Neist

For the sake of discretion, I worked at a law school for 11 years. I don't hold a JD, but I'm relatively familiar with the law school world. I'd go with option 2, but with a caveat. I'm sure that the paper value of a Yale degree will help you obtain a job, but a job won't be handed to you by any means. You might even have to practice for a few years. The school I worked for certainly wasn't the highest ranked law program in the states, but still, the faculty members were incredibly impressive. There's a lot of law school graduates out there, so the competition can be rough. Law school acceptances are very much a numbers game, much like medical school. And this is even more true with Yale. I haven't checked the current US News Law School book, but the average LSAT for a Yale acceptance was around 173, if memory serves, and that's on top of an average 3.8-3.9 uGPA. It's a hard school to get into, and even if you do have those numbers, you'd likely get a full ride at many, many other very good law schools. Something to think about.

I thought I'd just restate the consensus that jobs will be rough moving into the future. In fact, if I wasn't getting an MLIS with my MA, I seriously doubt I would have pursued a graduate degree, or at least pursued one that demanded a reasonable amount of student loan debt, as my will. That said, if you can go to graduate school without any or very little debt, I say go for it! I may be in the minority, but I think it's important to follow your passions, as long as it doesn't detriment your economic well-being (i.e., being able to eat and live somewhat comfortably).

This is exactly what I do. I recycle physical papers after scanning them to save their comments.

I haven't written mine yet, but I'm predicting it to be 50-100, which is pretty par for my program. It's going to be a little technical (the research it will be based off was very statistical in nature), so maybe it's a rather dense 50-100 pages, but, eh.

I like historiographical writing. I know that's not everyone's cup of tea, but... I'm an ecosystems person. I like to see the big picture.

Unfortunately, this question is almost impossible to answer. Some class requirements are probably stipulated by the ABA. However, the precise requirements beyond these mandates are probably up to the program/school in question. The only way you'll know for certain is to shop around for law schools and ask them. Luckily for you, attending law schools in recent years is a bit of a buyer's market (i.e., many law schools aren't getting enough students), so they'll likely answer any question you have enthusiastically. My suspicion is that you might have to settle for a normal course load for your JD, then specialize in the philosophy of law in an LLM or SJD. (For context, I worked at a law school for 10+ years)

Started Ubik. What an odd book...

I completely understand. Also, did this person start the program last year? Given your location, I think I know who this person is, and if it is this person, I actually shared an office with them for a short period. Small world!

Interesting focus! Out of curiosity, what programs are you looking into? Have you considered a joint history of medicine and MD program? A few of those do exist, but I imagine finishing them would take ages.

This isn't precisely helpful for the upcoming Fall semester, but I suggest that you consider moderating an informal reading group. Depending on one's moderation style, a reading group can be quite similar to a discussion group.

Sounds really interesting! I'll definitely put it on the list. I just finished Dancing Bees: Karl Von Frisch And The Discovery Of The Honeybee Language by Tania Munz. I attended a talk by her earlier this spring, and the book was on my list. Just got around to reading it.

Normally, when an individual takes out a loan, said loan immediately begins to accrue interest. If you buy a car, this is generally what happens. And this is exactly what an unsubsidized loan is. An unsubsidized Stafford loan will immediately begin to accrue interest, even if you're still in graduate school. In contrast, a subsidized loan doesn't begin to accrue interest during qualifying events. For example, subsidized loans do not accrue interest while one is still pursuing a degree. Does that help? I admit I'm not always the clearest!

Man, I'm going to rue the day if and when I leave academia. I love my well-stocked university library system. Even if they don't always have what I want, they have nearly always obtained what I need through interlibrary loans.

You might be able to see them by appealing to view your application records, but I'm unsure if letters of recommendation are included. My writers were pretty much a blank slate in regards to what they wrote. That said, I'd be a little shocked if the letters were negative. One of my writers, a very well known historian in their field, is a critical grader and I managed to receive two high As in in both classes took from them. I hope I made an impression, given all the word I had to put into that course. When you think about it, prep for graduate school begins the minute you begin your undergraduate. You're establishing impressions that will greatly aid your applications later on.

Congrats! Yes, please come back! Grad Cafe is valuable because of the available pool of experience. Without returning folks, it cannot be sustained.

My uGPA was 3.6, I think, and I believe that my GPA was 159/151, Verbal/Quant. I like to believe that I had relatively strong letters, but I never saw them, so who knows. As to where I applied, I submitted applications to RPI STS, Cornell STS, Drexel STS, OU History of Science, and BGSU Popular Culture. I was accepted into the latter three schools. I wasn't too surprised about RPI or Cornell as RPI wasn't the best fit and Cornell is incredibly competitive. I think they took 3 people last year.

It's already been emphasized, but I thought I'd throw my hat into the "keep reading" pool. Read, read, read, and then read some more.

Anyone reading anything interesting or fun this summer?

Sounds like a lovely summer break.

It's doubly difficult for me due to scoliosis. While it's not noticeable, one of my shoulders hangs slightly lower than the other (maybe half a centimeter). This issue causes backpacks to sit unevenly on my shoulders. It's super annoying. I'm considering investing in a good sling bag. I've used messenger bags before, and in fact it's what I'm currently using, but I want to try something different.

That sounds fun! Get to visit CERN while you're there? My department has a dedicated floor in an eleven story building, about a third of which are dedicated graduate student offices. Currently, I'm alone in an office; it's a two person office, but I have no office mate. We get a decent amount of interaction with others, too, but only if they hang around the department. Given the solitary nature of historical research, a good many of faculty members and graduate students study elsewhere. That said, there's definitely a common pool of people one can expect to find on the floor, and we're pretty friendly. Sounds busy! Also, congrats on the exams!

Anyone doing anything fun for the summer break? I'm just doing a lot of reading. I'm going to a U. Penn. for a workshop later in the summer, but otherwise, my summer is relatively empty. Not sure what to do with myself!

You are correct. There are two hospitals in Norman. Also, depending on one's need for particular specialists, you may or may not be able to locate a provider in Norman. I've only rarely had to leave the city to look for health care providers, but I typically do not require highly specific specialists, either. Haha. That's definitely true! But one could make the same argument for a lot of streets in Norman.

Let me know if you want to know anything about Norman. If you're from Texas, it's possible that you might already be familiar with Norman, but I thought I'd offer, all the same.

I'd like to second reading a novel. It's something relatively fun to do while also not getting out of the habit of reading. Personally, I'm going to read a few very, very large books during the summer because I'll never have time to read them during the semester. Two volume Darwin biography by Janet Browne here I come!