rising_star

geographyrocks, you should definitely NOT be searching that way. Huge timewaster. You should be using the large databases, which of course vary by field but in general PubMed and Web of Science are the biggies. Also, what would be faster would be to search the site of whichever major group publishes that journal: ScienceDirect (Elsevier), Project MUSE, JSTOR, Wiley-Blackwell, Sage Publishing, etc. Even using those would save you time over your current approach. If you're desperate and your school's search is really that bad, use Google Scholar. It's not comprehensive but it's better than going through journals one by one. Also, talk to a reference librarian because there may be an easier way to run your searches that you just don't know about...

That chart seems off, at least for dog food. My dog does eat premium dog food (Canidae grain-free with lamb) and it's $60 for a 24lb bag. Granted, a bag lasts me about 3 months but that means I'm spending at least $240 on food, not counting any dog treats I buy (and there are treats, both store-bought grain-free things and things like carrots, peas, and pumpkin). Very true. I agree with everything in this post. I will say, though, that if you adopt a slightly older dog, you'll find that they are much less demanding on your time/attention. I mean, I got my dog as a grad student and I fostered dogs as a grad student. I can afford it but I also have never been one to hang out in coffee shops all day, eat lunch out all the time, etc. The money that some people spend on those things for entertainment is money that I spend on my dog. And, for the record, while cats seem cheaper, they're really not that much cheaper when all is said and done. The biggest upside to a cat over a dog, imo, is being able to be gone longer without having to worry about the bathroom issue.

Personally, I would wait to tell your advisor. What if you don't get any acceptances and you have to stay where you are?

Even if your department isn't providing you with sample theses, you can find them online. Just look for the Proquest Dissertations and Theses database, which you can then search by field or topic to get some ideas of what the text might look like. I'm surprised that you only need 50 pages for comparative literature. Also, in my experience, you need to have data around which to base your argument. In literature, those would be texts of some sort--novels, biographies, autobiographies, poems, plays, etc. What texts are you interested in using to craft your argument?

The other schools may not have FLAS fellowships available. You have to see if the school offers a FLAS in general. Google for Title VIII centers to get a list of where there are centers in Russian.

Start with Web of Science, set up search alerts for journals/articles relevant to your field, etc. The amount you read really depends on where you are in your studies. I didn't read a lot of articles specifically related to applying when I applied to my PhD, but my field doesn't do interviews so there's no need to read up on POI's work. Anyway, I used to try to read at least one article relevant to my interests (my interests span... four-ish disciplines, so there's a lot of options) every day. I didn't always achieve this though and would fall off the wagon for weeks and months at a time. Even so, I recommend it. I'd read one in the morning before getting started with the rest of my day, for example.

ReminderFox. Because, while a calendar is useful, it's nice to have a pop-up listing all the upcoming deadlines you have... Ghostery. Sometimes I like to know who is tracking me and/or block them from doing so. Evernote Web Clipper. Because I use Evernote and it's handy.

In my experience in the social sciences, what you're describing is NOT normal. It's fine to get someone to help you with part of your thesis, share their notes, help you with figure out the analytical methods, etc. But, they don't just DO the work for you. There's a very big difference between helping and doing. Also, I'd imagine that your advisor's other student would then have an issue signing where you say that the dissertation/thesis is your own work...

Honestly, an in-person interview probably won't happen because, as someone leaving, she doesn't get funds from the current university to fly in students and the new institution's contract hasn't started yet so they wouldn't be paying for the travel either. It's not the worst thing in the world not to be able to visit or have an interview in person. I'm in a different field and my field doesn't do interviews at all and only some schools fly in applicants at their expense. The school where I'm doing my PhD is not one I ever visited. I'd talked to my advisor before, because he'd come to the campus where I did my MA to give a lecture, so that was the extent of our interaction before I got accepted. No phone calls or Skypes or anything. Then after I was admitted, we emailed a few times and I spoke extensively to two of his grad students. It's all worked out pretty okay.

Loric, I'd say that GradCafe is more than just transient personalities. The reason "Officially Grads" exists as a separate forum is because of demand from community members who didn't want to have to say goodbye to the site after they were admitted and decided where to go for their graduate degree.

I'd try Craig's List to look for a roommate. It's worked well for me in the past. As for the rest, definitely install a lock on your bedroom door. Also, definitely talk to the apartment company and/or the university off-campus housing staff (there is usually such a thing) to find out about what your rights are. Serious question: why haven't you reported the dog that isn't on the lease yet? I ask because if/when that dog causes permanent damage, each of you will have the costs deducted from your security deposit...

What a weird situation. My undergrad diploma is fully in Latin (so no, I have no idea what it says) but I've never had to provide a copy of it or anything. (ETA: No wait, I did have to provide a copy when I started my MA.) Given that so many of the country's elite institutions seem to still use Latin, I don't get why this school needs a copy of the translation... Good luck with this unusual request!

Turns out even "Dear Abby" addresses this topic! http://news.yahoo.com/couple-short-hospitality-parents-guests-050010221.html "DEAR ABBY: More and more I receive emails from people using the closing salutation "Best." I feel this must be incorrect. Shouldn't it be "Best Regards" or "Best Wishes"? To say simply "Best" seems somehow lacking. Best what? What is accurate? -- TANDI IN NEW HAVEN DEAR TANDI: Closing a communication using "Best" is a shorthand version of saying "Best Wishes" or "Best Regards." It's acceptable in less-than-formal communications, and is sometimes used when someone feels that ending their email without it would seem too cold and abrupt."

Okay, first of all, you don't always have to pay more in rent. Some places charge a pet rent, but there are many that don't. Also, some charge a pet fee but others don't. My current place charges a one-time $150 fee, which I just viewed as part of the security deposit, but which you could also view as a ~$10/month rent increase. I've also lived in places (rented through individual owners) that didn't charge anything for having a pet. But, depending on the dog you get/want, you may need to pay more to have a place with a fenced in yard, for example. As for the rest, well... there's the finances to consider (vet bills, dog food/toys, replacing anything the dog destroys [and there's pretty much guaranteed to be something], paying/finding someone to watch the dog when you're out of town) and the time factor. Do you have an hour or two throughout the day to spend walking, training, and playing with a dog? Are you able to commit to socializing your dog (dog park, playdates, etc.)? Here's two things I would suggest. First, work with/through a rescue group, rather than just going to the animal shelter. This is especially important if you don't have much experience as a dog owner because they can help you understand what will and will not work given your personality and schedule and the dog's personality and needs. Also, you're more likely to get a dog that already has some training (and have people to consult with about continuing that training), which can be very helpful if you don't have that experience yourself. Second, before adopting a dog, consider fostering. That gives you 99% of the experience but without much of the costs. You get the experience of taking in a dog whose background you know little or nothing about, training and working with that dog, and that sort of thing but typically the rescue group is a 501c3 and covers all of the vet bills (and sometimes also food) on your behalf. Fostering is an incredible experience and I've fostered dogs for years, including for about 2.5 years in grad school. One of the downsides though is that you are likely to be responsible for taking the dog to weekly or monthly adoption events, talking to potential adopters, etc. Again, this is a time commitment but one that I personally find to be worth it. In thinking about your question though, I was struck my thinking that the first few months of a big life transition are *not* a great time to get a dog as dogs can be very demanding on your time. Someone else asked me about this recently and this is part of the email I sent in response. ------ Every group I've fostered with has required that I or someone from my household drop off and pick up the pet from weekly adoption events. Also, when I fostered in [one state], the group had a home visit and trial period as well, which meant I had to go to the prospective adopter's house for the home visit with the dog, drop the dog off if the visit went well, and, in one case, pick the dog back up when the person backed out of the adoption. Since you can't really take dogs on public transit, you'll need a personal vehicle to do all of these things. As for traveling with the dog, that is really dog-dependent. Some dogs get sick every time they're in the car. It's something you can work on but that takes time. One of my foster dogs, Daisy, peed in the car basically every time she was in the car for the first 4.5 months I had her. If you have a dog like that, then you can't easily travel with him/her. At any rate, I wouldn't make any decisions until you get settled in your position and get a sense of what your days will be like. If you're expected to have a lot of face time on campus or in the lab, then having a dog is more complicated unless you have a roommate that can let the dog out when you're unavailable. In general, fostering isn't for everyone. You have to be willing to love and treat a dog as if it's your own then let it go to someone else without getting bitter or sad. It also means taking in a dog that probably has some sort of problem that needs to be resolved (physical, behavioral, or whatever). It probably means housebreaking, crate/kennel training, and leash training. A lot of those training things can be avoided if you adopt from a local rescue group that keeps their dogs in a foster home and has the foster parents do that training for you. Adoptions cost more in those cases but they can also save a lot of work, which is a good thing if you're unfamiliar. The upside to fostering is that you won't have to pay vet bills (and really, don't foster with any group that makes you pay the vet bills out of pocket). Oh yea, it's difficult to foster if you can't show that you have experience living with and working with dogs (I'm not sure if you do). If you don't, they typically make you volunteer first so they can get a sense of your comfort with dogs before they send one to live with you, which totally makes sense to me. And if you foster, you basically have to commit to keeping the dog until it finds its forever home. For me, that's been as short as 3 weeks and as long as 5.5 months... Hope that helps. I'm happy to chat more about this if you want. ------------- Again, this is just my experience and opinion. A cat, imo, is much easier to adopt because you don't have to worry about how long ze can hold its bladder while you're in class or the lab or wherever.

A few links to get you started. Money: Food:

You do realize that not everyone at Ivy League schools grew up wealthy or has encouraging parents or teachers, right? I know many people who applied to those schools in spite of everyone (teachers, parents, guidance counselors) telling them they couldn't or wouldn't get in. And sure, most of them didn't. But some did. You want to know why they applied anyway? Because the financial aid at those schools is *amazing* if you come from a poorer family. At several of them, if your parents' combined income is under $75K, your tuition, room, and board are all awarded to you via a scholarship. It is an amazing opportunity to realize some small part of the American dream and people that are able to do that shouldn't be looked down on. You have to work your ass off to get into a good school when you don't come from a prestigious high school or the places people are expecting. Also, I'm not sure what you mean by "real life" experience. I've met people both rich and poor that seemed to have no real life experience. I've met kids that went to Ivy undergrad and started working at the age of 14 and others whose parents handed them everything. I've also met kids that went to Big State U, had everything handed to them, dropped out due to lack of interest, lived on mommy and daddy's money for a few years while trying to decide what to do, then went back. By your description, the latter kids are less annoying and easier to respect, which makes no sense to me. You should probably try to avoid painting thousands of people with such a broad brush.

Re: dorms. It depends. At my PhD university, on-campus housing in the grad student apartments was like $550/month to live in a place with 3 other roommates and shared common areas. I lived off campus my first year, a mile away, in a house with two other people and spent $450/month. (Both amounts, btw, include all utilities and internet, though no phone service at the off campus place. Then again, parking on campus was another $700 so I would've had to either pay that or get rid of my car.) So, in my case, the dorms weren't cheaper than renting. I did have to buy a bed, dresser, and desk, but, since I spent less than $1200 on all 3 and didn't have to pay for parking, I came out ahead financially by not living in the campus housing.

It really depends on the university and the department how applying for TA/RA positions works. In many departments, you are automatically considered for funding (fellowships and assistantships) when you apply but in others you have to apply separately. You'll need to go to the department websites and dig around to find out if you need to apply for funding separately from applying for admission.

Marine Sciences at UMiami (we're talking the one in Florida, right?) are INCREDIBLY prestigious. You'll be fine if you get in and go there. Also, it helps that you got your master's degree elsewhere.

The introduction is one of the hardest parts to write, at least for me. I usually write the middle and end, then go back to the introduction.

Yes! I've used TurboTax for several years. I'm not sure what your background economically is but, you should check the IRS's free e-file page to see if you're eligible for any of the free e-file services before you definitively go with TurboTax. I see that you're in TN so you probably don't have a state tax return but, if you do, some of those are available for free e-filing as well. I don't have the link handy (just google/bing "IRS free e-file" and you'll get the official IRS page). My experience with TurboTax via the free version has been positive. Other members of my family do their taxes using the paid version and they've been fine, except for maybe taking a deduction they shouldn't...

IIRC, the data on rec letters said that different language was used but not that the letter was any less enthusiastic for a female versus a male. And also, if you're thinking about jobs, it's worth noting that lots of jobs require 3 letters, not just 1, so there would be more than one description of you and your work for the committee to consider. At any rate, yes, you should take notes and eventually address this. You may want to consult with the appropriate staff on campus, confidentially, so that you are appraised of your rights and also her responsibilities as a faculty member. Someone in student affairs should be able to point you in the right direction. Also, you may want to reach out to other, more senior grad students, if you feel comfortable doing so, to see if their experiences corroborate yours.

Loric is right about the time wasters. Someone said this already, but it's totally true: try to combine your workout with your time waster. There are some TV shows I like to watch (MasterChef, for example) but I only watch them while I'm doing cardio. I pay the money for Hulu Plus so that I can stream them on my phone, tablet, or whatever. I just take my headphones and hop on the elliptical or cross-trainer, do what ends up being about 45 minutes (including the cool down), and then stretch. It's a great way to combine something I want to do anyway (watch the tv show) with something I need to do (exercise). Oh, and the free wifi in the gym means the streaming doesn't even affect my phone's data plan.

A combination of the suggestions above, I suppose. For years, I did all my commuting on a bike, though not as far as Gnome Chomsky by any means. But, I'd bike to campus, to the grocery store, to the library, to meet friends at a coffee shop or bar, etc. Basically, if it could be done on the bike, I'd do it. I would also work out between classes/meetings on campus, time permitting. For those, I'd focus on lifting weights only so I wouldn't get too sweaty, clean up in the bathroom sink if needed, then head to the next thing. Even if it's only 20 minutes, it's better than nothing. Oh, and for a while, I took a hatha yoga class at lunchtime. It was mostly university staff but it was a nice thing to get up, stretch, and relax midday.

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