feel sympathetic towards them, but at least you've told them you don't think it will be very good.

What I've noticed in my department is that they are using "Professor" and not "Dr." which is very different from my undergrad. My supervisor always signs his e-mails "Prof Z" which makes it very clear what is expected when I'm addressing him.

I've had people give me crap about this (saying it's disrespectful, etc.), but I find that's how I work too. I try my best to take detailed notes to stay focused, but the whole time isn't spent taking notes, so I need something like a crossword puzzle to keep my brain active.

Most universities have their own procedure for distributing funding. Do some research.

I think almost all Canadian universities fund MS's in Engineering. That is because you almost always go BS to MS to PhD, hardly ever BS to PhD.

I was in a similar situation at the beginning of my current relationship. We had been dating for about 3 months, he was graduating and I had a year to go. He basically had to decide whether to move away to take a full time position in another city, or stay and work or study for a year until I was finished. He stayed and got an M.Eng. degree, and I have now moved way with him so he can take that full time position. We've been together for 2 years and are currently living together. We did rush into things, but we had to. There were no "what-ifs" we had to make a decision, and it worked out well for us.

My first week has been super busy! As was the week before. But I think I'm coping really well, considering when I moved to Germany last summer I did not cope so well. I can totally understand how lack of internet can add to stress. When I went to Germany after 36 hours of travel I got to my destination to discover that the Internet was hard-wired, not wifi. Luckily someone had a cable so I could talk to my family when I got there. Between rugby practice, games, moving into my new apartment, meetings and orientations, I have little time for much else. Thank goodness for my boyfriend but we don't even get to see each other that much (to be expected, he's working full time and I'm in grad school). I feel like I have a TON of stuff to learn, but I think that is the case when you enter a Master's program like mine. Not that many people learn CFD algorithms and optimization on their undergrad. I'm finding playing varsity rugby to be very helpful. I have a network of people to help me out with finding where I need to go and some instant friends. Plus I've been playing really well which is a confidence booster.

Bleh, I am in the process of putting both of my e-mails (undergrad and grad) onto my personal g-mail account. Not a fun process. I have my undergrad e-mail organized really nicely, and it seems that transferring the folders will be a pain (from a few tutorials I read). The grad e-mail was very recently created, so luckily I don't need to worry about that too much. I label on the fly. It totally depends on how many e-mails I have in my inbox relating to a certain subject. I don't like having a ton of e-mails in my inbox, so I like to file them away. I have folders for different projects, classes, rugby teams, etc.

It seems to be a battle of your personal preferences. She does not want to come in on other days, you do not want to stay late. I would suggest you compromise. Explain to her your long commute and how you don't want to be getting home at midnight if you stay that late. Suggest you stay late every second week and meet at a normal time in the weeks between. I don't understand why she wouldn't be willing to come in earlier on the same day, perhaps you should find out why.

My boyfriend just bought a cheap HP Touchpad and I plan on using it for reading electronic versions of papers. It's not easy on the eyes, but it's more comfortable to read than a computer screen.