beccamayworth

did you have to relocate for your program? There might be tons of small trips/adventures you could do nearby...

Here's two main things, based on my experience applying last year (I'm an international student): 1) Initial contact with faculty/potential advisors before/during the application period is really important (although, as it has been discussed here, this varies a lot from field to field: make sure this applies to yours). This can be simply done over email, and it will allow you to find out more about whether that Professor is looking for students or not, if they have funding for international students, etc. But more importantly, it will give you an opportunity to start a dialogue through which professors can get to know more about you (and you get to know more about them). I'll exemplify this with my own experience: I emailed all POIs I was interested in; one of them replied saying he was in the process of retiring, which obviously influenced my application. Some asked for more information over email, and three asked for a skype meeting/interview. 2) Visiting is great, but I only visited the ones I got invited to. In this aspect my situation is different because I was living in the US, and that facilitates things tremendously. Many schools don't invite students from out of the country to visit because the international tickets are too expensive. However, I don't think it would hurt to ASK the school whether it's okay to visit or not. If it were me, I would probably contact them (depending on how that initial contact went) and say I was planning a trip to the US, and whether it would be possible to visit the department and meet with them. If visiting is a possibility (and won't be TOO costly for you), I think it does help your chances - but only if your application is already strong.

Thank you SO MUCH everyone. Seriously. You have no idea how much this helped!!!

Hi everyone! I understand that this it not the main purpose of this forum, but I've gotten great advice at grad cafe before so I figured it wouldn't hurt. I just started a PhD program and adopted a cat. I've been thinking about doing this for the past couple of years: I loooove pets. I've lived with cats and dogs before (although they weren't primarily my responsibility), and I've volunteered for a while at the local humane society. When I visited the shelter I was looking for an adult cat, somewhere in between 3-7 years old. I ended up really bonding with this adorable female torby: she immediately jumped on my lap, licked my hands, begged to be pet. The adoption agent said she was really shy in general, and medium-to-low energy. They had rescued her from a hoarder house two months before; she was pregnant; they took her in and spayed her (he didn't mention it, but I assumed she had the kittens before that). They didn't know how old she was but the vet examined her and said somewhere in between 2, 2 1/2 years old. I took her home. My apartment is really small but I allowed her only in a small area, as recommended. I was expecting her to hide for days due to her shyness but on the first night she was already exploring. She really is an awesome cat: she loves to be pet, comes say hi often, uses the litter box reliably, is not aggressive at all. The first night my anxiety started to kick in. I was not expecting that. It dropped on me heavy as a brick. I was worrying about everything. Honestly, the first day or so, I felt like I could barely breathe. She did meow quite a lot during the first nights, and ran around making a lot of noise. I was terrified the neighbors would complain. My landlord allowed me to have 1 cat, if he/she wasn't gonna be any trouble. Since then (6 days), the meowing has gotten much better. She does still meow (I always ignore it as to not promote the behavior by giving it attention), but it's much less and really not that loud - I don't think the neighbors can hear it. When she gets the cat crazies in the middle of the night and runs around the apartment, it does make a bunch of noise, which worries me - but I really hope it's way less audible to the neighbors, as no one has complained yet. BUT - I still have soooooo much anxiety. I find it impossible to relax. I never thought I'd feel this way - I thought I was prepared! I keep stressing about the noise, the neighbors, and a million "what ifs" - what if I need to travel and can't find someone to take care of her? What if when I travel she goes insane? Ultimately, my concern is - what if I don't have the capacity to take care of a cat? What if I am just too anxious and neurotic to do it? I apologize in advance - re-reading this, I sound like such a cry baby. I'm just super stressed out and trying to understand this whole ordeal as best as I can. Anyway, thanks so much for reading and for any advice you have for me.

OP, I'm also very glad you're getting support!!! Wishing you all the best!

Hi Francophile, From my experience (granted, in a Linguistics & Asian/Middle Eastern Languages department), there's really room for both literature and linguistics research in foreign language programs. I imagine some departments tend to lean more one way than others, but I actually know plenty of linguists that work in language depts. Literature and Linguistics are such different routes, though, that I'd just advise you to chose the one you're most passionate about.

This sentence is hilariously ambiguous.

Also, lots of shelves... and those shoe organizers that you can hang behind doors (you can use it to storage anything)

I think a loft bed is a great idea for small bedrooms: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80160867/

Yeah, I agree with GeoDude, the application process (particularly the visits) really changed my mind regarding my top choices... so I'm definitely glad ED wasn't an option in my case

Thanks everyone!!! I'm really glad Grad Cafe exists to help us with things like these. There are so many things I think "I should already know"...

I'm sorry if this is a super silly question, I just don't know. I've been offered the Provost's Fellowship at my new university. Is this something I should include on my resume? How? Thank you!

Although I'd love to understand more about how such a thing works!

Thanks!

Hi all, I received the following email from Scholars' Press - I'd never heard of it before and it makes no sense to me that anything other than a specialized scientific journal would have any interest in my thesis! Is there any value in getting this kind of publication? Thank you! Dear X, I am the representative of Scholars' Press which is specialized in the publication of high-level scientific literature. Scholars' Press is a member of an international publishing group, having nearly 10 years of experience in the publication of high-quality research works. We would like to offer you our publication services for your work entitled "YYYYYYYYY", that was found while searching the web. We consider that there may be a demand for your work within the scientific community, due to the in-depth research to which it relates and we believe that a publication will contribute in increasing the knowledge about your specific topic. Our publication offer is free of charge, our books are printed in paperback and marketed across the globe through more than 80,000 booksellers worldwide. I would be pleased to send you more information about our services. Kindly let me know if you would like to receive details with regards to a publishing agreement with us. I look forward to hearing from you. Best Regards, Z

If I were in your shoes, I'd contact my boss and be totally honest but not overly specific: I'd say hey, I'm about to start grad school in the Fall but I absolutely love this job. I'd prefer to keep working here. Do you see any scenarios where that's possible? Also, even if the job doesn't work out forever and you want to go to grad school in the future, you can always re-apply... Your work experience might even improve your application so that if the opportunity is there, you could get funding and not have to take out loans. (If I were to continue on the job, I'll email my POI at the grad program and the grad director to tell them about it, and say something like "I couldn't let go of this unexpected opportunity, but I hope to re-apply in the future, yadda yadda yadda")

That's great!! Congratulations!!!

that's true, if you don't mind paying for it there's no harm in retaking the GRE since now you can chose which set of scores to send. If you have a great writing sample and a great TOEFL score, it should be fine. I got a 3.5 on my AWA and I honestly don't think any schools even looked at that score.

thanks guys!

Hi everyone! I've graduated from an MA program at school X in May. In April, I submitted my thesis' abstract to a Conference that will happen in October and it got accepted. In August, I will be starting my PhD at school Y. Now, they've contacted me and asked me what is my "affiliation". I feel school X is the way to go because that's where I did all the work. However, at the time of presentation I will be studying at school Y... and it feels a bit deceiving to use the other school's name. Is there a good way to go about this? Can I have both schools under my affiliation? Thank you!

Hi everyone - I'll be looking for a studio/one bedroom close to the USC campus in a couple of months, but I've been doing some research and I'd love to get your input regarding prices. What would you say would be the average price for a studio/1 bedroom on the west or north side of campus?

Hi everyone - I'll be looking for a studio/one bedroom close to the USC campus in a couple of months, but I've been doing some research and I'd love to get your input regarding prices. What would you say would be the average price for a studio/1 bedroom on the west or north side of campus?

Hi! If you do need to get a new I-20, your SEVIS Id will probably remain the same BUT you will need the new one to go through the visa process. However - are you sure the end date is really wrong? Have you asked the school about it? The school renews the I-20 whenever necessary so maybe you have an early end date because you're required to renew it during your program. I definitely recommend contacting the school and asking them about the end date. Hope that helps!

To whom do you have to prove available funds? I'm assuming it's for a student visa, in which case: are you sure they require you to prove funds for the whole five years? My experience is that you only have to prove available funds for the 1st year.

There's nothing about your background that would prevent you from going to a GREAT PhD program. The last point, in particular, is most important: It would help if you could get more research experience from now and the time you apply (maybe volunteer at a lab?) Also, you didn't mention letters of rec... will you be able to get good ones, from Profs that know you well? Hope that helps