long_time_lurker

About the same here. I'm married (and Catholic), so I didn't really have a choice as far as saying "I'm going to school X whether you like it or not". We have good programs here too so it worked out rather easily for us. Also, neither of us wanted to go to someplace like Iowa City or Champaign, Illinois regardless of how good the programs I was interested in may be. As far as doing the PhD at all, I've been supporting us almost exclusively for almost 3 years now, so I basically laid down the law (like you did saying it's "non-negotiable) and said, "now it's your turn" as far as being the primary breadwinner. She doesn't mind because she knows it's fair, plus once I'm done my salary will be doubled from what I make now.

Before we got married 3 years ago, my wife and I spent over 10 years living 1.5 hours apart by car. When we were younger without cars the first couple years of that was over 3 hours by public transit. So it's absolutely possible. The question is whether you both really want it or not. If you do and he does, there's no problem.

Do you folks know what books you're using by checking out a course website or the school's bookstore, or do you e-mail the prof? I only know the book (and ordered yesterday, thanks to you reminding me, from half.com) for one of the four courses I'm taking.

Nooooooo! There's plenty of time for work, and not enough time for play! I feel like July flew by! Here's to some more mornings with no alarm, lazy days by the beach, and nights out! I am excited though, and happy for you guys and gals that you are too!

My friend lives in Inwood, and you can do a studio or small 1BR within/around 1500 for sure. It's an ok neighborhood and it's a short ride on the 1 train to Columbia. Do make sure you stay west of Broadway; east of it is not so hot. The bigger issue than credit is whether you make 40x the monthly rent. Places in the city are strict about this. You may be able to show paystubs from where you live now, to show you're both employable, but they may expect you to have jobs lined up already. You have your stipend, but does she have a job lined up too? Also, realize that they may tell you that (officially) you're only approved for $900/mo (900 X 40 = 36000). Where I live, plenty of landlords of 2-family houses will rent to you as long as you have 1st + last + security, but it's too far. However this may be the case also in areas of Jersey near the GWB or in Westchester, like around Dobbs Ferry or Tarrytown. Landlords there will be more lenient than the City, the rent will be cheaper, and it's actually not a bad ride in from there, straight down the Saw Mill to the West Side Highway.

half.com is great for used books. Amazon marketplace is good too, I usually got cheaper prices on half though. Since you're also in NY: go to nypl.org and type in the names of the books. I had a couple in my Master's that the library owns. They will send it to your home branch so you don't have to go into the city to get it. You can renew it a few times too. Just do it early because everyone has the same idea, but not so early that you run out of renewals before class ends. With the 5 renewals you can keep a book for 18 weeks from when you pick it up. It takes a few days to send to your branch and you have a few days to pick it up so requesting 4-5 weeks before class should work. Also check out library.nu. They have lots of textbooks on there for download. One of mine for the upcoming semester is on there, which is a godsend. It's also good for doing background or additional reading, where it would be otherwise not worth it to buy a book just for that purpose.

You'll get used to it, it's not bad! Especially if it's only one train (no changing) then you can get a good chunk of reading done if you can snag a seat.

I read this Times article from the Ed Life section on Sunday and thought it may be of interest to others. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/24/education/edlife/edl-24masters-t.html?pagewanted=all

For what it's worth, this PC Magazine article predicts a resurgence for OpenOffice. IBM has thrown its weight behind it. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2388582,00.asp

Squirrel, forget all the vitriol on this thread. I don't agree with your characterization of non-academics as less serious or not belonging in a program, but if you don't feel like you have much in common with them, then indeed you may as well not socialize with them. If you're looking for an academic position it makes more sense for you to socialize with people with similar interests.

+1 I felt like that during my first year of undergrad. I was just in the wrong program, in the wrong location. I got out of there, and I did better academically and socially.

I do background (i.e. prerequisite) reading and work, but I don't hesitate to blow it off if something fun comes up. I'll get into my course textbooks in a couple weeks.

Hopefully someone who goes to Stevens or who lives in Hoboken can give you more detailed info, but having been there many, many times you should realize that in general Hoboken is crowded and expensive just like the City is and it is going to be difficult to get cheap housing there. However if you were able to make do in the City in regard to housing then you can do so in Hoboken too. If you're not dead set on living in Hoboken I would consider Bayonne. It's inexpensive, relatively nice, and you can take the light rail right into Hoboken. Do note though that Stevens isn't right by the light rail station (or the PATH train), I would guess it's a 15-20 minute walk.

I would treat it the same way. There are certain places politics and religion should not be discussed: bars, work, among others. So certainly I would never bring up politics in any class, seminar, or lab unless it was directly related to the topic, and even then you have to be careful to stick to the facts and leave opinion out of it. Of course if you are talking amongst your cohort on a social basis, then that is different. Then any topic is fair game.

I used OO during my entire Master's. Since then my job issued me a full-size laptop with MS Office installed, so I've been using that since my netbook got wiped out; now that my netbook is back, once it's running I'll be using OO again. I actually like how OO works better. Files seem to open faster with OO, and I like how Writer and Calc work better than Word and Excel. I just find OO easier to manage and Office to be too bloated. And of course the fact that OO is free adds to its appeal.

I think this is the most compelling argument I have seen. You would have to consider the SOP the same as qualifications (GRE, transcripts, letters), and I'm not sure I buy that. However I think you're on to something, where the OP should just mention his interest in working in industry right off the bat which would serve both his and the uni's purposes as well. Then, no red flags will be raised as to why his interests (including internships and the like) are centered on industry-specific knowledge and/or research. A counter-argument would be that there are plenty of folks who really are fascinated by subject X and working with Dr. Z, but for various reasons - academic, personal (spouse, etc.), career (getting hired only a couple of years into the program) - they change their minds later. I don't think that makes them bad or even people who did not fulfill their commitments.

Plenty of people go to school to improve their career opportunities; it's not as if the only reason to get a PhD is to work in academia. Even my advisors have told me that many folks leave as ABD's when they are offered jobs, because not many people pass up 80 to 100K a year just to do a dissertation to earn the PhD. Also why is it disgusting for someone to spend money that he saved at nice restaurants or anywhere else for that matter? We're still a capitalist country, and people go where they get the best deals. If this guy can get his school paid for, good for him. If he wants to blow it on eating out, or even hookers and drugs, good for him.

President, as long as you do your TA'ing or whatever the school makes you do during your studies, you're doing nothing wrong. No one signs a blood oath saying he is going to finish his program. Many people don't finish programs for one reason or another, including that they find a job. So leaving with your MS is nothing to feel bad about, and there is nothing unethical about it either. You are not "stealing someone else's spot" in a program, that's rubbish; YOU earned the spot by having a superior application. It is yours to utilize as you see fit.

Please don't take offense, as that is the last thing I am trying to do as a newcomer. However being a half-hour away isn't really even thought of as a commute for many, many people in this country (Boston to DC, LA, SF, Atlanta) so it's certainly doable for someone who spends many or non-traditional hours on campus to not live a stone's throw away. Many people who own businesses or work in professions such as real estate do this all the time. Also I never said anyone was immature - my point is that if one is married, has a kid, and/or is used to a standard of living from having worked after earning one's Bachelor's or Master's, he/she is unlikely to want to deal with having a share (or even an apartment as opposed to a house), living in an area surrounded by bars/social life, a high crime area, etc. just to live closer to campus. Most people don't live within walking distance to their jobs (including those with onerous or non-traditional hours) so it stands to reason that it is not absolutely necessary for a student to, either.

For what it's worth, a prof who runs an Edcuational Stats (so we're not even talking about Physics or something) program flat out told me he an 800 quant was assumed when he was giving out fellowships. Then he would look at the applications to sort from there. The 800 V is absolutely outstanding, but I remember the 800 Q was only the 94th percentile. So if you're going into a quantitative field you may very well want to redo it if you're not sure about the rest of your application.

37 miles, 1:30 to 2:00 depending on traffic. I'm married, have a job here (only 5 mi/30-40 minutes away in the AM) as does my wife and have a great housing deal, so I'm not about to uproot us just to save on commuting time especially since rent would be higher for less space and in a worse neighborhood. I had an offer from a closer/easier to get to school (22 mi/45 minutes) but the program just wasn't as good.

Another CarMax recommendation here. I got my new car (they have a new Toyota dealership in Laurel, MD) there but the whole operation is absolutely wonderful and I'm sure it's great for used too. My wife already said she'll gladly make the 3 hour trip (one way) to buy from them. No haggling, no nonsense, the price on the website is the price you pay. You can shop from home using the Internet. Forget used car dealers (or even other new car dealers) they quote you one price and then add on a bunch of nonsense, bait & switch, etc. If you have a car now, they make you an offer to buy your car, and it's binding, so even if you buy your car elsewhere CarMax will still buy your car for the amount they offered. It is not a scam like at traditional dealers where they offer you let's say $1000 extra on your trade-in and then just raise the price of the car by $1000. You know what the car you're buying costs because it's online, and the price they offer you for your existing car is on paper. Not to mention, they gave me $3000 for my car (which was blue book) and the nearest place which supposedly gives good deals offered me $1100.

My BS was in Math and I taught high school while I did my Masters. It was no sweat. The pay wasn't great, only 45-50K, but I had full benefits. I would highly recommend taking the job and making real money. The experience in the real-world is invaluable. When I applied for my PhD it gave me a major leg up. Plus, you said this is a job with a future. Especially these days, you have to take that opportunity first and fit in school later. There are schools out there that will fit with your schedule. Also, many schools discourage you from working while doing your PhD, but they can't tell you no. It's your business what you do before/after hours. Also these "rules" are bendable even when it comes to stipends. I flat out told the school I ended up choosing that I was going to choose another school because it was easier to fit in my work schedule, and I can't live on 25 grand, and the Dean got back to me within an hour and approved me to work. Working part-time at a high school, you can teach 2 courses (called .4 in many places) and you make about 20 grand. That and your stipend and you're doing ok, and your keeping your foot in the door in a possible career.

As soon as you can, take the practice test provided by ETS. It will give you an idea of how much work you need. I did pretty well out of the gate so I knew I didn't need much work, and only with the verbal. I only had a month to study and also work full time, so I did a couple hours a couple times a week with the vocab lists and then a few hours on the weekend doing practice. So probably 8 hours a week for 5 weeks. It was absolutely plenty of prep. Like someone else said, it's a glorified SAT and it does not require hundreds of hours of work.

I've visited here for a long time but never posted (hence my name) but really felt compelled to reply here. Absolutely go for the cheaper place, and forget sharing. You need your own place. A half hour is nothing. You, like me, already commute to work for your job so you know the drill. Think of it as commuting to work. I'll be doing an hour to school from my morning job, and 2 hours home. That's about normal here, and I'm not worried about it, so don't sweat a half hour. In fact I envy your upcoming commute - my commute to work in the morning is a minimum of 30 minutes too, but for 5.5 miles. It seems to me that the people on this and similar posts who recommend living walking distance to campus are people who never got out of that undergrad "college-life" mode of living on/near a campus, or people from small or college towns where housing is cheap and traffic doesn't exist (e.g. Albany). Caveat: I'm not starting my PhD until the fall, and I'm not in the hard sciences, so no labs. However I worked full-time and commuted 1:00-1:15 for my Master's, and it was no big deal.