maelia8

I second hj2012. I'm also in the humanities (history) and was told on many department websites NOT to contact the faculty for the very reason stated above. I was advised not to email professors unless I have an actual legitimate question related to that professor's research. A 4-line introduction may be a nice gesture, but it's probably fairly irrelevant to the admissions committee and is by no means a necessary part of the application process. I only applied to top-ten schools in my field, didn't send a single email to potential advisors, and still managed to get accepted or wait listed at several of them. Most department websites will list which professors are retiring or going on sabbatical next year, so emailing to find out whether the professor is going to be there as a potential advisor is also usually unnecessary. TL,DR; don't sweat it too much. The emails probably aren't very important in the big scheme of things and likely will have little to no influence on the committee's admissions decision.

2014: (first application session) applied to 6 schools, rejected at 3, wait listed at 2, and accepted at 1 - my dream school! I'll be studying Modern European History with a specialty focus on Imperial Germany I feel so incredibly lucky that at least one place wanted me enough to offer me admission. Congratulations to the rest of you!

Another difficult one for me is U of O … for me, as an Oregonian, it's clearly the school attended by the Ducks (University of Oregon in Eugene), but for some people, it's the University of Oklahoma in Norman … thank goodness there's no University of Ohio as well, only Ohio State University.

Classes start at my university on August 20th, and I haven't found a place yet, but I'm not too worried. I've heard that there's a huge amount of turnover in August (even a week ago most of the ads on Craigslist were still for summer sublets or places seeking June renters), and I have had way too much trouble trying to find someone who will rent to me sight-unseen (I won't be able to drive down and look at places until after Independence Day at the very earliest). I wouldn't worry about it too much

My parents have a Nissan Versa and a Toyota Corolla, respectively, and although I don't have my own car, I have spent a lot of time driving those two and I love them Cheap, great gas mileage, and the cars live FOREVER (my dad's Corolla still functions perfectly, has been to the shop once in 15 years, and is now over 20 years old).

I've had friends cut my hair for me in the past (whenever I could find somebody who felt confident about doing it), and I was always satisfied with the result. Even when I can't find a friend who will cut it for me, I only go to the salon once or twice a year and I always get my hair cut my one of the trainees so that it's cheaper. I only go out to eat if it's someone's birthday, so I cook at home twice a day most days and eat a cold breakfast. My food costs aren't as low as they could be because I don't buy any packaged/premade foods, only grains and fresh produce and fancy non meat proteins (I'm a vegetarian), but that's something I'm willing to splurge on, relatively speaking (I still only spend about $50 on groceries per week, which isn't exactly breaking the bank). I get all of my furniture and most of my clothes at secondhand stores or using Freesharing sites or groups - I spent less than $100 furnishing my current apartment, and that was mostly on bedding. I don't buy new clothes until the old ones wear out so badly that they can't be fixed, and until that point I darn them or bleach them or modify them to make them last longer (rehemming sleeves, cutting off worn-out pants, fixing holes until the material gets too thin to allow it).

As suggested by others, staying with your family is something that you can feel out over time and see if it's working before you decide that moving out is necessary. My younger sister is currently going to school in our hometown, and for the first two years of her degree, she lived at home with our mother, but during the third year it became clear that the situation was unsustainable. My sister took some time to shop around and ask friends who was looking for roommates, and only when she found a place with a great price and great roommates did she choose to move out. I'd start out living with your family and see how it goes. If after one semester or one year you feel like you can't stand it anymore, then you can start looking for an alternative place to live.

I recommend joining LiveMocha, a language learning chat site that allows you to connect with native speakers over video or audio chat and practice speaking with them. It's a great way to get over being nervous or uncomfortable when talking to native speakers!

your reasons are completely legitimate. When I applied to schools I also only applied regionally (in my case, West Coast), because I honestly didn't want to move somewhere where I'd have to fly there when I move and every subsequent time that I want to see my family. There's no reason that you have to apply to places far away just to feel that you're casting a wider net if you aren't interested in going that far away in the first place.

I find that a lot of passive-aggressive people quail before a direct question/confrontation. Usually when someone makes a snide response or refuses to commit, I just look them straight in the eye and say something along the lines of, "Is that really true/what you really mean? I'm sorry, but I can't believe that/accept that as an answer." Most of them get ashamed and break eye contact and try to slither away because they aren't used to being called out on their bullshit. Being nicely passive-aggressive back is exactly what they expect, but if you respond candidly and with straightforwardness, you will put them off balance and they will have no choice but to do the same.

Another post-apocalyptic sci-fi series: the MaddAddam Trilogy by Margaret Atwood. Simply amazing.

There are so many more factors that go into an admissions decision than just your stats or qualifications. I'm sure that more than 6-7% of the applications to top institutions in a given field are qualified to get in, but there's other things to take into account, such as fit, which professors are retiring/moving away/not taking on new grad students, how much money the department has this year for stipends, whether the topic you want to work on aligns with the general mission and leanings of the department you're applying to, whether you have a connection to the university through your undergraduate professors, etc, etc. People are accepted for a variety of reasons, not all of which have to do with having a perfect record and being in the top 30% of your undergraduate class or even having awesome outside research or work experience post-undergrad.

I'm not sure if you like Fantasy/Sci-Fi crossovers, but the Prince of Thorns/King of Thorns/Emperor of Thorns series is really great for post-apocalyptic fantasy/sci-fi.

Yeah, I posted in here before anything subject to deletion was posted and am now wondering what the heck I missed that was so spicy it had to be deleted before I even got back.

I've never slept on a board, but I have slept on the ground a lot while backpacking (ground, tarp, sleeping bag, me layered on top of each other), and it was actually quite painful for the first few days until I got to the point where I was tired and didn't care anymore. Perhaps it's because the ground is so uneven compared to a board, but it really made the bones in my hips and shoulders ache, and I would wake up during the night with numbness in my thighs and upper arms. I felt like the only way to sleep successfully was on my back, but then my tailbone and lower back would ache Anybody else have experience with this?

Hats off to you for being able to function successfully that way. if I get less than 8 hours of sleep (and I prefer about 9), I don't function properly, with our without caffeine. Even if I get 6-7 hours of sleep for only two or three days in a row, I find myself falling asleep in the afternoons, regardless of where I am and what I am doing, and I feel groggy all of the time and get really bad headaches. Staying up until 1am is a huge challenge for me, and I'm usually in my pajamas by 10pm and asleep by 11pm. In undergrad I had to stay up late a few times to put the finishing touches on something or finish and especially large chunk of reading, and although I could still do good work after 10, my body really hated it and I'd like to avoid it during grad school if at all possible.

I was in a mid-sized city (about 300,000 people). I went on a lot of walks and spent a lot of time reading and writing, as I said. I was friends with two of the other interns at work, so we went out to lunch together a lot and sometimes for a beer after work, but that was about it in terms of social interaction (joining a club or sports group to make friends might not make sense for such a short period of time). I took the train out to surrounding towns and cities to get a look at something new on the weekends, but since I was working a full-time 9-5 internship, I usually didn't have that much time to go out during the day anyway. I went to all of the museums and galleries in the city, I did a walking tour, i spent a lot of time in the park behind my apartment building, reading … I also made an effort to get to know my neighbors in the hallway of my building and we had a couple of grilling nights. I hope this is more helpful to you, good luck!

I'd go with the person who knows you better. An assistant director of admissions is still a section supervisor, and your LOR should be from somebody who can really describe your work in detail and provide specific examples of your skills.

I have a kindle paperwhite and I love it. If I can find my research books in kindle editions, then I buy them that way, but I agree with TakeruK that it can be a pain to reformat PDF articles so that they are readable on the kindle at a comfortable size, so I usually read those on my laptop screen. If a research book that I'm using is too old and hasn't been reformatted, it's usually available through interlibrary loan and I just get it that way. I just can't afford to buy books anymore space wise - I have seven bookcases crammed full, and more books piled up in the closet. It just isn't a sustainable model for me.

Yes, I've posted several "wanted" ads on craigslist, but all the people who respond to them are others in the same boat hoping that we can look together (which in all reality would complicate the process even more). I've even gotten to the point of having Skype interviews, but the place always ends up being either more expensive than listed, or the renter has decided to go with someone else they can meet up with in person (which I totally understand, it can seem kinda sketch to rent to somebody over Skype). Maybe Cal rentals is worth it … I'll think about it. I know that I just need to be patient and more options will open up later, but I'm not the kind of person who likes letting things get down to the wire

Non-philosopher here. Not wanting to seem superficial, but the things that I liked about this book had nothing to do with the character's existential crisis/breakdown/insanity or his musings about philosophy. I enjoyed the book as a travel narrative - as someone who has been on a lot of road trips, there was a big nostalgia factor involved in this road trip undertaken before google maps or smartphones or satellite TV. The descriptions of the landscape the narrator traverses, while not all that polished, have a certain raw charm that anyone who's been on an epic road trip can appreciate. Although the narrator things about very different things than I do when I'm on the road, everyone who's been on a road trip knows that it's one of the best times and places to muse and delve into one's feelings and memories. Another thing I liked about the book: it actually managed to make me interested in how machines work, something that I normally find completely alienating (mainly because of the condescending attitude that a lot of technicians and mechanics have about laymen trying to figure out how to repair things without the requisite experience).

Perhaps the best thing for you to do would be to look for anthropology programs with a strong history department (with an ancient history concentration or professor who are specialists in the area) at the same institution that allow you to take courses outside of your department. Otherwise I'd suggest looking at interdisciplinary history/anthropology programs - they are definitely out there

Update: got my welcome letter from the department today detailing how and when to register for classes, get the most out of advising, establish residency, and some advice about finding housing. It's nice to know that I'm on track I've had no luck with housing so far - I applied to the co-ops and didn't get a spot, and I've heard from several people that paying the Calrental fee isn't worth it. I've been combing Craigslist every day, but most ads aren't for rooms available in August yet (I'd like to move at the beginning of August if possible), and I don't know how many people have responded saying that they're interested in having me before cutting off contact when they find out that I'm overseas for another month. I was told by current grad students at orientation that it's quite common for most housing options for the new semester to change just weeks before the semester starts, so I'm hoping that that will be the case and I'm just looking too early (two months in advance). If worst comes to worst I'll just head down in mid July and stay with relatives for two weeks while going to viewings every day, but I'm hoping to avoid that if at all possible. Anybody else successfully secured housing for the Fall yet?

The price of a two-week trip through Europe varies immensely. How many different places do you want to see during that time (i.e. how many connecting trips will you be making)? Do you want to hit up famous (but expensive) cities like London and Paris, or aim for smaller, cheaper ones? Do you want to use couch surfing, airbnb, hostels, or hotels? Are you planning on hitchhiking or spontaneously taking buses, or planning flights and train trips in advance? Do you like to go out to eat, or prefer to cook at the place you're staying? If you do go out, are you looking at the 3-euro falafel range, or the 15-euro main dish at a nice restaurant? Do you like to go into museums and view famous landmarks that have an entrance fee, or do you prefer to just walk around and see things for free? Are you going to travel with a backpack or a suitcase? Are you going to go there during the middle of the summer or at Christmastime, or at a cheaper time like February-March or October-November? These are all questions you need to ask yourself when figuring out what price you're looking at.

Like you'll be doing, I did a Fulbright ETAship for a year (plus another year teaching with a local government program in my host country), and I had a great time doing it and felt that there was plenty of time to enjoy my youth during two years abroad before settling down for graduate school. I'm now 25 and starting my Ph.D., so I'll be around 31-32 when I finish. I don't think grad school will prevent you from enjoying the prime of your life - although grad school means hard work, I see that as appropriate at that point in your life, and attending grad school doesn't mean that you can't still party and go out with friends occasionally as well as pursuing activities outside of school. In order to secure your future later in life, I think it's good to head to grad school in your mid-20s so that by the time you're in your mid-30s and are wanting to earn more money/have a more stable job with advancement opportunities, you'll be eminently qualified.