I need to get out of the Midwest

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saucylad
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Joined: Sat May 14, 2011 10:39 pm

I need to get out of the Midwest

Post by saucylad » Sat May 14, 2011 10:52 pm

I was born in Ohio, and I've lived here my entire life. I'm currently doing my undergrad in a small town in Ohio. I'm realizing more and more that I'd really like to leave Ohio for grad school. But more than that, I need to get out of the Midwest altogether (Chicago doesn't count :p). Now, I realize academics are the most important part of choosing a school, and I'm willing to sacrifice a little happiness right now for the prospect of greater employability in the future, but I'd very desperately like to go to school someplace where I can experience something new. I need a big city, or a beach, or just something that's not corn or oak trees. I need things to do that aren't getting drunk or watching moves. How reasonable is this feeling? Should I just ignore it and try to go to the best school I can regardless of where it is?

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quizivex
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Re: I need to get out of the Midwest

Post by quizivex » Sun May 15, 2011 3:04 am

I think location is important and it's reasonable for that to be a factor in your decision...

but I don't understand what your problem is.
saucylad wrote:I need to get out of the Midwest altogether (Chicago doesn't count :p)...
and I'm willing to sacrifice a little happiness right now for the prospect of greater employability in the future, but I'd very desperately like to go to school someplace where I can experience something new...
I need a big city, or a beach, or just something that's not corn or oak trees.
Huh? If you're weighing happiness vs. long term career prospects, why would choosing the latter imply having to stay in the midwest? The midwest is exactly where good physics schools are not. Ok sure of course there's Ohio State and Chicago as you said, but there are many comparable schools throughout the country, so if you're admitted to those you should be able to go to some of the UC's, Maryland, UPenn for instance.I hear people on here talk favorable about schools in Texas, Florida and Hawaii. And the top schools are all on the East and West coast. So what's the problem?

So in conclusion, doing what's best for your career will not force you to stay in the cornfields... you can stop worrying about this and get back to your work :)

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grae313
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Re: I need to get out of the Midwest

Post by grae313 » Sun May 15, 2011 1:22 pm

Of course it's reasonable. Graduate school is the perfect opportunity to try something new.

I didn't apply anywhere I didn't want to live.

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WhoaNonstop
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Re: I need to get out of the Midwest

Post by WhoaNonstop » Sun May 15, 2011 11:42 pm

quizivex wrote: Huh? If you're weighing happiness vs. long term career prospects, why would choosing the latter imply having to stay in the midwest? The midwest is exactly where good physics schools are not. Ok sure of course there's Ohio State and Chicago as you said, but there are many comparable schools throughout the country, so if you're admitted to those you should be able to go to some of the UC's, Maryland, UPenn for instance.I hear people on here talk favorable about schools in Texas, Florida and Hawaii. And the top schools are all on the East and West coast. So what's the problem?
Admission to a midwest school is much easier than schools on the coasts. It seems there are fewer applicants to these schools. The problem you have with coming out of the midwest, especially from a smaller school is most places will not recognize the name of your school. In comparison, I'm sure Ohio State has heard of the school you are at, regardless of the size, so at least they aren't looking at your application like "huh?". I fully believe that it is easier to get into a similarly ranked midwest school in comparison to one on the coast, so if you have a mediocre application, your applications may turn up with your best option as far as "top ranked" school in the midwest. So even though the distribution does show higher ranked schools in the east and west, it should not be shrugged off why he is asking this question. If you assume he can get into all of the top ranked schools, then yes, it is a silly question. However, if that is not guaranteed, the chance of getting into a better ranked school in the midwest is probably better than a similar one on the coast.

Anyways enough with the rabble. Saucy I am from the midwest myself, Nebraska to be exact, and I can understand your need to get out for a while. I highly suggest if you get accepted to a school you would be happier at you should attend. Of course, make sure there are research interests and all the other important stuff, but truly, there are so many people who tend to overlook location.
saucylad wrote: I need things to do that aren't getting drunk
The sad fact of the matter is, regardless of how much stuff there really is to do, people will always resort to this activity and complain that there isn't anything to do. At least from my experiences living in a couple different places and different cities, this tends to be the case. Even with this, I totally agree with you, get the hell out of the midwest!

-Riley

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midwestphysics
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Re: I need to get out of the Midwest

Post by midwestphysics » Mon May 16, 2011 12:23 am

I know exactly where you're coming from, a lot of people feel this way a lot don't. I'd personally exclude Chicago from the list of no-go but that's just me. I can understand however the want to leave the Midwest. Still, as Riley mentioned everywhere you go people always eventually resort to "let's just get drunk". Remember a lot of the best schools are "near" big cities but not in them. Pton for example, nice campus in a pretty cool area of NJ. You'll see a lot of NYC, but won't live there which takes a lot away from it. You can travel to Philly, D.C., Boston, maybe even head upstate to Lake George in your free time. The problem is free time and money in those expensive areas is few and far between, so you'll stay home and drink with friends. In the end most of your time will be spent in little town that has ups and downs to compare with but is overall not that different from the larger cities of Ohio in general. It gets old there too, and even in 2-3 years, I've seen it firsthand. Next thing you know you'll be looking at Europe, it's a progression :lol: , because while you've experienced the cities not living in them takes a lot away from them. My advice about location being a draw, if you're bent on getting out of the Midwest and want to live "in" a big city or on a beach don't just pick the schools nearby, pick the schools in them like NYU for example. Of course I'm excluding all the reasons for picking a program, but for picking a location given what you want out of that don't just settle for near-by, you might be disappointed. The good news is that there are a lot of good schools "in" the cities, so look at them first, find out if you like any of the programs and then move geographically away from them if your list isn't full.



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