psycgrad37

I am also considering re-taking my GRE. I have a Verbal of 158 and a quant of 150. The verbal is not a huge concern but the quant is. Anyone think it's a bad idea to re-take based on one score? My GPA is 3.5, nothing to knock your socks off but not bad either.

Thank you! That is a good starting point. Maybe others will also chime in with their labs and schools.

I wish all schools/programs posted this information on their website. I know some do but others are so mysterious about it. It's an important part of deciding what school to go to, it should be readily available.

Anyone know about UCSB?

One thing I'd like to know is whether or not everyone received health insurance paid for by their package or if you have to buy it on your own.

What professors out there conduct LGBT research? Are there any programs or centers focused on this work? I've heard that a few professors at Tennessee-Knoxville do LGBT research and that the program is very social justice oriented, wanted to find similar programs.

Glad you're feeling better!

Two courses would definitely be overkill. It might end up confusing you in the end. I have taken a Kaplan course, although it was much cheaper (I think $400) and done online at your own pace. The main thing I can recommend for studying for the GRE, regardless of what course you take, is to allow enough time to go through all of the material. What I mean is that all of those vocabulary words cannot possibly be learned over a few days. It's important to start looking at those vocab words now and start studying them. Also, if you haven't taken a math class in a while or if it's just not your strong class, it's good to have ample time to go over the formulas and practice, practice, practice. The GRE is a very particular type of test that requires a lot of practice and get used to timing. Taking two courses, I believe, would impede on practice time because you'll be focusing on each of the classes and what's going on in them.

1. Professor 2. Philanthropist or head of nonprofit organizations 3. Architect 4. A combination between Ellen, Chelsea Handler, and Oprah

I would get a second opinion if possible. While I'm on here, I'll go ahead and jump in with a question. For those of you who suffer from anxiety, did grad school exacerbate that or did it stay at about the same levels? What are some things you do for self-care?

Juilletmercredi- that's a great idea about having two bags. One for looking sharp at conferences and one for everyday toting books. CBclone- I've seen a few Patagonias I really like. The Yerba and the Refugio both seems good. I've also found a few North Face backpacks I like a lot for those who were not previously considering those brands for backpacks.

We've diverted from the point of this topic, so this is the last I'll say about it. If this is about the stupid ESPY, which is what I'm gathering is what you're arguing about, that is pretty ridiculous. As I said, they're both heroes and there's no point in comparing the two or trying to put one down over another. I hope the soldier gets the recognition he deserves outside of an ESPN awards show. I also hope that thanks to Jenner our entire country is more compassionate towards the trans community.

But it cost her a lot. It put her under a lot of scrutiny and she risked her image as this "male hero" to now be viewed as a trans person who many see as outcasts. Saying she is heroic doesnt negate that there are other heroes. Noe one is saying military members aren't heroes. I don't know what one has to do with the other. Two or many forms of heroism can exist without invalidating the other. I think that's a pretty simple concept to grasp.

I'm unclear as to what your issue with Caitlyn Jenner is Crucial BBQ. It's the fact that she's using her platform to raise awareness? Is it that she didn't do it sooner (I mean how dare she not go through her personal journey at a faster rate?)? that it's been a major news story for a few months? BTW- please use correct pronouns and call her by her name, which is Caitlyn. Also, it's not transgendered. It's not a verb. Use trans or transgender to show respect.

SNP and ashiepoo I found a nice backpack at Timbuk2 but the one I want is a little more than I want to spend for the features I want. Thanks for the input, though!

TakeruK- those are the exact things I am looking for! padded laptop compartment, shoulders, and back with a strap that goes across the chest and waist. Hopefully made of "breathable" material so I don't end up with back sweat. Waterproof and water bottle side pockets are a very nice plus. I will definitely consider this one!

The Bachelor/Bachelorette... no, America, no. I'm not a big fan of Starbucks.

Thanks Wyatt's torch! That looks like a very sturdy bag. I personally can't carry messenger bags over long period of times but if someone out there is looking for one now they have your endorsement. I am now looking at their backpacks to see if they have something as study but in backpack form.

Thank you Fuzzylogician! Those are all good threads. Some of it is a little convoluted with the messenger vs. backpack talk. I wanted to strictly talk about brands and specific bags regardless of the type. The closest one is the "best backpack on the market", which I had not seen so my apologies for posting a "duplicate" topic.

I have seen multiple messages scattered throughout thegradcafe about backpacks and bags but not a dedicated topic so I wanted to unify it. Best backpack/bag?

I know! I even mentioned that after tuition and health insurance, I would only have like $8k to live off of and they said that people around there could make it work with $8k but that's not what the cost of living calculator says. It's ridiculous. I've heard it has something to do with politics although not exactly sure how that plays out. I'm still trying to figure out ways to increase my cost of attendance to make it more liveable.

It's not so much that I am against taking out loans. I knew that I would have to to some extent. What bothers me is that even if I receive scholarships, they cap you at the cost of attendance, which is really low for my school. Let's say it's $20,000. So, if you get tuition coverage for $5,000 and $20,000 in loans, they will deduct $5,000 from the $20,000 leaving you with $15,000 to pay tuition, health insurance and live off of. So after you pay tuition and health insurance, you're really left with $5,000. Even if you get scholarships, all they do is deduct it off the loan amount, so you're capped at the $5,000. You do get to keep your stipend, which in my case is only $13k. The whole cost of attendance seems ridiculous to me. It's way below the poverty line, at least at my school.

The thing is the tuition coverage doesn't cover the whole amount. I will still be left with around $6,600 to pay out of pocket and the stipend they provide is only $13k with no health insurance. So that stipend will have to help me pay part of tuition, health insurance, and living expenses. It is definitely not enough and I know it's on the lower end of what grad students normally get as far as a financial package goes. However, that is the reality of it and what I have to work with. I will have to take out loans but I was hoping that scholarship will give me extra money, but I was then informed that any extra money I receive will only lower my loans and not be given "extra".

I don't know that he is taking advantage of her. She seems to be the one pursuing him over and over again. He has made it pretty clear that he doesn't want a relationship (by not pursuing it further and not saying anything that would get her hopes up), and she chose to continue the relationship as it was. He probably thought she also wanted a casual fling. I don't think engaging in consensual casual relationships with people means anyone was taken advantage of. Now, if that would've been me in that situation, I would've cut it off the second I thought the other person didn't share the same interest in me. That doesn't make either of us rude or douchebags. The whole "put laxatives in his food", now that's extremely rude, dont' you think? That's terrible advice. OP what you should really do is move on, don't seek "revenge" over a situation that happens all the time which is that one had more interest than the other and it just didn't work out.

So people have already given their advice and you chose to ignore it and now are in a worse situation..