VioletAyame

Just received an acceptance phone call from UCSB! So much for all the suspense the last few days

I just recently visited Stanford campus and completely fell in love with it. I was regretting my decision not to apply there until I read this. That is very unfortunate! Thank you for shedding some light on the program!

Congrats! That's really exciting. 4 days for the visit weekend, that can be quite tough. What I usually see people do is to contact the 2nd school and ask if you can attend it partially (depending on how many days you can reasonably take off and what the core activities are) or if you can schedule individual visit later on. I heard that most departments are receptive and accommodating regarding such request - it might be more common than you think! Anyway, good luck sorting it out and congrats again!

Cypher would beg to differ with that quote.

No need to apologize Kamisha. I'm glad you made a long and detailed post so the OP can see that people here are not also persecuting her. I just want to attest that that's the way her language came off to me as well, so you're definitely not alone in this. To OP: I think it's good that you get to vent a little bit here, even though not all the replies satisfied you. That may be another thing to think of: when you seek help, do you only want to hear what conforms with your already established opinions and get defensive when people say something you don't like? That would be counterproductive IMO when you want to improve upon yourself and build a thicker skin. I do hope you can find someone at your program to talk to, be it one of your cohort, a student adviser, an administrator, etc., depending on which route you want to take. Leave if need be, but the general opinion is you're having a very good package, so think twice before making that decision. Good luck!

Ah thank you so much for that Duna. If you don't mind me asking, when did you net notified last year?

Congrats! It's a fantastic program! Just curious, what is your research interest?

Oh God USC sent out invites already? I guess I should be saying goodbye to my top choice

So are you not applying to USC anymore? How many programs are you aiming for?

I just went to their recruitment/interview weekend, but from what I heard, last year they did accept a few people without interviewing, generally before the weekend. Then again the visit is earlier this year too, so I can't be certain. I'm sure that you can email or call them right now and ask to get a specific answer.

I didn't anticipate the mix of boredom and anxiety to be so lethal. I learn to bake, try to work out (which are totally counterproductive btw), read some books, plan to rewatch Games of Throne (just saw the trailer for season 4, one more reason for April to come early!) and give Breaking Bad a second chance, started House of Cards and The West Wing, and become obsessed with this forum. Oh and I saw these on BuzzFeed the other day: http://www.buzzfeed.com/ariellecalderon/books-to-read-before-they-hit-theaters-this-year http://www.buzzfeed.com/summeranne/24-invaluable-skills-to-learn-for-free-online-this-year So yeah, I'll add some more books to my list and maybe learn to code. But then most things done for distraction often lose their true appeal.

Ah no problem, I see people getting each other's screen name wrong all the time. I think the coffee thingy is our member status depending on how much we post, and I just love it, being a coffee fan. I remember emailing them, but not where I get that email address. I think Contact Us would be the best guess. I'm at my part-time job and there's no computer around so I can't check for sure (my phone email app doesn't save history that long ago), but if you need it I can check when I get home tonight. Just PM me in case I forget.

1. Did you take the test all the way through? There should be 2 quant and 2 verbal sections, totaling 60 questions each. The test is adaptive, which means the first section will determine how difficult the second section is, and the higher the difficulty the higher your score will be. Thus I doubt that each question is equally weighted like you said. Maybe double-check the scoring guide? 2. I've never had any problem with the calculator both in my practice tests and during the exam. It's probably a glitch in the software, in which case you should contact ETS and let them know. They're pretty responsive regarding technical questions in my experience; they helped me install the PowerPrep software for my stupid windows 8 laptop. In the meantime, you can probably use your computer calculator as a substitute. It doesn't have the same layout, but I think that's not gonna be much of a problem. The main point is to get used to using an on-screen calculator, which tends to slow most people down compared to a hand-held one. 3. Again, I think your best course is to ask ETS directly. Maybe take a screenshot of the issue and attach it in an email? Sorry I can't be more helpful; I never had that problem before either.

From my experiences reading this forum for the past 4 months, the most common and still most applicable advice is to think hard about why you want to go to grad schools. There is the practical reason to further one's career, to teach and do research. There is the "romantic" reason to further your knowledge of a field you're passionate about (with the prospect for a job of course). Your reason seems to fall in neither category, and even though I haven't started yet, I have heard times and times again that grad school is super hard work, even when you're not going into debt for it (then just imagine having to fund yourself). One needs the interest to sustain through 3-5 years, probably more if you're aiming for a PhD, and an eventual goal to look forward to. If you don't have a field that fits both criteria, regardless of ability, I would think twice about grad school and explore the options the BA degree grants me first.

As a non-native speaker, I agree with Loric (minus the Japanese part, no comment). Formal schooling and lessons in grammar can only help you so much; after a point, only familiarity with a language will help you speak and write without having to find the correct tense or looking up a rare plural form (not that I don't still have to do that sometimes, along with using a thesaurus). It doesn't have to be novels or short stories or other literary works (even though I considered it a great achievement when I was first able to enjoy a novel written in English, still have trouble with poems though) - I suggest reading The New York Times or other online news sources, blogs, op-eds, etc. The articles are usually just long enough in length; they're straightforward in tone and appropriate for your goal; and maybe try reading the comment section if you want. There's a lot of craziness there, but surprisingly I also found a lot of well-written, well-formulated arguments represented different valid viewpoints. It can help you not only with the grammar and structure but also with the subtleties in American culture.

Your post reminds me of the Theory of Multiple Intelligences. It always strikes me as more valid and applicable than the IQ test by acknowledging each individual's specialty or aptitude in a way. If the measurement is spatial or bodily-kinesthetic, I would be very very stupid. http://www.tecweb.org/styles/gardner.html http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/education/ed_mi_overview.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_multiple_intelligences

I was ready to write an "Ignorance is bliss" reply like BeakerBreaker until I saw your beautiful logic: coffee shop guy = happiness; coffee shop guy = no marketable skills & job security; humanities PhD = no marketable skills & job security; therefore humanities PhD = happiness. Very beautiful logic indeed On the topic of this thread, both "intelligence" and "happiness" in this context are too vague and ill-defined variables. We don't always agree on what it means and the consequence of that particular meaning of our choice, and I doubt we ever will, so what's the use of arguing?

It does sound like it went great! UW Madison is a great school and you certainly have grounds for hope (I almost said "don't worry, I'm sure it'll turn out fine," but I know how much we all dislike hearing that). Please keep us up to date when you hear back from them! Congratulations! That's so exciting! Hearing your interviews went well certainly calm me down a little bit. I'm having an interview weekend next week, and even though it would be less stressful to do it via Skype, I'm grateful to have a chance to visit the campus and talk to everyone face-to-face. Two of my POIs will not be able to attend, so they're giving me a chance to meet with different faculties instead, and we're be meeting in groups instead of one-on-one. I don't know why but this little fumble on their part makes me feel easier about the whole process instead of expecting everything to be perfect.

I'm absolutely pro-waffle! I just found this amazing place near my house that specializes in waffles, sweet and savory. I think it's just a matter of time before there's a "make your own waffles" bar. I think I had something like that when I was a kid in Vietnam, but it's filled with sweet coconut flakes like those used to make macaroon. It was delicious. You're so lucky to have it made fresh near your house. Now my childhood treat is hard to find even when I go back home.

I didn't know people are so pro-crepes over here, what a relief! I too also prefer crepes over pancakes, but waffles on the other hand...

Your response lost most of its credibility for me when you used the word "enslave". From then on it started to sound like hyperbole rhetoric that pundits and politicians throw at each other without any regard to actual problems and policies. Do you seriously think that you paying more taxes or having to comply to a law you don't like can be equated to slavery? Do you know what he difference is? You have representation with taxation and most of all, nobody's owning you or anyone else. You're welcome to leave if you like. The ACA, and every other law that has been passed under this administration, the same as under the last administration, was passed with both democratically-elected Houses of Congress, signed by the president, and in the ACA case, affirmed by the Supreme Court. Every due process has been followed through. One side won and one side lost - that's just the way it works. You can say that it's a stupid law, that it's unfair, that it's destroying this country - they're all acceptable - but not that it's unconstitutional or it's tyrannical or enslaving anyone. "Hot" words like those are used to evoke emotions, to push buttons in people without meaning pretty much anything and some are very insensitive to the experience of a large part of a population. Like the poster above, I don't want to get into a debate about abortion, but I just want to point out that you fail to call for protection the liberty of the mother. It's a very nuanced subject and IMHO it's a balancing act between the right of liberty for the mother and that of life for the baby. That's what makes it an extremely tough issue and I think choosing to argue ideology instead of policy would not help solve it. Other things are harder to make a case for, like gay marriage, which I don't see how it can infringe on anyone's right. One can absolutely be fiscally or economically conservative, but I get how being socially conservative can be incongruent with social work.

apiphobic, how did it go? Please update us (with advice with possible ) when you have the time!

That's pretty much the way it's set up at my school, except the professor teaching that course is our honors program director and there's really no course website. We did however spent a whole semester on picking the topic, developing it from the initial idea to a presentable proposal, finding a mentor and talking them into getting on board . Everything was included in a one-unit class we take during the spring of our junior year; then the actual project was counted as 2 three-unit classes during our senior year. We met once every 2 weeks for an hour or so with our director to check up on progress, discuss difficulties and get advice from her. She was also available for one-on-one appointment if needed. We all panicked once or twice (or multiple times) during that year but at the end most of us did finish and IMO it was a great experience. We had solid support throughout and if someone changed their mind, it was pretty easy to drop the project and arrange what kind of grade and unit they would get as well. I just don't think there's a so-called standard for all US schools, so it's always better to check with the office. The information should be easy to attain and the people accessible; if not, I would think twice about committing to doing it.

From what I've heard around here, in your discipline the Q score would not matter as long as your combined score hits the range of 300, which yours obviously does. To be sure, you should contact these programs and ask for their preferences, since they don't always have the same policy regarding GRE score. And please take this withe a grain of salt - hopefully someone applying or attending an English MA program might give you better insight!

This. I love this so much and the invisible hand of the forum would not let me up vote it! But I must say, your son didn't enjoy Fight Club? That's a shame.