rising_star

If you don't think you need to buy the book, get hard copies from the library (or via ILL) so that you don't spend money on things you don't really need.

If what you're really interested in is research methods, is there a way to get a graduate certificate or master's specifically in methods, where you might take classes in stats, program evaluation, qualitative research, etc.? I'm thinking of something like the UGA program in qualitative research... You might also just consider taking a more quantitative-focused set of stats classes offered by sociology, political science, or economics at your institution. The only time you usually see people asking for a certain number of hours of math and stats courses are for federal jobs as a statistician (go to usajobs.gov and look some up to see what I mean). Otherwise, people just want to know that you are knowledgeable and capable, which you'd be able to demonstrate without having a separate master's in statistics.

Have you considered Michigan State? http://www.animalstudies.msu.edu/

Does the TAship come with any financial benefits at all, like a stipend? If so, then I'd say it's worth taking because it would lower the amount of debt you need. Is there any possibility of getting a GA position or a tuition scholarship to help offset your tuition expenses?

Chiqui74, you could go with a web-based option like Mendeley, Zotero, or Proquest FLOW.

I would go with the MPP and avoid the debt.

You should definitely go and give it a chance! After all, if it was such an amazing offer that you didn't even wait on other schools to give you a decision, there must have been something you found intriguing or interesting about the offer. Try to keep that in mind as you transition to your new school.

Why are you even considering doing a master's without funding? If you don't know what you want to get out of the program, then you should delay going until you do.

You could check your credit card or account statement to see if they've charged you. If they've charged you, then you have a ticket. You should also be able to check on your ticket by logging into your online account with that airline.

If it's already accepted, then I wouldn't worry about it unless you really want to withdraw your paper and submit it elsewhere (which is an unusual thing to do unless there's a really compelling reason to do so).

Yea, to echo others, this strikes me as an email from one of those predatory journals. There's a list out there you may want to consult: http://scholarlyoa.com/publishers/

I'm just going to address this part since there's been a lot of talk about gender bias in recommendation letters in recent years. This article talks about one of the studies and, if you look at their recommendations about what to do, one of the first things they suggest is to offer to write your own recommendation letter and coach your recommenders so that you have some control over the language used to describe you. If you want to learn more, the training materials offered by Brown and UM Pace provide good overviews of the research. As an applicant, I'm not sure how you would know if your recommender is including doubt raisers or if you're portrayed more as a student than as a professional without actually viewing your letter. So, I can totally understand why people want to read their recommendation letters. It's also interesting to see how much of this bias depends on how long the reviewer spends actually reading the letter. Again, that's something that no one has any control over, unfortunately. For more information, the University of Vermont has a webpage with links to resources: http://www.portal.advance.vt.edu/index.php/tags/Letters-Of-Recommendation

I think many applications are like this one: http://www.umass.edu/gradschool/sites/default/files/nondegreeapp.pdf If you go to the second page, you'll see that they ask if you've ever been found responsible for a conduct violation. It's unclear from your post whether you have or not. That said, it's really going to depend on the school. UMBC doesn't seem to ask at all: http://www.umbc.edu/gradschool/docs/forms/prospective_students/degree_application.pdf Good luck!

You can still change your PhD later. So, go to the program you're most excited about.

ahffk, if you're considering skipping department-specific stuff, just be aware that this will look odd to your peers and any faculty that are there. Same goes for bringing your parents. Some of the best advice I was ever given is this: You only get one chance to make a first impression. In your case, that means thinking about what you want the first impression of the faculty, your cohort, and other grad students to be of you. Of course no one can tell you what that should be but, it's something to think about. You don't want to be the left out or ostracized from the get go.

You could apply without mentioning your master's but you damn well better make sure that no one finds out that you ever did a master's. I say this because most schools require you to provide transcripts from every institution you've attended since high school. They also have you certify that everything in your application is true. If you omit your master's and they find out, they could take action including forcing you to withdraw your application or rescinding your acceptance. That's a huge risk to take, imo.

Not TakeruK (or an international student for that matter), but I've had accounts at multiple banks for years. It's partially because in the event that my debit/ATM card gets stolen for one account, I still have access to money until I can get the other card replaced. I actually keep one account's card at home in a safe place in case my entire wallet gets stolen so that I'm not completely penniless while I await replacements. Each credit union is going to have different requirements for getting a credit card. It's hard to generalize about what specifically is going to be required. If you go with one that is used to working with students, the requirements will probably be lower. Regardless of what bank/credit union you go with, pay attention to any account fees that you'll be charged. There can be fees unless you have a certain number of transactions per month, keep a certain minimum balance, etc.

Are they both enough money to live on? I ask because it sounds like the training you'd be getting at the R2 school would be more valuable and applicable to a future dissertation (even if not the same project)...

I would go with the one that will give you the better research experience. My concern with the brand name school would be whether you will get meaningful research experience and training or just be another grunt there to do grunt work. If the latter is the case, then that won't really benefit you going forward.

I would be cautious with this. Some may take your open conversation as an attack on them, the department, the university, or the discipline. This can be tough because one of the things that happens as grad students is that you have to remember that everyone is your future colleague, future grant reviewer, or future reviewer on a manuscript. If they think you're complaining, they may also think that you either can't hack it in the discipline or aren't the 'right fit", even though they could be entirely off base. That's why I recommended finding a counselor or therapist (and try them out until you find one you click with) who you can talk to openly and honestly about your experiences. There might also be other students of color on campus that you can reach out to. See if Multicultural Student Affairs or the office of student diversity (or whatever they call it at your school) has meetings for graduate students. There might even be a Black Graduate Student Association or similar group that you could join. I just want to make sure you have a safe space within which to be more open because I'd hate for your openness to have a detrimental effect on your career.

I can't say that I ever saw parents at orientation stuff. Maybe there were some at the university-wide orientation (hard to say since people starting grad school range widely in age) but there definitely were no parents (or even spouses or children) at department orientation meetings. The one exception would be the department-wide welcome back party, but that actually occurs after fall classes start.

TrueCrypt would probably be a good way to secure your files that doesn't cost money. You'd want them to be encrypted on both the USB and the external hard drive. I'd also check with others in your department have done as there's likely a data management protocol that others at your institution have successfully used. One concern you should be prepared to address is what you will do if either the USB, Livescribe, backup recorder, or external HD is lost or stolen (as in, your bag containing the drive is stolen, your house is broken into, etc.). Yes, this is a worst case scenario but it has happened to more than one person that I know... Will you be recording any notes by hand during interviews? If so, you'll need a plan for those too (which likely involves keeping them in a separate location from where the consent forms are).

It likely means that your file has now been sent to the department. However, it's unlikely the department is actually reviewing applications for Fall 2016 yet, especially since it's currently summer break.

Did you really apply to PhD programs without any rec letters from either your bachelor's or master's? If so, that's a major red flag that definitely didn't help your applications. If I were you, I would try to get at least one letter from your master's, if not two, and also to raise your quantitative GRE score. Your GRE score and GPA are below some cutoffs but the GRE is the only one of those you can fix. Contacting professors to see if they are taking students is also necessary so you should work on that too. But, I wouldn't be surprised if the GPA, GRE, and odd rec letters are what kept you out.

I think all of this is really common, if that helps to hear/read. Focus on the fun stuff, like learning about your new city, finding Meetup groups or other activities you might want to do, getting excited about the classes you're going to take, and decorating a new apartment. You could even join an online dating site (like OkCupid or Plenty of Fish or something) and browse potential dating options in your new location. That will help distract you from some of the anxiety (and possibly be good for some laughs too!). But also realize that everything you're worried about does indeed have a way out. If you hate the department or realize it's not the right fit for you, you can leave. If you hate your apartment, you can break your lease and find a new place to live.