rising_star

I read this back in January and enjoyed it. It's definitely an interesting perspective!

THIS! I make time for my friends because we are all busy, whether it's grad school, having young kids, having a demanding job, etc. But, it's also up to you to figure out what the frequency of conversation/interaction in that friendship needs to be. I have friends I only talk to on the phone once every few months and others who I email almost every day (though often the emails are very short). It varies based on our friendship. What I've found is that, most of the time, I don't need to talk to my friends every single week the way we did when we lived in the same place. YMMV, obviously.

First, I wouldn't assume that rental rates will go up as August approaches. Instead, I would consult the 'City Guide' here and current grad students about the housing situation. Lexington is likely very different from the California rental markets you're used to. 1) I wouldn't expect to hear much other than things about orientation or possibly loan paperwork. 2) I didn't get housing until much later in the summer. I typically didn't even start looking until late June because I wasn't interested in paying rent in two places at the same time. I checked the university housing site (usually there are links to off campus housing guides), Craigslist, and various local rental agency websites. I didn't move until late July or early August, again because I didn't want to have two rent payments at the same time. I was getting a stipend and tuition waiver from the department so financial aid didn't really pay a factor in the decision-making process. 3) There's a couple of threads about things people wish they knew so I won't repeat that here. 4-5) Not applicable to me, sorry. In general, I would say that you could see if there are teaching opportunities in other, related departments. You could also try to gain experience by tutoring.

I always told people because, as fuzzy has said, they'll find out anyway because they'll see you at conferences. Better to be upfront and honest, at least in my book.

I bought my desk chair in a very conventional way. I printed off some coupons online and went to the major big box office stores. There are ratings on some of the desk chairs there (from the American Chiropractic Association or whatever) which even suggest how many hours a day one could/should spend in that chair. I opted for something that was 8-10 hours a day but only after sitting in and testing all the chairs in the store. I bought my chair in like 2009 or 2010 and still have and love it. I can work in it for hours comfortably, which is awesome when you're reading for comps. I have a standing desk at work which I love but it sucks for reading.

I definitely pursued my hobbies in grad school. And, unlike @TakeruK, I actually didn't schedule these in from the beginning. Rather, I picked up a couple of hobbies during grad school and found the time to do them regularly. One of them was to attend a particular martial arts class, which I did 3-5 times a week throughout my PhD, including while doing my comps. It was definitely worth it for my mental health and I scheduled social time and work time around my hobbies (not the other way around).

I would go with the more affordable option then.

Not in psychology but my MA and PhD focused on different topics within the same subfield and no one has cared.

I just wanted to chime in to say that, at least in the USA, you don't need a fully defined research proposal when you apply to PhD programs. Rather, you write about the things you're interested in studying, how you might approach them, etc., but this isn't the same as a concrete research proposal where you identify specific research questions/objectives, methods to answer those, and review the relevant literature. In that sense, you can think more broadly about who you might be interested in working with. For example, you may share interests/theoretical frameworks with those in multispecies ethnography, though this will depend on precisely what about human-animal studies interests you. There's also some academic blogs about animal studies written by anthropologists which you may want to check out...

Renter's insurance will likely cover your belongings even if you're abroad. My renter's policy covers my belongings regardless of where they are so, if they get stolen while I'm at a conference, I could file a claim with my insurance. For health insurance, I'd look through your school but also google around for other options. The problem with many student health plans is that they want you to use the student health center as your primary provider, which isn't realistic if you're going to be out of the area for an extended period of time.

Are you sure you can't accept both and stagger your use of them so that you're not receiving funds from both at the same time? That is, could you take the NDSEG money right away and defer the NSF money until later in your PhD?

For me, there aren't a lot of subject-specific conferences I could attend and, at least in terms of future jobs, the broader conferences are where I'm more likely to meet/network with future employers because postdocs aren't common in my field. But, I also work in a pretty niche subfield so that may be coloring my perspective. Honestly, you can get info on the current trends by looking at the program and abstracts of the big conference, even if you don't attend. Then, you could email presenters you're interested in about their papers or to start a dialogue with them, even if you aren't able to attend your talk.

Honestly, I've had better luck networking at small/regional conferences, rather than major national ones. That's because the conferences themselves are smaller, which makes it easier to make connections with people, see interesting talks, bump into people in the hallways, etc. They're a less intense experience in a good way. For me, the upside of those regional conferences is that they're often cheaper to attend because you can drive or take the train, there's often opportunities to crash with a local grad student, etc. I don't know that I'd take out serious loans to attend a conference, though I do realize how expensive conferences I can be. Some of it is being strategic about what I do and don't attend in any given year, thinking about what I'll get out of it, as well as the travel and expenses involved in attending. I've definitely had to put things on credit cards while waiting for reimbursements though. One thing to think about is whether there are any funds available from your graduate school/college or grad student association to help support conference attendance. I know that we could get ~$500/person each year to help attend conferences that way, which was enough for an entire regional conference if I played my cards right.

1) Penn State isn't in Hershey. It's in State College, PA. It's true that the cost of living there is lower than Nashville but it's also going to be more expensive for you to travel home from there given the lack of a major airport near Penn State. 2) Nashville is a fun city. It has some issues but, the cost of living is still pretty reasonable, the university has great financial resources, and you should be able to live on the stipend they provide. I would definitely go to Vandy, of the two.

It depends on whether or not you plan to do a thesis as part of your master's degree. If you want to do research, then having an advisor who is connected to your research interests is incredibly important for a master's degree.

UGA, hands down. The advisor is a good fit and has a great track record, two things which are incredibly important.

This is going to be really program specific. Our orientation covered most of the things that you might think about asking, from getting an ID card to discounts available with a student ID to expectations for grads in the program and TAs more specifically. So, I wouldn't ask about those things because I'd assume that all of the major things you need to know will be covered in either the graduate school-wide or department-specific orientation. As for what classes to take, I'd consult with more experienced students in the program about their experiences. They'd know more about whether to take just the mandatory classes or not as they'll have recently made a similar decision.

Just chiming in to say that when I read ProfLorax's question, I wasn't sure which part referred to higher ed admin and which part to teaching in higher ed. I currently teach full-time and I have to say that it is stable but can be monotonous because I teach many of the same courses each semester. I actually view leaving academia as the potentially more exciting but more unstable potential career.

That doesn't sound like the social science PhDs I'm familiar with. You don't have TAing or teaching in there, so I'm assuming you have some sort of fellowship which covers your funding. If not, then you'll need to calculate in time for 10-20 hours per week of work during the academic year. In terms of comprehensive exams, 30-40 articles is WAY less than I'm accustomed to hearing about. I had that many for each area of my exams, and there were four areas in total. In other words, there were over 100 articles and books I read for my comps, some of which I'd read during coursework but many of which I read on my own separately. In terms of the dissertation, it all depends on what your field is, what type of data you need to collect, and your access to those data. If you're doing human subjects research where you need to collect primary data, the entire process takes longer than if you're using secondary data or data someone else has already collected. In my case, my research required trips to the field, which meant applying for and waiting to receive the funding needed to actually take those trips. Four year PhDs only happened for those who came in with a master's in the field or a very related field.

I would rephrase some of your questions. For example, I'd ask "What makes your program different from others in the field?" rather than asking them to compare themselves to a particular department/school. That question is one you could ask in the general Q&A because it would benefit everyone in the room to hear their response to this. I also think it's acceptable to ask graduate students why they chose that program and the factors they considered, though I wouldn't ask them where else they were admitted because that's really personal. Because this question is more personal, I would ask it one-on-one, rather than in a group setting.

They both sound like they are a good research fit for you. It's good to go beyond your MS research to do other things (by which I mean gain more skills) because it can make you more valuable as a postdoc or if you go into industry. I'd go with B because the professor is experienced and because they're giving you more guaranteed years of funding.

I don't know that much about the program, sorry. But they did get some major support from movie industry people when their building opened, for example. It might be worth talking to some of the faculty, especially if the price is phenomenal.

I wouldn't go with a furnished place. I'd bring everything possible down in the car, maybe mail a few boxes to myself if need be, and the purchase furniture once arriving. I'm really particular about having a good mattress so that's the first big purchase I'd make. The rest you can find on Craig's List, at garage sales, or via various furniture store sales (there are big sales around Labor Day, for example). As far as housing, have you checked the "City Guide" here? See also:

If it's just about being in NYC, you could do the master's at Brooklyn College, which would be way less expensive.

No, it's not odd. I think it's important to remember that your advisor doesn't have to be your mentor. My PhD advisor has never been my mentor. I've sought out and cultivated relationships with others for that, which has been beneficial to me both personally and professionally. I know some people want their advisor/diss chair to be their mentor and get disappointed when that doesn't work out but, I've never desired that sort of relationship with my advisor. YMMV obviously.