VulpesZerda

I live fairly close to my two best fitting programs. I really want to visit them in August before classes start. Should I wait until I get a response from that initial POI email to ask them about visiting? Or, should I maybe email a grad secretary and see what he/she says? OR...is it appropriate to mention a visit in my first email (I assume not but figured I'd ask)?

I appreciate the honesty, and really hearing anyone's experience helps. I hope it works out for you!

I've never moved across country, but I have done a month-long road trip out of my Corolla (with one passenger). You're on the right track if you're thinking about purging your stuff. Clothes are hardest for me, but it makes things easier if you only keep items that work for multiple outfits. And what about those vacuum seal storage bags?

That's helpful, thanks! I'm really trying to be realistic about applying to locations I'm actually willing to go to. A short, cheap flight makes visiting seem like a piece of cake if I could make the time. I think I've just met too many neurotic grad students, lol. I almost always feel overwhelmed just by talking to one because they're always so busy. It's crazy to picture my life being like that some day.

I have a question about long distance relationships and grad school, if it's okay to put it here - I didn't think it was necessarily thread-worthy. How often do people fly home / have their SO fly out to visit? I realize that as a grad student I would be swamped with work at almost every waking hour... but is every 2 or 3 weekends realistic for visits? Right now I'm at a summer research program and haven't seen my SO in almost 4 weeks. It'll be 8 by the end. It's fine for one summer but it doesn't seem sustainable for us over several years. We've lived 10 minutes apart for 5 years so it would be a big change. Any input on workload vs visits?

Okay, as I was reading I was expecting you to say, "...But..." followed by something that will throw off your applications. What are you worried about? No one on here can know where you will and won't get in. You obviously have a good chance. It's good that you're including top programs because too many people sell themselves short. Just select programs by research match and you will be fine. I guess for now, work on that, and look for letter writers. I'm not in your field but I would assume you don't need a stellar math GRE to get into an English program.

I suppose there's nothing to lose by asking! However, in this case, the POI has a very convincing reason behind his not taking students...(I will PM you!)

Just had to remove a program because the POI isn't taking new students. So disappointing! I had a feeling he wasn't, so I actually just emailed the graduate secretary to check. She answered within 10 minutes and was very nice about it.

Not sure about your field specifically but if you're looking for summer research definitely apply to the CIC SROP which allows you to do a common app to like 10 schools. Also try the Leadership Alliance which allows you to apply to three schools in one app. There are many others, too. I'm doing one of these now at Stanford and am having an amazing time. I got matched up to a great professor in my subfield. Plus they're giving us a GRE class and a weekly seminar on applying! I'm a rising senior so I was looking into this stuff when I was a rising junior like you. It's never too early to start preparing! If you do contact professors for things other than summer opportunities, just make it clear that you're not in this cycle so they don't waste time right now checking you out (that's what I heard but I've yet to contact anyone). I concur with making an excel sheet. Also, if you read a lot of articles, summarize them in an excel sheet so that you can remember and organize all the POI research. Edit: Madagascar?! That's extremely cool. Have fun!

I really like some of the stuff on here: http://ilovesciencestore.com/ And I'm pretty sure they sell everything at face value. iflscience.com is a cool website in general.

Hm...I honestly think that if I didn't go to grad school to research my topic of interest, and instead took some unrelated career path, I would probably still spend free time reading books and articles on the topic (I wouldn't write papers or anything, let's be realistic) because it's truly my passion. Might as well try to get paid to do something I'm that passionate about! I know that my topic of interest is a complex problem that will never be solved completely, but knowing that I could actively contribute to efforts as a career is perfect for me. My research interests are also applied, so it would feel good to "help". Also, I would never be happy in a career that didn't ask me to solve problems. In psychology we call this a "need for cognition", and I assume essentially everyone in these forums has a high need for cognition.

I also have a 2005 Corolla! I love my car. And, like you, I took mine across the country (plus some). It was a 11,500 mile road trip. So after 18 months of ownership the odometer now reads about 160k - it was 130 when I purchased it. Nothing wrong with that, though; my dad's Camry went up to 415k miles. It could've gone higher than that but my sister kinda crashed it this spring. I will most definitely try to buy another Corolla when I'm done with this one!

We should chat because we have similar research interests (finally, someone!!)! And I also worked on a diabetes study at a local hospital! I think you have good experience

Well, I mentioned it was a regional conference because I don't think a lot of conferences accept talks like that (I assume). It was state-level and undergrad friendly. If you know of anything like this, go for it! Maybe I just got lucky but I wanted to make sure I shared that with you! Edit: go for a really hot topic, it should help. Mine was chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE; boxer's dementia) and I was able to provide some very recent information on the topic because the NFL was battling lawsuits and lately there is a ton of groundbreaking stuff coming out about it.

I know how you feel, and a few months ago I was asking myself the same thing. I ended up writing a lit review over winter break of my junior year with no help. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it as far as publishing goes. I had my advisor look it over then I sent it to an undergraduate psych journal. There are a few out there but I only sent it to one (due to copyright stuff). I got rejected. I don't blame them! If anything, I felt as if writing this paper was a great learning experience for me. Then I submitted the abstract to a regional conference for an oral presentation and it was accepted. Since I spent so much time on this topic it was incredibly easy for me to put together a 15 minute talk about it. So, long story short, pursuing research you're interested in is never a bad thing, but set reasonable goals for it.

I keep thinking of more things for this thread, lol. What about the useful skill of learning to drive a stick (manual transmission)? You can save on the cost of the car, any repairs on the transmission, and if you drive it well, gas, too.

Burn Notice! A great mix of spy stuff and humor. The later seasons are the best.

Hm, maybe I will go ahead and write everything minus these last two research experiences. I saw your other thread - I'd be willing to swap when I'm done!

I'm excited too, but my draft has some holes in it. I'm doing summer research starting Monday til August, and then doing the bulk of my senior thesis in the fall. I want to wait until I can write about both to start!

I found this during my freshman year, when I was initially figuring out what I wanted to do for grad school, and how the heck the process works. Today I found it buried in my bookmarks; it was some nice inspiration and provided helpful reminders. Thought I'd share since I like it so much. http://www.howigotintostanford.com Of course it's anecdotal, but I think it's a good start for any undergrads who may be looking around the forum, and for anyone who is applying soon - especially for psych!

I second this. If you haven't already, pull your credit report (free at https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action). My SO's dad has terrible credit, and the same name as my SO. As you can imagine, this has caused issues. The sooner you catch them the better!

You might be surprised! My school is small and our grad student population is very small, with only a couple of programs even available. Yet, several clubs have grad student participation (some more than others, of course). Even if you were the only one, it shouldn't stop you from taking advantage! I'd bet the undergrads in the outdoor club are pretty cool

Oh, good point about things on the CV. I might be hearing back from conferences in late October so that's definitely something to think about. I heard it can help you secure funding, because some programs review apps as they come and give funding on a rolling basis. Can't remember which programs allegedly do this but it makes sense to me!