shadowclaw

Katsharki, I saw this on Ecolog today and thought of you: https://listserv.umd.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind1503b&L=ecolog-l&P=12382 It doesn't look like housing is provided, but if you're planning on permanently leaving Hawaii, temporary field housing may not be the best bet anyway. It looks like a good position for both gaining experience and for leaving open the possibility of applying for spring admission if you're interested in that route.

In the past two days, I did my favorite thing ever... shelled out a ton of money to fix my car and due some routine maintenance. I've needed a new pair of front tires for a while, but I've been putting it off. I also bent a rim a while back and really needed to get a new one. So I went to the junkyard and spent $100 on a new rim, then spent $150 on two new tires. I would have liked to buy nicer ones, but my wheel bearings decided that now would be a good time to go bad, so that was $350 gone. Driving home with everything fixed up, and my engine light came on. Sigh. I hope it's not too serious, or I'll have to dip into my moving fund.

Hell yes!

Driving with cats will be interesting. It kind of limits the number of hours we can spend on the road. Most of the advice on traveling with cats says to leave them in their carriers all day and let them out in the hotel room, since they will be too freaked out to use the box or eat while in the car. So that means we can't really try plowing through and go 16 hours straight before stopping.

I can commiserate! I got really worried about all of my applications when I didn't get interviews at UNC and UTK. I had a pretty great fit which those programs and my POIs there seemed really excited about me, especially at UTK (which was pretty much a perfect fit). Not getting in somewhere where there was such a good match really brought my confidence levels down. But after a few days, I got over it and confidence returned. There really are a ton of factors that go into these decisions! Don't let what happens at one program kill your confidence! I don't really have a solid backup plan, either. The TAMU wildlife job board does have lots of temporary tech positions (as do other boards) which are a great way to gain experience and make some cash. I found a good job for the summer. It's a few hours from home, which my husband finds annoying, but hey, it's only 2 months. If I don't get accepted anywhere, I'll be looking for a fall job and programs with spring admissions. Actually, thinking about it, I might be able to get a lab instructor job at some of my local schools if they have any openings. Either way, I'll cross that bridge when I get there. Stay positive

I haven't really looked at many of those kinds of threads, simply because I don't have much to offer (I don't know much about the cities, student life at those schools, etc). I understand where you're coming from, though. I sometimes feel that way about some people who post amazing stats and then say something like "do you think I have a shot at X school?" I feel like they are either 1) really insecure about themselves for some reason and are looking to others for reassurance, or 2) they know they are awesome and want other people to say it, too. Also, I really hate when people who scored in the 80's (percentile-wise) on the GRE say that their scores are so mediocre. No, if you scored in the 60's they'd be mediocre. The 80th percentile is flipping amazing. It would be more accurate to say that they're mediocre for X program.

Brown nose

There are two big reasons. First, I have no acceptances at this point. I don't expect to hear from two until later in the month, but the others, which do interviews, didn't offer me one but didn't reject me either. The NSF GRFP can turn those silences into acceptances. Second, stipends at most of these programs are around $20k. It's certainly enough to live off of, but I'm not sure how much I'd actually be able to save for things like car repairs. Plus it would be nice to have enough money to fly to my parents' house for Christmas.

Witch trial

It would be nice to treat myself to something after getting an acceptance, but I'll need my savings for moving far, far away! I've wanted to move to the Pacific Northwest for a while, so getting into Oregon State with a decent funding package will be a huge reward. I suppose after I get settled in and start receiving a stipend, I might be inclined to purchase something. I could use a new laptop and some new hiking and camping gear. The latter would be especially useful in my new home. I would also like to take a few trips to places like Yosemite and Yellowstone, as well as see the redwoods. Acceptances elsewhere might call for different rewards. An acceptance to FIU would call for a trip to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Acceptance to UNC would call for some serious beach time in the outer banks. Also, I forgot to mention my consolation reward if I get all rejections. My sister and niece are planning a trip to Greece, and I think I'll use some of my savings to join them.

I report them as spam when I see them, but I just decided to take a gander at SLP results to see what it was like. MangoSmoothie is right, there is so much of that going on with those programs, and the volume of results (and non-results) is so high, it would be a lot of reporting to get even a day's worth of non-results cleared. I just love when people downvote just because they don't agree with you. Someone could have the most logical and well supported post ever, but there will always be whiny immature posters who can't stand to be contradicted.

It's really annoying when people post non-results to the results page. There are things like "still waiting" and "has anyone heard anything?" Posting stuff like that is helpful to no one but yourself and clutters up the results. That is what the discussion forum is for. I also get annoyed when people don't even know the real name of the program they are applying to. One of my programs is a doctoral program in Biological Sciences, but almost everyone who posted to the results page put Biology. It's also annoying when people can't follow instructions and put abbreviations of schools names (e.g. PSU instead of Pennsylvania State University). Sorry, this has all annoyed me for a long time, and today a few people using the results page like a forum really got on my nerves.

I initially considered the idea of packing up the car, shipping a few items, and buying all new furniture. It seemed like it would be cheaper than $2000. Then I realized how much stuff we actually have that we can't just get rid of... my husband's insulator collection would cost over $600 to ship, and that's probably a conservative estimate. I have an armoire that my grandmother gave me which will take up a lot of space in the car or be expensive to ship. One of the dressers is old but high quality. It would probably cost close to $1000 to buy something comparable, and even replacing both of our dressers with cheaper ones would still cost $500. A queen size bed frame and mattress would run us for at least $500 (if not more), and we'd also need a couch. Plus not all of my books, camping gear, etc. are going to fit in the car. It would be cheaper to ship than rebuy many of those items. Depending on if we decide to keep both cars or not, I would also have to ship my kayak, which I'm sure would be expensive due to its size. My canoe can go on the car roof. So yeah, if I was 22 and heading across the country, I wouldn't have accrued much stuff yet, nor would I have a husband who also accrued a bunch of stuff. It would easy to just pack up the car and go. But I'm almost 30 and married, and I have a lot of things that have sentimental value, aren't made anymore, or are expensive. It's hard to leave that stuff behind, and what can be replaced would still cost a good chunk of change. Used furniture is actually a great way to go (pretty much all of my furniture is used aside from a walmart desk and entertainment center), but it's not always easy to find everything that you're looking for, and if you don't own a truck (or know somebody with a truck) it's hard to get some furniture home.

Did you catch this story: http://time.com/3578279/man-99-iphone-proposal/ I can't even begin to fathom why anyone would think this was a romantic idea.

I looked into relocubes, too, but they were priced so much higher than the u-box for a move to Oregon. One relocube was quoted at $3600 (twice that of a u-box), and renting the trailer space was $3100. JJCA, my best friend and her husband recently moved from PA to NC and they rented from afar. They were trying to avoid credit checks (since neither had any kind of credit history) as well as apartment complexes. So they mainly looked at Craigslist, but also looked at rental websites like zillow for individuals renting out houses. They relied purely on photos and the general vibe they got from potential landlords, and they found a really nice house that ended up being just as nice as the photos. I'm not sure if I want to try the apartment complex route or try for a house or duplex. I lived in an apartment complex for a little while, and I know a few people who did, too. We've all had nothing but good experiences with them. People I know who rented out apartments and houses from individuals that owned a few properties had mixed results. I have some friends who rent a big house and their landlady is pretty awesome. My husband had a landlord who would call both him and me (I didn't live there but he had my phone number from when I was helping him apartment hunt) five times a day asking about the rent starting on the first when rent was due the sixth. He also had a habit of letting himself in without telling anyone first to "check things out," which was really creepy when I was there alone one afternoon taking a shower. Whatever we decide on, it's unlikely that we will be able to visit ahead of time. So I'll probably just have to rely on photos and hope for the best. I read somewhere that people have hired someone from TaskRabbit to look at apartments for them. It would probably be easy to ask in the city guide if anyone knows how good certain complexes are. Maybe you could even find a helpful gradcafer who wouldn't mind checking things out for you.

Got on touch with that POI about confirming her intent to be my advisor. Phew! Glad that's sorted out. I hope that since the secretary asked me to contact her ASAP, an admissions decision will appear in my inbox soon. I really need some good news!

Similar to Utah State, Oregon State doesn't have an actual Ecology department. They have several different departments that offer an ecology track. Deadlines for Environmental Science, Forest Ecosystems, and Zoology have already passed. The Wildlife Science program does have rolling admissions, but I don't know what your interests are.

Even though I drank frequently around the time I turned 21, I can't say I really had more fun than if I was sober. It was all about hanging out with friends, throwing some burgers on the grill, and sitting around the fire or the living room having great conversations. This could easily have been achieved without alcohol, would have been cheaper, and wouldn't result in feeling icky the next day. Nowadays, I can't be bothered with alcohol. It never tasted good, and I think now I can taste it even more. The last two times I did drink, I woke up with horrible hangovers. It's just not worth it, and honestly, there are way better ways to spend my time. Besides, way back when, it was fine to drink vodka and gatorade, and it tasted ok. Now everyone my age is into wine and beer, and I find both to be absolutely disgusting.

I hate all Apple products, except for the Apple II computer which provided lots of enjoyment for me in grade school. I don't get why people go nuts over iPhones, iPads, and iPods. Actually, I'm not sure if people really care about iPods anymore, but they did at one point. The whole concept of needing to use iTunes to put music on an iPhone is weird. I'm not too fond of the interface, either. The only aspect I actually like is the app store... there are some iPhone apps that aren't available on Android.

Thanks for the info, TakeruK! I don't need a complete inventory, but it sounds like maybe I'd be able to fit a bit more furniture than I thought. I'm sorry you had such issues with the box! We will be driving instead of flying, so we do have room in the car(s) for essentials and stuff that won't fit in the box. I do think I'd be really stressed out if the box was 2 weeks late, though.

I know Utah State does rolling admissions, although this may depend on which department you apply to (you pick a home department). I looked into wildland resources and biology, and both have rolling admissions, but January 15 was the last date to apply for consideration for fellowships. Other forms of financial support may still be available.

Since seeing this thread, I've been looking around at the various moving options and coming up with figures for my most expensive and farthest scenario of Oregon. Thinking it over, I don't think attempting to pack up the car and mail the rest is going to be cheaper, since we would have to leave behind big furniture like dressers, tables, etc (and would have to buy this at our destination). The cheapest truck rental I found so far was Penske for about $2000 (with AAA discount) and I'm pretty sure we could fit all of our stuff in it. However, gas for the trip is going to be around $1200. The Uhaul U-box seems to be the most affordable option at around $1800 since no gas is required. However, it's smaller than a truck. I think I wouldn't object to getting rid of our couch, coffee table, and end tables since these were all hand-me-downs from my parents and are pretty beat up. We could certainly live without them for a few months until stipend money rolls in. TakeruK, what all did you transport in your u-box? Aside from your mattress and couch, was there any other furniture or just boxes/bags of smaller belongings? Ideally, I would like to pack 2 dressers, a mattress and box spring, a small armoire, bed frame (which disassembles), a kayak, and then as many boxes as we can fit. Maybe a smaller flat screen tv, too. In a perfect world, I'd also like to take my desk, two night stands, kitchen table, chairs, and entertainment center since they are practically like new. However, everything but the kitchen table and chairs are cheap walmart stuff and I'd probably need a second u-box to fit it. I feel like I really don't have that much stuff, but when you add in my husband's things, I guess we have a lot. Right now I have $1000 saved towards relocating expenses. I have a two-month job lined up for the summer, and I'm hoping that I'll be able to put at least $1500 of my earnings towards the fund. I think that should cover all of our actual moving expenses. We will still need money for apartment deposits, which we may get from selling one of our cars. However, we haven't decided if we want to do that or not. I think my parents are planning on helping us out a little, so that might end up being another source of cash. Now, if I end up attending an east coast school instead, as I mentioned before, a truck rental is around $1000 and gas wouldn't be too horrible. So I would probably take everything with me, and our existing funding situation should be sufficient to cover moving costs and deposits.

You know, I just kind of assumed I'd rent a a Uhaul and drive all of my stuff to wherever I may be moving. My husband and I don't actually have a ton of stuff, and the biggest thing is my queen size matress. Though I haven't been accepted yet, my two most likely acceptances would be in Oregon and Florida. I live in Pennsylvania. I just looked up the price of Uhauls, and even the smallest truck would be over $3000 to take it to Oregon. Florida is much more affordable, with the 10' truck at $890 and the 15' at about $1000. I'm pretty sure it would be more economical to bring all of our stuff to Florida, but I don't think the same is true for Oregon. The only issue is that I'm not sure we could really mail his insulator collection, and there's no way he'll leave it behind.

I do realize that the odds are indeed against me, but I do like to remain positive about such things. Coming up with stuff like that helps keep me from getting anxious and crazy!

I got a great email from the department secretary from one of my programs. Evidently my POI hasn't responded to their emails for confirmation that they are willing to be my advisor. The secretary told me to email them ASAP about it, or else see if someone else is willing to be my advisor. Ugh. Maybe that's at least a good sign that the department is willing to admit me. Hopefully it's just a case of disappearing emails or forgetfulness on my POI's part.