random_grad

Make a checklist of things you have done and still need to do for the move. Check off all you have completed successfully. When nothing else is on the list - celebrate the achievement with friends and family and yourself. Relax and enjoy the summer, you deserve it! If still worried, create a table with worries on the left, hard evidence in support of that idea in the middle and hard evidence which does not support on the right. This is a variation of a helpful technique from Mind over Mood book which I strongly recommend. Finally, get to know your new school s mental health resources. The first week will be rough but don t let it "prove" your worries. Sign up for mental health workshops or group sessions if there are some, or get in queue for consultation. At one of my previous schools students complained of long waits so it s good to sign up early.

In regards to international applicants: look whether your school of interest is state vs private funded. State funded have very limited funding for international students so it is advisable to have more private ones in your list. Although MAs in general are less compeitive to get into, I would guess that funded MAs are hard to get into. Consider what kind of funding France could offer you, or consider applying to the UK and get EU funding. I ve seen helpful lists of funding on websites of Cambridge or Oxford (for EU-specific) and also Harvard (for France-specific). Other major universities might have helpful lists as well. It is very powerful to get external funding at MA level and can help you with later PhD applications tremendously. BTW: if you don t have publications yet, consider trying for some or present at a conference, even a small one organized by your university. This looks good on CV and can help remedy your limited background in lit. It seems sensible to take lit courses as an independent student if you have time. Ideally, try to get a certificate of completion or something. But be careful as it is very hard to stay motivated as an auditor when you have other commitments. Finally, being bilingual is not exceptional, so I would not imagine it being a strong selling point unless it is crucial for your project (which you might want to narrow down to a specific moment in history or geographic area or set of individuals).

Lots of great advice above ! If I may include my 50 cents: Initially my quant score was around 150 but I ended up with 170 at the test after 1.5 month prep. First, I familiarized myself with different types of questions that can arise. Not just the different sections but that sometimes the same type of problem can appear in dofferent sections. McGraw and Hill book identifies those well. You need to master these standard questions to do them fast. Second, I identified areas where I lacked formulas and learned them. Here I used the standard learning techniques I use for any type of memorization so pick whichever works for you. And of course applied formulas to lots of exercises. It is important to outline every step, not take shortcuts during the phase when you initially learn the material. That s how you learn math . Once internalized, you will be able to take shortcuts to solve things faster. I do not agree with the advice above that GRE is not a paper test. It s whatever you find easier. Personally, writing almost all questions and drawing figures was essential on test day. Third, since I had time, I identified the remaining areas of weakness and forced myself to get them through analysis, formulas and exercises. It may be hard but let me tell you that some of these things were brand new to me or had always posed problem. I thought I d better skip them but in the end turns GRE just adds formulas, not conceptual difficulty to what you might have learned in high school. No integrals, after all. Overall the GRE tests attention to detail. Many times the error is that you solved the equation but the question asked for 5x not just your x. Yet one of the answers is x and you eagerly pick that. That s why it s important to write things in detail and write 5x and circle it at the top if you set up an equation for x.

I am a bit confused as to when you will finish your masters as the school year of 14-15 is pretty much over which means that you would need to find work in September anyway; otherwise if you mean that you will finish at the end of 15-16 this leaves you plenty of time to build a relationship with a professor and get a good letter.

Very sorry to hear that you are having a rough year! It is generally better to have at least 1 reference from the latest school. Are you sure there is absolutely nobody there who could write you a strong letter? Perhaps you are forgetting someone because of the overall experience? Maybe from another department? Imo it is better to tell the department that you re transferring not too late. A good friend was in STEM field and transferred from one program to another. Once she stopped hiding that she will leave, everyone s attitude changed because they no longer considered her a contender. She said it got nicer. You can also shape your narrative in a positive and controlled way if you reveal your decision not at the last minute because otherwise you won t be around to dispel assumptions which will be negative by default. If I may comment in regards to seeing a therapist: it can make a huge difference. I ve heard people saying that sometimes you just don t connect but from what friends told me different therapists each have their own strength and it is totally worth it. Go see one sooner rather than later! Consider also reading this book: Mind over mood.

Small = Less competition (for travel money etc) among students. I was in a huge cohort for my MA and there were peoole whom I never met informally. That sucks. Small is better. If there s otherwise 170 students, depending on student prof ratio attention might not be that available. Check whethet professors will be on sabbatical. It may be that several ones are gone and so the intake was lower, or there is funding restructurization in the air. either way don t worry too much. It s out of your control.

I would recommend the McGraw and Hill book as primary resource + Magoosh for a few math formulas not covered elsewhere + Kaplan list of vocab + Kaplan sample tests for extra pratice. Initially I used the Kaplan book but found the McGrawHill much more thorough, with more serious math and reasonable explanations for verbal. Errors, yes, but it is good practice to catch the book s errors. Kaplan tests were just an extra source of exercices, often easy (quant) or absurd (verbal). For essays I have not found a single really good book. To me it remains the most enigmatic part. When I read sample responses which got 6.0 I do not understand how one can write that in so short a time and with such cool structure etc. I guess that s because I am not a native speaker. English doesn t flow for me. Still got a 5.0 probably thanks to the 2nd prompt. (Otherwise I scored in the 99th percentile in Q and V.)

I translated them myself during initial submission and then had a certified translation made according to school's guidlines once accepted. Schools might have diff reqs though.

If you can store stuff back home, I agree with the advice above. If not, this should be approached the same way as an immigration. Having talked to many immigrants the main piece of advice was to bring "invaluable" goods such as books with your notes in them, idea notepads, meaningful heirlooms and family photos and maybe your favorite spoon (smaller and lighter than a mug). If you have superexpensive or unique clothes you value - take those, plus fancy technology (but keep in mind the voltage). All the rest you can get here.

Magoosh posted estimates of gre scores for top programs by field http://magoosh.com/gre/2013/gre-scores-for-top-universities/ As mentioned above dont sweat too much over it. Nobody seems to care really.

Powerprep was the most accurate of all in my case although I ended up getting more on the actual test.

I d say it s a 5. You have a clear argument, make several points which you explain in detail and provide some examples. And yet the style is dry, there is no rhetorical persuasion, which seems to be the key element of most 6 rate essays. These would include powerful sentence structure, quotes of famous people, strong intro. About quotes: apparently it s ok to make things up. But that s just something I read online. I would not risk it.

Very sorry to hear what a hard year you are having! Since you have a solid plan B with the 2nd postdoc, perhaps you should start preparing for it a bit more which will make you more excited about it and thus relieve anxiety and fill you with anticipation. Consider also scheduling some time off in the forseeable future when you travel to see your old friends, visit your previous school and maybe visit a completely new place unrelated to your professional life. It is kind of in relation to the 1st suggestion: have something you look forward to as a time of change or relaxation. Simpler short term things: take good care of your body. Eat at a nice restaurant, go to a spa, take a sun bath. Eat properly orTry various kinds of meditation - something fun and new. As someone having had stress and anxiety issues in the past I found that the state of your body affects the mood very much. If you can t get rid of emotional stress at least make things better for your body. It will also make you feel better about yourself psychologically. In terms of music if the world seems unfairly harsh I listen to heavy metal in order to clench my teeth and ignite furious anger ! Things like Pantera "Walk". You won t be broken by 1 hard year, you will keep doing what you love, what you re great at, with or without this current dpt.

As has been pointed out above, 30h = 2 long days. Imo it is not very nice to refuse doing the work now even if you may be in the right from the contractual point of view as described above. Prof B counts on you to do the job so you should do it by flying back booking 1 night in a hotel and working hard for 2 days even if it costs you extra. At least Prof B will be happy. If he is not happy it might hurt you reputation.

Consider browsing reading tips on web pages of major universities.

As a non-English native speaker I read rather slowly in English so I can sympathize. The key to fast reading is to understand and accept that you don t have to read the entire book to get it. Also, If at some point you really cant read it all, figure out which seminars actually require you to read it all to succeed. E.g. in one of my seminars during MA reading prior was a waste of time (super convoluted style and lots of advanced details) bc the professor would explain and paraphrase the reading lecture-style. Reading after was much faster and efficient (I would get the details and not just struggle through the basics). As for long papers it will probably come naturally. But if unsure talk to prof abd analyze published papers. It s healthy to be a little bit scared but remember that you re not alone like this. The imposter syndrome is widespread and many struggle through the same issues. You can do it! The adcom thought so, right? Trust them and do not doubt that eventually, through blood sweat an tears you will get to the required level and beyond.

I would imagine that getting an MA from a program which typically does not offer MA and then applying for PhD would make the prospective PhD committee think twice and see you as non committed or having issues with previous school. At the same time, getting away with an MA or MPhil from a program which usually offers PhD in order to leave the academia should not be a problem at any uni. People leave for a variety of reasons and unis will probably be "OK" with you not finishing although funding conditions might change. Therefore: imo it s better to apply to programs where a terminal MA is explicitly offered. Such programs are available in the UK and Canada and hey, if you do it in Germany, how cool is that! Aim high so that you can apply ever higher for PhD. The main issue with applying for PhD in you state of mind is that you are currently clearly not committed enough to work as hard as it gets to do an awesome PhD application. Desire to do it is important.

It s mid July? Woe is me! When s the flood of bureaucratic necessities gonna end? And I thought applying would be the time-consuming part... nobody told me enrolment s gonna be just as hardcore as getting in. Sure, I read somewhere that one useful transferable skill of PhD studies is "ability to navigate the byzantine bureaucracies of higher education". having had my fair share of gvt paperwork with some of the most notorious systems, I thought: do your worst! And they did, they did. One good thing of the day though: finaly have housing. I guess I should celebrate. Yeah, right. Off to coordinate the big move.

You need to have a real good reason and you need to explain etc. Concert is not one of those. If it s discovered your Professor might be very angry and rightfully so. Grade might not change but your reputation will suffer.

PS: "write you SoP" being first on the list does not mean it must be done first. It s the most tricky piece of writing and needs to be perfect. I was modifying mine until the last minute. But you need to have the topic clear before doing the rest, and that s half the SoP

- Write your SoP. This will inform your choice of schools and vice versa - Narrow down your school selection. Have a range of levels but focus on fit. Find out about personalities as much as you can. - ask you LoR writers to write LoRs and for advice on school list - (optional) apply for grants - Take GRE - complete dossier - (Optional) Go to confs where profs of interest are presenting and ask smart questions, meet them - (Optional) email profs in fall of app season - submit! All these steps are discussed on corresponding sub forums. Imo the most important is to determine what you wanna work on. From there you will choose your writing sample and change its angle to correspond to your SoP; the choice of schhols will change and you ll also want to cite profs of interest if possible.

I had the same doubts and ended up taking a year to think about it. The following helped me decide: I wrote on a white board : - the different things that mattered to me in this life. To get the ball rolling, consider doing this exercise: what would you do if you had 10y to live? What would you do if you had 3y to live? What would you do ifnyou had 6 months to live? And write all that comes to mind for 2 min each. Some crazy stuff might come up and some patterns too. - what are you good at and what you don t enjoy doing. What are the alternatives to academia you d enjoy? - where does this all overlap, how does it interact Doing a master s helped too, but it was really the self analyzis that gave me the answer. Took me 4 months to complete my white board brainstorm fully and of course much longer overall. As for the feeling of youth going away - as you get older imo a realization comes that it s entirely up to you how you treat your youth. You can still party aĺl you want at age 50 or you can choose to settle down at age 22. It s all individual. For a while I felt like I was 16 and then my age caught up with me but I like my age now. It s nice to feel mature. For 2nd career, great advice above that it will take time to become good at whatever else you do. History majors can do many things , from the more obvious like journalism or maketing to embassy work to any type of office work to starting your own business. Consider doing information interviews with professionals in fields of interest. Take a job or two see if you like doing that. Grad school will still be here for you.

Yep, DAAD is for going to Germany. I mentioned tht as example. For grants the fin aid office should be always available. for TAships I d recommend asking the secretary if there s a job board or mailing list you can check; and otherwise let profs know you are looking for opportunities for professional dvpt (don t mention money though). Once should be enough.

The advantage of no connections in the U S is that you will not have to worry about the lengthy border control in the US to activate your visa (assuming it needs activation). If you are entering the US as student for the first time prepare for very long customs once you land for the first time in the US. JFK is also a gigantic airport hence even longer waits. It s not even sure 4h of connection will be enough. Imagine this: they get suspicious and send you to immigration control. This can take hours. You don t want to stress over missing your flight when they ask you for the tenth time where are you from (immigration officers are deliberately acting stupid to piss you off). Tip for long travels: drink a lot and don t eat too much. Also, bring warm clothes and socks. It s not as bad as it seems. Imo better a long flight than many connections. PS: took me 2 h to write this post because of work and all and now I see it s already been covered. Sorry XD

Or look at it this way: if you decline the offer, what are you going to do for a year?