elijahbaley

If your of adult age and you can't figure out how to correctly use you're...their is no excuse for that. 

A couple other good ones:
 
Quite surprised since my fortune teller said to expect otherwise. Now concerned about the "long life" prediction.
 
Why God WHY!!!
 
Great use of Adele lyrics:
nevermind, I’ll find someone like yoouuu, I wish nothing but the best for yoouuu tooo

I worked on an undergrad student committee that brought George Takei to my campus (large state school). I met him and his husband Brad, awesome people!

Haha That's exactly why I refuse to re-read mine! I know I will start picking it apart!

I'm surprised at how distracting the waiting game has been, in terms of getting my current coursework done. Way more distracting than putting together my materials and applying. I'm pretty disappointed in how I've been doing this semester, but also senioritis tells me not to care anymore.

This thread is depressing me... The closest I've gotten to leaving the country was a trip to Niagara Falls at age 6.
Not for lack of desire, just lack of funds/opportunity 

7 replies and nobody has bothered to ask for the relevant data in this situation?  
 
Pictures, man. We need to see pictures of this girl before we advise on the correct course of action.

Continue to work on getting older.

I feel the same (this school for me was UC Berkeley). I applied initially during my senior year of high school as a math major. Rejection. With time, my interests changed and I soon became a chemistry major. During my sophomore year in college, I applied to transfer to UC Berkeley along with 2 other schools. I got into those 2 other schools, but I was rejected by UC Berkeley once again. (I ended up staying my current university in the end) Now during my senior year of college, I applied to UC Berkeley in addition to my other 4 schools for my PhD in Chemistry... and what do you know, I got in! It only took 2 rejections before getting in (I guess the 3rd time really is the charm)

What surprises me is that despite the fact that UC Berkeley is one of the top programs for Chemistry, I'm feeling reluctant to attend. This grudge against them just built up over the past 4 years for rejecting me twice (which shouldn't be the case, but I'm feeling it!). 

I guess this is all field dependent...
 
ETH Zurich is huge in my field at least. When I read the school name in your post, in my head I thought "Oh wow, great school." In my field at least, there are only a few schools that are held to the Stanford, UWashington level. ETH Zurich is one of those schools.

Each has its pros and cons! I've had some wonderful roommates and yes, it was very nice to always have someone to talk to, watch tv together, etc. Mostly, it was great to have someone I could count on if I needed help, assurance, or a hug. BUT - it's really hard to find roommates with whom you mesh that well. Unless you sort of already know someone you could live with (maybe other first years, maybe a friend who lives in the new town), it would be difficult to find someone that you believe would be a great fit. If you do choose to go this route, please be careful with craigslist - I've had some wonderful roommates, but I also had some... less than great experiences.
 
I should add, though, that even living with amazing roommates has its limitations. I missed having me-time (I think I need more me time than most people). Silly things slightly annoyed me - like every inch of space in the fridge being occupied, or waking up early because they were up earlier than me (not their fault at all - they were fairly quiet, but the apartment was small and I'm a light sleeper). 
 
So when I moved to a PhD program I decided to live on my own. I told myself - if it gets too expensive, or if I get too lonely, I can always change my mind and get a roommate next year.
 
I LOVE living on my own. I spend so much time on campus, in the office, hanging out with my cohort, that when I get home I don't feel lonely at all. What I feel is extremely grateful to have my own little place, where I can do all the things I want to do, and feel completely at home. I do have a cat - which is also great, and I'm sure contributes immensely to this general sense of happiness. 
 
My main piece of advice is: you can change your mind. Whatever you choose, after that 6 month or 1 year contract is done, you are free to change things up.

I also arrived on a J-1. You should look into your school's international student orientation dates and make sure you arrive before that!
 
I did not have a SSN or ITIN when I first arrived but I was still able to set up a bank account (yes, do this on day one) and rent an apartment. I used my offer letter that states my annual income as proof of income. I would recommend that you are careful to describe yourself as a "researcher", not a "student" because some people will still think student = no income.
 
Also, a lot of places will require a deposit because you don't have US credit and/or you don't have SSN/ITIN. For example, cell phone companies. Sometimes, they will know to ask for a I-20 form (or DS-2019 for J-1) and they will accept that in lieu of a giant deposit. However, in other cases, you will have to deposit some money. For electricity bill, I had to put a $250 deposit that they still have (I can't get it back until I move).
 
There is also a deposit on the apartment. Some states allow as much as 2 months rent as deposit. You will need US funds for this so I would recommend bringing in at least 6 months rent worth of savings as a minimum -- you'll have to pay first month rent right away, and up to 2 more months as a security deposit and sometimes it might take a month to get paid so having 3 months extra rent should hopefully cover most expenses to the first paycheque. If you have the savings, perhaps consider up to 1 years' rent to have some on hand in case of emergencies. Some schools will also offer no-fee no-interest "startup loans" to help if you don't have a lot of savings.
 
If you can get a US Driver license, the sooner you do so, the better. If you are planning to arrive a month before your program start, and you already know how to drive, this might be a good time to spend the day lining up the at the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) and take the tests. Once you have a US driver license, there's nothing on that which indicates you're not an American so when I use this form of ID, my life becomes a lot easier.
 
Finally, perhaps the most important thing, you should check in at your school's International Office the day you arrive, if possible. They will get you to fill out a lot of important paperwork. The most important thing though is that they will give you a letter that you take to the Social Security Administration and they will be able to issue a SSN. It will take about 5 days before they will be able to give you a number and a few more days for it to arrive in the mail.
 
And one tip, a lot of people are more familiar with F-1 students than J-1 students. If they ever ask for a I-20, just show them your DS-2019 and explain that it's the J-1 equivalent to I-20. 

Opening a bank account is something you could do on day 1. Often branches of big banks near the university or the local credit union are good options since they'll know how to deal with international students. You could ask current international students in your department where they have their bank accounts. You'll get a debit card and a few checks immediately. Order more and ask about a credit card if you're interested in building up your credit history in the US (I'd recommend it). Normally for wire transfers it shouldn't take more than 2-3 business days for the funds to show in your account. You might consider bringing some cash with you, as you feel comfortable, in order to make purchases easier until you have your US account set up. That way, you could deposit some money immediately when you open the account and you'll at least have something to start with. Having some cash is also convenient. You could always use your foreign credit card in the US, but keep in mind that there may be a fee. If you rent an apartment, it's very likely that your landlord will want a local check and not a foreign one or your bank account information (unlike in many European countries) so you could do one of three things - (a) bring some cash with you, deposit it, and use one of your beginner checks, (b ) wait for a bit before starting to search for an apartment, until your wire transfer is finalized, (c ) ask a friend to pay for you first month (but I wouldn't be surprised if many landlords wouldn't like that and would want to make sure you have a bank account and some money in it). 
 
Finding an apartment depends on the market you'll move to. In many places it'll be very fast. Be ready to sign a lease the same day you see an apartment, so don't start looking before you are set up to pay rent. Check Craigslist or other local websites but always see an apartment in person before signing a lease! Some cities often work with realtors, so it's worth finding out about that ahead of time, in particular who is supposed to pay them (you or the landlord) and how much they usually cost. You don't need a SSN but I would suggest contacting your department's admin person and asking them to write you an endorsement letter that basically says that you are a beginning graduate student in their department, with guaranteed funding of X amount for Y years. That will help show landlords that you are financially solvent and they can trust you. 
 
Other things to do early on -
 
- arrange for internet/phone/cellular service. They may want a deposit and it may take them a surprisingly long time to come install your internet, so get started as soon as you have a place. You could start arrangements for the technician's visit before you move in, and pick a date early after your move-in date. These services may ask for a deposit, since you don't have a credit history, so take that into account. 
 
- shopping for furniture, beginning supplies. May be worth renting a car and going out of town for that, especially if there is a big discount store in the suburbs. From my own experience, often renting through a foreign website (e.g. through your home country) is cheaper than doing it locally. 
 
- at the DMV: if the wait for taking the practical exam are long, you could get a state liquor ID while you wait for your drivers license. It's the local ID people get if they don't drive, and once you have it no one can tell you're not a local person as well. You can use it to buy alcohol but also to identify yourself at any government agency, including using it as your ID for domestic flights. I highly recommend having some kind of local ID instead of carrying your passport around. 
 
 
Honestly I don't think you need 20 days for this, probably 10-14 would suffice, though this partly depends on the housing market you're moving into. Not that it would be bad to have some time to explore the city, but just FYI getting settled actually doesn't take all that long. 

Only thing funnier than the rejection responses are the folks arm-chair analyzing the individuals behind them.

Well, if I had my acceptance revoked, I'd say some pretty cringe-worthy things too. That's just messed up.

"Quite surprised. First class master. Was in touch with the processor who seem to be interested in my proposal."
 
I don't know, but it might be worrying if a computer science student can't tell the difference between a processor and a professor.

Academics (and I am including myself here) tend to think we have cornered the market on "Imposter Syndrome". However, speaking with other people in other professions, this is a common feeling that pretty much everyone has (especially at the start of a new career or new position within their job). Similarly, people often feel they could never do someone else's job (even within the same office, believe me, I have consistently heard this from people), while feeling that anyone could do theirs. Grad students are some of the more neurotic people on the planet (again, I'm including myself), and we tend to forget that we are in this tiny bubble where everyone is smart and driven and experts in their field. But we are all also faking it (at least at the grad level). Don't worry; just keep faking it until you no longer feel like you're faking it. You are much more prepared than you think you are, and you are much better at your job than you feel. <3 
 
(Another side point of this is that people tend to advance in their careers (or education) until they reach their maximum level of incompetency, rather than their maximum point of competence. But, just remember that you are constantly "leveling up" -- the bosses just keep getting harder, that's why it doesn't feel like it's getting easier, even though if you checked, you have tons more XP than the average person. Because this comment needed a video game metaphor.) 

I think I always know less than my professors think I know. I just try to keep that illusion up while we're talking, then look up all the stuff I should have known later. In other words, fake it till you make it (there's a nice TED Talk on that). It's a legit and totally acceptable thing. I'm also somewhat reassured in knowing that pretty much everyone suffers from imposter syndrome.

So, I can't be the only one who has had dreams/nightmares about admissions. I thought it could be fun to share. I've had two dreams that I can recall:
I dreamed that I was accepted into Cambridge with an amazing full-ride scholarship. But they only gave me two days to decide, which made me mad and I rage-rejected them. I dreamed that I got rejected from my "safer bet" school, but they decided to offer me a job making burgers in their cafeteria instead. LOL!

I have heard from people that sometimes the decision emails end up in spam folder.
 
Never in my life have I ever been so excited to have an unread spam email.

I, too, am falling into despair awaiting any kind of response. I've only heard back from one school, and unfortunately, it was a rejection. I am currently awaiting on five other schools. No interviews were had. 
 
Curious, but mostly because I am in a permanent state of anxiety and have become mentally paralyzed to pursue other work, I did some research online to better understand why the five other schools have yet to send out their decision. I mean, it's two weeks from March...  One of the very plausible explanations that I came across was that I am most likely wait-listed. So, essentially, my future dreams are contingent to accepted students declining, and of course, my ranking being high enough on the list for such declination to matter. 
 
Is this what others have come across? Good luck to all!

I always expected I would feel like a "real" adult once I got to this stage. I thought I'd feel so confident, mature, and successful once I had my college degree and starting working to become a fancy-pants doctor. Nope. I still feel like a little kid, I'm just giving myself more responsibilities.
 
The whole application process has been completely surprising. I only applied to one school for undergrad and I had guaranteed acceptance (since I was in-state and had a high GPA/ACT scores). So this is my first time having to actually try to write good essays, waiting to hear back, dealing with the possibility of not getting in anywhere, sitting by my phone and computer all anxious... It's been crazy! Folks who went through this process for undergrad, is it easier going through it again? Harder? Is applying for grad school just so different that it's hard to compare?

And then there is this one for ITT Printer Support PhD: 
Was rejected after a short interview. The interview consisted of many IT related questions that were work place related. Was rejected after I could not properly diagnose a specific problem related to the printer not being plugged in. Also, no funding was available.

I would like to vent about loud vents. Some days ambient noise really annoys me.