<p>Hey guys!</p>
<p>I've been out of the "school" thing for a while. I was accepted at Carnegie Mellon (woot!) and now I'm making plans on driving over there in the Fall (I currently live in SoCal). However, what am I supposed to be doing in the meantime? I filled out my FAFSA -- so that's done. I'm planning on having a garage sale to get rid of all my stuff before the move -- so that's in the works. Am I missing something else? I feel like I am.</p>
<p>When would you suggest I make the move across country? I'm planning on driving out there, and I don't know how much time I'll need to get settled. Any recommendations about this? I'm also saving money, and I would like to know how much I should try to save before heading out there (I'm trying to balance how much I'll need out there with my 401k investments).</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>What do you want us to say about it? Drive carefully, be safe?</p>
<p>I don’t know. Maybe something about housing? I really have no clue what I need to do before I leave.</p>
<p>
How early can you move in? If you’ve got housing set up, I like arriving one week early to run errants and get settled in and explore the area. (Too much time leaves me bored, less time starts getting stressful.) If you’d need to stay in a hotel while running errants, 1-2 days would suffice. </p>
<p>
I’d start with the standard moving protocol:</p>
<p>Notify all relevant institutions (e.g. banks, insurance companies, any magazine subscriptions, your voter’s registration, USPS if you’d like to get your mail forwarded) of your new address. </p>
<p>Make sure utilities are set up in your new place before you arrive. (Done for you if you are living on-campus, might take some effort on your part if you are renting a place elsewhere.) Also remember to cancel utilities for your current place with sufficient notice to avoid extra fees, if applicable.</p>
<p>Car-related business: get parking permits (before you leave), get an MA driver’s license (after you arrive), register your car in MA.</p>
<p>Get a coat. It’s cold in Pittsburgh.</p>
<p>Thanks! So far I have:</p>
<ul>
<li>Garage Sale</li>
<li>Save $X? – still don’t know how much</li>
<li>Register for classes</li>
<li>Find housing</li>
<li>Notify USPS, banks, DMV, etc. of move</li>
<li>Get there at least 1 week before classes start</li>
<li>Get a coat</li>
</ul>
<p>
The more the better? We can’t really make a recommendation because we don’t know anything about your circumstances: Do you need to furnish an apartment? How high is your rent and your security deposit? Will you be earning enough money to cover your living expenses or are you living on loans + savings? How long until you get your first paycheck? (Grad student TAs at my university get their first paycheck 6 weeks after the beginning of classes, for instance.)</p>
<p>You’re kidding right? I have to say, you’re supposed to be an adult. You should be able to do the research and math of how much everything will cost you and save that much money (as much as possible). Because you will be moving across the country, you’ll need to factor in the gas (for your own driving and shipping if you’re using a moving company).</p>
<p>I’m sorry if this sounds snarky but, seriously, you are going off to graduate school, where they don’t teach the basics.</p>
<p>Well, I’m not worried about the obvious. I know I need enough money for gas, food, and hotel stays along the way. That much is easy. I’m mainly curious about any other unexpected expenses (and I don’t need to know a dollar amount from you guys; just wanted to know a list of items I need to be saving for). And I am doing my research. Part of that is asking on here. So if you want to ■■■■■, please do so elsewhere.</p>
<p>Here are a list of other things I found that I’ll probably need to do:
Student/Orientation Registration
Submit Required Forms – Health, etc.
Placement Tests, if relevant
Class Registration
Deposit</p>
<p>Those are some good examples of the things I’m looking for. Unfortunately, CMU doesn’t have these things listed in one place. They’re planning on sending info out soon that probably includes this information, but I don’t see why it isn’t just listed on their website somewhere.</p>
<p>I will probably need to minimally furnish my apartment. Rent is about $600-$700/mo. Deposit is about the same. I will be unemployed when I leave SoCal. I plan on taking out as many loans as possible to meet my financial need, but I’m also thinking about getting a part-time job while in school.</p>
<p>That brings up another good question – what does everybody recommend in terms of amount of coursework vs. a part-time job? Is 3 grad courses + a 20 hrs/wk job manageable? I’m also planning on trying to get into some research as well.</p>
<p>The point is, some of those issues you are asking about are easily solved per each individual’s approach. It’s information a stranger on the web doesn’t need to know. What works for one person might not work for another, as we’re not here to hold your hand and make sure you get to Pittsburgh and make it through grad school okay. </p>
<p>But if you’ve got questions about graduate-related issues that extend to your audience across all schools then you could probably get a more welcoming reply.</p>
<p>Personally, having been in SoCal and resumed continuing education at a school near CMU, there’s not much disparity in the move South to North California than there is from moving SoCal to CMU. Just make a personal list and use common sense, you’ll be okay.</p>
<p>Congrats on getting in.</p>
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<p>Does that question not apply to an audience across all schools?</p>
<p>How much you need to save depends on the housing market in Pittsburgh - in most Northeastern markets you need a security deposit, first, and sometimes last month’s rent. So you need about the equivalent of 2-3 months’ rent, plus you’ll need enough money to buy groceries and some furniture. You can cheaply furnish a grad student apartment for I’d say $700-1000 depending on how big it is. I’ve looked up Pitt apartments and they are pretty inexpensive; you can get a one-bedroom for like $700 a month. So I’d say at least $3,500 would be a good goal.</p>
<p>When I moved to grad school I didn’t have many unexpected expenses. I guess if you have a car?</p>
<p>The last question completely depends on you, your other commitments and how much you can handle. I would say that 15-20 hours a week is quite possible with 3 graduate classes, but if you ALSO want to do research in any meaningful capacity then you will probably want to work fewer hours. The ideal situation would be to get an RAship or some kind of part-time research job.</p>
<p>It seems to me that if you wait until you move to get housing, you will get the dregs or none at all. Housing usually opens up in the spring for an August or Sept 1st year lease. My daughter decided to move from a shared house to a 1 BR for Aug 1, and she had selected and put a downpayment on it a month ago. She was lucky to find a subleter for the summer as she has an internship. Of course if you get grad school housing with the school, this will all be arranged ahead of time. Otherwise, start looking at craigslist and sounds like you may have to travel there asap to look.(beware long distance scammers on craigslist)</p>
<p>About work, ask the dept now if there are any TA positions available, so a least you will be close to campus, and you don’t have to worry about stability. Many students do this and fit it into the coursework schedule.</p>
<p>Congratulation ComtriS.</p>
<p>May i ask what program/degree were you admitted to and academic stats. Reason i’m asking is because i’m thinking about CMU for fall 13 or fall 14</p>
<p>Thanks juillet and BrownParent – great, useful info!</p>
<p>If I’m just looking for $$$, then my best bet is working part time doing what I have been for the last 4 years. TAs get paid way less than I do, and I personally don’t see the benefit in doing that. However, if I got an RA, that’s a different story because I definitely want to do research.</p>
<p>I didn’t realize I needed to start looking into housing and RA/TA stuff now. I will. Thanks :)</p>
<p>I was admitted into the MS in ECE program. Academic stats were fairly poor – 3.4/800/530/5.0, no research/papers, 4 yrs industry exp. I had some really good LoRs and I spent 100+ hours on my SoP, so that helped I’m sure.</p>