eikko

hm... i'm working on this with my also wonderfully-supportive girlfriend right now. when to start: the sooner the better, of course! how to do this: 1. write a CV. you can include: - career objective (1 sentence stating the job you'd like-- it should match the job you apply for!) - work experience - educational background - volunteer work/internships - other interests and skills, including languages, software, etc. 2. go register at monster.com. 3. search for 'graphic design'/'design'/'illustration'/'arts' and whatever other jobs he's willing to take, and apply to ALL of them. 4. don't forget to include a cover letter relating your skills to the job's tasks and saying how qualified you are! good luck!

I don't know about URI, but I grew up in eastern CT and have spent some time in Providence, and you certainly won't be in the closet there! There's plenty to do, gay clubs/parties and lots of queer student life around Brown and RISD. Maybe you'd want to live in Providence and commute to URI? Rhode Island is really small...

Yep, there's a visit day for sociology students on the 22nd. I won't be there, but I'm in and will try to make it there to visit to better inform my decision... not sure yet where I'll end up!

Thanks for the link. Interesting, and kinda depressing. One thing that would help with the 'CV gap' during pregnancy and early care-giving years would be better parental leave policies, of course. According to wikipedia, the US has worse parental leave laws than for example Sweden, Canada, Italy, Slovenia... not surprised? ... and worse than Mexico, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Haiti, Nigeria, well, anyway, you get the point. If both fathers and mothers could take paid leave, and especially with restrictions on the amount of leave to be taken by each parent, we would see a more even gender distribution of the gap! So you might see CV-based discrimination against parents in general, and not just mothers.

Brown, hurry up!!!

By March 26th? uh oh!?! where did you get that information? As far as I can tell in the admission packet, you have to apply for housing by April 15th, same as the acceptance decision. But yeah, the whole housing thing is very confusing. Who wants to go back to a dorm at age 25+, let alone a meal plan? Yeesh. And it says on the housing website that there are 'few spaces for new students' in the apartments/annex...

:/ Man, you better take this guy out for a beer or get some dinner with him the next time you're going out with your labmates or whatever!

hey wooldogg, thanks for your advice. there was a 'don't know' option for the 1040ez eligibility, so i chose that one. anyway, nice to hear some feedback!

I want to know about the gay scene at Princeton too. I guess now we know that there'd be at least two hypothetical new gay grad students in the fall!

yep, i know. can't help it, it's another language... no intention to offend, of course.

two happy stories!: i met my girlfriend when she was studying in nyc for a year. we met in january, and then she went home to europe in the summer. we did long distance for a year, using skype a lot. she came once for a couple weeks in the fall, i visited in the winter, she visited in the spring. we talked every day. what can i say, it worked for us! although one year is different from two or three. also, my dad dated his now-wife for five years across the atlantic. (he waited until my sibs and i were out of high school before he moved.) they talked on the phone a lot, and visited a few times a year, and currently live happily ever after as far as i can tell. so yes, it can definitely be done if you both want it to. but talking a lot is key, because it's of course harder to know if the other person is happy in the relationship if you can't spend time together in person. skype with webcams are nice!

hm, maybe my question was something that i should have asked an accountant.... any of those out there?

I'm wondering the same thing, because if I were to pay off my undergrad debt I would probably/maybe qualify for a federal Pell grant. But, like you, if I am not fully funded I can't afford to go. I think the answer depends on what kind of loans you have. Are they subsidized Stafford? If so, the govt pays your interest while you are in school, so you should not pay them off. (Plus their value would depreciate over the 5 years you will be in school.) But if they are unsubsidized or private loans... you should calculate how much the interest will be over the next few years. If it seems like a lot, you could consider paying off a chunk. Personally, I feel more comfortable having some debt but also a little bit of money in the bank for emergencies than having no debt just for the principle of being debt-free (although that would be a nice feeling!).

Thanks for the reply. Yep, you are probably right and anyway they let you make corrections, so it seems like you're allowed to ballpark anyway.

I hear that the sooner you submit FAFSA the better your chances so I'm trying to get it done, but I have a couple questions I'm hoping someone can answer: 1. If you were eligible to fill out a 1040EZ or 1040A and your income is less than 50k then your assets are ignored in the EFC calculation. My income is way less than 50k but since I live outside the country, I have to file the regular 1040 return so I can claim Foreign Income Exclusion (to say that I already paid taxes in another country). The spirit of the question is to give a break to people with low work income and no alternate sources of income. So can I say 'yes, I was eligible to file a 1040EZ'? 2. Should I pay off my undergrad loans? Then my assets (savings) will be lower. I've heard that you can get credit if you already owe student loans, but is there somewhere to put that down on FAFSA? Thank you so much to anyone who can help!