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Everything posted by maelia8
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In my experience, the part of the application where you could enter email addresses for LOR requests was in no way linked to the part where you had to submit fees, so it was possible to send out those requests as soon as you'd filled in your preliminary personal data on the first couple of pages of the application. I spent a lot of time revising my SOP and writing sample up until the last 24 hours before the submission date, and this is perfectly normal. I'm surprised that schools previously required you to completely submit the application before allowing the system to send out the LOR requests … sounds odd to me.
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Wanting to apply to PhD programs close to home?
maelia8 replied to youngcharlie101's topic in Applications
I think that if you know you'd be unhappy and/or uncomfortable leaving your home area, then it's perfectly reasonable to limit your choices. As long as you're alright with the narrowing of possibilities that comes with that, you should do what feels best to you. Speaking from experience, I applied to schools outside of my ideal geographic range to keep my options open, but it was no contest when I got into an institution much closer to home and had to choose between that and one much further away. If you're already sure that you wouldn't be interested in moving far away anyway, then don't waste effort and money on applying to places you'd never attend if you got in, but if you'd like to keep your options open, then apply to as many places close by as meet your criteria and then a few more to give yourself some leeway should the close ones not pan out. -
Wonderful to hear that! I registered at my awe-inspiring campus gym yesterday, and I can't wait to check out some of the fitness class offerings soon. It seemed huge and pretty full, but that could just be because it was the first week and everybody was there registering.
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First Year Students Fall 2014 How's It Going
maelia8 replied to Threeboysmom's topic in Officially Grads
I'm doing pretty well so far. We had our departmental orientation on Monday (cohort of 19) and the all-grad orientation on Tuesday (possibly a thousand people, maybe a bit less? Hard to tell, this place is HUGE), and we start classes today! All I have is a language course Thursday and Friday, so with the long weekend, I don't feel like school is really starting until I have my first seminar next Wednesday. I'm super excited about all of the opportunities at this big campus - so different from my tiny liberal arts college, and so much more diverse! The gyms, the health center, the libraries … there's so much to explore In terms of my department specifically, my only worry is that I'm still on the wait list for a seminar that I really want to take, but I'm the first person on it and I'm planning on talking to the professor about it on the first day the class meets. Fingers crossed -
Since I don't have a smartphone and therefore frequent enough access to any calendar app, I use a paper planner that I love, an August-to-August one that's ideal for those on an educational system calendar.
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@juilletmercredi Unfortunately, I was explicitly told not to clean areas that are not in my domain (for example, if I'm responsible for the bathroom, I'm not supposed to clean the kitchen) after I tried the "just do it" theory, and just cleaning and moving things without asking seems uncomfortably passive-agressive to me. The problem that I have with the "I'll clean it when it needs cleaning" attitude is that everyone has a different idea of when something needs cleaning, but all roommates have to share the space. Personally I'm the sort who like to just clean everything at least once a week (usually on the same day every week), because getting into a rhythm is the best way to ensure that things are properly cleaned. I see what you're saying about reorganization and not stepping on anyone's toes, and I appreciate hearing your perspective. I have only made two suggestions in two weeks (and they were the ones who brought up a cleaning rotation, not me), so I hope I'm not overdoing it. @St. Andrews Lynx, that's odd, I've lived in two apartments for several years with different roommates, and both times, the cleaning rotation worked well and held up for the duration of that particular roommate configuration. Maybe I've been living on some strange planet … I, too, derive a perverse satisfaction in cleaning toilets and unclogging sinks and especially drains filled with giant hair rats @Sigaba Don't worry, the tone that I used IRL was nothing like that used in this forum (this thread has contained a level of venting that would never come out in my speech). Living alone would be an option to consider if it weren't laughably outside of my price range (which you yourself probably know, as you seem familiar with this area), and I've had really good experiences living with roommates before (including cleaning) so I believe that the experience I'm currently having may be an outlier. Not sure why I should take off the red avatar, but blue roses don't occur naturally and I find them pretty terrifying, so I'm going to pass on your image suggestion.
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Update: we apportioned the chores on a rotating schedule (for one month, each person is responsible for either bathroom, kitchen, or living room), which is an improvement, although the others vetoed my suggestion to make sure that each person cleans their area at least twice within that time frame, so essentially there is no accountability. Some small organizational suggestions that I made (how about organizing the spices on a rack? can we put the pot lids in a more convenient drawer since they are used every day?) were rather ignominiously shot down, so I'm taking a step back to evaluate before I go any further. My offer to do more than my share of the cleaning (which I've done before, am happy to do, and would not resent), was met with apprehension and odd looks, so it might be time to start accepting the level of uncleanliness or begin looking for other living options
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@TakeruK thanks for the advice, I'll keep that in mind I'm very new here and would love to avoid committing any embarrassing gaffes in the first couple of weeks!
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Really? Is it perceived negatively by some departments to voice one's love of teaching as being a primary goal of getting a Ph.D.? it's not that I don't enjoy research (I do), but teaching and mentoring is honestly something that means a lot to me.
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Well, I moved into my apartment a week ago, and I'm pretty bored now … I've taken care of all of the administrative stuff I can before the semester starts, but since I'm literally so broke after furnishing my bedroom that I can barely afford food until I get my first stipend disbursement in two weeks, I'm trying to find things to do in my absurdly expensive area that are free … it's been difficult. I've been going on walks in the afternoons and spending some time in parks and wandering around on campus, and then in the afternoons and evenings I watch Netflix and work on knitting projects … not exactly glamorous sightseeing in one of the most exciting cities in the country, but hey, it's all I can afford.
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Honestly, I'd actually prefer to be at a SLAC such as the one where I did my undergrad - I love teaching (so far), both the lecturing and the seminar aspect. As someone in the humanities, having a top-notch R1 lab isn't necessary for me, and as long as I could get access to the primary sources I need (which is becoming easier and easier using the internet these days), a SLAC would provide me with anything I needed to research while providing me with the intimate environment that I love to work and teach in.
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It depends a bit on the department though, doesn't it? I know that at some departments comparative is still in and at others it's not.
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The only thing I'm worried about is money until my stipend is disbursed. I moved here 5 days ago and after spending $400 on furniture and bedding plus another $100 on basic food supplies and toiletries, I'm worries that I won't make it through to the end of the month, when I'm supposed to get paid.
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I just moved to the city of my new graduate life, and I moved in with two nice new roommates in a 3-bedroom apartment. The two of them have already been living together for two years and known each other for three years, so I'm the "newbie" to this roommate configuration (I'm not subletting, and our names all carry equal weight on the lease). The apartment is quite nice, but the cleaning standard is a bit lower than I'm used to, and there are some organizational changes I'd like to make. For example, I'd like to reorganize the contents of some of the kitchen cabinets, get a bathroom organizer, buy a bigger bathroom trashcan, etc. I don't mind doing the cleaning and organizing myself, but my question is, how do I talk to my veteran roommates about this in a polite way? I don't want to give the impression that I hate the way they have things organized or come off as hoity-toity or pushy, and I'd be happy to make these small changes gradually. Does anybody have advice on/experience with this?
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Sisyphit, I think that you could easily find a way to equally emphasize your interest in what you focused on during undegrad and what you did to gain experience after you graduated. I'm in a different field, but I honestly believe that it can't hurt to have balanced coverage (mentioning what you worked on during undergrad and how passionate you feel about it as well as describing what you've done since then to show that you have practical experience in your field of study. I don't think this is an either/or situation, but rather an and/and situation. Good luck
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If it makes anybody feel better, I arrived in my new city for grad school yesterday and spent half of today at Ikea buying furniture and the other half cleaning the room I'm moving into … floor is covered with baking soda to cleanse the rug and everything smells like ammonia, but hey, I managed to put my desk, chair and bookcase together and find the box with my sheets in it! Just think of everything in terms of baby steps
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Hello, I'm a recently admitted grad student enrolling in a Ph.D. program in the Fall and I study exactly what you do, ctg7w6: German history 1871-present! I did not do an MA but rather applied directly to Ph.D. programs (after two years out of school following my undergrad), and I, like you, could pass a German competency exam but not a French one (yet). Here's my advice for you: When I applied to the Ph.D. program I will be attending (and several others), I simply used a writing sample from my undergraduate thesis (which features extensive use of German-language primary and secondary sources), and described my language skills in my statement of purpose. I lived in Germany for the two years following undergrad and simply stated that I'd been able to improve my language skills while living overseas. No school required me to submit a competency exam result, and I feel that if you outline what you've been doing to improve your competency in your SOP, that should be sufficient. Use of German-language sources in my writing sample and a description of my overseas experience was more than enough for the schools that I applied to (top-ten institutions for history). However, if you really feel the need to have your competency evaluated, I recommend doing the Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI), and getting a rating (Novice through Superior) describing your skills. The interview will only take half an hour, and must be administered by someone familiar with the guidelines of the OPI, usually a language teacher. If you can't find someone qualified, I'd ask a language teacher to write you an evaluation that clearly describes your language skills and enclose that as an additional document with your application. I don't know of any reading-only exams … the TestDAF and the Goethe Zertifikat, the most prominent German language tests offered around the world, include speaking, listening, reading, and writing in equal proportions, and require a lot of study (as well as being rather costly). All in all, I believe that the proofs of competency that you can provide in your SOP and writing sample will be more than sufficient (they were for me). Good luck!
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I'm moving in 5 days, and once I get all of the stuff in order that needs to be done (getting my university ID card, buying furniture, registering for classes, etc.), I wanted to work on a project. In my case, I've been meaning to go through several shoeboxes of old photos, sort the good ones out, and then scan them before disposing of the hard copies. If you can come up with a project like that, something that will take you a few weeks to finish and that you can work on whenever you have a spare minute, that might help with your boredom
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This really does vary, both by field and by department. Within my field, some institution websites told me specifically NOT to email professors, and others actively encouraged it or even stated that it was an expected part of the application process. To sum up, don't assume that just because one department at one university in your field wants or does not want you to send such emails that all others will be the same.
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GRE Issue essay: Some people X; Some people Y?
maelia8 replied to Dustin DeWinn's topic in GRE/GMAT/etc
Obviously these "some x, some y" type of prompts are asking you to take some sort of stance and clearly indicate that you are at least MORE for one side than the other. Let's be honest: GRE essay graders could honestly care less about what you actually believe about the issue, and fully expect you to choose one side even if it is a comparison that makes little sense in real life. When the prompt asks you to address both views that are presented, it means to make sure that you cover both viewpoints while clearly supporting one over the other (i.e. if you support X, write about the pros of it and then explain that "although one could support Y because blah, I as a proponent of X must point out that this is a weak argument because blerg"). It doesn't matter if you really do feel that there are equally convincing arguments for X and Y, or that X and Y are both equally problematic or shouldn't be compared. You only have a short time to write, so pick a side, list your top few arguments for that side, and then spend some time explaining why the most convincing arguments for the other side are wrong/not as good as the arguments for the side you chose. For example, f you are doing a five-paragraph essay format, I would say paragraph one should introduce the topic and state that you are for X rather than Y, paragraphs two and three should describe and elaborate on the most important/convincing arguments for X, paragraph four should address any arguments for Y and refute them, and paragraph 5 should reiterate paragraph one again. Good luck, I hope this helps! -
I don't think I'd go for it. Half of the admissions process is visiting, comparing, and reevaluating the places where you are accepted, and I wouldn't want to step into anything blind no matter how good the POIs look on paper.
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I'm moving via car with no furniture, just clothes/personal items/some books and a bike, but I have ten small to mid-size boxes plus two suitcases and a file cabinet … good thing I'm moving in a huge minivan with the two back rows of seats removed and a roof rack carrier on top of the car! Luckily I only have to drive for 6 hours. How do you really manage to reduce EVERYTHING you own to what fits in two suitcases?? I've moved overseas before and only taken that much, but I left an entire bedroom full of stuff at home in storage. At least now I will have absolutely nothing at my parents' house anymore …
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Storage and effective use of space in a rather small bedroom
maelia8 replied to maelia8's topic in Officially Grads
Thanks, that's a great tool! -
Storage and effective use of space in a rather small bedroom
maelia8 replied to maelia8's topic in Officially Grads
Is it possible to loft a double/full bed? Anyone know where you can get a frame for that? I haven't really seen them … I was also thinking of possibly getting a double/full bed frame with storage drawer space underneath or even built in.