ScreamingHairyArmadillo

All this talk about clothes is not helping my addiction! I haven't bought clothes in 3 weeks...

Check out all your local thrift/consignment stores when you get into town. After 2 or so visits to each, you'll figure out which usually has the best selection (hint: they'll be in the better sections of town). The basics: one white button-up, 2 colored button-ups, khakis, black slacks, dress jeans (IMO, I'm fond of a man who can dress up jeans), a black blazer, a blue blazer...okay, so maybe I don't know the basics for men, but this is just what I gather. Polos would be good, too, and I'd bet you could find some real nice ones at thrift stores. Neutral colors are the easiest to mix and match, and colored polos would make you look less like a stiff. Ties are easy to find at thrift stores, too, but if you don't have much luck there, maybe splurge on 1-2 good ones somewhere else. Check out some department stores like Marshalls, Bonton, Macy's, etc. The stores you'd find in a mall that wouldn't have a J. Crew, if that makes sense. A lot of summer clearance is going on now, buying out of season is always a good idea, and never buy regular priced items. It always goes on sale eventually.

If you don't mind sharing, who will be your advisor? I was an undergrad geology minor at Case, so I know a few of the profs. I don't know much about them as advisors, but the ones I took classes with (Drs. Harvey, Matisoff, Hauck, and McCall) are all very smart and good professors. They take their material seriously and all of them run a good class. McCall is lovably goofy and Harvey is just awesome. The department has a monthly (maybe twice a month?) seminar that is always well attended. The talks are usually good, but omg the pizza they get is amazing! Seriously, it's really good and they always get a ton. I really love the Case campus, but there is still a bit of construction going on in the surrounding hospitals. It's not too horrendous, but can be annoying. The entire campus if very walkable; I didn't bother much with the shuttles which never seemed to be there when you wanted them. Utilize the Health Line bus if you can. It goes down Euclid very frequently (every 5-15 minutes depending on the day/time) and there are a few stops that are along the campus. The library system is great, I never had a problem finding what I needed. There's the big main library, KSL, and two others connected to the hospitals. You may not need those though. Winters are very, very...bad. Very cold, very snowy. The sidewalks are usually kept up, but the wind is miserable. The other seasons though are very lovely. Depending on what you're working on, you may find yourself at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Dr. Hannibal is a real character. If you feel like ponying up the money for a gym membership, I highly recommend the on campus gym 1-2-1. Lots of good classes and a good workout room. I joined my last semester and wished I had gone longer. It's a really good mental break and start to the day. Let me know if you have more questions I might be able to answer.

I've been working about 20-30 hours a week to pass the time and save up for the move. Yay retail! It is a daily reminder that I love school. For the next month I will be sporadically going to the new place in Columbus (it's already lined up) to paint and move stuff in (I obviously don't live far). I'll be moving in for good mid-August with the boyfriend and will quit working then. Classes don't start until late September, so until then we'll figure out the city and probably continue to read for our studies (well, he'll continue, I'll start). I'm also registered for classes. I can't wait!

Agreed, Lillian, I am a huge advocate of thrift and consignment stores. I wear Gap, Banana Republic, Express, and New York & Co. all the time and haven't paid full price for a single piece (well, except that one dress I had to have ). I for the most part pay retail on shoes and various other accessories to dress up my clothes.

Here's a recent advice column from the Chronicle with a TT assistant professor asking this question: http://chronicle.com/article/Where-Shall-I-Go/66132/?sid=wb&utm_source=wb&utm_medium=en

At this stage, I highly doubt anyone would fault you for not spending thousands to go to the Czech Republic for a small conference. It's not like any other academics pay out of pocket to attend conferences; their departments reimburse them.

There might not be specific programs for this, but there are definitely faculty studying conservation genetics. My suggestion is try to find faculty doing research you enjoy, with the program field as secondarily important. I don't know if you have a specific plant/animal/microbe affiliation, so look in plant, ecology, straight biology, and entomology programs. From what I know, research is most important when applying to a lot of biology programs. Your GPA is good, but be sure to get a solid GRE score so there is no second-guessing. I think a score 1300+ would be the safest bet. Once you have your program list (don't worry, it'll come together! - it took me 2-3 months to finalize mine and even then I added in 1 last minute), just tailor each SOP. Your foundation in each should be the same (conservation + genetics), but maybe if you're applying to a genetics program, veer the SOP a little more in that direction, and vice versa with any other program. I think the key here is to be knowledgeable about the program's faculty and making that clear in your SOP. Granted, I'm approaching this as someone in a field that I had to communicate with faculty beforehand (usually - sometimes faculty approached me after I applied saying they had an opening and funding). UMass OEB required I had an application sponsor, for instance, so I had to ask a faculty I had been in communication with to let me cite her in SOP as my sponsor. But I think in some other fields there are rotations in the first year (genetics, maybe?), so having a sponsor, or really previous communication, isn't very necessary. I still think it's a good idea though to mention 2-3 faculty in your SOP as a reason why you're a good fit, even if you don't end up working with them.

Depends on the state. I just went through the online eligibility test (http://www.snap-step1.usda.gov/fns/) for Ohio and I do not qualify because I have over $2000 in a bank account. Granted I may not once I move, so maybe I'll look into this again later.

No professor expects you to be doing exactly what you want to do for the rest of your life at, what, 21? At this stage you are demonstrating your research potential; can you form hypotheses? experiments? literature reviews? The field is not the most important part right now. That said, when contacting professors do give a bit of an explanation of why you want to go into XYZ field. Was there a section in a previous class that sparked your interest? If your focus now is ABC, explain why XYZ is relevant (I'm assuming they are somewhat close based on your post). But really, the detailed explanation belongs in your SOP. An email to a professor now should be more along the lines of "My foundation is mostly in ABC, but I am very interested in XYZ, too. After reading your paper on XYZ [and do read it ], I began to look at your program for graduate school. etc etc" This coming from someone with undergrad research mostly in insect behavior, but applying with a focus on ecology. Tangentially related is good enough as long as you can connect the dots.

These will be my shoe solution once I feel like coughing up the money (or asking for them as a gift): http://www.shoes.com/Shopping/ProductDetails.aspx?p=EC1213294&pg=5116713

My general advise is to apply to a good mix of MS along with PhD programs. If you're hesitant about which field to get a PhD in (even if it's just between two), a committee might sense that and reject you purely along those lines. An MS is designed for people with little to no research experience in that field and is a fantastic background when applying for a PhD. I think your GPA is not a hindrance, especially if it shows an upwards trend. Just keep doing excellent work! I'm not quite sure what you mean here, but a tidbit from my experience in a different field: I applied first for an MS and a few programs suggested I change my application to a PhD instead. That is usually for funding reasons as it can be easier to get money for PhD students. But I found it easier to always be specific on the application (and you might have to specify on online forms between MS and PhD). As for biology GRE test, I studied using the Kaplan prep book. I found it really helpful as a general guide, though the real test obviously threw some curve balls. Definitely remember facts about plants that you might not think you need to know. Good luck! I hope some of this was helpful even though I don't have more specific advice about schools.

My first suggestion is email them sooner. If you already know now that you're going, go ahead and let them know. Also, there is communication within departments, so even if you didn't mention you wanted to meet other faculty, they'll all know. But no one will be jealous or anything I have also heard that some faculty do not like being sent a CV on the first email; they want you to wait to be invited to send it. I'm not sure why, and I'll be honest I sent mine with all my introduction emails, but that's something to think about.

I just registered for classes after some phone/email conversations with my advisor. Apparently, once I get there I start planning my courses for the rest of the program with my committee. Of course, I'll probably start planning them now.

Hello, fellow future entomologist! Good luck with your search; there really are a ton of great entomology programs (if that's where you ultimately decide). My main suggestion is to see if you want an entomology or evolution base, or both, and see what schools come up in your search. I know at least at UMass there is an Entomology/Evolution interdisciplinary choice. As far as location, you might have some issues. Most entomology programs have their foundation in the school of agriculture so many will be in the boonies. But if you're more interested in systematics the connections are often with the evolution faculty which can be in the bigger city centers. At OSU the more ag faculty are based in the podunk Wooster while the rest are in Columbus. (Also my first recommendation is OSU, haha ) I also think you have an awesome shot at the top tier Ent schools (many of the UC and Arizona). If those programs are truly a good fit do not hesitate in applying.

This can be the hard part! Just look up driving schools and let them know your situation; they'll set you up with a driving instructor. I'm not in NY (Ohio here), but for an example it cost me $450ish for 8 hours behind the wheel lessons and another 80 to use the driving school's car for the test. So it can be expensive if you don't know anyone, but it was worth the money to me.

In a word, yes. Good grades, good research experience, good recs, good scores, a few MS/PhD options...you're doing everything right. Good luck!

You are not in competition with the other students for grades (no curve, right?) so it doesn't matter if they took the final or not.

My plan is to legally take my husband's name in order to avoid family confusion. Plus, the man I'm with now feels it is very important to have one name. But in my professional life I will keep my maiden name. That is me doing all this work and I do plan on differentiating it. I do not think I will have a problem being Dr. MaidenName and Mrs. HisName.

This is definitely "a diversity statement kind of thing." However, if it doesn't relate necessarily to your reasons for wanting to go to grad school in XYZ field, your regular SOP probably doesn't need this stuff. Your basic SOP will focus mostly on the past few years when you made your decision about your field, what you did in school to advance yourself, etc. Avoid the "when I was a child" stuff like the plague.

I don't know if this has been mentioned yet, but also invest in some good lotion and chapstick.

Do you mean for getting them wrong? Or did he take this as an indication that they only read the first two pages?

Rewriting is key! I was on my second draft when I showed it to someone who suggested I totally scrap all but 1 paragraph, and then finalized by my 7th-ish draft. Just write, set it down, rewrite, and don't be afraid to start over.

This is exactly how I feel.