rising_star

Given your field, I wouldn't worry too much about the blazers. They aren't normal attire in anthropology, not even at conferences. If you look professional with the cardigans, then you can stick with that.

Hmmm... I'd go with a Norse god's name given your dog. Or just wait a few days and let his personality guide you...

I've used both NVivo and Atlas.ti. The latter is much less expensive.

I don't think there's anything in the definition of ultrabook that precludes an Ethernet port or an optical drive. Mine has both. See here, for example: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2390824,00.asp

Gnome, I have a Samsung ultrabook and it came with a DVD drive... Just wanted to make sure people know that you can buy ultrabooks with DVD drives if you want.

In my social science field, your supervisor would NOT be a co-author on the publication you describe. Whether or not co-authored publications can be included in your thesis depends on your departmental and university regulations.

Lots of reasons not to waste your time, most of which boil down to money. Trinity College is a private school, isn't it? So tuition will likely be pricey. Also, even if they do take a lot of credits, one year is awfully optimistic, especially if you're going the part-time, employer-paid option. And, if you do pull that off in a year, you won't be giving yourself a chance to get improved letters of recommendation or anything. For interdisciplinary MAs, it really isn't crucial that you have a related degree, especially given that you've shown an interest in the field. The bigger thing might be expanding your scope beyond two Ivy League cash-cow MAs (they typically don't come with funding) to additional programs that meet your interests and will help you reach your goals, whatever those may be.

I read this article recently courtesy of NPR and found it very interesting. In particular, I'm intrigued by the GRE score analysis they reference. "("You can basically entirely explain the makeup of our graduate programs based on GRE scores," Stassun says.)" There's more but that piece is particularly interesting. So, do you think these types of analyses and articles will lead to a change in how graduate applications are evaluated? Also, I'm curious to know more about these bridge programs. Has anyone here participated them or is hoping to? Do you think they're enough to "level the playing field" between women, minorities, and others interested in STEM PhDs? If not, what else needs to be done? Does it even matter whether STEM programs are diverse?

If you can find an interesting NSF REU and get accepted, that's a great summer option. The pay is really good, plus it's a stipend on top of room and board. The experience and connections you get will also be very helpful for grad school admissions. So yea, definitely go that route if you can find a project you're interested in. You should definitely be looking for those now as applications are often due in late January or early February.

My department is like TakeruK's in that all applications are reviewed at the same time. So, there's no real advantage to getting things in as soon as possible, since they won't be reviewed until after the deadline. Also, the potential downside is that you may have to keep emailing them updates if, for example, you get something accepted to a conference or for publication, improve your writing sample, win an award, etc.

I think it's not that big of a deal in your case to be quite honest. I've done something similar-ish with job applications before and no one has questioned it. Basically, if one school is due Feb 1, another Feb 3, and another Feb 5, I just list them all as being due Feb 1 to keep the list simpler. Given that I know my advisor was writing letters for others applying for those same jobs, it's entirely possible he knows the "real" deadline but he's never said anything about it to me. Good luck!

I've seen what you're talking about, AdjunctOverload, but only in student affairs. At my R1, the acting Vice Provost of Student Affairs was actually working on her doctorate at the time and her ability to get the position permanently was basically contingent on the degree. It actually made her a really good advocate for grad student issues since she was taking courses with grad students and thus was more familiar with some of the issues that crop up. Basically, she had worked her way up through student affairs with a master's degree, then realized that for any subsequent promotions she'd need the doctorate so she enrolled in the university's higher ed doctoral program. I'm not sure if that's relevant anecdata to you though, since it's student affairs, rather than the academic side of things.

The downside of applying to UK/EU schools is the funding situation... As long as you're prepared to self-fund, it's probably less of a problem.

Depending on what you need, it may be cheaper to have surgery in China than it is in the USA. There's a reason medical tourism has become such a huge industry.

I did my both of my degrees largely while single. At two different points, I was in long-term relationships. One of those made things easier because my partner enjoyed cooking and would often make dinner for both of us. In the other, I was the one doing most of the cooking, same as I did when single. The main thing is meal planning. I suck at it so my solution was to get a crockpot (slow cooker), identify easy recipes, and make one of those each week. Sometimes I'd do soup/stew/chili, other times casserole, a few times I even did pot roast. I have a 4 qt cooker so I easily make enough food for 4-6 meals when I use it. The other thing I did was figure out a variety of simple lunches that were more than just dinner leftovers. I'd make big bowls of pasta or bean salad on the weekend and then dish up some of that into a container to take with me to campus for lunch, along with some carrot or celery sticks, and a piece or two of fruit. I kept other snacks in my office, like nuts, rice cakes, a jar of peanut butter, etc., so that I'd always have something handy. This all took very little time and saved me loads of money on eating out.

American Studies has a lot in common with anthropology, so it's not as big of a switch as going from physics to anthropology! This is even more the case because you have experience doing ethnographic fieldwork. I'm unsure of why you would discount the opinion of your advisor and instead ask a bunch of people on the internet for their opinion...

This whole controversy makes me continually grateful that I am not in a MLA field. My field's conference isn't associated at all with hiring, which means people really can decide whether or not to go each year. I've gone every year that I've been in grad school because I believe it's an important part of my professional development. But I understand that it can be difficult, especially given the expense of flights and hotels these days. What I think all of this misses is the large expense that applicants, especially in MLA and AHA fields, have already undertaken before they even get that email from UCR or some other school. MLA and AHA job applications tend to require the use of Interfolio at the applicant's expense. Take a look here at the costs. Even if a school forces you to use their system to apply, you may still need to have confidential rec letters sent, at the cost of $4 per letter to the applicant. That adds up pretty quickly, even if, as this year, you get a free Interfolio membership (which AHA provided to everyone). To be fair, some schools pay for Interfolio so that there is no charge to the applicant, though this is not universal afaik. No one seems to be talking about the ridiculous cost of applying that faces those in some fields. By contrast, in my social sciences areas, pretty much all of the applications are submitted either via the school's HR website or via email directly to the search committee. This costs me nothing. My letter writers dislike Interfolio (not because I think they personalize every letter but I'm pretty sure it's the cost of it that they loathe) so they send out letters as needed, though many schools are now only requiring a reference list initially. My application costs are much lower than those of my friends getting PhDs in English or History because of this and I'm grateful.

VioletAyame, don't put the cart before the horse. There's no sense in seriously looking into housing until you have an offer and know exactly how much you'll be making and what school you will be attending.

For NYC, you don't need to look more than a few weeks before you want to move, unless you're trying to get university-subsidized housing. Anything earlier than that, and they'll be expecting you to move in sooner than you are prepared. Also, for NYC, you might want to look into a sublet or roommate situation, which again, will not mean that you need to find something now since they won't know about the vacancy yet. As for college towns, it really varies from one college town to the next. I did my MA in a classic college town and was able to find fall housing in mid-July, with August 1 for the move-in. I ended up in a really fantastic place with an awesome roommate that I'm still friends with. On the other hand, the big rental companies in town were always advertising in January for August 1 move-in and getting undergrads to lock in their leases when the ball drops for the new year. I never did that because, quite frankly, I wasn't interesting in living where the undergrads are congregating. I now live in a different college town. I got there at the end of July and then found a place once I got there. It only took a few days and I had way more options than I expected for apartments.

Sure, you can wait to pay for your apartment. But, how will you get to that apartment? What will you eat once you're there? What will you sleep on? Moving expenses are much more than just a security deposit and rent, there's a whole host of other expenses to consider as well. If your plan is to wait for student loan disbursement, I'm afraid you will be very, very hungry while you wait.

I guess I'm confused now. If you can afford to move for grad school, you can afford to move for a job. If you're counting on student loans to pay for the move, you should realize that you won't actually get the loan money until after classes start in the fall. You won't be able to get it before then. The way most people I know have done it is to either use their savings or, if there's no savings to tap, then to take out a 0% or low interest credit card and use that to pay for moving expenses. If the latter is the route you're going to take, you'll need to apply for the cards at least 8 weeks before you need to use them AND make a plan to repay before the low interest period ends. I'd recommend getting a card with 12-15 months of low or no interest as that will give you time to use some of your earnings each month to pay off the credit card slowly. Also, if you're willing to move, I'm sure you can find more than commission-based work. There are lots of nonprofits hiring all the time, which is why I suggested Idealist.org as a place to look for jobs.

I think the assumption that you'll meet (or be around) more people in school than you would otherwise to be faulty. If you got a job, you might actually be exposed to more people, which could actually make it easier for you to find a spouse. When I was working, I would often go hang out with a coworker or two and their group of friends, which made it pretty easy to meet new people. Because lots of people move for grad school, they often don't have a pre-existing network of friends that you could meet through them, at least not at first. So, actually, working could help. And, if you were to do a program like AmeriCorps, you'd have the opportunity to meet other AmeriCorps volunteers in your same town/city but not volunteering at the same site, which again, could expand the opportunities available to you to meet people. Have you checked job boards like indeed.com or idealist.org to try to find work that uses your skill set or matches your interests? If you're willing to move, I'd bet you could find something, even with just your BA. Even if it's temporary, a trial period of living on your own for a few months now before you have to juggle living on your own + school could be very beneficial to you. Also, I can't find the quotation, but I don't know why people think adults can't live with their friends. I have lived with strangers as roommates who stayed strangers but also strangers who became friends. I met one of my roommates through a newspaper ad and we got along so well that people couldn't believe we hadn't known each other for years. About 3 years after we stopped living together (I moved away), I flew across the country to go to her wedding because she wanted all of her close friends there, including me. I mean, I've also had roommates that I would never speak to again voluntarily but there's no rule saying that you can't be or become friends with your roommates. Especially when you're moving to a new place, getting a roommate from another department/program can be really beneficial in terms of helping you meet new people. That said, just having a roommate is not enough to prevent one from feeling lonely...

I had friends, both in and out of my field, read my MA chapters. For dissertation chapters, I worked for a while with someone in the writing center (they have a separate writing center for grad students designed to help with long-term projects) and found that to be really, really helpful.

This is what I had in my fall syllabus: The fastest and best way to contact me with a question is by e-mail. Remember that email is a form of correspondence with your instructor and that you should be respectful and use appropriate language (i.e., no internet speak like “when r yr ofc hrs”). I will respond within 48 hours. If you don’t hear from me by then, please resend your email or talk to me before or after class.

My PhD department has a lot of parents in it. Our department is also more than 50% female at the graduate level, so I'm talking about a lot of people who are mothers. Some had their kid(s) before beginning the PhD, others during it. One person was very pregnant on the day of her oral comprehensive exams, and had previously warned her committee that if she went into labor early (she was due the following week), they would obviously have to reschedule. But, things were fine. She successfully passed her orals then gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. My point is that it can definitely be done, Mr Pootawn, if you and your girlfriend are committed to making it work. That said, five weeks is really early to be announcing anything, especially for a first pregnancy. I'd take some time to talk to other grad student parents, read forums online, and investigate some of the many things you'll need to know. No sense in telling everyone so soon given all of the first trimester complications that can crop up (at the same time, I hope none do!). Good luck with everything!