maelia8

Personally, since I'm already 5'9", my wearing heels comes across as overkill and tends to make me uncomfortably taller than most men. It can be very awkward to go up to a respected scholar in your field to shake his hand, only to find out that with heels on you're half a foot taller than him. Some (but not all) men react uncomfortably or negatively to this (and show it by immediately making efforts to get you to sit down or refusing to meet your eye so that they don't have to look up), so I prefer to go with flats, at least in professional situations.

I know we already have threads here for decluttering as you move into a small apartment as well as utilizing space effectively in a studio, but what about just a bedroom? I'm moving into an apartment with two other grad students who have already furnished the entire apartment - all I need to do is fill my bedroom. However, this bedroom is quite small (about 8x10), and everything I'm bringing with me when I move has got to fit in there somehow. Does anybody have tips in terms of maximizing storage space (I will have a VERY small closet, only about 3x3 WxD), or have ideas about whether having a desk, a double bed, and a couple of small bookcases in there is realistic or a pipe dream? Links to specific furniture options welcome.

@CageFree to be honest, I just worry that a lot of applicants are getting the message that they MUST contact a POI in order to be considered legitimate/prove that they are serious - several people I know just sent a form email to all potential POIs that contained exactly that sort of gushy prof-worship mixed in with a bit of self-promotion that you want to avoid because, as you say, it's a terrible idea. Nobody should be putting themselves under pressure to write some clever email to potential POIs that shows off their rapier wit and sets them apart from the crowd, only to be crestfallen when they realize that the POI has received a hundred similar emails that all say something along the lines of "I'd love to work with you." As long as people are writing emails with actual pertinent questions specifically related to the POI (gush-free), then I'm all for it

To respond to CageFree and thedig13 (as well as the OP) and clarify, I am not attempting to say that you shouldn't contact POIs, and I freely admit that doing so could prove to be beneficial. However, I stand by my statement that contacting a POI is not necessary in order to be admitted (i.e. you shouldn't feel that it's a mandatory part of the application process), and both at the institution I'll be attending and two more that I applied to, the history department website specifically indicated that potential students should not email professors due to the high volume of emails they receive and should instead address themselves to the grad secretary if they have any questions about who is going on sabbatical or retiring. I can only speak from my experience as someone who didn't send any emails to POIs and was still admitted to institutions that offered viable POI matches for me (which I was able to confirm at visit day). TL;DR: by all means, go ahead and contact a POI if you believe it's necessary and fitting in your particular situation, but don't just do it for the sake of doing it if you have nothing important to ask or say (especially if the department website specifically advises against it).

Another piece of advice: depending on whether you're going for a humanities field or a mathematical/scientific field, your verbal or quant score will be more important to your application. Focus on getting a really good score in the area that counts more for your field, and just aim for a solid, middling score in the other area rather than expending a lot of effort on making both scores stellar. For example, since I'm in a humanities field, I worked hard to get an almost-perfect verbal score (and achieved that goal), but my quant score was lower than yours, OP. Since it didn't matter very much in my field, I didn't bother retaking the test just to bring up a quant score. Especially if you're pressed for time, focus on the area that needs the most work and is most important rather than going for a well-rounded good score that you don't necessarily need.

Since I don't have a smartphone (and thus frequent access to an online calendar), I use a paper planner, the "August-to-August" one that's ideally suited to students. I write daily appointments as well as weekly and special events, and I write due dates and assignments in it, although I don't write in my whole schedule for each day, just anything "out of the ordinary."

@bioarch_fan at the institution I am attending, the history department website specifically advises applicants NOT to contact professors just to introduce yourself before applying because the volume of emails they receive makes this a burden rather than a help. Perhaps it's different at smaller schools that receive less applications, but I think at most departments receiving over 400 applications per year, writing in to the professors is unnecessary and may even be considered an annoyance. In order to ascertain which professors were going to be absent/who isn't capable of taking on new students, one can also appeal to the department secretary, who keeps abreast of developments like this. I'm not saying that it's bad to contact a POI in this situation, but I do recommend thinking twice about it unless you have something specific and significant to ask, and I also advise checking the department website to see if contacting a POI is encouraged.

I'd just like to mention that although contacting POIs in advance can be done, and may even prove beneficial, it is far from necessary. I didn't contact any POIs at any of my schools because I felt that my application spoke for itself. Unless you have something significant to say to the POI, I wouldn't contact them - their inbox is full enough as it is. If you have nothing to say beyond "I'd love to work with you, here are my interests, don't you think it could be a great match?" then I advise you not to write at all. They get dozens of emails like this, and an email like that isn't going to stand out. Most professors post on their website whether they are going on sabbatical next term/year, and you can often even see how many grad students they are currently mentoring, so usually it isn't necessary to contact them about that. By all means, feel free to contact them, but if you do, make sure that you say something interesting and significant, otherwise that email will just get lost in a sea of others and may even make you come off as trite and/or a bit of a suck-up.

I've studied abroad in Germany. They don't ask for recommendation letters, but they do normally require your GPA, although it has to be converted to the German grading system in order for them to determine if you pass the "Numerus Klausus" (cutoff grade) if you're trying to get into a competitive department (often foreign language, teaching, hard science, and medicine will require this). You can either pass the DAF (Deutsch als Fremdsprache) Test with a certain cutoff grade that varies from university to university, or you can get a Goethe Institut language certificate (usually at least level 2 is required). Getting the visa to study in Germany is not expensive or difficult once you're in Germany and have already been accepted to the university in advance (Americans do not have to apply for a visa until after they arrive), but the German bureaucracy is complex and well-nigh unnavigable if you don't speak at least intermediate German. Tuition at the university is vastly cheaper than American university tuition (my full fees were about 280 Euros per semester, or $375), but unless you have a stipend, such as from DAAD, to pay for your housing and living costs, it will be pretty hard to live there unless you are independently wealthy, as foreign students can only work a side job earning up to 400 Euros per month and that's not even enough to cover rent if you're in a large city like Berlin or Munich. Also, applying for DAAD funding must be done very far in advance (December/January of the year before the Autumn when you plan to start), and by the time you apply, you must have already been accepted into a program in Germany, so take your time in preparing.

@PhoenixKing, I'd be happy to tell you about the process that I went through to secure housing in the East Bay I planned a trip down with an open end (I have the luxury of doing this since I only live 6 hours' drive away from the place that I'm moving to) and made as many craigslist viewing appointments (some of which were interviews, others open houses) as I could. I ended up staying down there for four days and going to an average of three appointments per day. I ended up getting "callbacks" on three places, all of whom I heard responses from within 48 hours of my appointment. I was somewhat pressured to accept or reject the offers as soon as possible, since in most cases, there was a line of people behind me who would be happy to take the place. Be prepared to commit quickly and fully after an interview if you're sure that the place is for you I brought a lot of documents, but ironically, nobody wanted to see them - once I told them I was a grad student, they all were familiar with the grad student stipend amounts and needed no convincing that I could afford to pay rent. I would recommend allotting about 4-5 days to look at places and do pretty much nothing else (when I wasn't at appointments, I was online combing listings, checking up on open house times, answering email responses, and calling people). It was kind of stressful, but I'm convinced that it's quite hard to get a place down there without going down in person - landlords and roommates place a lot of stock in getting a feel for you in person, which they can afford to do since the competition is so stiff.

So, to follow up on my visit down to the Bay Area to look for apartments: I was successful! All of the super advice I received on this thread was really helpful Now I have two offers and I'm trying to decide which place is the one that I should take. Any advice is welcome! Here are the two places: #1 is a room in a small two-bedroom house owned by an older lady in her early 70s. I'd be her only roommate, and she seemed super nice. We'd share all common areas, including the only bathroom and the kitchen. The house is 20 minutes from campus walking, 10 minutes biking. I'm a little leery since I've had one live-in landlord situation go to hell before, but I'm sure that that isn't always the case and the lady doesn't appear to be a despot, at least from first impressions. The price is very reasonable, on the very low end for prices in this area. #2 is a room in a three-bedroom apartment with two other grad students my age and gender. The place is small, but clean and nice. The other students seem chill and I think it would be a good roommate fit. The distance from campus is exactly the same as from the old lady's house, although the neighborhood is a bit nicer/better. The apartment is more expensive than the other one ($100 more per month) but still in the middle of my price range, definitely not expensive. Which would you choose?

@TakeruK Thanks for the tips! I'm actually a U.S. citizen and I have U.S. credit and loan status, I've just lived overseas so long that all of my adult pay, banking, and rental records are from a foreign country. Most of my potential character references (bosses and supervisors) are also unfortunately overseas and can't be called without spending an awful lot of money (also some of them don't speak English), but I have a few in the US, they are all just more than three years old. Is that an issue? If that's all right and I can use previous roommates, parents and step-parents as well, then I think I have enough people. I do have a letter of recommendation/evaluation from my last job overseas from the principal at the school where I worked, if I translated that could I use it as a reference?

I'm in a similar situation to Runnergrad, my school said they will assign me an advisor within the department at the end of July who must sign off on my registering for classes (basically unlock the registration system) before I can do anything. My department sent me a letter advising me to arrive by the middle of August at the latest for residency purposes and because our orientation starts the week of the 25th, but other than that, there's literally nothing I can do right now - I can't get my email until I get my ID, I can't get my ID until I visit the graduate administration building, and I can't visit it until I move down there after I've gotten my apartment nailed down. I'm not too worried - if I can just get down there by mid-August, then I think everything will be just fine

Thanks for all of the great advice, folks! I'll be heading down tomorrow or Thursday (6 hour drive from current location), and I'll be bringing as many of these recommended documents with me as I can. Unfortunately, I've only ever lived in university dorms or with my parents and don't have any previous landlords that I can ask for a character reference Would it make sense to bring my banking and pay records since they are all in another language?

It seems to me from what you've described that the woman hasn't officially made any statement about not coming back - you appear to have heard a rumor through the grapevine that she might be on the fence, but haven't talked to her personally about it. I wouldn't trust secondhand information. Talk to your boss about being considered for the job should it actually end up that this woman isn't coming back, but I wouldn't put too many eggs in that basket. I'd focus on the sure bet - grad school - and let the chips fall as they may. It doesn't seem that there's anything you can do to expedite this process, but if this woman does bow out and your boss really wants to have you, they'll let you know in time.

I tried again yesterday after posting and it wouldn't let me login with my student account password and username - it said I wasn't authorized yet. This time I'm sure I found the right place to do it, but clearly they haven't activated the webmail part of my account yet.

I've created my student account login, which should become the email address, but I don't know where the login page is to actually access that email address … have hunted all around on the "inside" of the student account pages with no luck. Probably time to email my department secretary ...

I was overseas until a week ago, and have been trying unsuccessfully for two months to rent a place without physically being in the city where I'm going to live. Now that I'm finally in the USA, it's become clear to me that the only way I'm going to get a rental contract in the incredibly competitive environment of the city I'm moving to is to head down there in person next week and crash with friends until I have a place nailed down. Since I'm hoping to make this short and sweet (if possible, 5 days or less, because I don't have the money to hang around indefinitely), does anybody have advice on setting up viewing appointments in advance to maximize time, or how to successfully navigate the whole open house/interview process which seems to be the norm where I'm going due to competition? I want to make sure that my apartment-hunting visit is a success, since I have to move down there in a month maximum. Thanks for any advice!

It's uncommon to go to the same school, partly because many liberal arts colleges only have undergrad or very limited grad offerings. Often a student literally has to go to another school if they want to pursue a graduate degree at all, and not all schools with grad programs have them for all majors, further necessitating frequent switches.

Frankly, I'm going to go against the majority here and advise that you don't make any major decisions related to your education based on this relationship, at least this early on. As a former Fulbrighter, I can tell you that a Fulbright year is a long time and a long distance, and it is possible that your relationship won't survive it. I'd take baby steps and see how this new relationship survives long distance before considering changing my educational plans based on it. I know there's no magic time cutoff in a relationship when you're supposed to start compromising on location and job plans, but for me personally, that time wouldn't come unless we'd been together in a solid relationship for at least two years. As someone who's moved overseas three times and moved for university twice, each time leaving behind a potentially great partner, I haven't regretted my decision to focus on my education and goals rather than compromising to be with this person, and if you should choose to do the same, please don't feel guilty about it. I wish you the best of luck with your decision, because I know from experience that it's a hard one. Best wishes!

@VioletAyame I agree that online communication is vital for keeping in touch with friends all around the world. I have friends all over Europe and North America and some in Asia as well, and Skype is a lifesaver. I'm still good friends with the people I met on my junior year exchange, and I haven't lived in the city where i met them in three years! I visit as much as I can, once a year if possible, although I know that might not be realistic anymore once I start grad school in August.

Unfortunately I currently don't have access to a scanner, nor do I have a drive or set of CDs big enough to store all of the scans if I could scan them, although this sounds like a good idea in principle (how long did it take you to make all of the scans?). I was actually thinking of asking my dad to come over and look at all of my stuff and let me know what he thinks I should keep (at least the papers, if not the books and clothes), because I could really use some of that outsider perspective right now.

I did a year abroad during undergrad and then worked overseas for two years (I just got back to the USA a week ago ) and I would say that at least for me, it's not so much being homesick as peoplesick. I missed my family and friends, but my hometown and the USA in general not so much. Every new place has a lot to offer! I recommend trying to join local clubs and organizations and really making an effort to get to know people outside of your specific program or department. Each small connection to a new person can lead to dozens more, and you'll make new friends much more quickly if you reach out to a variety of different people attached to different groups or activities.

Here are the kind of documents I'm talking about, besides what you've mentioned: I have a huge binder containing everything from my time abroad (2 years) related to banking, bills/payments, visa documents, official letters from my exchange program and university, as well as all of my undergraduate essays and syllabi and exams from every course that I took in my major/field (I keep them for the instructor comments). I also have my dental, optical, and immunization records, as well as copies of bills and reimbursements from my health insurance (I don't want to throw those away, because I've had problems with incorrect billing in the past and you never know when you'll have to prove a discrepancy). I also have all of the application materials from programs I've applied to/begun applying to in the past but not attended (other grad schools, exchange programs, Peace Corps, Teach for America, etc.) in case I ever apply again so that I know what i submitted, as well as all official documents received so far from my future grad program. I have my information about FAFSA and CSS profile, and all official letters and docs from my undergraduate institution, First Aid certification cards, and passport applications. Is this really stuff that I should get rid of? It seems pretty important to me …

I am in the exact same place right now and I really feel for you! I just got home from two years overseas, and opening up all of the boxes I left at my parents' house has been a real trip down memory lane. I promised my mom that I'd clear it all out before grad school (i.e. it's coming with me or it's getting thrown away or sold), but it's so hard! I'm afraid to throw away any official documents (banking, bills, medical, application-related), and my file folders are bursting. I have two whole boxes filled with nothing but sentimental stuff (plaques, awards, figurines and other tchotchkes, handmade gifts) that have no sale value but that I can't seem to part with. I have 25 boxes of books (from my pre-kindle days) and I want to cut that down to 4 or 5 max. I just managed to throw out all of my old magazines and calendars, and I have a box of clothes, especially old costumes, that are going to the secondhand store. Still, it's definitely an uphill battle. If anybody has advice on what they got rid of and didn't miss, I'd love to hear it. I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed