katerific

There's 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later (sequel to 28 Days Later). The former has Cillian Murphy in it and is therefore vastly superior. There's also a regular 28 Days, but there are no zombies, only Sandra Bullock in rehab. Or something. The Walking Dead videogame? Huh?? Where did you see/hear about this?! Not that I'm any good at survival/horror. (insert flashback of me playing Resident Evil and giving up after the dogs jumped through the windows for the first time...) Heroes!! The first season was incredible, I agree. I remember borrowing the DVD from someone and I watched it non-stop. I tried to keep watching beyond then, but season 3 was killing me =/

Okay, I have a few silly questions about the SOP (that may have been answered already--oops?). First, some sites seem to mention that you should list which department you're applying to at the top, but others don't say anything about it. So what sort of basic information might I include? Name, dept name....? Should I only list the dept names on the ones that ask for them, or do the others assume that I would put that there? Secondly, do you guys just upload *.pdfs? or *.docs? or....? None seem to specify a preference, but... yeah. (PS: I am technologically retarded and don't know any better about what's most acceptable/professional.)

Hi, my name is katerific, and I am an addict. Specifically, I am addicted to thegradcafe forums, cool research, staring at my SOP for absurd amounts of time, and freaking out over little kinks in the application process. And procrastination. I'm still not clean of my habit of working on my applications and submitting them, but I hope to phase that out of my life before the year ends. I can do it with a good support group, I think. But the road won't be easy. I'm a bit concerned about me possibly developing a bad habit of checking my application status incessantly after I submit my applications. I have reason to believe that I am at a "high risk" for that.

I don't think it's an offer (unless he has a considerable amount of influence over admissions), but this is still really good. At the very least, I think it means that when the admissions committee is debating about who to accept, he'll fight for you. That's great!

I'm in a similar situation. My research adviser pretty much disappeared and hasn't returned any of my emails. My first deadline is in a week. I know there might be wiggle room for LOR submissions, but based on the (rumored) circumstances regarding his departure, I'm pretty concerned--I'm already asking for some backup letters. Fortunately, my other two letter writers have submitted their recommendations, but this is still rather stressful. locussolus: try to get professor recommendations over colleague ones. They're much more valued.

Movies sorted by genre: Horror? 28 Days Later. Campy but really good scifi? The Fifth Element. (Bonus: Gary Oldman!) 80s flashback/fantasy? Labyrinth. Western? (Yes, I am a fan.) Lonesome Dove! Action? Gladiator. Be ready to cry manly tears. Drama with some dark humor? American Beauty. TV: Community, The Mighty Boosh, Venture Bros. All very funny. Oh, and if you haven't been watching The Walking Dead, shame on you.

I feel like this is the way that some of my friends feel. Either that, or they feel relieved that they "missed" deadlines already, so they can't apply. I have one friend who is absolutely miserable about the application process (for like one school!) and really doesn't want to go, but he's really making himself do it because he thinks he'll really regret it if he doesn't apply. So no, I haven't experienced this, but I've seen plenty of people around me feel the same way (or something similar, at least). There certainly is a lot of pressure from people to apply to grad school immediately (which I think is silly). Deferring sounds like a good option, though.

Oh, thanks. I'm actually laughing too--I had been scrambling to get everything else in order and emailed him incessantly to--get this--avoid this exact situation. Fortunately, he completed all the other recommendations the morning before(!!) he left. If this were the case for all of the schools as opposed to just one, I would definitely be crying. and drowning in my tears!

Here are some jams that I've recently been obsessed with: Iron & Wine - folk/folk rock - Belated Promise Ring ( ) MSTRKRFT ft. John Legend - electronic - Heartbreaker ( ) The Rescues - indie pop/rock - Teenage Dream (yes, it's a Katy Perry cover ) ( ) some others that I always enjoy: Bach - classical (Baroque) - Cello Suite #5: Prelude John Prine - folk - everything. If you like Bob Dylan, check out John Prine! Os Mutantes - Brazilian psychedelic rock from the 60s/70s (tropicalia) - A Minha Menina Tokyo Jihen - jazzy Japanese pop/rock - Kenka joutou

I see. Well, maybe he knows someone who knows someone? But it's still fun to meet other people in different fields, of course.

I'm REALLY curious about what professors might think about me, so I was really tempted to not waive my right. I wanted my writers to be very honest, however, and I thought that not waiving my right might interfere with that. It ties in with the whole trust issue and such. Just echoing what everyone else said! But I am still really, really curious about what they said, too... argh! (I'm confident that two of my letters will be good, and I really trust them, but the third--hmmm....)

How could I forget about that? One of my LOR writers ran off to the South Pole in November before I could submit my application.... and now I have to figure out how to get a letter from him while he's on an internet-less boat. (eh, I'll figure it out.) Oh, and all this talk about changing of deadlines makes me super paranoid. I better go check right now....

Oh dude, I forgot about the Stanford application fee. By far the most expensive one (my next most expensive one is $100, and the rest are <$80). Oh yeah, MIT and the course list... Similarly, Caltech wants a list of all relevant upper-div courses... with textbooks... and instructors.... and topics covered. Okay, so I don't need to list ALL my classes ever, but dang! I'm also not a fan of the MIT app's look. Very... stark.

waddle, is your current advisor going to be there? He could introduce you to people! Oh dude, I've totally heard great things about him! Awesome!

Just to echo what others have been saying: About two months ago I went to go see one of my LOR writers about something. Then randomly, he informs me that he was at some sort of event that past weekend, and a professor that I'm applying to work with was there. He straight up told me that they talked about me (and even gave me a hint of a juicy detail!). So yes, individual professors will talk to other professors, especially if they know each other (this is a guarantee in my field).

Alright, so I've contacted all my potential advisors successfully, and now I'll be meeting with one in less than two weeks at a conference. ! Do you guys think I should bring anything in specific to my chat with him? It'll be rather informal, I'm thinking.

Oh goodness, I've come across many things that annoy me, but here's what I remember specifically right off the bat: - You can't skip around to different modules on the Stanford app. You can't click on the individual parts; you have to keep clicking next... next... next to skip from 1 to 7 or whevs. (Unless I'm just dumb and missed something here.) - Any school that requires two official transcripts to be mailed to them. Understandable, but annoying. Extra "auuughs!" are awarded to the schools (including Stanford!) that require that in addition to scanning and uploading an official transcript. (Most of the schools I'm applying to require either 1 or 0(!) mailed transcripts.)

First off, at the risk of sounding like a total jerk, I am cracking up. The story and the way you tell it... hahaha. I AM SO SORRY. I also find it funny because one of my friends had a slightly similar problem in professor-gender recognition. But in all seriousness, I hope it works out for you. I mean, it doesn't sound like too big of a deal. My guess is that after a double-take, they'd assume it's just a typo. You only said it once, right? I don't think it'll really hurt you. Or, in another weird scenario, maybe this isn't the first time it's happened. Then you're definitely okay.

On Sunday there's an icebreaker reception open to everyone. Last year, no one I knew was there yet, but yeah. I also haven't ever been to a luncheon, but they also have a lot of receptions going on. They had a joint Ocean Sci/Paleo reception/meeting last year (this year it's only PP though) where they had a slide show of student presentation summaries. Does your section have anything like that? Schools tend to have their own receptions which aren't necessarily listed on the AGU site. (I hear people always crash the Columbia reception...) So your school might have one? Not the best for making new connections, but definitely a good time to have fun. And coffee breaks/beer breaks (for those of age of course!) are a good time to stop and chat with people.

I highly recommend the keynote lectures. They're lengthier (1 hr) but they're by bigger names and the ones I've seen have always been pretty cool. I mean, all two that I saw last year (they were good at the Ocean Sci meeting too though!) Last year I came up with an itinerary, but I barely stuck to it. I walked around and referred to it when I was trying to find friends, haha. Or when I wanted to see a talk by someone legendary in the field And at least twice I accidentally went to the wrong sessions for talks! I can't really recommend any specific sessions or talks (except when it comes to paleo), but I know I'm going to be missing a lot of cool stuff on Monday. Hopefully I'll be able to catch some of the afternoon posters and talks... !! edit: oh, and two other things you shouldn't miss: (1) talks/posters by potential advisors and (2) the social events! ESPECIALLY (2).

Oh, I thought you meant the same person did it each time. I see, I see. And now I'm stuck with a mental image of a bunch of bio students (with labcoats and goggles and notebooks, of course) standing around and carefully observing the students...

Oh, this. I've heard a lot of debate over it... apparently the test banks were more freely available than he made them out to be? And he didn't actually write the questions he claimed to have written? I really don't know, but I've heard something-ish like that. anyway, I wish I had a juicy story about cheaters getting served, but I haven't personally seen any since the old high school days. Now those stories are juicy, but not particularly satisfying (they only got a slap on the wrist, but there was typical HS drama involved). also: the hardcore study dude sounds a bit desperate for friends/popularity if he's willing to do that for people, imo.

Whoa, wacky! I think it's kinda neat. I mean, you guys aren't actually robots or imaginary internet characters, right? Was it something that happened at a specific meeting, or just the fact that you met someone who you knew from the interwebz? Considering how small some fields can get, I imagine that's a big reason why a lot of people don't join TGC... it's too hard to remain anonymous.

Are there certain things you tend to say that make you awkward? I don't know what exactly that entails, so it's hard to come up with specific advice, but here's what helps me (I'm a bit awkward myself): stop thinking about how awkward you are. That's always been one of my greatest follies--the more I think about it, the more it comes out! same with being nervous. You gotta just act confident. I also find that it's good to stay positive about things. Like, don't be too cynical, and don't put yourself down. It's not good to be arrogant, but it's not good to be self-deprecating, either. Remember to stay professional, and that will help, too. Hope some of this helps!

While articles don't really cite the exactly same way, most I come across seem to use a style very similar to ACS. I think you should be fine, as long as you're consistent. Good luck!