welfareballer

sick brags all around in this thread

Thanks everyone for the answers. Eigen's seemed to really make sense, and the fact he's also studying in science makes it really ring home.

Hey guys. Somewhat broad question, but I wanted to hear your opinion on how important professor personality is versus professor research. To me, it seems professor personality is not that important. Obviously you don't want to be with somebody you loathe, but since that's more of a working relationship, it seems like it doesn't matter if you guys are immediately best friends after meeting. Research topic, however, seems really important, since I think I'd rather work on something I find really interesting with a professor I only mildly like than working on something I don't like that much with a really personable professor. With that said, I do think school vibe, and the rest of your classmates, is very important. While you don't see your professor everyday, it seems like you are going to see your other students a lot over the next 5-7 years. Am I wrong in thinking that atmosphere and friendliness of other students should be a huge motivating factor? That was my theory on how to judge schools besides just rankings. Would love to hear anybody's opinions on this subject.

You know, I had the exact same conversation with a couple friends of mine. Here's what happened. Friend: So how long should I wait before accepting an offer? Welfareballer: A day. Friend: So tomorrow. Welfareballer: No, tomorrow, then a day. Friend: So 2 days. Welfareballer: Yeah, I guess you could call it that. Other surly friend: 2 days is like industry standard. Welfareballer: You know, I used to wait two days before accepting anyone's offer, but now it's like everybody in town waits 2 days. So I think waiting 3 days is kinda money. Other surly friend: 2 days is enough to show you're not anxious. Welfareballer: Yeah, 2's enough to show you're not anxious, but I think waiting 3 days is kinda mooooonnnnnneeeeeeeyyyyy. Friend: What if I wait 6 weeks? I'll say "Oh hey, I was going through my wallet, and I found this acceptance letter. Who's this from again?" Other token black friend: (Laughs) Ask them if you guys did research together. Friend: Yeah, I'll ask, "Did we do research together?" Would that be the money, welfareballer? Welfareballer: You know, joke all you want; but if you accept too soon, you'll scare off a prestigious school who's down to work together.

I straight up asked my school and they were fine with it.

FWIW, the math TA's I've talked to at the undergrad place I go to, a ~15th ranked program, they were not "Oh my god if I couldn't do math I'd die." They were more like "I kinda like math and I thought it would be a good experience so I did it." It might be different at Yale, but I really can't imagine many 22 year olds are dead set sure they love what they do.