rising_star

I think a suit jacket is more than formal enough for informal activities. Nice (e.g., trouser) jeans are pretty common on visits. Good luck!

I would definitely try to find someone to cover proctoring the exam.

Depends. Have you ever met the people you'd be working with? Have you interacted with the grad students in the program? Personally, I attended a PhD program that I didn't visit (I did do other campus visits though). It helped that I'd met the PI before and applied there specifically because I wanted to work with him. (Of course, I also attended the one school for undergrad that I didn't visit...)

It's going to be about research fit (and, to some degree, your test scores and GPA since those can keep you out even when they won't get you in).

Did you admission specifically say that they won't be offering you funding? If it's not specifically stated, then I would politely ask the department when funding decisions will be made. Sure, there are schools that will admit you without funding BUT you don't want to go to those. If the program isn't willing to invest in you, why would you invest in it?

In the US, you'll want to look into rural sociology, agricultural economics, and programs housed in a school of natural resources. Good luck!

You'll need to ask the department if the funding is renewable for subsequent years and, if so, what the process for that is and how many renewals are allowed. No one here is going to be able to answer that for you, especially without knowing the department in question.

It all depends on how fast of a notetaker you are. Notetaking while someone is talking is a skill you've got to learn at some point in your career so, might as well start to learn now! Practice when you're in class or in meetings. For me, I'm able to write without really looking at the paper, which means I can make eye contact with someone while jotting things down. If not, write down the most important parts.

Definitely talk to other grad students. Find out if there are any fees you'll need to pay out of that stipend. When I was applying, I found that fees ranged from $25/semester to $800/semester. That's a huge difference and can really affect how much of your stipend you have to live on. What I found is that average rent isn't necessarily what you will (want) to pay. You may live with a roommate to save money. You may be able to find cheaper than average housing (I certainly wasn't paying the average rent one could find online when I was in my PhD, even when I lived alone). Similar things apply for utilities. I mean, I don't mind being warm-ish so I would set the a/c to 80F in the summer, which saves a bunch of money when you're living in the southern US, just to give one example. I worked a second, off-campus job during my MA, which gave me money to travel to see friends, to pay for a car, etc. During my PhD, I tutored in the on-campus tutoring center (pay was like $10/hour but the scheduling flexibility was awesome). I also taught teach summer courses for extra income. It's worth investigating whether that $16K/year is over 9 months or over 12 months. If it's for 9 months, you should ask current grad students and the program about the opportunities available in the summer to earn additional income (which could be by picking up TA/RA work, dogsitting/housesitting for professors, etc.). Another option, if you're on a 9 month contract, would be to consider off-campus summer employment, e.g., a paid internship.

In all likelihood, you'll be going from one thing to the next to the next at your interview and won't have a chance to write down notes/thoughts until either lunch (which probably involves meeting with people, tbh) or after dinner. If you wait that long and you've been talking to multiple people, you may not remember everything that was said. I would definitely take notes. It's good practice. Plus, in clinical/counseling psych, it's not like people will be surprised that you want to take notes during a meeting...

I'm 100% in love with Linda Hogan's work. By that I mean the poetry, the creative nonfiction, and the fiction. Solar Storms is an amazing novel. Power is also a great novel. I also liked People of the Whale. Dwellings: A Spiritual History of the Living World is a beautiful text, especially if you're into environmental writing. And she's got some amazing poems about things like turtles. So moving. So wonderful. Just watch her reading her poetry and try not to love it.

I use my Kindle when traveling to read for pleasure. It's awesome. The only thing I'd add is that I keep a prepacked, 1 quart bag of toiletries on hand at all times so I literally just have to throw that into the suitcase and I know that the toiletries is taken care of in the TSA-approved way. It's made my life way easier.

Not in your field but my guess that it's all going to be dependent on your advisor and lab. @Eigen will hopefully chime in...

If it's so important, why did he falsify the scholarship letter?

I'm now teaching at my... fifth institution if you count grad school. None of them have ever provided us with photos of the students in our classes. IF the student chooses to upload a photo to the LMS then I get a photo that way. But otherwise? Nope. (Also, photos from school IDs, at least for undergrads, are often their high school portrait which becomes significantly less helpful as they age, change, transition, etc.) My point is that new grad students shouldn't count on this being available and instead should develop their own system.

1) The undergrad needs to learn to be more proactive. This isn't entirely on you, IMO. 2) I would try to schedule regular (weekly, biweekly, or at least monthly) check-ins with your advisor where you can go over some of the same things you did during office hours. Or ask if they'd prefer if you made an appointment during office hours. 3) In the future, you may want to do check-ins every 15-20 minutes by asking "Am I taking up too much of your time right now?" or "Would it be better if I made an appointment so we can discuss X some other time?"

I make everyone participate in every class AND for the first few weeks, students always have to say their name before speaking. My classrooms aren't set up in a circle/semi-circle so it would be impossible for those in the back row to see/read the names of those in the front row. Also, I have a few students with visual impairments which would require people to write their first name in block letters on 1-2 standard sheets of paper for those students to easily read it from various points in the room. Hence having people say their names all the time and encouraging them to use one another's names when referring to what someone else said. YMMV but this is what does and has worked for me. I think the real key for the OP is to let students tell you what they want to be called and how they want to be referred to.

Definitely ask where it should be sent to. Don't just put it in an envelope and hand it to the person it's about. Specific examples of what you gained from their classes are helpful. If possible, comment on the types of assignments, the feedback you were given, and how these contributed to your overall learning. If you went to their office hours, talk about their persona there and what you gained from doing so. The more specific, the better. Oh, and don't go over two pages single-spaced (and really, even that's too long).

Will your dream PI be taking second year students next year? If you haven't asked, you should!

I would wait until the end of that day or early the next day, in case you think of anything you could've answered better, would like to expand on, or have additional questions about.

Start with the major academic associations in your field (American, British, and European) and go from there. Both the US and the UK have sociological associations, for example. Join their email list (which often doesn't require joining the association) and keep an eye out for opportunities. Similarly, there may be topic-area specific ones (e.g., one for folks who study apples, one for folks who study oranges, etc.). I can't tell you exactly where to find them because I don't know what you study*. Good luck! *And, to be honest, even if I did know, I probably would still tell you to find this info on your own as it's an important part of discovering your discipline and topic area. Because my work is interdisciplinary, I'm on probably 10 academic email lists.

Why does it need to be one in your state if you're going online either way? IMO, an executive-style program that involves an intense weekend or two a month plus maybe 1-2 weeks in the summer would be ideal.

No. Kent State does not have the regional or national name recognition that Ohio State does.

Some opportunities may not require a full research plan, just FYI. That's more common when a professor already has funding (e.g., ESRC funding) and is seeking a RA to work on that project. If you aren't already, subscribe to the major disciplinary email lists in your field as that's where many such announcements are made.

The Unpaywall browser extension for Google Chrome is a valuable asset if you're looking for articles. Also, if you're more on the STS end of things, I'd say MIT Press is a good choice too.