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TheFez

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Everything posted by TheFez

  1. I know there are related posts on the board. But the technology changes often and my question is more specific. I have $1200 (say including tax etc.) to spend on a portable computer. I don't want an Apple. My cohorts all have idiosyncratic issues with drivers, software, etc. So lots of questions.... 1. Ultrabook or Laptop? 2. What Operating system? Is Windows 8 good? Is 7 better? 3. If I go Ultrabook, what else will I need? (external CD drive?) that needs to be in the $1200 budget. I have a desktop at school and home but I plan to carry this around for most of my work. So I like the idea of light and small - but I also want a decent keyboard and display. So I am not looking to go uber compact. I want something that boots up fast. My current machine (see below) takes forever. I don't do anything that requires crazy high speeds (like simulations, etc.)0 - Mostly web access, Office stuff, some math programs (e.g. STATA, SPSS, R). I don't do gaming. Just school stuff. I'd like to present Powerpoint presentations from it (I know, I know switch to LaTEX)... Do I need 4GB RAM? 8? How about a touchscreen? I don't want to get something I will regret because it doesn't have flexibility for stuff we don't even know about yet. By way of comparison - my current laptop is a Dell Latitude D610 running Windows XP Pro - so pretty much anything is going to feel better. TNX
  2. I couldn't live without a printer. It's one of the top priorities for me. In our first year PhD program we had to read about 10-15 articles a week, plus more for research. I hate reading electronic PDFs. I like to make manual notes and highlight. So I print a lot. I have purchased two HP B&W laser printers on eBay for around $30 each. I have one at home, and one in my office at school. Even though we are on a networked department printer/scanner - I am so glad I have my own printer in my office. Often the printer at school is down (it's a Kyocera that is always having trouble) and it's slow with printing PDFs. The faculty grumble when a student is delaying their copying because we are printing off our papers. So during prime time - I print in my office. Amazon has refurbished toner cartridges for less than $15. It's worth the cost.
  3. There are things that screen you out: GRE and Grades There are things that screen you in: SOPs, LORs, and Research Experience. Nobody gets admitted because they have a 620Q or a 3.2 GPA, but they could miss the cut because of those. Once you make the cut, those two items come secondary to a well written SOP, really good LORs from profs who know you well, and evidence of your ability to do research.
  4. Everyone here is so much nicer than me. I must be taking crabby pills. As a PhD student who teaches - it sounds like a nightmare for your profs. You said you F-d up, but now are trying to hunt down any point you can find or negotiate. What happens when you find every legit point and come up a little short? I would hate having a student putting me in that spot. Second, a B- average would be on the cusp of failing out of grad school where the work will be much harder. So you might want to find a more successful strategy to assure doing well if you get in.
  5. Seriously, I think these Moleskine pocket notebooks are the greatest. I love my Timbuk2 messenger bag, and I should buy stock in Highlighter. I can't even read a newspaper without highlighting it anymore.
  6. I have the Livescribe but I stopped using it. Not because it didn't work, but because I was making really really long recordings and never listening to them. My PhD seminars are about 3 hours each. It's just too much. But it did work great.
  7. Time to do some soul searching. A 2.72 GPA and getting kicked out of the lab is either a wake up call or an exit call. You need to figure out why NSF is "the only thing going right" in your life. Maybe you don't really want to be there?
  8. My guess is that you already know the answer. Most 27 year old woman's radar is pretty good. Could be you are sending out signals that you're interested as well - since it's generally a bad idea to keep going back to some guys house to hand out if you're not looking to invite a more personal relationship.
  9. I wish everybody would buy iPads - since I own a bunch of Apple stock. But for me - neh. And I was like the first person to have an iPhone on Verizon. Literally. I don't like it because: 1. No keyboard 2. No USB port 3. Apple OS and I need lots of Windows programs and drivers So I have not bought one - but I am close to buying the Microsoft Surface Pro tablet 1. Has keyboard 2. Has a USB port 3. Runs Windows
  10. lyler, Your post doesn't give us any real information we need to help you. What are you planning to go back to school for? A Masters degree, a PhD? In what field? What schools are you interested in - and more importantly - why? Why are you motivated to go back to school? What do you hope to accomplish? How was your work when you were in school? Were you a top student? Do you have any idea what your GRE scores will look like? If you want to pursue a PhD in CS you will need high GRE quant scores. Regarding LORs, the previous poster is correct - letters from business associates carry near zero weight in academia. Sometimes they do more harm than good. You might want to consider taking some more coursework (a few undergrad courses for a semester, or maybe some Master's level courses) before applying to a PhD program. There's going to be a natural concern that after 10 years out of school your academic skills are rusty. I am not trying to be a Debbie Downer - you just need to give us more info with your post, and to understand what the admissions folks are going to be thinking about.
  11. Sounds like you should get out of it to me. You may likely end up ABD if you don't. Not Happy -> Not Motivated -> Bad Research -> Bad outcome.
  12. You will definitely need a GMAT or GRE score for any real PhD program. In fact you will need a decent quant score. 12 years of work experience may be good for an MBA program, but PhD programs are research oriented and if anything some ad comms view work experience negatively (maybe this is foolish, but that's the reality).
  13. The letter will be of no help and possibly do more harm than good. The LOR requirement has two benefits to Ad Comms. 1) The content of the letters informs their decision, but 2) the ability to get the letters elf selects students who have done considerable work above straight coursework (e.g. research)
  14. You can address your GPA if you have something persuasive to say. If there is some extenuating circumstance that led to your low grades (e.g. illness, or other hardship). If it comes across as a weak or feeble excuse for just doing poorly - it will hurt more than help since you could be using the SOP to make a strong case for why your coursework does not reflect your true potential.
  15. How odd... a professor was reluctant to write him a LOR. Go figure.
  16. I'd like to offer up a pithy blog to TGC.
  17. It's "rabid" dog - as in a dog infected with rabies. Not rapid dog.
  18. You don' need to worry about either saying you have a 2.5 or your major GPA. The school is not going to base their decision on what you say - they are going to review your transcript. With a sub 2.5 GPA and having been away from school for 8+ years you need to ask yourself if you can not only be acc3pted to a program - but succeed since the work will be even more difficult as you move ahead. Also - going to a community college to boost a sub-par GPA won't be as effective as going to a university and taking some master's level courses. Why not go that route?
  19. I am not even sure that software is "program specific" - I think it often just depends on the preferences of the instructor. We used SAS's Enterprise Guide On Demand system which is nice since it's online and very feature rich. I like SAS's newer program JMP. It has some really powerful modules like a DOE module, structural equations, conjoint, etc. For SAS users it also has a SAS interface. It has an Excel add-in, and is very user friendly and very fast with large data sets. Many also use SPSS. Those (including me) who do econometrics prefer STATA There are the R folks, Matlab folks and even Mathematica folks. I don't think it matters all that much - find a program that's free, and used in your discipline.
  20. We used this stats book in my program: http://www.amazon.com/Applied-Linear-Statistical-Models-Michael/dp/007310874X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1356667047&sr=8-2&keywords=linear+statistical+models I thought it was a good text. Well written, good data sets used for problems throughout. The text uses SAS and SPSS, but any program will work fine. Don't get hung up on a particular software --- in my first year I have profs who used SAS, JMP, SPSS, STATA, R and MATLAB (uggh).
  21. You only have a brief discussion (that comes at the end of your essay) that specifically relates to Ohio State: "At The Ohio State University I am interested in working on projects related to environmental statistics. The Spatial Statistics and Environmental Statistics program is of particular interest to me. I think successful SOPs develop a better case for why a particular program is a good fit. Which professors are of interest? Why? How does the program compare to other alternatives?, etc. I can tell you that for PhD programs, fit, is an important issue for both the school and the student.
  22. Get a hold of a copy of Simon & Blume: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=simon%20blume&sprefix=simon+blu%2Caps&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Asimon%20blume&ajr=2 That will tell you what you need to know.
  23. Often the school specifies a minimum number of credits at another school (typically >9) that must be accompanied by a separate transcript. But - did you do well in the class? If in doubt - supply the transcript.
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