pohks

I just (~12:30) got the notification that I made it to the second round, too. Yay! Good luck everyone!

I just made green curry with chicken yesterday; tried for the first time to make my own curry paste, and it was not difficult at all! It was so much better than the ready-made green curry paste. Here's the recipe: http://thaifood.about.com/od/thairecipes/r/greencurrychick.htm The trick - as the author of the recipe says - is the following: "Do a taste-test, adding 1-2 Tbsp. fish sauce if not salty or flavorful enough. If you'd prefer a sweeter curry, add a little more sugar. If too salty, add a squeeze of lime or lemon juice. If too spicy, add more coconut milk. Note that this curry should be a balance of salty, spicy, sweet and sour." (I didn't have any chili, and I substituted it with red pepper - worked well!) Edit: the paste was _super_ spicy when I tried it, but as soon as I mixed it with other ingredients, it was just fine. I mixed everything in a blender. Bought lemongrass at a local Chinese grocery store for $0.09. All in all, those stores have everything you need for a great price.

If you have any questions re: OSU, feel free to PM me!

In case someone is interested in GIS: The West Virginia GIS Technical Center (http://www.wvgis.wvu.edu), housed in the Department of Geology and Geography at West Virginia University, is seeking a graduate research assistant at the Masters or Ph.D. level in Geographic Information Science. At a minimum, applicants should have an undergraduate degree in Geography, Geology, Computer Science or related field or any combination of education, training and experience which demonstrates the qualification and ability to perform the duties of the position. Successful applicants are expected to work toward a higher degree in GIS Sciences. Job Requirements: Work 20 hours/week and full-time employment during the summer; hours are flexible with class schedule. GRA’s include a tuition waver and stipends at the MA and PhD levels are competitive. Start Date: Start date is typically August, but other project start dates may be available. Application Due Date: Review of applicants by the Department and WV GIS Technical Center will begin upon submission. Minimum Qualifications:  Must meet the graduate student entrance qualifications of the Geology & Geography Department.  Ability to conduct research in Geographic Information Science and present findings.  Advanced working knowledge of spatial analysis and/or GIS databases.  Accepted into MA or Ph.D. program in the WVU Department of Geology and Geography. For application requirements, see http://geography.wvu.edu/graduate-studies. Ideal Qualifications:  GIS Research: Demonstrated ability to conduct GIS research on topics ranging from the physical aspects of a region to human activities within a given area.  Programming Skills: Demonstrated knowledge of GIS programming languages, application development/implementation, mobile applications, and online mapping services.  Minimal Supervision: Ability to work independently with minimal supervision  Multi-Tasking: Performs multiple tasks simultaneously in an efficient and effective manner  Communications Skills: Strong communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to interact with other staff members. Application:  Submit a formal application to WVU and the Geography Graduate Studies Coordinator. For instructions, seehttp://geography.wvu.edu/graduate-studies/apply.  In your Statement of Interest to the Graduate Studies Coordinator, express your desire to work at the WV GIS Technical Center.  In addition, interested candidates should email their resume and cover letter to Kurt Donaldson Manager, WV GIS Technical Center, email: WVGISTechCenter@gmail.com. If possible, please provide links to previous research and contributions to successful GIS applications.

I second this. Check out the results search page; people have been admitted with not-so-solid GRE scores, but these applicants often have other assets, e.g. a professor willing to work with them, a lot of relevant research experience, a great fit, etc. That said, as long as you meet the minimum requirements, you should be ok, even if your GRE scores aren't stellar. As geography rocks mentioned,GRE scores do affect funding, though, and especially fellowships. I know that not everybody agrees with me on this, but I'd strongly recommend to contact professors before/during the application process. That helped me tremendously last year, and having someone to advocate for you can also help mitigate GRE scores that are on the lower side.

Good luck, everyone!

Hi all, I'm already in Columbus, too. I'm not at the TA orientation after all, but if you're doing something afterwards e.g. tomorrow or are planning something for the weekend, I'm definitely in.

When are you guys planning to arrive in Columbus? Anyone attending the TA orientation session?

I love to travel (which is probably why I haven´t managed to accumulate any savings..) In Europe, I've been to Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, the UK, Germany, France, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, and Bulgaria. In Asia, I've visited India, China and Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Burma, and Singapore. In the Americas, the US, Nicaragua, Chile, Argentina, and Brazil, and in Africa Tanzania. I'm from Europe, and in addition to my home country, I've lived in Nicaragua for two years and "lived" in Chile for 5 months and in NYC for 4 months. My favorite place has probably been Brazil, especially a small village called Trindade. I'd love to visit Nepal and New Zealand, and I'm also a little bit ashamed that despite living in Nicaragua for 2 years, I haven't had the chance to visit the neighboring countries.

That is smart - you never know.

Are you still waiting on U W-M and UNCG funding decisions, or would you pick Oregon regardless? You still have 5 days to make up your mind. I just received an email from U Arizona, saying that I had been accepted to their PhD program with full funding. Totally unexpected at this point. Honestly, I don't know how I as an international student with no background directly in geography ended up getting 4 fully funded admissions.

I'm from Finland. And yes, the situation is quite optimal; I'm stoked that my SO will be in Columbus. Hopefully yours can join you at some point, too. I've heard some good things about the Neil Ave Efficiency apartments; you can walk to classes, they are relatively close to Short North, etc. Obviously they aren't the cheapest housing alternative, but staying there in the beginning saves you a lot of trouble and hassle. Do you have to sign the lease for a year or can you stay there for a shorter time? Looking forward to meeting you all, too!

I'd probably evaluate the offers in terms of research fit, whether the focus areas of the programs are compatible with your interests, the POI(s) you'd be working with, etc. Either way, I don't think you can go very wrong. I'll be attending the Ohio State University, and I'm beyond excited. Still haven't heard back from UIUC or U of Arizona, but I wouldn't choose either one of them over OSU.

Hi all, I'll be attending OSU in the fall, too, and I'm beyond excited. Columbus is a cool city with lots of things to do. Unfortunately, I'm not much of a musician, although I'm into listening to music, going to gigs, etc. Like elisewin, I'm originally from Europe but currently live in Central America. However, my SO started his PhD studies at OSU last year, which is why I'm already somewhat familiar with Columbus. We rented a house last week and I'll probably move to Columbus in the beginning of August. We found our place on Craigslist, but it is somewhat tedious to go through all the listings; I find www.padmapper.com clearer than the map function of CL.

Congratulations paolaplease!!!! That is amazing!!!!