PhDerp

Yeah, my regret is applying to top schools just for the sake of it, which my advisor suggested I do. It cost so much money and, as expected, I didn't get into any of them. But I accidentally stumbled into a school that's top in my subfield, so I guess I might not have applied to it had I known that at the time and ignored her advice? I can't complain. Already in so much debt, and it worked out in the end!

I never heard of this before! That's crazy, I hadn't realized. (Will do my own Googling in addition, of course)

Awesome! We might see each other in the fall. My lab-to-be has a few linguistics students, and I think I'm going to sit in on the phon* lunches and stuff. Besides, I love psycholinguistics and neurolinguistics!! I want to learn a bit more about both for my work. What kind of linguistics do you study?

Awesome!! I'm still waiting to hear from them, but I found out that the other school is better for my particular research interests (which I hadn't known when I applied). So I won't be joining you! Enjoy beautiful San Diego, and the amazing program there!

If you're worried about opportunities, I'd say look into the professor's prestige (though I'm not entirely sure the best way to do that myself!). I used Microsoft's Academic search thingy to check out my potential advisor, which looked up his recent publications, citations, and "field rank". I've heard about people applying for awards that knew they weren't going to get them because the awards are, as an unwritten rule, given only to people with famous advisors. (My source: It was a post on this forum! I might be able to find that topic again, I'm sure it was recent...) There's definitely something to be said for having a renowned advisor in your field. Also, you can see if you have to do the same research your advisor is already working on. I was accepted to a program and asked about completing the project I suggested -- it's something they don't currently do in the lab but they invented a kind of technology that can help me do it -- and apparently I will be allowed to work on it! So if you haven't asked already, you can try to interview your POIs first about what exactly you might be working on.

I need to upvote wildviolet's post when mine respawn! Another thing I've heard a lot is see where the professor's recent grads have gone. Do they go into academia? Or to the kinds of research positions you're interested in? Make sure to "scale" this, e.g. if 30% of grad students go to academia in your field, it's still a good sign if only three of their ten recent grads went into academia!

You don't have to pay back your undergrad loans if you get a burn notice. EDIT: Before anyone actually starts looking this up and saying "what's that? I want one of those!", this is a crappy joke.

I love it when my friends do this to my drink! We, the cherry-appreciators, are grateful. ;D

Anyone else regretting taking the advice of people who might have known what was up once, but are now out-of-the-loop?

Also, if you get a chance, visit the areas!! They're very different life-experiences. Both will have their ups and downs.

For me: the advisor has to be able to laugh at my (innocent) jokes. It's a deal-breaker otherwise. I'm not just saying this, either. I was ready to turn down a school based on this incompatibility.

That sounds like an awesome job

Welcome, Jordan! First of all, good for you for getting back into the education... game. Or whatever you call it. There are definitely obstacles you're going to face that a "regular student" would not have to deal with. But this kind of experience makes you a unique candidate when applying to school! And it's wonderful to hear that your family supports the decision. This forum is primarily a resource for students interested in graduate schools. This includes current undergrads who are applying, current grads, and I've even seen a few posts from faculty on here! It has a lot of resources available for students, and you mentioned than you've already checked out some of the posts, which is good. Besides, any one of us applying to graduate school must've completed our undergrad education (to the best of my knowledge). So I agree this forum could be helpful to you, and that you should ask around if you have any questions! Again, welcome, and I hope this forum is helpful to you!

Cold leftovers. Vegetables. Actually, these days more people I know seem to like them... in early undergrad, I knew a few people who bragged about being "carnivores". They didn't just eat a lot of meat; they actively avoided eating vegetables. Multiple people! The smell of gasoline. But I'm under the impression that more people like the smell of gasoline than those who don't. XD

I've got both going for me, haha! I'm doing stuff like looking at apartments for the fall instead of my homework! I'm glad I only have a month and a half left.

Also, as for e-mailing 3 days ago, she might be on spring break! Maybe not, but the contact at my university is. So it's not impossible!

Even once you think you know the material on a specific section: practice, practice, practice!! Get your hands on any practice test possible. Doing the test within the time limit is a huge obstacle! I'm a math major, and I should've scored way higher on my quant. But I was cocky and didn't practice how to take the test. I didn't time myself well and was rushed at the end to just make some answers. So yeah, practice.

First of all, congratulations, and good for you! I've heard a lot of negative things about long-distance relationships (and some positive, too). It can be especially hard to switch to long-distance after living together, or so I've heard. Besides, you're guaranteed a (hopefully good) roommate this way! I'm in a similar boat. I've been with my SO for 3 years now he's moving across the country with me, though not until January since that's when his job ends. I agree wit Munashi: your SO will probably want to find a job ASAP. There are lots of guides on how to start searching for a job before moving. I haven't tested any yet. But it's definitely something to look into before the move! Until your SO secures a job, you may consider cheaper housing. For example, I want to live in a 1BR with my SO until he finds a job. After that, we're going to find a more permanent 2BR apartment. This way we can plan to live somewhere near both my school and his work. (He's sick of moving and doesn't want to bounce between apartments any more than necessary when we get to California!) I'm also trying to trick him into getting his master's while we're out there... But that's a different story. XD Anyway, good luck, and I hope it goes well!

I disagree with the first few responses. I think you can submit an updated SOP. I did this with a program and got in (thank goodness, because I'll be going there in the fall!). The deadline was December 1st and I sent in my revised SOP in January. The submissions were drastically different and I know my advisor read the newer one. If nothing else, it didn't seem to hurt! EDIT: Oops! Late lol. Good luck!

Diet fads and other trendy "health" advice. Eurgh. Sometimes they're not that annoying to me, but more often than not, they are. In general, using the word "healthy" puts me in lecture mode. Sometimes I really wish I didn't care. >_>

When Randy Savage visits to hunt for legendary dive-bar gold. Boston, you are the only, only, oooonly...

I'm still waiting on UCSD technically. But I think I'm going to withdraw my application!

It surprised me how many students have done research before. I never even heard of research until about a year ago! On a visit day, I met a girl who had been doing research since high school. High school! I couldn't even fathom that. I'm also surprised I got in despite my lack of research background.

Washington DC. One of my friends loves it because of the restaurants. I'm not so big on going out to eat. I like to go out sometimes, but I definitely don't need to, and it doesn't weigh on my opinions of an area. And I've had bad luck in DC, especially with the cockroaches... Huh. My phone's dictionary didn't know what a "cockroach" was. o_O