Chai_latte

My friend said the same thing! She wants to be able to tell people, my friend is smarter than your friend! Lol

I wonder why people are giving -1 to my early post and this one. Is OK to post against one's religion but it is not OK to find it offensive? Furthermore, I did not -1 heartshapedcookie's post because she did not mean to offend anyone, she just shared one she particularly liked and I only said I did not like it. Period. That is a forum, saying what you think without offending other people. I did like the comic, but that does not mean I was offended my the post.
 
@heartshapedcookie, I suppose you know this, right?  

In general OK, but that special one I find it offensive. 

I had 5 acceptances.  Initially, I used logic.  That narrowed the field down to two.  Between the final two, I relied on gut...the hand-wavy, fuzzy stuff.  That "methodology" led me to a decision that I still standby.  I just had a meeting with my advisor today, and it reminded me that I had definitely made the right choice.  I don't think you can ever go wrong mixing logic and gut.

Please tell me I'm not the only one who was super excited to go to the school's bookstore and buy a sweatshirt, tshirt, pen, etc!!!!!!!!!!!! I know I was just accepted but I will be attending in the fall and I just want the world to know where I'm going. Not too weird, right? 

I've been accepted to 6/7 schools I applied to. Of my top three choices, two completely ignored my emails asking for some more, informal questions I had about the program and my request for some current-student contacts. The third school answered every single damn one of my emails within a few hours, and seemed genuinely interested in helping me out on my decision as well as providing me with 9(!) students who said they would love to talk to me about anything regarding their experiences. One of the two ignorers is the top-ranked program in the nation, but I'm going to the friendly school because I place a very high value on a collaborative/cooperative climate, and I just wasn't getting that from the other schools. 

You can find it here.  Questions, comments, and suggestions are welcome!  I am curious to hear what you guys find interesting, as this will help determine the content of future posts.

My business cards have been invaluable at conferences and seem to garner a lot of positive response.  I tried to make the design reflect my love for math, but still keep things useful for a non-math recipient of the card.  The printed cards have rounded corners, and what looks grey on the screen is actually a metallic silver ink.  As pears suggested, I keep enough room that I can jot down other information if needed.  I like to think that when I'm handing someone a business card, it's not just a list of contact info, but rather a 2" x 3.5" sample of my personality.
 
   

You have my sympathies.  My 7-year marriage ended without warning in August of last year.  As if the divorce process itself isn't stressfull enough, I suddenly found myself being a single parent to a teenager and having to work full time to afford my last year of undergrad. 
 
Grad school is my bright spot.  It's my fresh start.  I'll have a new apartment with all new furniture (cheaper than moving my existing things half-way across the country).  I'll be at a school I love, doing work that I love, and I won't have to deal with the fear of bumping into my ex-husband every time I leave the house.  My son is excited about the move, and while he has to leave behind friends, he sees it as a fresh start as well.   
 
My advice is to look into activities in the area around your grad school.  What better time to get out and try something new?  You'll need a break from studies anyway.  Why not make this the year that you learn how to knit or tap dance or even join a roller derby team?  You'll be giving yourself the opportunity to grow as an individual and expanding your social circle in the process.
 
I won't lie and say that any of this is easy or that I'm not at all scared about making things work this fall, but I try to look at it as the incredible opportunity it is.  After a few months I've also come to be very grateful that things ended when they did.  I have had time to pick up the pieces, and I most of the beurocracy will have been handled before I leave the state.  Better that it happened last August than in the middle of preparing for qualifying exams or getting ready to defend my thesis.

I think it's because shoe sizes come in half sizes. LOL That's just MY reasoning! 
 
 

I think in general, people use "PhD Student" until they meet their school's/department's candidacy requirements then they would use "PhD Candidate" (or you can continue using student). I'd use what Zabius wrote but probably also include my email and research website (I'd make this the most prominent part). If you want to save space, you could consider getting rid of the school name in favour of a school logo. You can also absorb your department into your title, e.g. "Planetary Sciences PhD Student".
 
To answer your other question, I don't think they are a "necessity". I haven't met many students with cards -- usually we just trade emails but this is an effective way to do that! However, I think it's a good idea (but maybe later on in your grad student life, closer to the job search phase). I think in the "modern" world, with so many grad students, one can no longer afford to just do good work and let people notice you. You have to market yourself and get people to pay attention! So having a business card now when many others do not could help you stand out.

cigar and malt liquor on my apt. porch....at dusk.....works on a brotha like me! lol

The next teaching day, just say something to them like: Last class was rough. I needed feedback from you guys and not getting any threw me off, which just made everything awkward. So, I'm sorry for a bad lecture day. We all have off days, so I'm going to assume you had one too. In the future, I expect you to be prepared to answer questions and if nobody answers I'm going to call on you directly. Something like that. That's what I would do.

I always own up to my mistake/issue because that lets them know I am human and that I care which makes me holding them accountable more palatable.

I would pray. Meanwhile I would think of getting a job outside academia. Look again at your applications, analyze them, why they went south, whether it's a problem with your application itself or a problem with yourself. To some, grad school is just a job. You could definitely find other jobs if you plan to. It's not the end of the world.

i'm in a totally different field of study, but if i were you, i'd go for the full funding, and kick serious butt at wake without major financial woes- plus, under the assumption you're american/stateside, that takes some of the load off your back of moving abroad, settling into housing abroad, higher costs of living, etc.
 
are there phd programs that would allow you to go to paris, especially ones with better funding?

I think it is important to remember that the current Republican party is nothing like the party of Lincoln in the nineteenth century. The party of Lincoln would resemble the modern Democratic party.
 
The current Republican party is both neoliberal and neoconservative. Their agenda is twofold: make the big corporations richer and expand the American empire overseas through military force. Although I consider myself a moderate (I oppose abortion and gay marriage), I would never support the current Republican party because the top leaders are anti-poor, anti-middle class, anti-civil rights, and thus anti-American. No gubernatorial or presidential candidate is perfect on every issue. I believe historically marginalized groups, such as African-Americans (who can be conservative on some social issues), realized a long time ago that it is more important to vote for the candidate who supports an anti-discrimination and pro-social welfare platform. In the 2012 election, the Republican leaders revealed their true colors by doing everything they could to pass voter disenfranchisement laws. Their goal was to retake the White House with a new president who would represent corporate and military interests.  A president (and governor) should care for the welfare of its citizens, not the (greedy) interests of the top 1%. 
 
I think many "conservatives" who were disappointed with Obama's re-election need to wake up and realize that they need to vote with their economic needs in mind. The Great Recession, which was started by private financial institutions who deliberated engaged in risky lending, affected everyone regardless of race, geography, and so forth. I voted for Obama in 2008 and 2012 because he represents hope, change, and a bright future for America. I truly believe that this country can return to a liberal democratic model of social progress and equal opportunity.

I know that there is an extremely high rate of homelessness among members of the LGBT youth community sadly. I should have been more specific I suppose. The schools in my area put a heavy focus on the T part of the LGBT. The  majority of people out there are not transgender and I doubt that 40% of the cases I take on will be dealing with that specific demographic which is why I am put off by the fact that nearly 50% of the coursework involved in the 3 out of 4 MSW programs near me focus so heavily on that demographic. I want a well-rounded education that focuses on the demographics we will work with in proportion. Hope that makes sense.

I'm going to give my POV from a different side than what seems to be the norm here... I actually applied to a "safety" program, mostly because their application fee was free and I thought "why not, it can't hurt?" The school isn't ranked in the top 10 or anything, but it actually had a [relatively] low acceptance rate around ~25% (yea, I know not super competitive, but not a sure thing either)... Well I got a paid interview/campus visit and when I went I was blown away. The department research matched exactly what I was interested in, and something about it just clicked with me, I got that good "fit" feeling about the school that everyone talks about... I was accepted with funding and almost certain I'll take the offer. Its funny, 3 months ago it was a safety and not something I'd consider unless all other options were exhausted, but after the visit, it's now a place I want to go over many other options! I'm excited and know I'll be happy there

So, there is a different side. Sometimes you'll regret places you didn't apply, even if you dot realize it yet.

Blahhh Buffalo is no longer on the Criticism and Theory rankings...
 
Anyway... Methodology from hell.
 
I would like to debut my official 2014 "rankings." They are based on a survey of me.
 
1. Tie for all schools that accepted me
5. Tie for both of my waitlisted schools
7-125. All schools that I did not apply to
126. Tie for all schools that rejected me

This is just from hunch and not from experience, but I'd recommend mixing up different silhouettes of skirts and cardigans. I know a lot of knee-length skirts run in the same shape and fullness, and same with the generic cardigans and shells, but if you can introduce some slouchy cardigans or fitted blazers or flirtier/straighter cuts for the skirts it will look like you have built up the wardrobe over time. I'm all for finding cuts that look great and work for your body shape, but there is always room to try something new-- especially if you feel uncertain about the image you're projecting. They say it's half-attitude anyway, right? Maybe this new stuff that you have already will give you the boost to throw your shoulders back and show the freshmen who's in charge.

Also, experiment with scarves, brooches, chunky bracelets or necklaces-- haunt second hand stores and places like TJ Maxx and Ross, where you rarely drop more than $10 per piece. It's an inexpensive way to play around and find out if something leaves you looking a little more polished than your students. I'm well known at my former workplace for my taste in earrings, which always garnered comments and compliments, but I don't think I ever spent more than $7 on a pair. In fact, the pair that probably gets the most attention are some 1 1/2 inch carved jade-looking earrings I got on the sale rack at Old Navy for $2.

On a slightly different and more generally general note: I've been closet shopping lately in my own stuff since I've been sorting out the piles to donate. A lot of it doesn't fit anymore, but I did find a few things that surprised me in their suited-ness for grad school. If you haven't thrown anything away for years, give your clothing reserves a second glance and see if there isn't something you can alter or maybe just wear in a new way.

"Mom, I accepted my offer. Stipend was X amount."
 
"Are you sure that's enough? I'm really worried about you living with the cockroaches and eating ramen, like all the grad students."
 
"...what the heck?"
 
"It doesn't sound like enough...ask them for more money."
 
"[mentor] says it's a good award and the grad students say it's enough to live on. I'll be fine."
 
"I just don't want you living with cockroaches."
 
...I love you Mom, but dear god.

I want to squish rocks and shoot lasers and play with all the fancy toys no one let me play with before I went back to school.  And I want to do it forever.  Getting paid is just a plus, IMO.

To break to trend of the acceptance/rejection topics in here, how about some soul searching while waiting it out?
 
I posed think question to myself and I thought it would be good for anyone to seriously think about it: Why? Why put yourself through writing all these essays, taking GREs, spending hundreds of dollars, stalking grad-cafe, go on tough interviews, etc... All to spend 5-6 years of your life to putting even more pressure on yourself until you finally get through it? Most people do fine without a PhD... why do you need to do it?
 
Don't answer like you're telling me, or like you're writing a SOP... what's the reason you used to convince yourself that this is right? Imagine you're trying to convince yourself from 9th grade that this is what you need to do. Have you ever put these feelings/ambitions into words? Think about it even if you're a lurker, or you don't want to share for everyone to see. You might learn something about yourself. 
 
I'll tell you why I'm doing it. Because statistically, I can't do it. Statistically, I'm supposed to want to grow up to play in the NBA and sell 1M records as a rapper, not to win a Nobel Prize in physics. I should just settle for working at Walmart and have a few kids I won't take care of, and probably end up in jail before I turn 25, not rock the boat and dare to dream different. I only know of one person from my HS actually got to the NFL, and all he does is sit on the bench, the rest... some are doing okay, but 90% completely lack ambition; they're so complacent with... "mediocracy" for lack of a better word. I'm not trying to say I'm better than them for going to grad school, but I'm disappointed that all these people that are still young are wasting their potential. You can't become the next Einstein unless you try to become Einstein. I'm doing it to prove I can do it. Why live your whole life and not aim high? You only get one chance... Even if your first path was misconstrued, you ain't dead yet.
 
That's something to consider even if you don't get into the grad school you like or even any at all... you ain't dead yet, so don't act like you can't get higher.

^I agree with the above.  Normally I am a huge proponent of "Why make yourself miserable?  Just leave if you know you don't need it," but that's for PhD students and typically students who are 1 or more years away from ever finishing.  But you're in the last semester of a master's program and you just need to bang out a mediocre thesis.  It doesn't need to be the best thesis ever written; it doesn't even need to be particularly good.  Just get it finished.  Your Director of Graduate Studies or whoever heads the MS program at your university will know whether what you have planned is an acceptable thesis, so ask first.
 
I think my master's essay was about 15 pages long.  That's because I wrote it in publishable journal article format; I did, indeed, publish it as a journal article.  So yours doesn't have to be long, either.  It depends on the conventions of your department.
 
So plow through.  get focused and get through the next 3 months.  You can parlay your MS in engineering into a lot of different fields - it's still going to be useful to you!

Hi there,
 
As a former teacher who went through a Masters program, I need to stress a few things. First off, if you're a certified teacher in multiple subjects, especially in high-need content areas (math and science usually), you should be able to receive a few interviews regardless of a Masters. Now, a number of districts and states have gotten rid of the education-tiered pay system. For instance, a few years ago in Detroit, if you had a Masters, you would reach a higher level on the pay scale, so the degree over time paid for itself. However, as of last year, they removed that system and froze all the pay levels, so my Masters didn't help me any.
Also, there's a number of governmental programs that will cover all your Masters loans should you be teaching at a Title I school as a science or math teacher for 5 years. Note however, this incentive is ONLY for math and science (high need content area). Thus, if you intend of staying at a Title I school for that long, and will be teaching math or science, a Masters may be worth your while because your loans would be forgiven in that time. If your content area is different, then I would sincerely reconsider paying full-tuition.
If you reapply to other programs again (a number of them accept students all year round, for instance USC's MAT program online), you may get a few scholarships. I know a few friends who received 2/3 tuition scholarship.
Lots of things to consider I know, but I hope I gave you some food for thought. It is better than sitting on top 60k worth of debt, like I am at the moment.