American in Beijing

As I have no car and no pre-existing furniture, I've been buying a lot of my apartment things online. I've finally found a bed and kitchen table/chairs for a reasonable price. Now I'm about to tackle my study space. Yeah, I'm not a big fan of Ikea's office furniture either. I really like the classic style and would, in an ideal world, buy entirely antiques that I would fix up to create my ideal apartment. But my budget is forcing me to make compromises. I've now gotten it into my head that I need to have a corner desk in order to make my apartment work. I like the fact that they both save space, and restrict your line of vision (which would hopefully increase productivity). I even managed to find an affordable one online (http://www.ivgstores.com/IVG2/Y/ProductID-104302-.htm). My plan was to put two small bookcases on each end that are approximately the same height as my desk to increase the amount of workspace on what would otherwise be a relatively small desk. But now I'm wondering whether it would just be better to get a more normal desk and not have to worry about space issues . . . We shall see.

If your dream is to empower the unempowered and teach the under-served, I would ask myself whether teaching at the university level is really the best career choice for you. College students and graduates still form a financial and/or intellectual elite in our society. With all the opportunities that exist on a college campus, are these kinds of people really "under-served"? Maybe doing something like Teach for America of the Mississippi Teacher Corps might be more up your alley. Or, if you happen to know Chinese or like China, the China Education Initiative is also an excellent program that allows college graduates to teach English in rural Yunnan Province (very beautiful, but at the same time VERY under-served). It sounds like you really enjoy teaching, which is wonderful. This country needs more passionate and dedicated teachers. However, research is the main priority of any college professor, no matter what the size of the school is. If you enjoy teaching a lot more than you enjoy doing research, then maybe teaching in a different setting might be a better choice for you.

I like this topic!! For me, it depends on what kind of work it is. For researching/reading, I can work almost anywhere. The bus, the library, a cafe, my room, someone else's room, or, my favorite place, the kitchen. Give me a good kitchen table with light traffic, and I can do some good work. However, when I write, I prefer places I can associate with writing/productivity. I absolutely love doing work in empty classrooms late at night. Department lounges are also particularly good places for me. The library is pretty good as well, especially if I'm doing work in a computer lounge of some sort. Like coyabean, I've been trying to create the ultimate workspace in my apartment that will encourage me to finally start being productive at home. I've been doing a lot of browsing online for the perfect (and relatively affordable) desk, bookcase, etc. I would definitely appreciate any advice anyone could offer on creating the perfect study area!

I'm not in the sciences, so I can't really comment too precisely on the exact nature of large and small labs. However, it seems to be that working in a small lab in a small school (not a bad thing, in my book, by the way) can have its disadvantages as well. Funding is the main issue that comes to mind. You will certainly have a lot less direct access to funding, which could compromise your research. The university would not necessarily have a lot of money to offer you, and grants for these smaller projects might be harder to attain. Another is the type of students you will teach. It can be a very uplifting experience to be able to teach a talented and passionate student. I'm not necessarily talking about those know-it-all straight A students, but the student who really cares about the material and enjoys learning. At a smaller school, those kinds of students may be few and far between. That being said, if it's your dream to teach and do research at a smaller school, great for you! But I wouldn't necessarily completely ignore the larger, more reputable schools just because your dream is to teach at a smaller institution. It's a job security thing, really. In most fields, there are more doctoral students that graduate than there are jobs. You're right in saying that academia, while in part merit-based, does place a lot of value on the reputation of your degree. Will you really be happy if, 20-30 years down the line, you're still making a very low salary and do not have tenure/job security? Obviously money is not everything (and very few people choose this career thinking that they're eventually going to "make it rich"), but having a steady and reliable income that is enough to support the family you mentioned is important too. My advice would be to apply to all the programs where you would be a good fit, including the larger ones. This way you have the greatest amount of options when you go to make your final decision about which school to attend. And who knows? Maybe you'll go to the visit day for one of these schools and find that it's very different from what you expected. It's ALWAYS good to have options.

Something else I think you should do that no one's mentioned so far is be extra active in contacting professors. Like UnlikelyGrad said, some schools only want to see your major GPA for the last two years, so your Computer Science degree won't matter at all. However, at least in my field, MOST schools want you to put down your cumulative GPA. And applications with low GPAs are often just thrown out without being reviewed. I think once you have narrowed down a few professors you would like to work with in grad school you should definitely try to set up a meeting with them. Don't mention the GPA thing right off the bat, but do try to work it in the conversation somehow. Tell them you have a 4.0 or close to a 4.0 major GPA and that you would hate to have your application ignored due to Computer Science grades from more than 10 years ago. I am sure they will understand and maybe will even flag your application to make sure it passes through the first round and at least gets reviewed.

Oooo, did not realize that. Then it's definitely not very useful then.

Glad to hear it went so well! Good luck with the rest of the process!

It looks pretty cool! I have Mendeley right now and, to be honest, I feel like this would be a lot better for coursework and maybe even research. However, I'm not so sure how good it would be at just plain organizing PDFs . . . it seems to be geared more towards organizing things by individual classes. Thoughts, anyone?

I agree. I think you should take it graded, especially since you have prior background in the language and experience with Latin. Even though classical languages may not be "useful", in my experience they have the added advantage of giving you a very solid foundation in grammar that learners of modern languages don't typically have. You will definitely have a much better starting point than most of the other students in your class, so it's likely you'll do well in the class if you just put a little bit of effort into it.

Thanks! That information helps a lot, actually! My landlord mentioned a bus, but I didn't know the exact line number and I assumed it just stopped service at 6 - 8 pm like a lot of the other buses in the area (grrrrr American public transportation). But the 1 actually stops close to midnight. Definitely a lot more convenient! Maybe I will take the place. I was drawn to the area because it's relatively flat and biker-friendly, unlike the ritzier, hillier North side. The apartment itself is my favorite place I have seen so far. Then I looked at that crime map and started having second thoughts . . .

Hi All, I just started apartment-hunting in Berkeley (whoohoo!) and found this very nice and very affordable studio. However, it's in North Oakland (near Telegraph Ave.), and I've read on here that Telegraph Ave. is not a nice place to be at night, so I'm a bit concerned about taking the place. I looked on the Oakland crime map, and it seems like a lot of the more violent crimes (assault, aggravated assault) in the past couple of months have happened slightly to the North and East of the place. There just seems to be a good deal of auto theft in my general area. But I don't have a car (and am not planning on buying one), so that's not such a big deal, right? I looked back several months and I can't find any crime whatsoever that happened on my specific block. I did like the place and the area did seem pretty nice and quiet. I walked there and back from campus, and I felt completely safe. I'm just worried about the nighttime situation. Is this going to be a situation where it's highly likely that I'm going to get robbed/mugged on my way home? Should I try to find another place? Thanks in advance for your advice!

If I remember correctly, a lot of schools will have their own deadlines for GRE scores. At least, some of mine did. You should check their websites. If they don't, then the December 1st deadline sounds like a good one to me.

I was really nervous before my first (and only) POI meeting as well. Unfortunately, back then I didn't know about this forum, so I didn't even have the benefit of others' advice. Still, it went really well and I had a good time. I dressed somewhat formally (nice pants, black cardigan, pashmina, fake pearl necklace, heels), which was good, because my POI was dressed similarly and I wasn't under-dressed. She asked me some questions about my proposed topic of research, we talked about some books I had read on the subject, and then she gave me some advice about resources I could use if I wanted to continue down this line of research. Then she told me a bit about the program, I asked her some questions, and then we were finished. I had spent a good part of my summer conducting research on my topic, so that's the main reason why we talked about it for so long. If you're worried that you don't have enough research experience to be able to talk about your own research for a long period of time, I would recommend reading one of your POI's books and making some mental notes as you read of topics of conversation. As far as questions go, I would be prepared to ask about specific details about the program itself (it shows you've done your homework and read the website, ). You can also ask about the department culture and the other grad students doing research there. I'm sure you'll think of something while you're talking. Good luck! I'm sure you'll do very well!

I second the Barron's recommendation. I was in the same situation as you, OP. I gave myself only a month to prepare for the GRE (both times . . . I didn't really learn). But I was able to raise my cumulative score by 500 points with the help of Barron's (and a LOT of flashcards . . . ). Don't panic. It's doable. You're going to do great! Good luck!

off-key

I second JustChill's suggestion of the summer immersion program. However, you're going to only be able to choose one of the two languages that way. What I would suggest is actually taking a year off and enrolling yourself in classes at a German university. They're free (well, except for the student activities fee, but that's at MOST 300 Euros). And the German government offers stipends for foreign students as well if you apply to the DAAD. You can even take French classes there on the side. It won't be a pleasant experience and you'll have to work your ass off, but no one would ever question your ability to handle academic material in German afterwards. If you do decide to go, I would recommend trying to go to one of the universities on the Eastern side. The standard of living is lower (meaning SUPER cheap rent and produce).

Thanks for the tip! But hurry up and buy your stuff, because they're stopping the program on July 30!

Lol, I managed to wait until we were at dinner. No danger there! I even managed to tell them before we got our meals, so they couldn't even choke! I got really lucky there. Unfortunately studying communist/socialist history is not exactly something that will help me better connect with people who grew up in conservative, rural families during the Cold War, lol. Fortunately, they don't fully know that's what I'm studying, so I don't get too much crap for it yet. I already get some comments about Berkeley the "hippy Commie school" . . . And honestly, those snobby people in your MA will definitely regret NOT studying religion and pop culture when they have to go on the job hunt and everyone else has studied the exact same things they did. All the power to you, !

Lol, my family says the exact same kinds of things. When I told my family I was planning on getting my PhD, my brother said: "I don't see why historians get to be called doctors. They don't do anything!" Sometimes I feel that if I had stayed at home and become a bank teller like my cousin my family would be more proud of me. At least that's a "real job." I have a good feeling that a good reality TV show about grad school life might make more people realize how difficult being a grad student can be. Maybe the student who finishes a quality dissertation first could win a cruise to Hawai'i or something . . . I would watch that show.

I'm in the humanities as well, and I never felt condescension from my classmates in undergrad (top-30 liberal arts college). After the first year, I didn't even notice a real difference between us anymore. The classmates I've met from Berkeley all seem to be very nice and welcoming as well. I guess it depends on the culture of your individual department/school. Also, I think there can be a big difference between undergrad and graduate school. My language program had a lot of grad students from Ivy League schools from different disciplines. Many knew I was from a rural area with no connection to East Asia (very unusual in my field, lol) and a non-Ivy school, and I never felt they treated me any differently because of it. However, I went on vacation with a bunch of my classmates at the same program from Ivy League undergrad programs, and I definitely felt some snobbery going on. "Oh my God! I've never even heard of that kid's school. What is he doing HERE?" It was all very childish. I'm not saying that discrimination doesn't go on, but I think maybe a part of the reason why some people feel that their classmates look down on them is due to their own insecurities. I know I often feel like I don't express myself as eloquently as some of my classmates from better education backgrounds do. I get really embarrassed, which often makes me talk even more ineloquently. But then when I express my concerns to others, they always tell me to stop worrying about it and that no one really thinks about it. I feel like my biggest challenge in the academic realm is my lack of confidence. I'm still not used to defending my position in a discussion group . . . and definitely not during presentations. If I can learn to give good presentations in grad school then I'll be satisfied with my experience.

rag on (so.)

I 100% agree, poco_puffs, ! I guess I ideally would love to dress as stylishly as people in the 1930s - 1950s, !

Wait, this doesn't include food items, does it? I used to work at a grocery store when I was in high school, and in my state you only had to pay tax on non-staple items (basically anything that wasn't in any way, shape, or form healthy) . . .

Thanks for the advice! I definitely did NOT know about that sales tax . . . 8.75% state PLUS local tax? Ugh. And I just checked online and there aren't even any sales holidays. How does this state take in so much money and STILL have budget problems? Unfortunately, Chinese clothes are a bit too small for me, so buying clothes here is not really an option. Fortunately most of my nicer pants are in pretty good shape (seeing as I don't wear them that often). It's mostly my jeans that are on their last leg. And I could use a couple of new shirts and a sweater or two. Thrift stores are going to become my new best friends!