VioletAyame

You like Chinese zodiac? It's pretty interesting to look at actually. Do you also know there's a whole astrology system that goes into it? Not only the sign (Rat, Ox, Tiger, etc.) there's also a whole other cycle of 10 "elements" which go with the 12 signs, creating at 60 year cycle. I just looked up its English name and it's somehow called "Stems and Branches" cycle. Also there's Wu Xing or the Five Elements, each is assigned to your year of birth (2 years for 1 element) but different for male and female. For example I was born under the year of the Horse and my element is Earth, and all female born that year as well as the year after (of the Ram) share the same element. Then each element has different "types", and each year there's a whole group of stars which are supposed to govern your year. So yeah, complicated stuff

Exactly. Why is this thread still alive? More importantly, why am I still reading this? Still, 2 last things to OP: It's worth saying again: you're a horrible friend. I would never be friend with someone who blatantly says that they don't care if I'm happy and as long as it doesn't benefit him/her, he/she doesn't give a damn. That's just awful. I wonder what you feel regarding your family. Maybe try to be a better friend, then you can discover how much a good friendship can make you happy as well. Instead of thinking of it as "their" happiness which does not benefit you, learn to be happy for them so you can have more happiness in your life and experience the times when they feel happy for you. It's really a pretty great feeling being happy and excited for the ones you love. And thinking about them, whether in happiness or sorrow, can take your mind off your problems and do wonders to your perspective in life. True friendship and empathy are invaluable. My best friend has been a rock to me with this whole moving and starting grad school thing. Also, don't judge people so quickly. I know some people are good at reading people, but I'm not so to me first impressions don't mean anything. I mean two of my closest friends right now I wasn't keen on when we first met, and they probably weren't keen on me as well. You may as well be one of those with good people skills, but it seems likely given that in the last 3 pages you said you've been turned off by a date, a Meetup group and a game group. That's quite a lot of people. Sometimes you need to give people, and yourself, a second chance to interact, get to know each other and then decide. And even if you're not crazy about them, know that they are unique individuals who are most likely just different than you, not "weird kind" or "social outcasts". Be kind and patient. Stop going if you don't want to but don't look down on them. Quote the person you're talking to, problem solved. If you're willing to say anything, say it directly to him/her.

Oh right, and I forgot we'll get paid during school, duh! I guess it can be a heads-up for people who want to do unfunded programs. And applying for an SSN should be pretty painless - I think beside the letter of employment you'll only need to passport with a valid I-94 and perhaps your I-20 (I'm speaking as a F-1 visa holder of course; I don't know much about J-1), but make sure to check with your school too. Also make sure to memorize your SSN number; you're not supposed to bring the card with you and you'll need the number for all sorts of things!

What do we do when we oscillate between 2 types? The link to the test you posted earlier literally said I have no difference between T & F!

Hey being introverted does not equal being socially awkward. We just like to spend some time alone, or alone together - it's actually nice to just be with other person/people and each does their own things. And I never claimed to be a genius. I'm tempted to, but I know better. On the main topic, I'm either a ISFJ or ISTJ; neither sounds particularly intellectual or sciency. P.S I read GradCafe in my free time.

Or the IELTS?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you need a SSN (social security number) to apply for a US credit card? I couldn't open one until I was on my OPT, thus allowing me to apply for a SSN. Also a few tips regarding payment: if you're forgetful like me, comfortable with it and have sufficient fund, put everything on auto-payment, including payment to your credit cards (link it to your bank account and use the overdraft protection service if your bank provides one). That will prevent any late payment which will not only affect your credit score but also incur late payment fee and interest. Also make sure of the large payment alert (it may be called something else) which will email or text you whenever a big transaction occurs in your account. Most banks now offer it, as well as fraud protection, which allows you to claim fraudulent charges on your account and dispute to get your money back (it has worked wonders for me). If you don't want to use auto-payment, try and arrange all your bill's cycles or payment due dates around the same time of the month, so you will be accustomed to sitting down and paying them off all at once. I believe many companies and banks will let you change your due dates without much of a hassle. And for credit score/history monitoring, I've been using CreditKarma. Their ads are annoying, but they're really free (so far) and although it's not as accurate or detailed as your one-a-year credit reports, it serves as a useful tool to get a general picture of your credit activity. I check it once a month to see if anything's wrong with my accounts and my debt.

Agree with everything Meanyus said. Also you can/should certainly ask their current students who are already far along in the program as to how likely or easy it is to get funding for that 4th year. They're usually best to give testimony about that matter. Anyway, congrats again! And I'm also glad that whenever I choose to go I already know some people thanks to this forum

9 hours? Wow they should pay you extra for that! May I ask wouldn't it be easier flying there? Congrats! That's awesome! deleonj, you've had a lot of news lately. Congrats on all the acceptances! Sorry about Brown, but UIUC must have swept all the sorrow away

This is amazing Crucial BBQ! Thanks so much for that. I wish I had more likes to give you

Hey I just received the fellowship decision too. Did they send you the email about their visit weekend as well? I want to go, but it seems their $250 cap on travel expense won't be enough to cover a ticket from CA!

Was Cornell's status ever "submitted" when you first clicked Submit? If yes I would venture and guess that it means they're reviewing your file now. If not I wouldn't think too much of it - the same for Princeton's "Submitted". Some schools just don't bother to change the app status. For me both my Ohio State and USC apps still look exactly the same with the boring "App submitted, payment accepted line" and I got noticed from them both since the last few weeks of January.

I laughed so hard. Thanks pears. Do you have a visual for this 3rd generation meme creature as well?

Haha right? I seriously considered posting "Just do what you just did, but in the Philosophy subforum."

Wow I'm both afraid and expecting U Penn to send me such an apology. They'd better do it quickly before I get comfortable with the idea of moving to Philly.

In most schools I'm applying to, the way it works is the department has their own funding for their students, usually through TA and RAships. When they see some applicants' profiles that they know are competitive (usually it's a number game for the graduate school, based mostly on GPA and test scores), they can nominate them for university-wide fellowships. If the students get those fellowships, their funding will come from the graduate school, not the department and the department can use its fund to admit more students. This is the case when a student declines an offer, that fellowship funding will usually be gone as well, since the department can't nominate other people to replace it. But even in the case that all funding is tied to the graduate school, I think it's still the department's job to secure funding for you if they really want you to come. You may have to explicitly expresse your interest to them but they should be the one dealing with the graduate school. It's like hiring and employee and tell him/her that if you like to work here and get paid, take it to my boss about your potential salary, it's not my problem.

Congrats guys! I haven't been to the forum in a few days and there's been so much news! Well it's REALLY expensive to live in Santa Barbara, if that's any consolation.

Fried chicken? No way. I'm gonna really treat myself. Chocolate cupcakes and wine for me.

Congrats deleonj! Best of luck going forward! So sorry to hear that guys. That really sucks. I really hope for more good news to come soon. KentuckyCurls, will you not go to Temple then?

I'm a big fan of leggings with shirt dresses/sweater dresses and low-heeled boots or flats as casual yet classy female attire. It's comfy and easy to dress up/down as well. Plus I'm short and I don't look that good in fancy pants. I would wear a semi-formal or office dress for interviews/conferences and cute, trendy ones for every day wear. Nice jeans and tops would work as well, though I've seen T-shirts in a more casual setting.

Right, I remember seeing your post early in the season. Congrats again! I wouldn't mind living in Chapel Hill myself. Congrats! Great news to start the week Guys I have a quick question to ask. Some of the schools didn't require official transcripts in time of application, only upon acceptance. Should I go ahead and send them the transcripts now (there are 2 of them) or wait until I formally accept the offer?

I think you've perfectly summarized the whole interview process for our discipline. Before I applied I didn't know that there'd be interviews to expect either, and when I received one, again didn't know the very same program can admit applicants without interviewing. Now that I'm halfway through the process, all I know is it depends. Anyway good luck to the rest of your apps! I was lucky enough not having to wait for long, and I'm practically done for this season or any future season. I can't imagine what it must be like to stare into the silent void that is the admission decision with the power determine your future. Sorry I got carried away a bit there.

Hi there! I'm sorry you're feeling that way, but may I ask what do you think are the reasons for your feeling isolated? Is it the culture shock? The culture of the department? Your advisor? Or your dissertation work? I've been an international student here in the US for the last 5 years and I know it can be tough at times. I was lucky enough to live in an area with plenty of international students, some from my own country as well, and we helped each other a lot along the years. Perhaps there's an international student club on campus you can join? I know that's a bit more on the undergrad side, but I imagine there are ways for you to find other graduate international students in other departments. Also look into your school's students counseling service and remember we can also serve as your virtual support group. You can PM me if you need someone to talk to. If it's more about coursework and/or your advisor, someone in your discipline and already in grad school might be of more help.

Apparently quite a few outraged patriots thought America The Beautiful IS their national anthem.

Yes it is extremely sappy but I have to admit I was touched by it even though I am not American. Then I thought people will go (positively) crazy for it because well, it is sappy. Then I heard the "outrage" that exploded on Twitter and honestly I'm not surprised anymore. It kind of makes sense too as a response of the far right conservative considering the potential immigration reform and the growing anti-immigrant and xenophobic sentiments among that group. My advice? Ignore them. They won't go away unfortunately but what else can you do? I don't even want to talk about this anymore. I mean there was a debate between Bill Nye and a creationist guy (I forgot his name) who is the director of a creationism museum. A creationism museum, yes. So really, there's nothing else to be done.