MidwesternAloha

UNC is in Chapel Hill, I bet there is a forum that would have better info than this one!! I'm not really familiar with the area because it's a separate world from Raleigh it's about 30 minutes away from here.

I am married and location of grad school is (was?) a big factor in where I chose to apply. I will use the school by name just to help people understand - I applied to a cancer biology track at Wake Forest and was rejected. My application was transferred to another track. I have been contacted by a professor who is potentially interested in my skill set, but after further review, I don't know that I am interested enough in this person's work to spend half a decade working on it. I know it's early on, and there's no harm in seeing the process to completion, and I'm sure a campus visit would change my mind.. But... I don't know that I'm comfortable "selling out" of my dream track for something closer to home. (I have been accepted to a cancer bio program 600 miles away)

I put a lot of careful thought into whether or not I would send thank you letters to people who interviewed me at schools. I even spoke with some of my colleagues at work who are on the adcom at the University where I am employed, and the general consensus was that it was not necessary and somewhat of a different protocol than, say, a job interview. They suggested that adcoms and profs are busy and the emails can be more of a nuisance. Well, I was Waitlisted 2 business days after interviewing at my #1. It has now been 10 days ish since the interview, and, knowing that admissions are rolling and the committee meets to review Waitlisted apps after each recruitment weekend, I'm wondering - should I touch base? Is it too late to think them? Yes, yes, I'm overanalyzing, but I'm sad.

Oh! I forgot that Pat Benatar and her mom always came into the ice cream shop where I worked whenever Pat was visiting her hometown. Also, I met Don Shula when he attended a function at my church lol also, his hometown.

Oh wow! Very good to know. Thank you for this information. I appreciate you taking the time to explain it to me.

My professors have said time and time again, the best thank you (if you can't do it in person) is a phone call. Writing LOR's is a part of their job description, after all.

On a slightly related note, please excuse me to being naive - but is funding that variable? Is it not a set amount? I have limited understanding of the grad school admissions process, but in my field, it's $X dollar amount and if you're offered admission, you can rest assured you'll be getting that amount.

I concur.

Hello everyone, I thought I'd create a thread where we could share tips for traveling (home or elsewhere) during graduate school. This might be good for people in long distance relationships, moving away from home for the first time, or just trying to live off a graduate stipend. One thing I recently discovered is great for military families. You have to be active duty or have a dependent ID card, but Southwest airlines offers EXTREMELY reduced pricing for a limited number of seats on flights. They're not available during the holidays/peak travel, but I'm talking like, $88/each way. It's great for when you find out you have a long weekend, one day in advance, and want to go home to hubby/family. (There's a large military community on this forum, so that's why I included this tip). You have to call 1-800-I-FLY-SWA to get the pricing, though, and be somewhat forward about stating you want that special pricing. On that note, does anyone have an airline/travel rewards credit card? Can anyone recommend one? I am thinking of just getting one with Southwest, since that's the airline I am most loyal to, but I am open to other cards that offer greater travel rewards. And who here has traveled by train (Amtrak)? Any tips for saving money?

Josh was great. He's kind of dorky, but in a charming way. Glad to see another NC fan!!! Also, you turned down...the author of Princess Diaries? What is wrong with you? Just kidding And- for what it's worth, I omitted "Mary Dell Chilton" from my first post after realizing most people probably wouldn't know/care who she is, unless they followed agricultural/microbiological science for the last thirty years LOL

I. LOVED. Working at Case Western. Gosh I miss it! Good luck, I hope you get in!!! Let me know how it goes!!! They are top notch!

I was completely honest in my interviews. I have several gaps and lots of jumping around on my resume, mainly because my husband is in the military and, well, we move around a lot. When asked why I choice my programs, I told them all the same thing: my husband can't move with me, so I wanted to be in cities that had direct flights back home/were within the radius he is allowed to travel on a 3 day weekend pass. Tell them exactly what you told us: it shows commitment, not a lack of focus.

I would just thank the interviewer for his/her time and not try to mention supervising.

I was on the phone with my mom, TALKING about my interviews, and I heard the call waiting beep. I looked and the area code was from one of the cities I had interviewed in. The POI answered the phone with, "Hey? Remember me? We have good news for you...!!!!" in a sing-song voice.

I've met a lot of musicians. I've met Josh Turner twice (he signed my guitar and even played a little tune on it) Blake Shelton a few times, Nickel Creek, oh and all the members of Reo Speedwagon. When I was a waitress at a five star restaurant, we had a lot of CEO's of multinational corporations as regulars. Most of them are complete jerks. My goal is to meet the current Pope.

Fashion can always be a hobby that you pursue on the side, while maintain a career that affords you the opportunity to do it. And if your fashion design takes off, you'll be able to balance practicality with what you love.

Congrats! Those are my 3 favorite fields!

I don't have an answer to this, but I would assume your advisor/mentor could give you direction for this process?

Working out. Get a 30 day pass for a gym. Seriously, you'll be so exhausted you won't have time to think, and afterward, you'll feel less stressed, too.

Depends if they're using their own funding. My boss has a $12.4 million private grant and still have to request special permission from the University to purchase a first class flight

Most travel awards will only cover an economy/coach ticket.

Yes, it would be completely legal and within your rights. It would be unfortunate for the school, but, you have to do what's best for you.

It's not legally binding until after April 15. You can always agree but retract (politely) if you get a better offer before April.

I'm just curious because I don't know much about grad school and curricula outside my field - what types of classes do you have to take? Is it not a standard regimen? In my discipline, you just take a specialized Cancer Bio 1-4 with everywhere else matriculating in the program, and maybe some electives later on. I'm genuinely interested in learning how other schools and fields do it.