bookofkels_

As some one who moved across the Atlantic for grad schol, I get what you're going through 100%, and it is survivable. First of all know that you do deserve this opportunity and you're just as bright and promising as everyone else there. If you're worried you're going to struggle, that's ok, it happens. One of my friends gave me a great piece of advice (and she goes to Harvard, so I hope she knows what she's taking about!): "Once they've accepted you, they want you pass and graduate. They will help give you all the tools you need to succeed. It doens't look good for them to have graduate student failing out, so they wouldn't have accepted you if they didn't 100% feel you were qualified." As for homesickness, I didn't expect to get it really, at all, so I didn't talk to anyone about it. I wanted my parents to think I was "staying strong" and didn't want to upset them. But fuck that. I agree with sjoh197 completely- talk to your family about this, and talk about it once you've gone too. Set up weekly standing dates to skype and stay in close contact, it really does feel better. Write your grandma old fashioned letters if she's not on technology. My great Aunt still sends me cards like she did when I was in the states and it makes my day. Maybe start planning when they can come visit you, and then you'll have something to look forward to! Try to start planning this with your friends as well. No matter what you do you'll still probably feel homesick, and that's ok. Once and while its fine to just wallow in that. But remember you don't want to let them down. Your family is extremely proud of you, I'm sure. Whats helped me get through sometimes is thinking about how my mom didn't finish grad school, but has worked a damn hard job for the past 23 years instead, on top of being a mom. Everyone has their struggles. Your mom successfully raised an awesome grad student, now go be that awesome student! This is not to put more pressure on you, but even if you feel like an failure your family knows you're not, and they'll love you no matter what. Having a routine also helps me, as does getting excersise and fresh air. Even just a walk around the park can change your mood. Definitely join a club, a society or a sport. Feel out if any of your aquaintences or fellow grads are thinking about joining any. Having some one you know there can make it a lot easier and you can bond over this! Making new friends is also a LOT of simply putting yourself out there and akwardly saying "Hi I'm throwaway19, i'm from anywhere, where are you from?" Its totally painful, but gets less so the more you do it. Complimenting someone is also a great convo starter. Most people are willing to at least make polite small talk- and then you have an aqauintance to talk to if you run into them later-, even if you don't become life long friends, but you can make friends this way! I know its terrifying and painful, but like you said, you've been gearing up to this for a while, I don't think you should let cold feel and these feelings stop you. They are very normal. And definitly talk to your friends and family, and maybe a professional, that's nothing to be ashamed of and they can really help people. Before you go, look into this service at your new university, so you have no excuses. And you don't have to think of this as leaving home forever. 4 hours its too bad. The semesters fly by and you'll be home for Christmas before you know it. xxx

Ohh I miss Wings Over now, damn. And thanks! I'm doing my masters in England (Sheffield), and visiting Dublin this summer, so hopefully I can see it my (user)namesake.

Yes the buses will only stop running if theres a travel ban, in which case the campus is also closed. You should be fine. I'm from Tolland! I had no idea Norwegian Woods was full of grad students, haha, awesome. Its a nice town, no crime except stupid bored teenagers.

Ok I was wrong about some of the things I posted before sorry folks. They only have a commuter bus to Hartford (the state capitol) from Willimantic, which is a neighboring town and accessible from UConn by local bus (the local bus being free to UConn students). To get directly from Storrs to Hartford its a more expensive Peter Pan bus ($17). From Hartford you can easily get to the rest of the world by bus, Amtrak or get to the airport. But UConn itself is fairly isolated in farmville. There's a reason why this part of the state is called "The Quiet Corner". Having looked back over the previous few years of posts: 1. There's a consensus that there's not much to do in Storrs. If you like to go on big nights out a lot, you may not be happy here as the closest options are Hartford and Mohegan Sun Casino ~45 minutes away (Foxwoods Casino is like an hour). But the area and the campus had undergone development in the past few years and they've added some shops, restaunts, bars and an entire grocery store (with a starbucks) basically on campus, so they are trying to liven up the place and make it more liveable. There's also a local community center right off campus. You could also explore Willimantic, Stafford and even Coventry if you like small towns. If you're more a nature person there's some good state parks around. 2. It seems like many postgrads live in Vernon or Manchester. These are good towns, but I don't know anything about accessing them by public transport. Willimantic is also a close option that should not be over looked and can definitly be reached by reliable bus (as linked above). I know there's some nice newer apartments in town, 560 on Main comes to mind. Willimantic is a decent town, don't be put off by its troubled past...but also don't go down by the train tracks at night (that goes without saying right? :p) Having grown up in the area for 22 years, I never took public transport until I was 21. Everyone I know in CT drives everywhere. That's not to say you can't survive without a car and if you really like your program, go to Uconn. Just trying to give folks an accurate idea of what their options are. Feel free to message me with any other questions and I'll try to answer them the best I can, though I can mostly only speak to the area and what there is to do, not so much the academics. Happy hunting!

You're in luck! UConn has an agriculture school, which means they have their own dairy farm! (I think they also have horses, or at least they did.) This means they have some pretty sizable fields with paths you can walk (on the other side of the fence from the cows). There's a big hill with a great view. And its on campus. And they use the cows to make some of the best ice cream in the state. Aside from that, there's also some nice green spaces around the campus with benches, fountains, all that nice brochure stuff.

I'm from the area and have spent some time at UConn despite never having been enrolled. Its a pretty self contained little town, they have shops, a full-sized grocery store, bars and resteraunts, even their own candy store. The campus is large, but walkable and a lot of people bike. UConn has its own bus system on campus, and there's the local bus system that also went to the next town over and its pretty reliable. It would at least drop you in walking distance of where you wanted to go (usually) (also, if there are no side walks, beware walking in winter when snow piles up and makes the roads narrower!). I know many students use it and its free for UConn students. It obviously wouldn't give you the same freedom as a car, but you'd have some options. I believe you can also get a commuter bus from Storrs (Uconn) into Manchester, CT and from there you can easily get to Hartford, the Capitol. As for things to do, there's the bars and shops, and UConn's very big of sports, especially basketball, and they regularly have good concerts and plays on. Also you'll probably make at least one friend with a car. Hold that person close and never let go.

Hi I'm from the area, grew up in a town near UConn and went to the next closest university, in Willimantic, Connecticut. Willi has all the things you're looking for and is about 15 minutes from Storrs. Except it does have a small undergrad scene due to Eastern Connecticut State University (my alma mater). However, if you don't live near the ECSU campus, you won't notice them much. Its a fraction of the size of UConn- ~5,000 enrolled and many commute or go home on the weekends. The campus is very condensed and the students keep to a pretty small radius around it. I know some of locals that live right on our doorstep have complained about finding beer bottles in their yard ans such. Willimantic is nicer than many of the student give it credit for, Main Street is nice. I know a few UConn Ph.D's live in Willimantic, so you wouldn't be the only ones. I know you posted a while ago, but hopefully this helps!

Wow thank you! This is great advice, and very encouraging couraging as I start to put myself out there... This gives me an idea to target befriend the professor that's also a quiet female. Its good to know I'm not the only one with this issue. Thanks again.

Hi, I'm not sure if any one else has this problem, but it was an issue for me in my undergrad as well. I often see other students talking and forming good relationships with the professors in the department, but I don't know how they do it. It seems like theres so rarely any time for casual conversation or getting to know each other between classes, some of which are quite a bit bigger than I was expecting (I think there will be less of this next term, though) . In truth, haven't gone to many or the socials or get together, so I could improve on that. But even then, I default to talking to my friends who are students, and while the head of the department or the lecturers will talk to my friends, they never say anything to me. I don't know what I would even say half the time. I just know I want to have a good lasting relationship with at least one faculty member by the time I leave (and its only a one year program) because I don't have that person at my ungergrad and I really regret it. Also, we've started our dissertations yet, that's coming next term where we will choose our topic and presumably who we're working with. Ideally, I'd form a good relationship with my mentor, and that will come naturally as we work, but that didn't happen for my in my undergrad. I was nervous and akwardly formal (and I had even gotten to work with the prof that intimidated me the least...and I was still intimidated). So, any advice you might have would be incredibly helpful. Thank you

So I got accepted to my top school (YAY!!) And they now I'm applying to a scholarship to cut my tuition fees in half, which would obviously be a great help, since it seems the Brits don't do full funding (or at least not for the MSc's I applied to). We're allowed a supporting statement of 750 words, and currently I'm at half of that, and feel like I've said everything I need to. Should I add/pad/expand? Include a memorable anecdote? The deadline is Friday so I don't have a lot of time, any advice would be super appreciated! Also, its only open to Americans, and I was kind of hoping there'd only be a small pool to compete against, but now I'm not so sure.

Thanks everyone for assuaging my fears! I guess application anxiety is making me paranoid about every little thing!

Been in contact with at least one professor at all the schools I'm applying to for a while now, and noticed in one of the most recent emails some really basic spelling errors and grammatical typos. Obviously I proofread my emails to them a million times, and they've not been doing the same. This is the first time I've noticed it, so they were probably just in a rush that day. Please tell me I'm reading too much into this, and that it does not mean my POI does not care about me/they are a sloppy careless person. They are human after all, just wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience?

A lot of field schools will take volunteers. If you can get yourself there everyday (check for local ones, not exotic abroad ones, as you will still have to pay even if you volunteer) you will receive an almost identical education and experience as the paying students doing it for credit. Once you track down a nearby university that does one, email the professor that runs it, and more than likely they'll be thrilled to have an extra hand. If you need official documentation you actually did something, they could probably just write a letter.