Hillary Emick

We're moving to a much warmer climate and that was a big kick in the rear end to get in better shape. I've been working out daily, alternating a light work out focusing on toning my problem areas with an intensive aerobic workout every other day. I'm down a full dress size from when I started (~ 6 weeks in) and feeling stronger and healthier.

It costs my department between 27K and 42K per grad student annually. As other posters have mentioned, a lot of this does come out of research grants & other sources of external funding, and they do get a lot out of the funds they put in, both in terms of not having to pay a post-doc to do the same work and in terms of investing in the future of the discipline.

It really depends on the school. You can get specific information from the departments you plan to apply to.

A summer community college class?

I got permission through my department for an exemption to hold outside employment. These policies two purposes: one so that the university retains intellectual property rights to any work produced during this period (assuming the side job would also be in academia) and two because there is a long history showing that in general grad students with side jobs tend to perform less well as students and university employees. I was able to demonstrate that there would be no conflict of interest as far as intellectual property rights go, and that it would involve a very small number of hours that I could manage in addition to my workload as a grad student. I would not hold a side job without permission if it is specifically forbidden by your contract. You would be jeopardizing your position as well as your credibility as an employee by violating your contract.

I pretty much gave everyone a heads up about 6 months ago that I'd applied to graduate programs for this fall and would be leaving in the summer. I gave my official notice in March that I was leaving mid-June. They talked me into staying through the end of June. We'll be spending July on a cross country road trip and arriving in our new home around August 1 to give us a couple of weeks to get settled in before school starts. I was feeling really burnt out on my job when I applied for grad school last fall. Having the end in sight has given me fresh energy. I am very busy wrapping up my projects and training my replacement. Time is flying by.

I'm about to turn 35 and headed to grad school this fall. I don't think you're ever to old to continue your education.

You'll have to contact the department directly.

I went to a small state college no one outside my state (and not a heck of a lot of people in it) have ever heard of. I still got a very good offer from a well-ranked program. I think that your GRE scores may be a slightly more important part of your package than if you got the same grades at a better known institution since they will help the ad com see how you fit into the larger undergrad population.

I agree with ktel, it does not matter and would not be appropriate to put in your CV. It may make sense to reference all you have accomplished at such a young age in your statement of purpose.

My husband and I are taking turns going to school. He's finishing up his undergrad as we speak. At this point he's happy to be done with school for a while and will plan on being the main breadwinner while I'm in grad school.

I'm moving about 4000 miles away with a spouse and children. We're only taking clothes and one box of personal items each. It's going to be cheaper to sell all of our worldly goods and replace them on the other end than to haul them with us. We are living in university family housing for the first year which saves us the hassle of trying to find a house from so far away, with the added bonus that I can get my housing directly out of my financial aid.

50%, one rejection and one well-funded acceptance. I only applied to 2 PhD programs. I had no idea how competitive it would be or I would have hedged my bets better and applied to more programs. I am grateful it worked out for me.

I'm actually feeling a lot more positive about my current job knowing that there is an end in sight. I was feeling very burnt out and tired of what I am doing, and knowing that I won't be doing it for much longer makes it easier. I have a lot to do to finish up all of my projects before I leave, and they just offered me a bonus to revise my notice and stay on for an extra couple of weeks.

Yikes. I think that you should have followed up on this before declining the offer. I don't think they have a legal obligation to reimburse your expenses and now that you have declined they probably won't.