Northwestern PhD

[IRTheoryNerd]

There is a pretty good chance that I will be attending, as I like the program and opportunities it offers a lot. I am, however, still deciding between Northwestern and another school.

 

I wanted to ask if any of you guys are worried about the average time to degree at NW? It is 8 (!) years.

 

:-D

 

Well, yea. I saw that average time to completion issue as well. It's less than encouraging, but I resolve to be on the sooner end of that distribution. Depends a lot on how long the dissertation drags on, and I hope by that point I can get my butt in gear and not make it last too long.

 

I also posted this to someone via PM so I figured I'd share it with all of you as well:

 

[smallworld]

Hey, I thought I would jump in the conversation, albeit a little bit late.

 

I'm really attracted to Northwestern, in part because of the methodological flexibility that a couple of you have mentioned.  I had an interesting conversation with a POI there the other day; he basically told me that doing mixed methods is going to be a bigger challenge than just doing pure quantitative work, but they were very supportive of those who wish to go that route. 

 

I'm also deciding between NW and one other school...the other has higher "rankings," but both seem to place very well, which is what matters at the end of the day, right?

 

As far as where to live, my dad grew up in Evanston, and it really seems that anywhere on the far north side of the city or in the near suburbs is a good place to live.  Just depends on if you'd rather be closer to downtown, closer to the campus, or whatever.

 

I won't be able to attend the official visiting weekend, although I will be going at a later date.  Too bad I won't get to meet any of you there, but have a great time and let us all know what you think of the program!

Edited February 24, 2014 by smallworld

[guest2401]

:-D

 

Well, yea. I saw that average time to completion issue as well. It's less than encouraging, but I resolve to be on the sooner end of that distribution. Depends a lot on how long the dissertation drags on, and I hope by that point I can get my butt in gear and not make it last too long.

 

I also posted this to someone via PM so I figured I'd share it with all of you as well:

 

 

Before I saw this map, I would have preferred UChicago to Northwestern.

 

Apart from this map, what do you think how they compare for theory?

[qeta]

I don't know if it will be helpful and there are likely many sources that are more authoritative, but I lived in Edgewater and commuted to Evanston for a chunk of 2012. Granted I lived alone rather than with a partner and was an undergrad, but I can try to answer questions about the location.

[IRTheoryNerd]

I don't know if it will be helpful and there are likely many sources that are more authoritative, but I lived in Edgewater and commuted to Evanston for a chunk of 2012. Granted I lived alone rather than with a partner and was an undergrad, but I can try to answer questions about the location.

 

I'm basically looking at Lakeview, Uptown, Rogers Park, or Edgewater---something with red line accessibility. I heard Rogers Park is a bit of a food desert now that one of the big grocery stores has closed down (or is planning to close down). 

[qeta]

Rogers Park was a bit sparse in terms of bars, restaurants, etc.. I lived closer to Thorndale, which was an awesome location in terms of grocery stores, red line accessibility, restaurants, dog parks, and the Armory (if you're into theatre). In some ways, I wished that I had lived closer to Lincoln Park because the purple line express didn't stop at Thorndale but made stops at Belmont and Fullerton. One of the people I was on exchange with actually later moved to that area because if it's faster and more convenient (no transferring and waiting on the outdoor platform in the freezing cold) to ride the purple express to Northwestern and back during peak hours (5:30-10:30am and 2:30-7pm).

[IRTheoryNerd]

Rogers Park was a bit sparse in terms of bars, restaurants, etc.. I lived closer to Thorndale, which was an awesome location in terms of grocery stores, red line accessibility, restaurants, dog parks, and the Armory (if you're into theatre). In some ways, I wished that I had lived closer to Lincoln Park because the purple line express didn't stop at Thorndale but made stops at Belmont and Fullerton. One of the people I was on exchange with actually later moved to that area because if it's faster and more convenient (no transferring and waiting on the outdoor platform in the freezing cold) to ride the purple express to Northwestern and back during peak hours (5:30-10:30am and 2:30-7pm).

 

The Loyola area has a intercampus shuttle stop if I'm not mistaken, right? That's what I've got my eyes on. ;-)

[qeta]

The Loyola area has a intercampus shuttle stop if I'm not mistaken, right? That's what I've got my eyes on. ;-)

Oh, you're totally right! The shuttle stops right near the red line exit at Loyola station too.

[IRTheoryNerd]

Hi everyone. I was able to attend recruitment weekend and so if anyone here was unable to go and would like a bit of intel, I'd be happy to answer questions and chat with you. :-)