nowikissyou

Check if your school provides some sort of counseling/health service that you can use. They are generally free and may help you not just with "regular" therapy (only you can assess whether you can benefit from it or not) but especially by pointing out whatever solutions you might have to solve your current academic difficulties and still spend some time with your mother. They can also act as an ombudsman to help explain your situation to your department/professors/school board, etc. Best of luck to you and your mom.

Like lalacereza stated, you shouldn't worry about that. On my first trip to the states in 2006 (under J-1, 4 months visiting student) the interview at the embassy was quite swift, and it was more of a friendly chatter than anything else. I handed over the forms, fee receipts and my bank extract (there was no scholarship, so I had to support myself with personal funds) to the interviewer and she just asked about the university I would be staying at, my university of origin and my motivations. I'll go to the embassy again in early July to get a new visa (F-1 for PhD) and there haven't been any noticeable changes* either at http://travel.state.gov/ nor at the embassy's site, so I think you've done all you needed to do. Portuguese citizen here, btw. It might be wise to have duplicates (copies) of every document, just in case. Final note: the security measures at the embassy will be tight, so make everyone's life easier and don't take anything metallic/bulky/suspicious with you. Just a folder with the papers, passport, a pen and a cellphone (which they might require you to turn off past the entrance). My keychain consisting of a pen drive and worn RAM DIMMs (computer memory) puzzled them for quite a while * there was a proposal for the SEVIS fee to greatly increase (towards $200), but it's not in effect yet

You should definitely take it again, but make sure you do improve them or it will look like they truly represent the best you can achieve (easier said than done, I know...). Like beegee529 said, you should try to get about 600 in both sections to make sure you're not below potential cutting lines. I'm not too familiar with your field, but I assume it would require a good score on both V and Q sections. Take your time to study before testing again - even if it's a pain to do all those practice books, they give you experience and enhance your cognitive skills. And try using wordlists for the V section - it works well for some people. Some closing remarks: GRE scores are valid for 5 years and on the end of each test you are given the chance to forfeit it (no scores get reported nor recorded) in case you think you did poorly. Good luck! EDIT: a few words were missing

I'd say that the the actual GRE is less difficult than most training books (except the official ETS CD, whose questions seemed easier than the real thing), but the PRESSURE you have while taking it makes it look harder. It's also important to take into account the CAT mechanism (adaptive), so unless your test material also provides a similar feel, you'll always be a bit off. The Q section varies a lot between tests (and between test-makers), but the V stays pretty much the same. In fact, you probably found out by now about words-lists and how they contain the most commonly used words, etc. Don't rely on your practice scores; even if you think you get good scores already, keep training. The more words you discover, the more you will remember on the test day. Like the previous poster said, this is all moot if you aced it already

I come from an ECE background, so I found the GRE Q section to be mostly analytical thinking and logic and not worthy of the label 'math'. That said, the time constraints do pose an interesting challenge, no matter what your actual field is. crazypoligirl and coachrjc have posted very useful info, too. You need to brush up your basic math skills (you can do this with the help of an actual high-school student or teacher - if you know any) and train, train train! The GRE is all about methodology and for that you can pick up one of the many Test Prep Books and give it a good read. Then start with the sample questions, eventually trying to answer more in less time. If you feel you really lack the bases, hiring someone versed in math would help, but gives you the extra problem of finding a competent/honest/cheap one. There are no "secrets" to the GRE - all the info you need is already published on the ETS website/CD, so I am skeptical about those specific GRE tutors/classes. And I can sum it all in one sentence: if it's taking you too long, you're doing it the wrong way. The GRE Prep books are very good at explaining it with simple examples - in no time you'll recognize the types of questions and the 'typical' shortcuts to find the answer. In conclusion: the more time you spend practicing, the better you'll get at solving the questions fast enough. In theory, having a tutor would help, but I don't think it's worth the money (nor the hassle). Just buy another book (Kaplan is a good one) and try to figure out the underlying approaches to the problems, rather than solving them blindly and thoroughly (like in school). Look for approximations and elimination of clearly wrong answers. Also retain the adaptive nature of the test: if you fail early on you'll never get high scores - take your time in the first 7/10 questions or so. And when you have less than one minute, just guess randomly until the end - do NOT leave unanswered questions. Good luck!

I've received emails regarding orientation, both from the graduate school and the department, but being an international student I was eager for the visa papers. After 2 emails without reply where I asked about the status of said papers I decided to write a registered letter - and lo and behold! - 3 weeks later the I20 arrives to my mailbox. Maybe it was just coincidence, or maybe a little bit of polite, soft pressure actually works. As for health insurance, info came on the original acceptance package (though it didn't tell anything that I didn't already know). You can probably get all the info you need from the university's website. I'll only register for classes during the orientation period, after consulting with my (potential) adviser. I've sent the signed form accepting the TA offer, but i think that the details will only be settled once I get there. And yeah, their silence does turn us a bit paranoid. But as long as you have an official letter of acceptance, you should be good. Anyway, just reassure yourself by emailing/writing/calling them.

I was in the US for the Fall 2006 semester and I too bought a rechargeable card as well (T-Mobile). Pretty much the same situation as described by magamago: they only asked for the passport, no need for SSN (social security number). I do recommend you to get an account at an US back and get a credit card or at least a debit card that can you can use as a credit card (VISA, MASTERCARD, AMEX...) to easily recharge your minutes (indeed, the Internet option is quite handy). Like bgk said, getting a credit history can be tricky but will sort of solve itself out as time goes by. Just pay your bills on time and don't let your account run out of funds. I can't add anything about the iPhone, but you might want to call/email AT&T's customer service and ask. Depending on your estimated usage of the cellphone, having a monthly plan might in fact be more cost-effective than prepaid minutes. Just do your math!

Well, just got the clichet email stating I wasn't accepted. Good luck to the ones still waiting!

While the results were due on March 14th (per email sent by them on March 4th), I have yet to receive a conclusive answer, as have others judging by the Admissions Results page http://www.thegradcafe.com/survey/index.php?q=hopkins. A comment on the same page states that only 12 would be admitted, and one person already reported being accepted, hence leaving 11 openings... Post/rant here and take the time to briefly describe your application and projected outcome. My background is in ECE (5-year european licentiate degree + finishing up my MS - Computer Networks / Security) and while I'm not foreign to most CS topics, I understand that may be a setback. I was mostly interested in the topics researched at JHUISI, but unfortunately they don't have PhD programs - only MS (and being an international student, getting funding is next to impossible; not to mention that holding 2 MS in roughly the same area is a bit silly). My GRE/TOEFL scores were regular (Q:780 V:630: W:5.0 iBT:112) and I don't have any published work (most academic work here is geared toward industry collaborations, hence publishing is somewhat scarce) so I know my chances are slim, but nevertheless I'm quite confident on my abilities and still hope to get accepted...

While I'm not the best person to give you advice (international student here), I'd recommend taking a peep at http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/ so you can get the general idea of prices and locations available. If your budget allows you to spend $800 to $1200 per month, I don't think you'll run into any problems. Depending on your personality, mood and amount of expected work during the internship you may be interested in sharing a place with others, thus cutting the expense in half (1 person) or by two thirds (2 persons) and typically having an easier time adapting to your new location (YMMV). Good luck!

I'd also like to know which companies/services to look out for. Last time I was in the US I had to pay about $150 for excess luggage on the return flight, and that's only for a 25kg suitcase If at all possible, I'd prefer to pack my own stuff into a few boxes (25kg/50lb each) and then have them picked up at my original house @ Europe and delivered to the destination house in the US (when they arrive I'll be there already). Pretty much like regular mail services, except for heavier cargo. I'm glad I won't be moving furniture...

Hi, I'm about to move to the US for the PhD (estimated 5/6 years) and I too would like to "bring my house with me". Do any of you have any prior experiences with transatlantic movings? I can pack "enough" clothes and footwear in the allowed 2 bags, and my laptop and random accessories as carry-on items, but how about everything else? Should I just forget about it and buy stuff as needed in the US? Won't that be a problem upon coming back? Is there any cheap way to ship a container or at least a few large and heavy boxes? Traditional postal and UPS/FedEX/etc. services are way too expensive. Not sure if it makes any difference, but I'm currently in Porto, Portugal and shall move to Baltimore, MD.

I got in at UMBC and I'm waiting for JHU's response. Since they're both in Baltimore, I'll be there! I've already been at UMBC in 2006 (study abroad program, Fall semester) so I can tell that housing is affordable (initially i was sharing a 3BR townhouse with 5 other ppl, but it was too crowded so I moved to a 2BR townhouse with only one housemate and we were each paying $500+1/2utilities. It was located within walking distance (1 mi.) of UMBC campus, but also served by shuttle bus lines and MTA buses. There are cheaper arrangements, but unless you have solid trust bonds with the tenants, I recommend renting directly from a housing company (more bureaucracy, but you won't get any surprises). Basically it depends on how much comfort (and/or privacy) you require and how much money you can spend. I was lucky to have the best of both worlds: a fair-sized townhouse for only two persons gave me plenty of "personal space" and we visited nearby friends' houses whenever we wanted to get more social. Also plenty of supermarkets and other shops nearby. As for Baltimore city, we spent most of the time by the UMB and Harbor areas (shops, restaurants, bars and such) but made a few incursions north to Penn Station. I never been to Homewood (JHU), though. The only setback was that public transportation (aka: MTA bus) only runs until 1am, forcing us to cut short our night-outs; answer: taxi or friend's car, if available. I never had any crime related problem, but then again, we roamed in groups and didn't really look for trouble. As for Washington D.C., I truly loved it and ended up there quite often. You can get the MARC train (cheap, runs only on weekdays/working hours) or the AMTRAK one (pricey, runs all the time but you need to catch it in Penn Station). The museums are great and the Metro network lets you cover lengths with little effort. I suppose I can say I liked DC more than Baltimore city or Baltimore county, but there's no way I could afford living there. Plus, traffic is often chaotic and would consume too much time. I've also heard that the NoVa-DC-Baltimore belt allows for a number of working experiences, but I can't yet vouch for that. In short: if you're going to UMBC, you should stay in Baltimore County (unless you have other priorities: significant other's occupation, family member's house where you can stay, etc.), if you plan JHU, pretty much anywhere in Baltimore city is "allright" (remember to make sure you have transportation). If anyone has further input, I'd love to hear it.

I've just been accepted and offered a stipend + tuition remission for 20h/week of TA work (first year). While I'm yet pondering on it (and waiting for a response from another university) I talked to some persons already enrolled in that same university and they say that 20h is "doable" but quite harsh and you need nerves of steel not to breakdown right away. On the other hand, it's not like there is *ANY* alternative (international student here - I can't get a job due to visa issues), so I may just have to suck it up. TA in this context includes grading hw and exams, preparing and administering (sp?) lab classes and having office hours to answer students questions/doubts. As a side note, I've already spent a semester at that university (study abroad program) and lived with persons who were beginning their PhDs at the time (Engineering), thus being in the same situation I will be if I accept the offer - and let me tell you they came to the same conclusion already presented on this thread: don't bother correcting the assignments too thoroughly; students will ignore comments and may even (ab)use eventual nitpicking on your end and report you to the supervising teacher (true story!). Bottom-line: be fair, be fast!