ktel

Most Master's programs in Canada are funded. And at U of T unless it's classified as a self-funded program you don't even get in without funding.

I didn't have to take the GRE to get into my Master's at U of T, but am considering possibly doing a PhD and possibly going to the states. I am intrigued by their 50% off offer from Aug 1st-Sept 30th but think it might be silly to take the test if I'm not sure I'm going to apply anywhere yet, and even if I do decide, I won't be applying for at least a year. I do have lots of time this summer to study though. I'm bored at work today and was doing some of the sample questions (in the old format) and they remind me very much of my grade 12 Alberta diploma exams. The revised version seems like it might be better for me in the verbal section because they are taking vocabulary out of context out of the test. My math skills are definitely good enough for the quantitative section, especially if they are giving me a calculator.

I think everybody conflicts with their advisor at some point, but even the negative interactions can have a positive outcome. The advisor I ended up choosing is the one I feel I know the least about him and his research group, so I am a little nervous about that, but I hope it will work out well.

I feel silly that I have never heard of this award before. That being said I didn't even look into attending grad school in the states or outside of Canada. I will definitely keep this in mind should I decide to pursue a PhD.

It sounds like you could use some sort of project management software. I'm not terribly familiar with them, but for recent projects we had to use Liquid Planner, where you could rank tasks and outline the approximate time window in which you plan to accomplish them. One of the drawbacks of this particular scheduler was that is assumed you wouldn't work on more than one thing at a time. Which in theory sounds good, but in reality isn't so true.

The car I've had for the last 3 years was purchased for $2000. However my parents have paid for my insurance and my repairs, which I would estimate have been at least $1000 a year. Gas is expensive, insurance is expensive and repairs on an old car can also be quite expensive. It's not very easy to get around my city without a car (1-2 hour bus rides to most places I would need to go, 20 minute drive otherwise), but if you live in the right neighborhood it's definitely possible. I will be somewhat car-less for grad school, in that I won't have my car, but my significant other has a car which he uses for work.

I'm a pen and paper kind of girl. I have a hard-copy agenda for deadlines. I use a small notebook for anything else (notes for my research, to-do lists, etc.), which I find is a very engineer thing to do. It's something that was recommended to me by a variety of sources so you can keep track of the work you do to help when registering as a P.Eng or if facing some sort of lawsuit or liability over work done.

Not $4000 EVERY month, just as start-up costs when you first move there. It's pretty easy if you include first/last rent and furniture.

It's a comfort thing mainly. Last summer I went to Germany for a course and then an internship, along with 14 other students from my program. None of them really ventured out of their comfort zone, preferring to mainly hang out with each other in our residence. I was one of the few who ventured out, joining a rugby team, but that was likely due to my comfort with the language and the fact that I've been there before and have friends and family in the country.

My school uses gmail for their school e-mails anyways. I switched from a hotmail e-mail with a silly name to my undergrad e-mail account, so I think I need to make a permanent switch to a personal gmail account with my proper name (I have the account, just don't use it). It makes everything so complicated as I have used the hotmail and university e-mail for the last 4 years. I will also be getting an e-mail address with my next university...so many e-mail accounts.

How much is your tuition? Luckily living in Saskatoon is not super expensive, so yes, you should be able to cover a lot with that, provided your international tuition is not hugely expensive. Since I am receiving government and university funding I am allowed to defer my tuition payment until that comes in. I am also very lucky that my SO is already living in the city I will move to and is working full time. He has most of the kitchen basics and his parents will be donating some furniture to us. Otherwise I would have likely had to borrow money from my parents for all the start up costs.

So many coffee addicts... I find coffee has the opposite effect on me. It makes me feel sleepy and nauseous. All I drink is water and milk.

Tough choice. I had to make a similar choice of location versus funding, and for me funding won out. Having been able to do my undergrad degree essentially for free, I couldn't justify going into debt for a Master's if the option was available not to. Sounds like your decision has been made that much more complicated by you actually quite liking the SHSU campus. Looks like you took Arlington out of the picture, so visit the other 2 campuses again and go with your gut feeling.

I hadn't really heard of engineering until I got into high school. While I did well in all of my subjects, I really like math and physics, so thought engineering would be a good fit. Turns out it was! Back then I thought about moving out East to get an undergrad degree in Aerospace Engineering, but decided to stay home and do Mechanical Engineering (which I'm glad I got the more general degree). I'm still very interested in Aerospace Engineering though, so now is the time to move out East to specialize. I'm doing some biomed projects now and they're very interesting. I'm currently working with a code that simulates arterial blood flow and will be working with my supervisor on some clinical trials (have to be in the OR during bypass surgery, eek!)

As long as you don't put this new professor down as a second author (why would you, unless she extensively collaborates with you from this point on), I don't see a problem.

I'm going to have to wait and see what I'll need. I'll likely be running some very computationally expensive simulations, so any laptop or desktop I have will just be for personal use and maybe post-processing data. I have a fairly new netbook, a really old crappy laptop, and will be using my boyfriend's very nice desktop with massive screens. Since I'm moving across the country I will have to buy anything when I get there. My main issue now is deciding what textbooks to ship/bring with me....

I don't think it would matter at all. The professor that I'm currently working with did his Masters in vehicle control systems and then totally switched to biomedical engineering for his PhD. My previous supervisor did something similar. I think he did his undergrad in engineering physics, Masters in chemistry and PhD in pharmaceutical aerosols...

I know the Canadian government has certainly cut funding and a lot of the universities are struggling. You used to be able to receive NSERC funding for two years of your Master's (or so I'm told), but they cut it down to only one year, which is unfortunate.

I sent out e-mails with my CV and transcript and asked to set up a meeting, and most professors got back to me. In one instance I actually just showed up at the department office and explained that I was a potential grad student. The secretary immediately phoned the grad coordinator and he happened to be free, I spoke with him for an hour and then he introduced me to the professors whose research interested me. So if after several e-mails a professor doesn't respond, just showing up might be a good option. Many professors are absent minded or get tons of these types of e-mails.

Thanks! Somehow I doubt the expansion will be done in the two years it will take me to finish my Masters, but oh well. I have accepted the 45 minute commute. I live about a 20-30 minutes (more with traffic) from my undergrad institution, so I'm definitely used to taking a bit of time to get to school. I can't wait to move to Toronto though!

Is it not possible for her to wait outside or plan another activity during your meetings? My boyfriend was with me when I made trips to the universities I was interested in, and he waited in the hall. These face-to-face meetings are very important, and if you meet with the right person, could make a difference in your admission chances. So no, I wouldn't recommend not doing the meetings, but I would also not recommend having your mother in the meetings.

I am not familiar with the SSHRC requirements, but I assume they are similar to NSERC, which specifies a lifetime maximum of four years as well. However it does not look as if NSERC/SSHRC includes OGS funding in that life time maximum. So theoretically if you received four years of OGS funding you could then receive 4 years of SSHRC funding, if received in that order.

1. That's understandable that she wants a part in the process. However I do agree that it would look weird to have your mom with you in the meetings. Perhaps you can include her in other ways, such as by taking a campus tour together. 2. When I visited the grad schools I applied to I tried to meet with potential supervisors. In that case I discussed possible thesis topics and their research areas with them. Otherwise you might want to ask about funding, housing, degree requirements, etc. I can't think of any specific question that you might not already have thought of yourself.

I applied to three MASc programs, all in Toronto. Aerospace Engineering at U of T and Ryerson and Mechanical Engineering at U of T. My experience was a little different, as I met ALL of my potential supervisors. When I met with a few professors from Ryerson in December I was basically guaranteed acceptance. I met an awesome professor in MechE at U of T, and I could tell she also was very interested in me, and recommended to the department that they bring me to their open house in March, which they did. I think that was the most exciting part, that a university would want me enough to fly me to their open house, and I received several offers from several professors in the Mechanical department. I had only spoken with one professor at U of T Aerospace, and he seemed very aloof about my acceptance. All he said was that he liked my application but the process was very competitive. So I was in a weird situation. I had several offers from several professors and was unsure which to accept. What finally swayed me was an e-mail from the aloof U of T Aerospace professor, informing me that my offer was the only one he had sent out. Despite him seeming less excited about me than the other professors, it seemed he was indeed quite interested in providing me a spot in his lab. That fact, coupled with his amazing experience, the advice of someone I really respect, and the fact that his research fits my interests the best, led me to accepting his offer.

I did not start my MASc early, but I am doing a 4 month research project at my undergrad institution. Being on campus in the summer is lovely, and summer is a really nice pace to get started on any sort of project. I had considered starting my MASc early and moving to Toronto, but decided I wanted to spend one last summer in my hometown.