newms

I don't have a Mac, but I'm planning to get an iPad sometime in the next few months, and just looking at Things it looks promising for what I want. I'll have to try it out. Thanks.

Thanks. I guess what I'm looking for is a way to keep track of long term things that need to be done that might not be important to be done right now, but are important to get done at some point in the future. So for example, in working on a project, I may get an idea of something to look into, but doesn't have to get done right now, or this week, or even this month. However, exploring this idea might lead to a big payoff later on in terms of finding a solution that I wouldn't have otherwise thought of. How can I keep track of these things that I want to eventually do, but aren't pressing or have a firm deadline - like the date for a paper? I also want to incorporate some aspect of importance of tasks. I guess I'm getting this idea from Randy Pausch's Time Management lecture and talk. One of the important points I took from his talk was that a lot of people tend to focus on 1) important tasks that are due soon and then on 2) trivial tasks that are due soon, while he was suggesting that we should focus on 1) important tasks that are due soon and then on 2) important tasks that are due in the long term while using any time we have left for trivial tasks. I guess I'm looking for something that can help me best make use of my time, so that I can prioritize important tasks (whether short term or long term) over trivial tasks that also need to be done, but that I shouldn't spend so much time on.

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone. Google calendar sounds like it's something I should be making more use of. I guess what I'm looking for with task management is a way to have more important tasks being prioritized rather than having a regular to do list. So I'd want to keep track of things that need to be done, as well as when they should be done by and how important they are. Does anyone know any system that can do that?

This is something I've thought about for a while and haven't come up with a satisfying solution for myself. So I'm asking the Grad Cafe community, how do you keep track of tasks that need to be done in relation to your school work and your research? Ideally I'd rather not use something with pen and paper, but I'm open to all suggestions. What about your schedule? Do you use a daily planner or an online calendar?

Keep in mind that that figure is above what is necessary and would include things that not everyone would need. So you should budget for things like: 2 months rent (you probably won't get paid by your school until the end of September and may need to pay a deposit) laptop (not everyone will need a new laptop) books and other school supplies furniture living expenses for 2 months (depending on when you arrive in your new city) deposits to open accounts, such as bank accounts, possibly for utility accounts miscellaneous fees for school (some schools allow you to have them paid over several months) transportation costs (How will you get to your new city? How will you move in your new stuff to your apartment?) The costs can quickly add up, but once you get past the initial start up costs, the costs should be a lot more manageable, which is why it's a good idea to save up some extra money before starting school.

To the OP, at some point in your near future you are likely to have (if you don't already) a website with your real name, picture and contact details as well as links to papers you've published and quite likely your CV. And it's also possible that you'll be getting emails from people all over the world who you've never met before, or maybe even knew existed. So the life of an academic does involve some level of exposure and openness, but I think that once you can defend your position on controversial issues then you should be ok (and really, if an institution is going to not hire you because they disagree with your positions, is that a place you'd ideally want to work at?). As for the security concerns, I guess that's always going to be an issue (thankfully there doesn't seem to be many cases of violence directed at academics out there), but you can always take steps such as hiding your personal information and only having your professional information publicly available. About your youtube videos, if they get a lot of attention, I would guess that that would be a good thing (unless of course, you have something so wrong lots of people want to see it), so my advice would be to just do your best at them.

Doesn't that kinda defeat the purpose of being an academic?

Is it possible to go with your Mom, but then your Mom wait in the car or outside while you meet with a prof? You could just visit the school and look at the campus, which would give you an idea of if you would like attending that school. But it would be an opportunity missed IMO, since meeting with profs before applying can (i) help you determine if the research at this school would really fit your interests and (ii) possibly leave a favorable impression with a prof and thus help your admission chances.

I agree with ktel, 1) It would be weird for your Mom to be in any meetings you have with profs (really, insist that she doesn't come with you on any meetings) during your visit, but it's ok if she goes on a tour of the campus with you. 2) Try to arrange meetings with profs who you are interested in working with. Come prepared to discuss your research interests as well as to ask any questions you might have about the profs' research. Be prepared to give a brief description of yourself and your interests - you should practice this before so that you'll have it down pat during the meeting. Good luck!

I remembered this post when I came across this story about Dropbox being compromised this week. I'm still going to be using Dropbox, especially for storing papers and notes, but it goes to reinforce that you should never put any confidential or sensitive documents online unencrypted if you're not willing for them to be potentially exposed.

I'm not in your field, but perhaps I can speak to why you've seen conflicting advice about this - I was confused about it as well. Apparently whether you should mention specific professors is very field specific - in science and engineering fields, it's usually a good idea, but from what I've seen about your field, it's usually advised that you don't mention specific professors. Maybe someone from your field can confirm or clarify.

You could still get a US drivers licence when you reach the States. So if you ultimately want to be able to drive at some point while you're in the States then you could look into it.

Actually, I think you should still be able to get a SSN. I googled and came across this page from Ohio State University that shows how F-1 students with fellowships can get a SSN at OSU. Chances are, your school would have similar procedures for F-1 fellowship students.

Well, I plan on getting a driver's license as soon as I can (even if I don't get a car for a while) so I'll be using that as ID. I think some (all?) states have a state ID card that can be used for ID purposes like a driver's license, so that would be a good alternative to having to carry your passport as ID.

Hi Strangefox, I'll be getting one too. My school has a page for international students on how to get a SSN - perhaps your school has one too? F-1 students can get a SSN if they'll be employed on campus (RA/TA) or if they have approval for off-campus work. You'll need a letter from you employer (your school) as well as your I-94 card (which you'll fill out when you arrive in the US - it's a square white card they usually staple in your passport), your I-20 form, your passport, and this application form. I'm not sure if you have to get a SSN, but the SSN is useful to have in the US since to apply for many things (such as bank loans, or driver's licenses) it's often necessary.

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If I were you I'd start practicing for the Math section, since I'm guessing that with 6 weeks of vocab study, you'd be ok for the verbal. I don't think that you need months to prepare for the GRE, a few weeks is ok (but I guess it depends on the person and your familiarity with the test). In your case, since you haven't done maths in 6 years, you'd probably want to start practicing now. Keep in mind that the Math they test on the GRE is high school level Maths, so it's material that you would have probably learned already. Good luck.

I missed that part of your question at first, so I edited my response above. I think a lot of these programs require you to sign up for a paid account to use private sharing. However with sendspace, you have to know the link in order to download the file, so its very unlikely that some random person would find your file. A drawback with the sendspace free service is that they have a lot of ads on the download page, so it wouldn't be the best option for sending a file professionally. Maybe someone else knows a service that they can recommend that allows private sharing of large files (hopefully without a cost).

I usually use use sendspace.com (limit 300MB for free use) or dropbox.com (very recommended for storing your important documents so that they can be synched across multiple computers). There are lots more websites out there that allow you to share large files. With sendspace you have to know the link in order to download the file, so while it's still open, it's very unlikely that some random person would find your file. I think usually with sites like these you have to sign up for a paid account to send a private file to someone else - hopefully someone knows a service that lets you send private files free of cost.

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Good luck at your interview Bukharan - I think you'll be perfectly fine!

I honestly was concerned about this question as well because it's hard to prove that you will definitely return to your home country after 5+ years - you may very well intend to, but how do you prove it? As it turns out, at the F-1 interview, they didn't ask anything at all related to my 'ties' to my home country. They mainly seemed interested in how I was going to cover the costs of my studies (at least the first year) and they also asked if I had any family in the States (I have a cousin who is studying). So once you have enough funding on your I-20, I think you'll be great (especially if you're going to a well known university). If you absolutely want to make sure you can prove your 'ties', things like bank accounts, asset titles (land/car), family in your home country, and your permanent address in your home country can help to show ties, but as I said, from what I've seen they don't seem to be too concerned with this (as long as you have a permanent address in your home country, of course).

I'm definitely getting a smartphone when I arrive in the US. A prepaid plan sounds like a good idea for me- I didn't know that AT&T had them. I'll have to check out what's available in my school's city.

I would second lyonessrampant. I wouldn't put it on your CV/resume, but I'd talk about it in you SoP (especially if it is related to the research you want to do in grad school, or if you can use the experience to demonstrate your ability to do research).

Really? Some profs ban laptops in class? For grad students? That's going to take a bit of adjusting for me if I have a prof like that - I'm used to making notes on my netbook during meetings/seminars etc. It seems a little high schoolish to me (at least when I was in high school, long long ago. I bet some high schools allow and even require students to use laptops and tablets in class nowadays).