ScreamingHairyArmadillo

I just got an F on a stats exam (grad course not my department). I feel like an idiot not because I don't understand the material, but because I underestimated the difficulty of this midterm and just bombed it. I might be able to pull off a B- in the course, but I just need to vent to those that understand. Also, I need to hear that if I do get a C in the course my life isn't totally over. haha...*sigh*

I love my program. I love my advisor, my project, my lab mates, and most of my departmental faculty. I love that we have beer night as a department (granted there are only about a solid 6 or so that go). I love some of the other grad students here, and have made some of the better friends in my life thus far. I love that I have most of the control over my project. Classes are kind of hit or miss. But otherwise I looooove my program

Chiming again for the points that family-friendliness is 1) very dependent on the culture of the department/school and 2) don't expect to sleep a lot. An assistant professor in my department on the TT has 3 (!!) young children, and his wife (I think) is also in research. It's all about partner balance and time management. I hope that academia in the next few years really gets the point that both female and male academics want to have children and be involved in raising them.

I'm really looking forward to ESA this year! I have only been to a branch meeting, so Reno will be exciting. Advisors definitely like to coerce suggest their own schools. My UG advisor very often pointed out Riverside, and while it's a great school, they just aren't doing what I want. Have fun this summer! I remember just waiting around for school to start, and now I can't believe I've already taken a bunch of classes and developed a research proposal. Ah, time flies!

I would suggest just opening a new account in the new city so you have ATM access, but keep your old account in case you're visiting another part of the country for a conference, etc. If you can set up direct deposit, just split it between the two accounts.

Both schools are top notch for entomology, and it is extremely common to do an MS first in this field. You could stay in that lab for the PhD or go somewhere else. I've seen so many CVs lately and people do either one so often I don't know if one way is considered better or worse. Entomology is about research, presentations, and networking (as I guess most fields are), school name is fairly secondary. Good luck at Cornell!

My absolute favorite is a gueze (especially Cuvee Rene), but I didn't want to suggest anything too crazy for starters I have an IPA fermenting in my closet, thanks to my boyfriend...can't wait for spring drinking on the porch!

You can find some outlines online (for contract, lease, etc, I guess I used them interchangeably). Any apartment complex would already have this, I was thinking for a sublease or renting a room in someone's house. However, they're probably more legit if they already have one and have done this in the past. AFAIK, signed documentation of an agreement is legal in court (you really just want to cover your butt if there are disputes). Also AFAIK, many apartments offer short-term leases, it's just more expensive per month. So if you see an offer of $499/month, expect another $50-100 on top of that for a shorter lease. They just want to advertise their lowest price.

Just relax in knowing that for now you're in the MS, which is 2-3 years (probably 2). If this just isn't what you want to be doing by the end of that, you can easily back away with your degree. Even if you want to go on to the PhD, you can do something else for a year or so. That's why my advisor suggested I do an MS first even though I wanted to go straight PhD (it's what she did, too). As for a topic, it's not the end all be all. Some in my cohort wondered why I have gotten my committee/proposal put together so quickly, and it's because I just picked something. My topic is interesting, novel in its own way, and will let me try out a few different methods/techniques that I can apply to other things. The MS is sort of a dry run for the PhD, in my eyes, so as long as you are working on something interesting to you, it doesn't have to be the love of your intellectual life. So, I guess what others said earlier (I just looked those posts over).

Oh man, I fear a few in this thread have never explored to world of micro or home brew. Forget piss water, you need to get yourself a brown ale or hefeweizen (for starters). Though I didn't drink at my interviews either, I'm already awkward/goofy enough

You can get an idea of apartments in the area using Craigslist. I would just get the names and try to find their own websites (sometimes that can be hard because they can be through the larger rental agency and a quick Google won't do the trick). Otherwise try rent.com. You can sometimes find reviews, though they are usually just written by those that are pissed off. If you want to try finding just a room, sublet, whatever, try to get as many details as possible from an email/phone call. Do ask if the place is clean, if there's a shared kitchen/bathroom/laundry, and if they have pets. Just be thorough, like any apartment. Ask if they have a contract, and if not, you write one. I wouldn't live anywhere other than my parents' without having a contract. If you can spare the fee, first rent with a shorter lease so you can have an easy out if the place isn't right for you. That'll give you time to settle in but keeping looking around.

I have drive, but am lazy. A pretty terrible combination, really. Hence the reason I'm up at 3am waiting for ArcGIS to reproject my raster file for the next hour or so. *sigh*

Like LJK, I have a regular Kindle. I zoom in on one column and scan the pages that way. I find it pretty useful as I don't usually mark up documents anyway. I also usually reread papers, so the time I have it on my Kindle is just the first go thru. When I have it on my computer, I can highlight or annotate.

Your largest expense will probably be an apartment, so either check out craigslist or rent.com to get an idea of average costs. Schools may also host housing websites, where you could also find a roommate which could lower your costs. Also look into public transport to decide whether a car is worth it or not. I had this issue last year, where OSU offered me less money than another school, but the cost of living is so much cheaper here I'm able to save more than I could've at the other school. I'm even starting to pay off undergrad loans! Granted, in the end I did not base my decision solely on finances, as I have an SO that was also applying. There are really just so many factors going into a decision, the best thing you can do is visit. If 2-3 schools give you actual livable stipends, you should make a decision on fit, advisor, placement rates, all that other stuff that will ultimately shape your career.

Graduate students with TA/RA/fellowship are eligible for B staff parking passes. It's about $30/month (and is deducted from your payroll) and if you get to campus a little before 9am there's usually no trouble parking. I've also always found a spot around 2pm, but you may have trouble. West Campus parking is much cheaper though (I just checked - $7.40/month!) so that's a consideration. Damn, I may switch next year, that's some good money to save.

Just to add some more thoughts on fellowships, I want to quote this because it's pretty spot on. I received a pretty crazy funding package for my MS and will not be teaching until I'm going for the PhD (assuming I continue here, but it is required for the PhD track in my program). My thoughts on not having to teach: 1) Fuck yeah! Only because I am here to learn how to research and would rather be focused on my field's literature, not textbooks. Grading is also a time suck. I also may not even go into academia anyway (government and industry have good prospects for my field). 2) I will have practice presenting at conferences, and so far I've been quite good at it. I am not losing out on a lot of presentation skill building. 3) I know my mentors have been rooting for me from the get go. Someone had to nominate me and write a recommendation (probably my advisor), and while I'm sure GRE/GPA had something to do with my getting them, there's a lot to say about faculty putting in the extra effort. 4) Because of 3, I know there's a certain amount of increased expectations for my work. Fellowships the first year mean the faculty believe in my potential, but I'll be damned if I don't produce kick ass research. 5) Fellowships do look better on a CV compared to another year of TA. I'm not saying no TAing is a good thing (it will be beneficial for learning good time management skills), but committees love CVs chock full of fellowship/grant/awards. 6) I am not integrated into my cohort. They all TA, attend the same undergrad lectures for it, and have to prepare labs. They don't often ask my opinions on teaching because I'm pretty sure they don't think I'd have one! It kind of sucks. So, I suppose fellowships are a double-edged sword. Damned if you get it, damned if you don't.

Depends on the class. I'm taking two courses outside of my department, and they're practically like my undergrad classes. The professors are not my departmental mentors, so in most cases I'm just another score to input in the grading rubric. I've so far only taken one course in my department, and it was much different. The scores didn't seem as important as how I presented my work (which was all writing - 2 written take home tests and a final paper). As far as usefulness goes, I do find all of my course material much more useful. I find the lecture period a waste of time.

This. An SOP is sort of like a cover letter for a job - you wouldn't write about your childhood for a corporate job, would you? I think at this stage reference to childhood is somewhat childish. You want to come off as mature and thoughtful about your research interests, it needs more than "I really liked it as a kid!" An adcom wants to know why you like the subject now.

I set one up, not too much a waste of time as it took about 10 minutes. I may not stay in academia, so any government/private sector people I meet would more likely have a LinkedIn profile instead of one on Academia.edu.

I applied for both MS and PhD programs, but ultimately decided on an MS first. As of now I want the PhD, but I also don't want to stick myself in something hard to get out of. Between the two degrees I could be a lab tech, research in another country, maybe teach...basically see what else is out there and my options with just a Master's. Maybe the job I ultimately want doesn't require a PhD and I'd put myself at a disadvantage if I got one. But then I really want it!

+1 on this. I guess I could've clarified; a wet campus is only a distraction if you need to drive down High St on a weekend.

You could check out Clintonville, about a 10-15 minute drive north of campus (it's on a bus line if you live closer to N High St). I don't find a wet campus to be a distraction per se, there's just always a bar if you want to grab a drink.

I don't know what sort of assignment the OP is grading (test, essay, lab report?) and all would have different rubrics and expectations. And yes, I suppose "succinctness" is subjective, but the lack of it can sometimes be very obvious when the information is tangential. As far as where a research paper may go, while it may be unanticipated to the reader, the writer should have a thesis and keep their writing relevant to their point. If the professor doesn't absolutely specify the topic, the writer needs to define it for themselves. And I said "all/most" because while one omission of one fact may not break an argument, the complete ignorance of a topic that was described in class would be a clear fault. I also would not be comparing one paper to another to determine a grade, hence the use of rubrics. While some profs curve course grades, the initial score on an assignment is determined per individual.

Sorry, I misinterpreted. Since you did go over this with the professor, I suppose I don't know how to suggest approaching it. What sort of feedback did they give?

I would think "effectively" means succinctly synthesizing most/all relevant information to answer the question at hand. Otherwise, your grading sounds like "For a poor student, they explained it as well as they could - A." That is subjective grading, and that's why your professor disagrees.