ktel

I think it's totally appropriate to ask about funding. I always did, and the professors I spoke to were more than happy to tell me how it works. They realize money is important.

I think it's actually quite common to go from Mech to Aero. I'm doing it for example. Not many schools in Canada offer Aero as an undergrad degree. Besides, other than learning some basic aerodynamic concepts, I think my Mech training has left me very prepared to go into Aero. Also, you sound like me. I almost went to a school that offered an Aero undergrad, but for various reasons did not. Always had my eye on it though. I was crushed when the prof that taught the 4th year aerodynamics course went on sabbatical. Luckily I still got to do a wicked aerospace-related project (designing a part for a Red Bull Air Race plane, too bad the race is cancelled indefinitely )

A Canadian here too, and I doubt I'll end up paying any taxes. First of all, any scholarships/awards are not taxable. Second of all, I won't be making enough to be taxed very highly. And third of all, if I was I would get it all back by claiming my tuition on my taxes.

Good to know, that makes me very confident I will have little to no problems with my box

I think this is so well said. There are two people in this relationship with choices to make. Given that the husband still has almost his whole degree left, as opposed to 1 or 2 years, it makes more sense to me that he should just move. But obviously things are more complicated than that.

Yeah the winter cold sure motivates you to get school work done though. It's too cold for you to want to go outside and the roads are too bad to make driving anywhere worth it.

Typically, yes, they will need transcripts from all post-secondary education

I'm from Edmonton. Dry cold is really the best kind of cold. If you bundle up enough you will stay warm. Wet cold is just miserable and penetrates through everything. Summers can be nice, but it really didn't feel like summer until last weekend. Now it's super hot and there are literally a million mosquitoes (it's not usually or always this bad). I thought I was going to go insane from being swarmed by them at rugby practice last night. I'm not looking forward to the humidity in Toronto. Makes everything so much hotter/colder. And my hair won't stay straight if I straighten it

I contacted some professors before I applied, and several contacted me after I applied. I first e-mailed the supervisor I eventually chose in November and met with him in December. While I was in Toronto I also randomly showed up at another university and luckily got to meet with their grad advisor and another potential supervisor. Also while I was there I managed to arrange a last minute meeting with another professor, who liked me enough to tell the department to fly me out for the open house, where I met several other professors. I know a few people who applied without first contacting supervisors, and big shock, they didn't get in. All of the universities I applied to require you to have a supervisor agree to take you before you can be accepted.

He was in charge of the apartment search, so I told him that max amount I could spend on rent, and that if he wanted a place that was more expensive (he's a little bit more picky than me), he'd have to pick up the extra. He's making more than double what my funding will give me, so it's pretty fair. Rugby is my life. During varsity season I have 2 hours of practice every day. Club season is only two practices a week and a game every weekend. Definitely limits my time. I normally charge $25/hour, this dad just paid me more as an incentive to deal with his difficult child. I tried my best but this kid was so unmotivated, the only way I could've helped him is if I spent every evening with him, as he didn't feel like he needed to do work on his own. I did manage to cram several sessions with him before a big test and he did really well. And that's why your housing market crashed...haha. I'm actually not too sure, but I think it's closer to 10%. I personally wouldn't feel comfortable putting any less than 10% down anyways. I am able to borrow from my RRSP (Registered Retirement Savings Plan) for a down payment as a first-time home buyer and then I have to pay myself back over 15 years.

Yeah it's been nice spending time with my family. All of my friends are from rugby. I am going to be SO SAD to leave this rugby community. Some of the "old boys" have known me since I was a baby. I'm going to miss going to the rugby club and knowing EVERYBODY. The good thing about rugby though, is it's a great way to make friends. When I was in Germany I found a men's team to play on (sadly there was no women's team), and instantly had 20 friends in my town, all who treated me like a daughter/sister. He came to Edmonton for university and that's where we met. Even though he was born in Edmonton and lived here when he was younger he spent most of his life in Toronto and that's where his parents live. So when he graduated in April he went to a full-time job in Toronto. I looked a little bit for a summer job in Toronto, but decided to stay and work in Edmonton for the summer.

I am getting nervous now about using my box for luggage. I am going to have to go buy packing tape because the duct tape I am using now is falling off. Oh well it only has to last being loaded and unloaded + a 4 hour flight

That's so frustrating. Nothing worse than finding a bunch of mistakes and then you start second guessing all of the answers. Thanks for the heads up

I'm worried about the move putting strain on my relationship as well. I'm leaving my whole family, all my friends and my rugby team to move to go to the grad school that is in his city (it's also the best, so not like the choice was hard to make). I'm concerned that without my own support system already there I'll have to rely on him all the time, which is fine, but he works a lot. So if he's not available and I'm just sitting at home knowing nobody it could be tough. But I am joining the varsity rugby team when I get there (hopefully, I still have to try out, but my chances are good) so that will instantly give me a group of 30 girls that I will know. His mom will probably want me to hang out with her all the time, but she's a very selfish/self-centered individual, so spending time with her is not really enjoyable. I had contemplated moving with him at the beginning of May, but that would have been a recipe for disaster, as he would have been working non-stop and I would have known nobody. Instead I get one last season with my team and a summer with my family and friends.

I'll probably need closer to $50k for a decent down payment on a house in Toronto. If I get some more external funding next year I might be able to come out of my Master's with another $10k. I would love to buy a house ASAP but realistically will probably have to wait 5 years or so. I am listed on my university's tutor registry and got e-mailed yesterday for help with a deferred exam. I'll try to find more tutoring jobs when I move to Toronto, it's really nice to get some extra income and working pretty flexible hours. The Math and Applied Sciences Center sounds very similar to The Econ Tutor, they run exam prep sessions and weekly math tutorials for all the first and second year math, science and engineering courses.

I took my resume that I use for jobs and modified it to better suit a grad school application. This meant I really fleshed out the education section to not just include my degree and marks, but specific courses and research projects that I completed during school. I still included all the relevant work experience information and added skills that I thought would be more relevant to grad school. You should be modifying your resume slightly for every application you do. Some people even suggest you make a new one.

Sounds like 3 jobs to me. Impressive. I feel like rugby could be a job for me, except I don't get paid. Darn. I'm trying to pick up some tutoring, which can pay quite well. I once had a kid whose dad paid me $50/hour. I keep wondering where all my scholarship money from undergrad went. And then I remember that I bought a car, went on a few trips, paid all my tuition and most of my extra living costs (rent, food, car insurance, car repairs were luckily covered by my parents who were oh so grateful that I won scholarships). I still have almost $10k saved away, hope I can hold onto it for a down payment for a house or something like that.

I think if she gained some work experience and a strong writing portfolio she could have a shot. An ex-boyfriend of mine was interested in specializing in science/technology related journalism so he did an English major and Biology minor.

I'm extremely impressed with your ability to pay off almost $21k in debt in a single year. You must have had a fairly decent job, and I might guess you lived with your parents? If not, even more impressive.

I would think 27 hours a week of studying from now until September 12th would either kill your or get you that perfect score, so I wouldn't worry about time. Having never taken the GRE I can't really give you THAT much advice, but the sample questions I've done remind me very much of my grade 12 diploma exams, so I don't think it would be that difficult to get a very good score with the amount of preparation you seem to plan to do.

Nope not travelling through the US. Edmonton to Toronto. My boyfriend just did it with no problem. I figure they would probably just open it and then tape it back up again if they really need to look at it.

I will be wrapping that thing with so much tape it'll be near impossible to open.

I have no debt currently (other than a few hundred dollars on a credit card which I pay off in full), due to a number of factors. First, I live in Canada, where school is significantly cheaper than some of the schools in the States. Second, I lived at home during university, therefore saving thousands of dollars in living expenses. Third, I received an abundance of scholarships due to my academic and extra curricular performance in high school and throughout university. Heading into my Master's I also don't plan on going into debt. I am funded and am living with my partner who works full-time and is partially subsidizing my rent. If I were to need money I think my parents would be more than happy to help me out given that they haven't had to pay a cent towards my education so far.

I am dreading the packing process. I am flying to Toronto, but will be visiting twice before then, so I'm paying for a second checked bag ($20) each time. Anything else I'm shipping using Greyhound. I leave for my first visit on Thursday so have started packing my second bag. I'm actually just using a box since it's so much lighter than a suitcase so I can max out my 50 lbs of weight.

Personally I would tell them that you need to leave in mid-August. I just think it's really unethical to not disclose that information to them.