ktel

Summer is a difficult time to contact professors. I know many of the professors in my department seem to come to campus less often and kind of give themselves a break. So if they haven't responded by mid-September, maybe try again

I'm starting to get annoyed at the lack of communication from my grad school. Nothing to say they've received my NSERC Payment Activation Form and no indication that they've processed my request to register without payment. I still don't know when the courses will be and am unable to register anyways. In addition, I wouldn't have known about the TA application if I hadn't been diligent on checking their homepage. I guess that's what you get when you go to the largest university in Canada. On a funny note my undergrad institution e-mailed me yesterday to ask about my NSERC award as they hadn't received my payment activation form. No duh, I'm not going there for grad school. They're not particularly small either.

I never understood that. Some large breeds are way more apartment friendly than the smaller breeds. Great danes, for example, don't need to be and shouldn't be exercised too much. They are a great apartment dog in that regard. A lot of the smaller breeds are too high energy to be left alone and are way more likely to cause damage.

I haven't taken the revised GRE, but you should be able to pick up equations for parabolas and circles. It definitely is high school math so you must've learned if before. I don't doubt that you've forgotten all of it, but you don't need to be a math major to learn it

I really do not like Uggs. I feel like they are lazy shoes. Like wearing sweatpants outside (my dad has raised me to think this is a terrible thing to do). There are so many nicer looking winter boots, that are cheaper than Uggs. I will admit I do have a pair of fake Uggs for shoveling snow though....they are warm and comfy.

Hmm can you convert your GPA to a 4.0 scale? I assume your current scale assigns a 4.33 to an A+. Convert any A+s you have to a 4.0 and that gives your GPA on the 4.0 scale. That will be a little more helpful to us to see how competitive you are. If you don't have any A+s your GPA will not change, but if you do I think your GPA might actually be lower on the 4.0 scale, unfortunately. As long as your GPA is above a 3.0 you're OK, but ideally you want it above a 3.5. I'm assuming you have another year of school left, so try to pull it up. I don't think it's a huge deal to not have any papers written. I had limited research experience and no publications but I got into all of the programs I applied to (3/3) and NSERC funding (CGS-M). My GPA was 3.9 and I applied to U of T (mechanical/industrial engineering and aerospace engineering) and Ryerson (aerospace engineering). None of my programs required the GRE if you are a Canadian applicant.

UBC is up there as one of the top universities in Canada for grad school (along with U of T and McGill). Seeing how it is arguably one of the top 3 universities, I would imagine it is fairly competitive. Do you have a Master's already? Direct entry to a PhD program is a lot less common in Canada.

I seriously don't understand why you want our approval so badly. It sounds like you've already made up your mind as to what you want to do and are just seeking approval. I don't see why you need the go ahead from a group of strangers who know nothing about you other than a short paragraph. If you think you should apologize so you can have some more time to make yourself financially independent, do it. If you think apologizing would make things worse, don't. You know yourself way better than we do.

Here's a nice story to read: http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/its_more_than_a_job

You don't have to justify your actions to us or seek our approval. If you think faking an apology is the best strategy for the short term, then by all means do so. If it really is as simple as you make it sound (apologize, get money, continue kicking butt at school) then it seems like an obvious choice to me. Especially since the new school year is approaching and I doubt taking time off is something you would really want to do.

I personally think that sounds like a decent plan. Apologize and then stay away from them while setting up a back-up plan in case it happens again. It should be relatively easy to fill your summers with the things you mentioned to excuse yourself from going home during the summer.

I'm moving in 2.5 weeks. I have lived here my whole life and have never really lived away from home except a summer in Germany and 6 months house sitting. I'm going to bawl my eyes out in the airport, I'm sure. At least I am moving to my S.O. and some of his family, even though his mother can drive me crazy.

You seem to think normal social interaction and professionalism is 'politics'. I see nothing wrong with conforming somewhat in order to work effectively with others and succeed in my career. A good personality can take you a lot further than good work alone.

I bet they'll start off saying they hate it and then grow up to realize they love it. That's what happened to me and rugby anyways. After getting dragged around to games, practices and other events I was adamant as a child that I would never play. Look at me now

I'm not sure what you mean. You could find a job pretty easily with just a Bachelor's degree, if industry is what you want. If you really want to do grad school, you're not totally limited to MechE grad programs. Because MechEs typically learn a lot of different fields, you are open to more post-grad opportunities. This will depend on any research experience you get (which you should be getting now, by the way). You could go into biomedical or aerospace, for example.

This is a very personal issue and depends on what you are willing to compromise on for your relationship. Personally, I only applied to schools in one city so I could live with my SO in the city where his full-time job is now. Luckily, one of the best schools in Canada is in this city and the program I applied to is very strong. My SO is 2 years older than me and completed his undergrad degree in 5 years. I completed mine in 4. Hence there was one year where he had to decide whether he was going to move to go to the job he has now or stick around. He stuck around to do an M.Eng. that he didn't necessarily want to do and didn't really enjoy. That was his compromise. Now I've made mine. I hate doing long distance for prolonged periods, so it would be more important to me to try to work out staying in the same city as my SO. If there was a really amazing opportunity that I couldn't pass up, I wouldn't. But then he would probably work something out to come with me, I would imagine. We've decided to make staying together a priority over certain life goals, I suppose.

Yes, maybe there is some terminology confusion, as some schools will have unexpected names for their degrees. Typically I think of an M.Eng. as course based with some sort of final project, which obviously requires some research, but isn't thesis-type research. It sounds like the M.Eng. programs where you do research would be no less competitive than M.Sc/M.A.Sc. programs where you do research, so the point is probably moot for the OP.

Jersey Shore? It's on RIGHT NOW

I think it might have something to do with the fact that the verbal section usually does not accurately represent someones ability to read, write and communicate. The fact that the old GRE tested vocabulary out of context tests a skill that is not terribly important for STEM fields. I think the quantitative section is a bit stronger than the verbal section in testing it's intended skill. That being said, a STEM major probably couldn't get away with an abysmal verbal score.

Personally I don't think you should take an MEng program if you want to move onto a PhD. If you want to do a PhD, you should take a research-focused Master's, not a course-based Master's. In addition, while MS programs don't often get funding, MEng programs typically never get funding.

This is what I've heard as well. That a Master's opens up a lot of doors career-wise, and a PhD promptly closes a lot of them. Now I'm not sure what would be the case in the biomedical field, where it's expected that you need to get at least a Master's. That being said, if you're truly a talented individual, you should be able to meet your career goals PhD or not (with a little luck). My advice would be to delay getting a PhD after your Master's to gain industry experience. If you feel like your career is going nowhere and you would need a PhD to get further, go back to school. If your career takes off in the direction you want it to go, no need to waste 5-6 years doing a PhD.

^ That was the best post I've ever seen you make!

I have never downvoted her posts (not that I can remember anyways). While I don't necessarily agree with a lot of what she says, she has the right to say it. We will still argue, as is the nature of this forum.

I am convinced Just Me is a troll now...something about that post

I'm also a fan of new textbooks. But I have to buy fewer books than humanities majors and a lot of my books are things that I definitely would use later, as they contain codes and standards and stuff. Civil engineers I know still use a ton of their university textbooks at work.