pterosaur

If a school gives you an email address, use it to nab a free 6 month amazon prime student trial, then change the email address to one you actually use.

I spent my day actually working and come back to so much happening in the meantime! I do not have pink hair. I shaved my head once during undergrad, though. It was worth it just for the reaction of my research advisor. But winter in Boston was perhaps sub-ideal timing. I'm also so lazy that once I didn't get a haircut for 2 years because I was intimidated by finding somewhere to get a haircut. (I usually have short hair.) On the topic of passports/travel, I feel like an hardened traveler now, since the UK is small and you need a passport to go anywhere (since they insist on not being part of the Schengen zone). Except when I went to continental Europe for research - UK border control was being super scrutinous right after the Paris attacks.

I think it's very easy to see these as douchy when you read 1-2 sentences written in the heat of the moment, with no way to know what's sarcasm.

I had this discussion with a number of faculty while deciding where to go after my masters in the UK. The consensus was that if you want a faculty position in the US, you'll be better off if you have experience in the US, either as a post-doc or PhD student. If you go to a top-notch UK university (Cambridge, Imperial, etc.), you shouldn't have a problem getting a US post-doc. Some professors also thought the US system, with its additional classes, provided a better educational experience, compared to a more vocational approach in the UK system, but this seems to be a subjective idea of which system is better. Since I'm shifting fields, this is something of a benefit for me. One of the things that also led me to decide to come back to the US for my PhD is funding. It can be very, very difficult to get funding in the UK if you don't have UK home status (UK or EU student living in the UK for 3 years). I was surprised by this, since I was expecting it to be more like the US system where all PhD students are funded.

There are definitely trolls on the results posts. I know some.

This makes me so incredibly grateful for all science PhD programs being fully funded. It was such a relief to not have to worry about the monetary factor (which was a huge consideration for undergrad). That really sucks.

Kind of similar, actually. My background is in motor neuroscience, so the professors I was consulting with weren't terribly familiar with bioinspired robotics programs!

Not a specific program, necessarily, but I kind of wish I'd pushed myself a bit more. I didn't think I was qualified for robotics PhD programs, so I applied to bioengineering programs that would let me go in a robotics direction. But for my top choice program, the advisor that accepted me is in robotics/computer science. And when I interviewed with another program, they asked why I hadn't also applied to the robotics program. So apparently I was more qualified than I gave myself credit for (or my personal statement was more effective than I thought). I'm a risk averse person in general, though. I don't really regret it, though, since I'm pretty sure my top choice would still have been my top choice!

If you'll see them again, that's all the more reason to let them know, I'd think. It's polite and respectful to let them know directly.

I don't drink, so instead of wine, I occupied my Saturday baking dozens of chocolate chip cookies and then watching Netflix while drawing a very nice picture of a cow. Only one week until my Hertz interview and then all my visits!

UC Santa Cruz person is apparently on Reddit as well, with more information: https://www.reddit.com/r/gradadmissions/comments/46d3kz/awarded_crazy_stipend_amount_is_42k_for_chemical/d04jn4o (I feel like a creep now.) Seems like the $53k is actually $22k stipend + tuition.

I think the "better" part is partly a rationalization sometimes, really shoring up their confidence that they got into a good program and trying not too feel too bad about the rejection. Especially considering that people are posting right after getting nasty news, I'm not going to read too much into that common phrase. In that other one, I missed the "leading force" bit Yeah. What the hell does that actually mean?

One University called (in the middle of the night...) just to tell me I got an interview. For another I only got a generic acceptance email. They're all over the map.

I interpreted that as $53,100 split over 3 years ($17k/yr) or $53k that also had to be used to cover tuition. There's no way somewhere would do $53k stipend a year and fund for 3 years. Having no funding for the last couple years is definitely potentially problematic.

Does your brother really not care, or not know how to express it? My brother isn't great at communicating, but after 23 years and a lot of hardship we've gone through together, I know that his apparent lack of emotion isn't a reflection that he doesn't care. Not knowing anything about your situation, though, that may just be asinine to try and interpret a relationship I know nothing about. I really hope you can find someone to talk to, but no matter what know that people care about you!

"Top scores at Ivy and Oxbridge schools. Forthcoming publication. Heavy research. Consultant to current Harvard faculty and a graduate student thesis. Confused... What do I do now? No other options. This hurts" (Harvard, History of Science PhD) Sounds like someone got their hopes too high with their name brand background and put all their eggs in one basket.

Soldering is so Soldering is so intensely satisfying! I'm glad I'm not the only one. It's actually one of the major reasons I enjoyed doing some hardware work (usually I'm on the software side) on the robots.

I'm just hoping to befriend someone with a car so I can get to wilderness areas.

Nerve-wracking, but must have been a relief once it was sorted out! Mail? Mail? Who sends these things by the postal system anymore? We have fancy instant communication systems now, and have for decades! Since I'm overseas, I think I would die waiting. Also, glad your district manager is keeping your rabid manager at bay, at least for the time being.

Wait, so they put in the email wrong on the unofficial acceptance (accidentally telling you that you were accepted when you weren't) or on the official acceptance? The first one would be just cruel!

I think we need a bread-baking club. When things go badly, we drown our sorrows in carbs. When they go well, we put birthday candles in a loaf of bread.

I've taken up fencing during my master's degree, and I'd like to continue that. Or get back to curling, which I did in high school and really miss. Stabbing people and throwing 42 pound chunks of granite are great forms of stress relief. Also baking. A lot of baking. Anyone want a chocolate layer cake or fresh-baked bread? And then a lot of time coding things to avoid being social.

My mom died and three days later I was awarded a prestigious national science scholarship. That week tipped me over the edge in deciding to get my PhD. I started college as pre-med, but I was on the fence about it. My mom had terminal cancer, and I think that played a role in wanting to become a doctor. But there was little that they could do for her, while research offered the chance to actually change what options were available. But I also needed the confidence that I could actually succeed as a researcher. Receiving the scholarship did that, as well as what my mom wrote in her obituary. (Yes, she wrote her own obituary. Occupational hazard of being a pastor and writer, I think.) She said that I "will win a Nobel prize and would look good in a dress." Notice which one is the hypothetical. (I'm still something of a tomboy). Of course she's going to say something like that - she's my mom! But it was one more piece that finally tipped the scales. Since then, my interests have evolved and I'm going in a somewhat different direction with my research, but after that the PhD path seemed set for me, like I'd finally figured out where I was going. It was kind of a relief.

Wow, congratulations! Sounds like you've had a roller coaster ride to get here, and it makes me feel like I've taken my acceptances for granted. There was no screaming or bouncing the bed, and my dad's response to my text telling him I was accepted to my top choice was, "Congratulations. Sorry, can't talk now."

I'm looking for some advice. I've been accepted to Harvard SEAS, which is my top choice. I'm currently overseas, so I'll be doing a whirlwind visit of all my acceptances/interview in a week at the end of the month, including visiting Harvard. However, they're also really strongly encouraging me to come for the SEAS official visit day on March 25. Since SEAS only pays $500 in airfare, a potential advisor even offered to cover the additional airfare cost! But I'm not sure if it's worth going. I hope to make my decision after my visit week, and I don't know if it's worth a trans-Atlantic trip for a one-day visit, especially since I'll be taking a bunch of time off right afterwards when my family comes to visit me (I'm doing a research masters right now). Any thoughts on whether I should do the visit?