WISC openhouse

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VT
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WISC openhouse

Post by VT » Wed Mar 05, 2008 10:48 pm

Any body on this forum going to Wisc-Madison open house tomorrow? Hope I will see some of you guys tomorrow!

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grae313
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Re: WISC openhouse

Post by grae313 » Thu Mar 06, 2008 12:50 am

I think some people are listed on the open house thread

VT
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Re: WISC openhouse

Post by VT » Sat Mar 29, 2008 3:46 pm

@ dlenmn:
What do you think of Wisconsin area/research etc? I am assuming that you went to their openhouses.

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Helio
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Re: WISC openhouse

Post by Helio » Sat Mar 29, 2008 6:55 pm

Would be nice if somebody could share some details about the program that are not on the website... cause i am considering applying if i do take the internship in neutrino physics I am offered.

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dlenmn
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Re: WISC openhouse

Post by dlenmn » Sun Mar 30, 2008 2:14 am

@VT

I'm at the weekend right now. I really liked it. The students are sociable and happy (stipend is quite adequate, many get RAs after their first year, they're not weeded down, they seem to get together and do things a lot -- e.g. afternoon coffee/cookies is well attended). The research looks good (not really news to me). The profs I talked with seem nice (Eriksson in particular was really enthusiastic and cheerful... to the point of almost falling down the stairs while trying to explain a point with hand motions. McDermott was a lot cooler in person than in our out-of-the-blue phone conversation).

The area itself is very nice. Lots of good restaurants around. Bike lanes everywhere. The campus is kind of haphazard, but I can ignore most of it :) The weather was a consistent complaint, but I just spent 4 years in New Hampshire, so I can deal with that (but I'd like to try somewhere warm eventually...) It's less flat than I was expecting. Still not like NH, but I talked with some cyclists and there are a few short climbs around and there's not a lot of sprawl, so it's easy to get out of the city (both are important for me, perhaps not for others).

One big concern remains -- what will I be able to do afterwards. Some people from Eriksson's group have gone on to do academic stuff, but a lot seem to have ended up in Industry -- which is not what I want. (McDermott was to new to have had people graduate.) The numbers may still be better than the average, so I'm not sure what to make of it yet.
Last edited by dlenmn on Sun Mar 30, 2008 2:20 am, edited 1 time in total.

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dlenmn
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Re: WISC openhouse

Post by dlenmn » Sun Mar 30, 2008 2:18 am

Helio wrote:Would be nice if somebody could share some details about the program that are not on the website... cause i am considering applying if i do take the internship in neutrino physics I am offered.
Uh, there are a lot of details not on the website... Can you be more specific? There are a ton of neutrino people here -- I had no idea it was such a big deal anywhere. They actually seem to be pretty cool -- any experimental particle physics without a big expensive accelerator is cool in my book -- even if the things they study are small, neutral, generally non interacting particles...

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Helio
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Re: WISC openhouse

Post by Helio » Sun Mar 30, 2008 1:33 pm

dlenmn wrote:
Helio wrote:Would be nice if somebody could share some details about the program that are not on the website... cause i am considering applying if i do take the internship in neutrino physics I am offered.
Uh, there are a lot of details not on the website... Can you be more specific? There are a ton of neutrino people here -- I had no idea it was such a big deal anywhere. They actually seem to be pretty cool -- any experimental particle physics without a big expensive accelerator is cool in my book -- even if the things they study are small, neutral, generally non interacting particles...
I was just wondering about the whole international student thing and large scale detectors like they are working. I was also wondering about just the area itself, pictures say a thousand words, but sometimes that is not enough. i have been living in LA for the past three years without a car (and i can't rent one cause i am still not 21, *** US) and it has not been the best experience at times

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will
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Re: WISC openhouse

Post by will » Sun Mar 30, 2008 2:03 pm

Have to be 25 to rent a car. *** US.

Admiralrewd
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Re: WISC openhouse

Post by Admiralrewd » Sun Mar 30, 2008 3:11 pm

Don't go to wisconsin. It's terrible. Terrible terrible terrible. And I'm not just saying that because I want to go there and I was waitlisted...
Please tell them quickly you aren't going, not cause I'm waitlisted, but to teach them a lesson faster about how terrible they are.

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Helio
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Re: WISC openhouse

Post by Helio » Sun Mar 30, 2008 3:19 pm

will wrote:Have to be 25 to rent a car. *** US.
No, 21.. http://www.zipcar.com/how/details?zipfl ... e=personal, sry for ads, just trying to show what i mean

Admiralrewd wrote:Don't go to wisconsin. It's terrible. Terrible terrible terrible. And I'm not just saying that because I want to go there and I was waitlisted...
Please tell them quickly you aren't going, not cause I'm waitlisted, but to teach them a lesson faster about how terrible they are.
And why? repeating the same word 5 times does not really give me a reason... and i have yet to apply

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grae313
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Re: WISC openhouse

Post by grae313 » Sun Mar 30, 2008 4:30 pm

Helio wrote:And why? repeating the same word 5 times does not really give me a reason... and i have yet to apply
Um, he is very obviously joking.

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Helio
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Re: WISC openhouse

Post by Helio » Sun Mar 30, 2008 4:34 pm

I was still half asleep at that point and trying to figure out how to explain GR to a layman and trying to squeeze 15 chapter of hartle on a 8.5 by 11 sheet. sry about that

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dlenmn
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Re: WISC openhouse

Post by dlenmn » Sun Mar 30, 2008 4:54 pm

Helio wrote:I was just wondering about the whole international student thing
I didn't have much of a chance to talk with any international students (with the exception of a Canadian, but that doesn't really count) perhaps because -- to some extent -- they're not as well connected with the other graduate students (who otherwise form a pretty tight bunch). It was explained to me that a lot of international students come in with credit for classes, so they don't end up in the same courses as the domestic students and thus miss out on that bonding experience. In short, I can't say a lot about how international students fare.
Helio wrote:and large scale detectors like they are working.
There were presentations on a bunch of neutrino detectors. They seem to have a large role in ice cube, as well as parts in other detectors (one in Japan (nuclear power plant/man made neutrinos), one in south america (solar)?) and they're also dealing with a detector under construction in China (also man made). I can't say a whole lot about them -- it's not my field, but it looks pretty interesting. There should be lots of info online about this type of stuff.
Helio wrote:I was also wondering about just the area itself, pictures say a thousand words, but sometimes that is not enough. i have been living in LA for the past three years without a car (and i can't rent one cause i am still not 21, *** US) and it has not been the best experience at times
Cars in Madison are most definitely optional (unless you work on one of the off campus devices, like the synchrotron or giant ball of liquid sodium deal). The city is fairly compact (although some people are getting up in arms about what is, by most any objective standard, very minimal sprawl), so most people get around by walking. There are also a ton of bike lanes that get lots of use (even in the winter, so I've been told). I liked the area a lot. For a city, it's clean, safe, and has things to do (not to mention lots of good food, although I heard the local Ethiopian restaurant isn't so great -- which was a little disappointing to hear) -- Madison wins lots of awards for being a nice place to live, so it's really hard to go wrong. It also seems to be a fairly cheap place, so living off the stipend doesn't seem to be a problem. Of course, what I was able to see in a few days was limited, but I didn't see anything that contradicted all the good things I heard, so I'm going to stick to the positive hypothesis. The main downside seems to be the weather, but there's not a lot more I can say about that...

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Helio
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Re: WISC openhouse

Post by Helio » Sun Mar 30, 2008 5:05 pm

dlenmn wrote:
Helio wrote:I was just wondering about the whole international student thing
I didn't have much of a chance to talk with any international students (with the exception of a Canadian, but that doesn't really count) perhaps because -- to some extent -- they're not as well connected with the other graduate students (who otherwise form a pretty tight bunch). It was explained to me that a lot of international students come in with credit for classes, so they don't end up in the same courses as the domestic students and thus miss out on that bonding experience. In short, I can't say a lot about how international students fare.


I am international doing undergrad in the US, so I will be in the same classes as everybody else.
dlenmn wrote:
Helio wrote:and large scale detectors like they are working.
There were presentations on a bunch of neutrino detectors. They seem to have a large role in ice cube, as well as parts in other detectors (one in Japan (nuclear power plant/man made neutrinos), one in south america (solar)?) and they're also dealing with a detector under construction in China (also man made). I can't say a whole lot about them -- it's not my field, but it looks pretty interesting. There should be lots of info online about this type of stuff.
dlenmn wrote:
Helio wrote:I was also wondering about just the area itself, pictures say a thousand words, but sometimes that is not enough. i have been living in LA for the past three years without a car (and i can't rent one cause i am still not 21, *** US) and it has not been the best experience at times
Condensed matter is interesting but I have only had night and day experiences. but shaky on that topic.

Cars in Madison are most definitely optional (unless you work on one of the off campus devices, like the synchrotron or giant ball of liquid sodium deal). The city is fairly compact (although some people are getting up in arms about what is, by most any objective standard, very minimal sprawl), so most people get around by walking. There are also a ton of bike lanes that get lots of use (even in the winter, so I've been told). I liked the area a lot. For a city, it's clean, safe, and has things to do (not to mention lots of good food, although I heard the local Ethiopian restaurant isn't so great -- which was a little disappointing to hear) -- Madison wins lots of awards for being a nice place to live, so it's really hard to go wrong. It also seems to be a fairly cheap place, so living off the stipend doesn't seem to be a problem. Of course, what I was able to see in a few days was limited, but I didn't see anything that contradicted all the good things I heard, so I'm going to stick to the positive hypothesis. The main downside seems to be the weather, but there's not a lot more I can say about that...
Safety is no real concern for me considering where i am now. weather is no problem too, i come from shitty weather and i am starting to get a bit fed up with the on season policy is LA. Biking the 12 miles should not be too bad either, walking might take too long

Thanks for the info... definitely a place to consider if i do spend the summer in Munich.

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dlenmn
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Re: WISC openhouse

Post by dlenmn » Sun Mar 30, 2008 10:07 pm

Helio wrote:I am international doing undergrad in the US, so I will be in the same classes as everybody else.
If you end up there, you might have to remind them that you're familiar with the US education system. I heard that they generally bring in international students early so that they can teach them about our system (so that they can be effective TAs and whatnot). At first the university signed up the Canadian person I spoke with for this program, but then she complained to the department (since the Canadian system is very similar so she didn't need that orientation) and they got her out of it.

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Helio
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Re: WISC openhouse

Post by Helio » Sun Mar 30, 2008 10:33 pm

dlenmn wrote:
Helio wrote:I am international doing undergrad in the US, so I will be in the same classes as everybody else.
If you end up there, you might have to remind them that you're familiar with the US education system. I heard that they generally bring in international students early so that they can teach them about our system (so that they can be effective TAs and whatnot). At first the university signed up the Canadian person I spoke with for this program, but then she complained to the department (since the Canadian system is very similar so she didn't need that orientation) and they got her out of it.
thanks, i might have to fight with them over the TOEFL cause they might require it due to my citizenship or as as anal as UT who only allow a waiver if you went to college in TX



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