jspring86
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Posts posted by jspring86
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I am currently finishing my MS in Mathematics here at NAU. I think Flagstaff is a great city, I love living here. I am moving to Tempe to attend ASU in the Fall as NAU has no PhD program in math, but if I could stay here I would have.
In terms of recommendations of where to live, I highly recommend the apartment complex I currently live in which is called Bear Ridge Apartments. I hope you enjoy your experience here, if you have other questions about NAU or Flag just ask and I'll happily give you some feedback.
As for the transportation, the bus is OK, but it is pretty limited since Flagstaff is a small city. You can get around campus and downtown alright, but if you want to go anywhere else it can be difficult depending on your schedule. I personally bought a parking pass since $485 for the entire academic year did not seem very expensive to me (I attended The University of Arizona as an undergraduate where the permits cost more than $500 per semester). I would say having a car is a huge benefit for the snow, but the buses do still run even when we get heavy snow. Flagstaff is very good at clearing the streets during snowstorms as they are very used to the snow season coming every year.
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If you're from Siberia it won't be a problem. I am used to living in the desert, so moving here was a big adjustment for me. The winter temperatures are between -10 to -5 C for the average lows. In terms of the summer, it is quite lovely indeed. The summer temperature ranges from 15 to 20 C in the summer. It is quite windy here, and we do get a lot of snow during the winter on average.
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I am attending Northern Arizona University in the fall and I want to know what it is like there. I have lived in southern Arizona for a few years and my undergrad was completed at University of Arizona in Tucson. I was wondering how different Flagstaff, AZ and Northern Arizona University are from where I currently live and have gone to school.
I am currently finishing my MS here at NAU in mathematics, and I also did my undergraduate work at UA! You will find NAU vastly different from Tucson. Getting accustomed to the snow and cold weather was a huge change for me, having lived in Tucson most of my life.
On the other hand, it is much safer in Flagstaff than in Tucson in my opinion. I have experienced zero crime, theft, etc. in the two years I've been here.
As kriskros mentioned it is quite a bit more expensive in Flag than it is in southern Arizona. I currently pay $720 a month for a one bedroom and this is one of the lowest costs in the city. I do highly recommend the apartment complex I live in, which is called Bear Ridge apartments. It is about 1.5 miles from campus, so it might be difficult to manage without a car, but the price and quality of living are great.
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Hi everybody! I got into NAU, MA TESL program. This is my top choice and I will definitely be attending NAU.
I was awarded a teaching assistantship which includes full tuition remission and a stipend. And in my letter of appointment it is stated that "a tuition remission will cover 100% of your tuition cost whether you are in-state or out-of-state student". However, on the website of NAU it is said that "if you are an international graduate student and you have been awarded a TA, a tuition remission will cover out-of-state portion of tuition costs".
Does anyone know any details on that?
I would contact your department, but in the math department we have several international students working as GTAs who receive the full tuition waiver. Based on that information I'd guess you will get 100% tuition remission. Good luck and I hope you enjoy NAU!
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I had a quite low undergrad GPA and took the route of completing a MS program before applying to PhD programs. After a 3.9 MS GPA, very high GREs, and 2 publications, in addition to my MS Thesis, I have been able to get accepted to 3 of the PhD programs I've applied to, with funding. I really only applied to two elite programs, UW and NCSU, and as you can from my signature those did not go as well as I may have liked, but I am quite happy with the program I plan to attend.
I agree with ghanada that if you have great research experience and LORs its going to make all the difference. As long as you combine all that with a solid of statement of purpose that sincerely addresses your future goals as an academic, I think you have a great shot! Good luck!
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I guess I can't speak to engineering in particular, but I can tell you that in mathematics a candidate with a 3.3 GPA with several research experiences or publications is much preferred over someone with even a 4.0 GPA.
PhD programs especially want to know that you like to do research. They're usually giving you some sort of funding to come to their school, they don't want you to get there and decide you don't like research and leave the program, they've invested a lot in you by that point. Candidates who have research experience and succeeded in finishing a research project show they have the ability to do more than just classwork, which is what getting a PhD is all about.
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I had a way below 3.0 GPA as an undergrad. One 3.9 MS GPA, awesome GRE scores, and 2 publications later I've gotten 3 acceptances so far to PhD programs, all with funding! It can happen!
- JiaBean and perfectionist
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Also, be a bit careful with the Probability Theory course you choose. Some of them can require extensive real analysis/measure theory background. I'd agree with tyler about the intro to proofs class. This will expose you to analysis, algebra, combinatorics, all while building skills you will need later if you decide to pursue a math career.
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I'd try an optimization or Operations Research class. From the sound of your interests, you'd probably be into Operations Research type things in general. Depending on how much you enjoyed differential equations (I'm not sure what level the class you took was), you could try PDEs, but since that is my research area I'm a little biased
If you're definitely going to do applied math of some sort an advanced numerical analysis or scientific programming course would also be extremely useful for you.
If you have other questions about applied math courses in general, I'm happy to elaborate more, I've taken a wide range of them in my career between completing my BS and now finishing my MS.
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I wish you the best of luck! I got wait-listed at UW, which I guess means I'm probably not getting in there. ASU is looking very likely for me.
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Just to update, I got an email today from the grad secretary saying they're funding me with a TA position-stipend, health insurance, and full tuition waiver.
Glad to see someone else considering ASU. Where else did you apply Mec26?
I'm going to see if I hear anything from UA and UW, but if I don't get in with funding to either of those I think I'm headed to Tempe!
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"Getting a PhD in mathematics? You plan on adding numbers for a living or something?"
Yeah, or something.
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Anyone who got into the ASU PhD program actually planning on going there in the fall? I saw a few people on the results page saying they got in but were going to turn it down for sure. I got in and plan to see what financial aid I get before comparing to any other offers I may receive. On the other hand I am certainly considering the possibility of going there.
For anyone who may be interested in the funding decisions (as it appears none of us got exact funding offers in the admit letter), I contacted the graduate secretary and she said the committee is meeting this Monday evening to decide on first round funding offers. Apparently we should find out about this next week.
So, anyone else contemplating ASU?
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Got my first admit yesterday from ASU, the subject line was, "ASU Admit Letter".
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I guess it's reasonable to assume that decisions aren't made at 10pm. So, what time are they made? Anyone have a good time frame for which decisions are sent out? 12-5pm? Just another thing to obsess about...
I got my first acceptance yesterday at 7:18 PM via email, so theres hope that it can be after 5 PM. Not sure about 10 PM though! Good luck everyone!
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Well if you're turning down your undergraduate school, you have to be particularly courteous and thoughtful because the school has already come to know and love you and has put a lot of resources into developing you. You should be humble and personal, and don't make a bigger deal out of it than it has to be. Don't make it sound like you think you're too good for them now. Make them feel valued and not like you just blew them off to go fool around with your friends on the beach.
Something like: Ladies and gentleman, next fall...this is tough...next fall I'll be taking my talents to [elsewhere] and study at [X University].
Love the Lebron reference! Definitely the way I plan to phrase any and all declining letters.
what was your success rate?
in Waiting it Out
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I ended up being accepted to 4 schools, wait listed at 1, and out-right rejected from another. I eventually told UW to take me off the wait-list because I didn't want to wait and i'm very happy going to ASU. Very pleased with my results overall.