JenCook

I agree with this guy.

Gotta love Ikea.

It just depends, for some people it may be weird, and others not so weird. Interesting topic though.

Me too, I'm impatient!

I agree with not rude. People understand that your anxious to hear some news. Even if they do get annoyed by it, they understand the reason why, and don't take it personal.

Auditing classes is a good way to get exposure to topics that could possible cross over into your own discipline, especially for cross-disciplinary topics, such as between biomedical and scientific computing, as they do at the UofU's SCI Institute. Of course, the time you'll be spending in class could also be spent doing research...there are only so many hours in the day.

My friends at the University of Utah have already been affected by this. Several have been told their research program won't be around next year, and many of them have had to start looking elsewhere. This isn't just a short-term problem; a lot of these research programs are going to be shuttered and not restarted. This is ruining careers and setting back research years.

The Black Keys' "Lonely Boy", over and over. Never gets old.

I think you should always be confident if you do good work. You will have to work hard given that you're competing with students who may not have children or full-time careers that contend with their coursework. But if you are competitive, I don't see why your age should be an issue.

Competitive programs want your GPA to be above 3.7 usually, and if you're not a 4.0 student, you'd better have some really amazing portfolio work and experience to make up for it against the other students who do.

My favorite creative writing TA wore nothing but flannel, corduroys and colorful argyle socks for the entire semester. There was no loss of respect because he was an amazing instructor. If you dress professionally and still can't teach, you're not going to win more respect.

There is phenomenal student family housing just next to campus (like a 5 min walk), with a park nearby and plenty of playgrounds in the Student Village itself. Plus, utilities are included. Where else can you get a 2-bedroom for less than $750 a month, with cable and utilities all included?