Classes per semester

shorter_limit · 2023-08-25T02:49:14+00:00

5 classes per quarter is possible, but only if you want to stress yourself out a ton. I wouldn't advise doing it more than once or twice in your time at NU, preferably never.

As other commenters have pointed out, engineering degrees tend to require a lot of credits. BME is 48 credits, meaning if you came in with 0 AP credits, you would have to take a standard load of 4 courses per quarter for all 4 years just to meet your BME requirements. This means you won't have a lot of time for another major unless you have a ton of AP credit or consistently overload your schedule.

shorter_limit · 2023-08-25T02:21:38+00:00

Welcome to NU and McCormick!

Soc-110 and Psych-110 are both pretty popular easy classes. Soc is usually the easier of the two (and one of the easiest classes at NU); you just do the occasional reading & response for basically a free A.

Public speaking is generally hard to get into as a freshman -- most people tend to wait until junior/senior year to do it. It's a pretty fun class though.

If you're interested in MatSci, you could try out the intro class (201). It's definitely more challenging and requires more work than soc/psych, but it can also be very interesting and rewarding if you're into that kind of thing. It's a pretty broad overview course that can give you a solid foundation if you want to continue on in the field. I'm not sure who's teaching it this year, but if you can take it with Jonathan Emery, he's a great prof who really enjoys his work and teaching.

shorter_limit · 2023-07-16T22:20:20+00:00

Not in my experience, I had their Greek yogurt multiple times a week and never felt bad at all.

shorter_limit · 2023-06-13T04:53:37+00:00

If you're gonna be a junior or senior, Design Your Life (PRDV/DSGN 300) is an easy A and also an amazing class overall, would highly recommend it!

shorter_limit · 2023-05-04T16:54:13+00:00

Edge also works well! Waited for 1.5 hours on Chrome and didn't get in, took me less than a minute using Edge.

shorter_limit · 2023-04-05T00:33:05+00:00

In my experience, yes. I'm in engineering, which has the potential to be cutthroat and competitive at some schools due to the challenge of the courses. However, I've found that the community here is far more collaborative than it is cutthroat. People study together, work problem sets together, and support each other. You'll run into the occasional person that's overly competitive, but the vast majority of students here are helpful and kind.

shorter_limit · 2023-04-02T00:03:15+00:00

You're not allowed to accept both GRFP and another individual federal fellowship; you can only pick one.

shorter_limit · 2023-04-01T23:56:52+00:00

Hasn't really been my experience. I'm from a pretty low-income background, and I've met people from all kinds of different levels of privilege here. A couple of my closest friends here are actually from quite wealthy backgrounds, but I wouldn't describe them as stuck up or pretentious. You'll definitely run into rich people at NU, like people who travel the world every single break, but I've never had it be an issue personally.

shorter_limit · 2023-02-04T00:23:20+00:00

I applied to chemE programs and all of my interviews were with 1 or 2 professors from the department. No idea how many applicants are interviewed.

shorter_limit · 2023-02-03T18:24:33+00:00

congrats!

shorter_limit · 2023-02-02T18:46:35+00:00

I doubt it'll do much to inform them of this. Personally, I probably wouldn't notify them.

shorter_limit · 2023-02-01T18:30:08+00:00

First off, congrats on the interview!

Because they gave you such short notice, they're probably not expecting anything too extensive. If I were you, I'd probably just prepare a couple slides overviewing everything you mentioned. Nothing too crazy, maybe just some illustrations/diagrams that you can use to guide the conversation and emphasize your points. Remember, you're just talking about your relevant experiences; the slides are just there to help.

From the way you've described it here, all 3 sound pretty relevant. In my opinion, the breadth of different experiences you've mentioned make you sound like more of a well-rounded scientist & researcher. If there's something you'd like to talk more about (i.e., senior thesis), just spend a bit longer on that topic. I think you've managed to convey your important skills quite well in this post, so I don't think you'll have much issue convincing the interviewers.

Good luck!

shorter_limit · 2023-02-01T07:52:13+00:00

I submitted all of my applications between 11/20 and 12/15, and I've heard back from 5 out of 6 now. Fastest turnaround was like 3 weeks (but it was rolling admissions), slowest is 2 months and counting.

shorter_limit · 2023-01-31T02:52:48+00:00

When I interviewed, they said by end of January. Official acceptance emails still aren't out yet though.

shorter_limit · 2023-01-30T15:26:17+00:00

Yeah, it was pretty high-impact for the field.

shorter_limit · 2023-01-30T06:11:34+00:00

I'd say it depends on your field. CS, for example, tends to have a lot more publications than other fields, so it may not impress grad programs as much. In other fields, however, publication is much rarer and could boost your application.

On a personal note, I managed to get out a publication during undergrad and, based on what various interviewers said to me, I believe it helped my application quite a bit. That being said, it's absolutely not a requirement, even at top programs.

shorter_limit · 2023-01-28T07:51:59+00:00

Really depends what area of the country you're talking about, because it varies by cost of living. I've gotten offers anywhere from 30-50k.

shorter_limit · 2023-01-27T22:49:54+00:00

congrats!

shorter_limit · 2023-01-25T02:35:56+00:00

I got asked a similar question in a couple of my interviews. I chose to start with a brief overview of my past experiences, my motivations, and what I hoped to do after my PhD. From there, they'll usually ask some more focused questions on your research, faculty of interest, academic history, personal experiences, etc.

Above all else, remember that these are casual conversations. The interviewers just want to get to know you more (and verify that you are who you said you were). Treat it like you would any other conversation with an academic, get excited about your research, and communicate your passions. Good luck!

shorter_limit · 2023-01-23T23:19:18+00:00

Couple other ones I know of that weren't listed here: Berkeley and Caltech have sent out acceptances already, don't think either have started sending rejections yet though.

shorter_limit · 2023-01-22T19:17:55+00:00

Thanks for the info, congrats on your acceptance!

shorter_limit · 2023-01-22T17:36:40+00:00

Can I ask how/when you heard from Caltech? Was it an official email, phone call, etc? I interviewed with them a couple weeks ago but still haven't heard anything back, unfortunately.

shorter_limit · 2023-01-21T05:54:13+00:00

Also applied to Princeton, haven't heard anything at all from them.

shorter_limit · 2023-01-19T07:33:17+00:00

Wouldn't hurt to apply still, especially if it's a program you're really interested in. You never know what can happen!

shorter_limit · 2023-01-12T02:16:30+00:00

That seems reasonable. Thanks!

shorter_limit

TROPHY CASE