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gingin6789

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Posts posted by gingin6789

    Bethlehem, PA

    in City Guide

    Posted · Edited by gingin6789

    11 minutes ago, A blighted one said:

    Thanks @shadowclaw and @gingin6789 !! I grew up in a large city (4 million people, 10 million if you count the suburbs, which, in this particular city are relatively urban and basically a part of the whole) but I have lived (and currently do live) in a smaller city. A few years back I lived in a college town with about 50,000 residents that was about an hour and a half away from the nearest large city, so I'm guessing it will be somewhat similar (in size and resources) to Bethlehem. This isn't something I'm too worried about as long as there's decent coffee, a natural foods market, a least a smidgen of an arts/underground scene. The privileged white undergraduate population makes me a little nervous, but I do feel that most colleges are populated in such a way (my undergraduate institution is majority non-white and is somewhat of an anomaly in that sense). It will be a bit of a transition that I'm sure will be fine.

    The undergrad frat life is a bit bizarre to me. I came from a school without a large greek presence so in that respect it will be interesting. I've also heard that they're a casino in Bethlehem. Is that right? Seems bizarre! 

    @gingin6789 , since you are a current resident, can you give me an idea of the cost of living? How much does the average 1-bedroom cost? How about renting a room in a house with roommates? How much is the average coffee at a cafe? This one might be weird, but how much does a good sandwich cost? (My friends and I have a little theory about the price of a sandwich in relation to minimum wage and the cost of living in an area, haha).

    Thanks for all the information!

    Yeah the privileged white undergrad population threw me for a loop, too, but all of my students have been wonderful so far!

    And the Greek life is HUGE here. About 30-40% of the undergrad population is involved in Greek life. It was a shock for me, too, coming from a community college and a larger state school for undergrad with not much Greek presence.

    Yep, there's a casino, the Sands casino, built on the bones of the now-defunct steel mill. The small town I come from was a small branch of the steel mill in Bethlehem, so it was nice to have a sense of home, being from a family with generations of steel workers.

    Classes at Lehigh tend to start on 10 past the hour (like 1:10 and 3:10, for example) because, back in the day, steel workers would get off work at 4:00 and would need time to get to campus for classes. Fun fact.

    Cost of living isn't bad if you have roommates. It's steeper if you live alone. Finding housing information is tough, so I ended up in the basement of an apartment building, in a two-bedroom unit by myself. It's a small unit, and if there were two people, it would be around $500 per month, including rent and utilities. For me, living alone in the two-bedroom unit, it's around $1,000 a month. it's a nice apartment though, besides my bedroom being under the stairs and hearing folks go up and down the stairs.

    There's this company called Campus Hill that controls a lot of the off-campus housing. If you go with Campus Hill, know that they do quarterly payments, so you'll be paying rent once every three months instead of once a month.

    My other TA friends rent out bedrooms of houses with roommates, and they only pay $300-$500 per month.

    I may be paying a lot, but the good news is that even paying $1,000 is doable on my stipend. Money can get tight, but it's doable.

    Average coffee, plain, would be about $2, I'd wager. Fancy beverages are in the $3 - $5 range. There are cafes everywhere. Chains such as Saxbys, standalone places such as Deja Brew, breakfast-y diner-y places like the Blue Sky Cafe and Alexandra's Bistro, and even the crepe place, Full of Crepe, has excellent coffee. And of course there is a Starbucks attached to the school booskstore.

    Lehigh actually has a semi-famous sandwich shop nearby called The Goosemen (aka The Goose aka the Goosey Gander). Definitely an authentic, family-style feel to that sandwich shop, and they take their sandwiches very seriously. Fantastic sandwiches. They run about $3.79 a sandwich.

    Bethlehem, PA

    in City Guide

    Posted

    23 hours ago, shadowclaw said:

    I didn't go to Bethlehem too often when I lived in PA, but it's a nice little city. If you're from a big city like Philly, Chicago, etc., then it will seem quite small. There are some great restaurants (my favorite is Brew Works) and shops. It also has a vegan bakery which makes really delicious desserts, even if you're not vegan. There are outdoor street festival type events when it's warm, and on New Year's Eve they drop a giant Peep (like the marshmallow ones) in a similar fashion to the ball in NYC (the Peep factory is in town somewhere). 

    One of the things that makes Bethlehem great is its close proximity to some bigger cities - Allentown is very close and Philly is a little over an hour away. NYC isn't too far, either. There's a great amusement park nearby (Dorney Park) and a cute little zoo just outside of Allentown. If you like hiking and other outdoor activities, there are plenty of state parks and natural areas north of the Allentown-Bethlehem area, and a really great nature preserve next to the zoo. If I remember correctly, it has a lot of mountain biking trails.

    Unfortunately, I can't tell you much about the politics and culture in town, having not spent a lot of time there. PA as a whole is Democratic, but there are areas that are predominantly Republican.

    YES to all of this! Brew Works is awesome: great beer and food. Vegan Treats is a nationally-known vegan bakery and located on the north side of town across the bridge from campus. 

    There's actually a little bus station right behind my apartment building where students often take buses to New York City for the weekend.

    Also about vegan-ness: Veg Fest happens in August and is an awesome vegan/vegetarian festival! I'm not even vegetarian, but the food was PHENOMENAL. 

    Bethlehem, PA

    in City Guide

    Posted

    On 2/4/2016 at 1:18 AM, A blighted one said:

    I recently received a very enticing offer from Lehigh University so I'm bumping this thread to see if anyone else has any info. Never been to Pennsylvania before and I grew up in a large city. I'm wondering if anyone has info on what's going on in Bethlehem on a daily basis? What's the culture like (I'm from a liberal state and city)? Any info at all is appreciated. Thanks!

    Hi there, I'm at Lehigh now.

    The university and campus are nestled into the side of South Mountain, with the town of South Bethlehem near the bottom of the mountain.

    There are restaurants everywhere! Coming from a small urban town, I wasn't used to having so many places to eat within walking distance! It's pretty sweet!

    The undergraduate student population is largely white, wealthy, conservative, and involved with Greek life. Greek life is a huge deal to undergrads here, and I was shocked coming from campuses that were more a mix of socioeconomic statuses, races, and political ideologies. If I was shocked, you'll be shocked if you're a TA by the conservative-ness of campus. Despite any political leanings, the undergraduates are polite, nice, and pretty open-minded, overall, to me as a TA! 

    Among graduate students, there's a definite mix of races, socioeconomic statuses, and political ideologies. I'd describe the graduate student community as liberal, overall, at least in the programs I've interacted with. Over half of the graduate students here are international students.

    There is some tension between Lehigh undergrads and residents of South Bethlehem. Undergrads call people from Bethlehem "townies" and think that the residents are "ghetto" and uneducated which peeves me because I'm from a town a lot like Bethlehem. I don't know too well what residents think of Lehigh students, but those I've talked to have been really nice.

    If you live in south Bethlehem, there are grocery stores and a Rite Aid within walking distance, as well as many restaurants to choose from. I don't drive, and everything here is walkable, which is nice.

    If you have any other questions, let me know!

     

    Fall 2016 Acceptances, Interviews, and Rejections Thread

    in Sociology Forum

    Posted

    Just now, gordyn said:

    Claiming a rejection from UM Ann Arbor -- a little surprised I was accepted at UW Madison and rejected at UM Ann Arbor.. oh well!

    The rejection email went into the "Promotions" tab of my gmail (9:27am PST) -- so I didn't actually get a notification on my phone or anything.

    So glad I got an acceptance before this flood of rejections -_-.

    *pats on the back reassuringly* Sorry to hear this, gordyn. I'm so glad you got a UW acceptance before this! 

    My rejection from Emory went to the Updates tab of Gmail ... so I didn't get a notification either that day!

    WINE, WAIT, AND WHINE THREAD

    in Waiting it Out

    Posted

    10 minutes ago, Pink Fuzzy Bunny said:

    Today is a big committee meeting day? WHY DID YOU HAVE TO SHARE THIS? WHYYYYYY

    I had an interview a week ago, and my interviewer said they were gonna meet "in a week" to make some decisions, so... I'm running around in circles now, metaphorically. Not really running cause I'm too tired. 

    WINE, WAIT, AND WHINE THREAD

    in Waiting it Out

    Posted

    21 minutes ago, The Interdisciplinarian said:

    Well, week one of Februgatory is at a close. I'm wondering if a flurry of activity will happen today, as Friday is a big committee meeting day a lot of places, or if Monday will see a deluge.

    I'm going to pretend nothing will happen until Monday. This weekend will be like waiting for that climb up the steps to the gallows...

    Februgatory! Haha! That's a great one. I'm hoping for some news today, too... But if I have to wait another weekend, it won't be too bad. 

    WINE, WAIT, AND WHINE THREAD

    in Waiting it Out

    Posted · Edited by gingin6789

    I didn't contact anyone beforehand, and I've been doing well thud application season... So far... One rejection so far though.

    Now, I had met many professors before from one of the programs I applied to because that program accepted me for their Master's program, so they already knew me. 

    But other than that... No, I didn't reach out to profs! 

    I got a really nice email from one of the profs I mentioned in my SOP (I never met him before). He just wanted to congratulate me, said he hoped I'd join the program, and that he looks forward to meeting me... 

    *curls up under my blanket and starts getting teary-eyed* I really needed that nice message on a day like today.. 

    Fall 2016 Acceptances, Interviews, and Rejections Thread

    in Sociology Forum

    Posted

    3 minutes ago, Shay825 said:

    Can anyone claim the Brown admit from last night? Last I checked, the highest possible score on each section of the GRE is 170, with total points possible being 340. The post shows GRE scores as 191/169/5.00. Typo, maybe?

    Definitely a typo!! *not claiming it though, obvs*

    *I had a dream last night* that I saw Brandeis admits on the board, and my heart sank cause I didn't get one. Then I saw a post here where someone said "Brandeis will send out their decisions by midnight." and I ended up getting an email and thought I was rejected, but I got waitlisted! I was so relieved in the dream to get waitlisted at Brandeis haha. This was all a dream though. 

    Cause in years past, there was only 3 spots and over 80 applicants.  

    Hopefully we get some good Brandeis news soon!! 

     

     

    WINE, WAIT, AND WHINE THREAD

    in Waiting it Out

    Posted

    21 minutes ago, Pink Fuzzy Bunny said:

    Guys...

    Two days ago, I got admitted to an Ivy League. Today, my nose has a huge bruise on it because I forgot you had to open a door before walking through it.

    When I do stuff like this, my sister says "Hi, my name is Gingin and I go to college!!" lol!!! I'm so sorry you hurt your nose though!! Get some ice and a treat to help you feel better! 

    WINE, WAIT, AND WHINE THREAD

    in Waiting it Out

    Posted

    Just now, nevermind said:

    Those look amazing! I'm trying to mentally/emotionally justify getting the GF monthly subscription, but I just can't do it! 

    I also worked from home today. I have a hard time concentrating around other people while constantly refreshing my email/checking my phone.

    Maybe just order them once and see how you like them ;)

    For me, working at home was more out of laziness. I wasn't feeling well this morning, and I didn't wanna waste energy getting ready and putting on uncomfortable clothes ... so I decided staying at home was best! Plus, it was rainy out today, too, I think (I say "I think" because I'm in a basement apartment and can't usually tell what's going on outside).

    WINE, WAIT, AND WHINE THREAD

    in Waiting it Out

    Posted

    I stayed home and worked from home all day. And I actually got a lot done! 

    I got a surprise package from my husband ... a box of Cheryl's cookies (http://www.cheryls.com/cheryls-home)! We never do anything for Valentine's day (Because we both usually prefer not to), but he sent me a box of heart-shaped cookies! They're soo tasty!  

    So, that's my good news for today! Nothing on the PhD program front, but that's ok! 

    *shares cookies with everyone*

    Fall 2016 Acceptances, Interviews, and Rejections Thread

    in Sociology Forum

    Posted

    Just now, gordyn said:

    Just received my Berkeley rejection... can't afford to live in the bay area anyway ;). Happy to have the closure!

    Sorry to hear about that =( and I'm here with hugs and tea for the other folks who got turned down by Berkeley, too! 

    I know I was relieved to have closure from Emory, too!

    I did see a Princeton admit on the board, by the way. I know a bunch of folks are waiting for news from Princeton!

    Fall 2016 Acceptances, Interviews, and Rejections Thread

    in Sociology Forum

    Posted

    8 minutes ago, HopefulSocPhD said:

    There's another Berkeley acceptance on the results boards. I guess today is the day for Berkeley! Congrats to whoever you are!

    Could be more than one day though! They're still rolling out Davis acceptances, for example, when in years past, they've sent them out all at once. So even if Berkeley sent acceptances all at once last year, it might be different this year! Don't give up hope! :-) 

    And yes, congratulations to the Berkeley admits so far! 

    WINE, WAIT, AND WHINE THREAD

    in Waiting it Out

    Posted

    7 minutes ago, ancientqueen said:

    Ooooh! I'd love to get some confetti. :D

    Congratulations! 

    Be on the lookout!! Maybe one (or more!) of the programs you get accepted to will do the same thing your acceptance letter! If that happens, be sure to tell us you got some confetti! 

    For now *throws confetti for you*!! 

    Thank you!! I truly appreciate your congrats!! :-)

    Fall 2016 Acceptances, Interviews, and Rejections Thread

    in Sociology Forum

    Posted

    3 minutes ago, Shamon said:

    Thanks @gingin6789! Yes, snail mail in this day and age seems like such an outdated practice :P It's been about a week since I've received the informal letters. I'll have to wait and see.

    I think they might still send a letter in the end, but if they do, hopefully you've already received the info by that point! So they didn't give you any indication of when you'll get more info? 

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