aginath

I set and keep regular schedules. After about 7PM, I try to have any immediate tasks for the day wrapped up, because that's when my husband gets home from work. He also sees to it that I'm in bed around 10:30 every night (it may be closer to midnight before I fall asleep, but at least I'm there). I've spent the last two years blocking off Fridays and Sundays for entire work days of reading/writing as necessary. Time management is different for everyone and other factors such as writing (desire and ability), course load, advisor expectations, assistantship, etc. figure into your obligations. My availability for hobbies fluctuates greatly, but I still find time to make baby blankets for friends or cook for dinner parties and birthdays every month or grab a few classmates and head to the hills for some hiking.

These are very broad questions and part of the answers may vary by discipline (and even within a discipline depending upon the culture of the college/department/program). I've seen it happen (both an advisor publishing a student's work and an advisor submitting a paper with a student as co-author without informing them). My own advisor is very careful to talk about authorship and ownership upfront. I have published with him, but he was third author on the paper (I was first and another student was second). Right now I have a paper out for submission where I am second author and he is eighth. On the other hand, I also have a paper in press where I am the sole author and it's based on a case study I conducted for one of his classes. The bottom line is, it happens.

I feel terrible for neglecting GradCafe (and this thread) for so long! But I have been writing my Comps this summer. I would sooner shoot myself in the foot than commute from Atlanta. However, I know a LOT of graduate students who do it. It comes down to what you're comfortable with and what you want. Those who do commute usually complain about getting up early/going home late, having to stack classes/meetings to avoid commuting daily, and the gas prices. Living in Winder, Lawrenceville, or Gainesville are doable. There are also small towns around Athens like Winterville, Jefferson, Danielsville, and Bishop that are viable, too (especially if you like the small town feel). I always send incoming graduate students to CragisList to find housing. You'll see the usual spam from certain complexes who always advertise, but you also find some gems. It's where I found the house I rent (with my fantastic back yard and awesome landlord) near the Navy School (now the Medical Campus).

Check to see if your college or department has a template for graduate students. We do and it has been approved by the department. The student organization for the department provides a Word template and access to a color printer (free). All we have to do is buy the Avery business cards.

This totally varies by university, college, and department. I'm on a 12-month schedule, whereas many of my friends are on a 9 (summer funding is rare around here). At UGA, in general, students receive a tuition waiver for summer if they held an assistantship for the preceding spring. For that reason, a number of students take classes (generally seems to be more humanities/social science than other science, though). I took 2 classes last summer and am taking 1 this summer.

I know of a number of doc students who change universities, because their advisor takes a position at a new school and they follow them. I've also known of a few who have changed, because they find out that they just don't fit with the program. It's not unheard of, but it's also not done lightly.

I applied to 3 schools and was accepted by all 3. You know how many times I've been asked "how many schools did you get in to?" Not once. In conversation, I have said I applied to NC State and Indiana, but never has anyone asked me about it or asked me to elaborate. In the words of Steve Miller...go on, take the money and run.

The program may give informal notice via phone, but it's not nearly as likely as written notice via email and/or snail mail.

I know a number of students who live in ATL (not too far from Emory) and commute to Athens without a problem. I don't know many who live here in Athens and commute to ATL. That said, there are a number of small towns in between that are quaint and would make the split more even. It more depends upon if you prefer (or can live with) city, suburban, or rural life and amenities.

FWIW, I have known faculty (and adcomms) who stop reading at page X or an approximate amount of words based on estimates. How frequently that happens, I would guess not very, but it happens.

It's highly likely that you'll need to meet with your new advisor at least once prior to the semester starting. The Graduate School or University (as well as your department or program) may also offer an Orientation session. While these may not be required to attend, it's highly recommended. As Medievalmaniac mentioned, certain assistantships may also have a required training session. These generally occur in the week prior to school starting.

This question depends entirely on the context. I have a few classmates who are fairly proficient with English, but they sometimes struggle with casual conversations (accents and speed, specifically). It's not uncommon for them to ask me to repeat myself. If this is something not related to English being a second language, then perhaps there's something else at play here such as a hearing impairment. In this case, getting a routine test run wouldn't be a bad idea.

These will be your peers. They have been where you are and know what you're thinking and the questions you have. I am a firm believer in the "OTHER" education. The social connections you make can become important networking contacts later. Do it.

My entire application folder for UGA got lost about a month before decisions. It happens. FTR, it was later found at the bottom of a faculty member's desk, but that was AFTER copies of everything had been re-sent to the department.

In some cases (this varies by filed, department, college, and institution), there is a scoring process that occurs during the interview process. Whether this is done numerically on paper or subjectively in the faculty members' minds, filtering occurs. They want to know that the person they've read about on paper aligns with the person sitting in front of them in the interview. They want you to expand upon what you've written and explain your goals verbally. You said you want to work on X with Faculty Y, but do you really? They want to know how you communicate face to face and interact with others. What you say and how you say it has an impact on how you're perceived. Do you really fit with any of the faculty in the department? Do your goals match with theirs? These are just some of the things they'll look at when evaluating you.