fauxtog

does anyone know if usc offices will be open tomorrow? i know some schools take the holiday but others do not. still

i submitted my application on october 30. haven't heard a peep. it's the last school to notify me... with one rejection and two wait lists under my belt, i'm a nervous wreck about it.

maybe we're all missing our true calling as chefs?....

ditto. cost of living in cambridge and berkeley is roughly the same. i say this with a bit of authority because i grew up in cambridge and i currently live in san francisco and have spent a lot of time in berkeley. rent is comparable, however certain other things are higher in CA: most notably the 9.5 percent sales tax. but if you live in berkeley and within walking distance to campus, you wont have to worry about transportation costs. likewise, there are hidden costs in cambridge as well, such as utilities. the pros for berkeley: -farmer's markets and fresh, local produce all year round. trust me, this is an important thing, because food is cheaper and better quality at farmers markets! -weather is nice -progressive atmosphere -great place for people who like to commute by bike cons for berkeley: -the weather may be nice, but it is very monotonous, which can cause a bit of dysphoria. mostly because time is passing (fast) and you never notice it b/c there are no seasons! -9.5% sales tax. seriously. your wallet feels it pros for cambridge: -a plethora of educational resources at your fingertips (so many universities in such close proximity: the possibilities are endless). -very easily walkable, great public transit, not bad for biking in, -spring and fall are just lovely -as you mentioned, closer to your family cons of cambridge: -while cambridge likes to think it's the progressive hotbed of america, but it actually has a bit of a stick up its butt...but once you accept that and move on it's fine (this may not even be an issue for you, but it was for me, hence my relocation to the bay area) -extreme winter and extreme summer can be quite a drag: digging yourself out of mounds of snow, high heating bills in winter (seriously, it can get up to $300/month), and suffocating humidity in the dead of summer anyway. that's just my $0.02. good luck!

of the four i applied to, i have 2 that are tied for 1st place, and for different reasons: michigan and usc. while i feel that usc has an incomparable combination of faculty that will be great for what i want to study, i'm very hesitant about living in LA. but, LA would offer a better resource pool when it comes to my research. but the thought of commuting several hours and being stuck in a car every day is a total turn off. michigan has amazing faculty and unparalleled resources when it comes to the subculture i'm interestred in, however the subculture i want to study within that subculture will be very difficult to flesh out in michigan. that said, the faculty seem amazing and supportive of the track i am interested in, and to be quite honest, i can see myself being much happier in ann arbor than in LA. of course, this is all speculation, as i haven't heard back from either program yet. so...here's hoping! ps. funding could make or break the decision...

thanks LadL Congrats on your acceptance! and for having the guts to go at it a third time. That takes strength, which will come in very handy when you're slugging through your phd I'm lucky that I have a stable job (albeit completely unrelated to any of my intellectual pursuits) that I can coast at for another year if I need to re-apply again. My only worry is that I'm 27 and will be 28 next year. I worry that older applicants are frowned upon, and that longer I am out of school the more I will forget what it's like to be in that space. I know many people who are 2 and 3 years ahead of my in their grad pursuits, some are already writing their dissertations. I feel left behind and lame for having tooled around for so many years before realizing that academia was where I needed to be. Silly me, I had faith in the real world. But the real world has been handing me my ass in a hand basket with a label marked express delivery to hell. Anyway, thank you again for your perspective. It is *very* much appreciate in this crazy moment.

my anxiety is through the roof. 1) working out 3 days a week and yoga twice a week. my ass is killing me and my muscles are screaming at me to take a break! hell, if i don't get in, at least i'll be buff. 2) baking all kinds of buttery, sugary confections and giving them to friends, neighbors and coworkers. started out with the quest to make the perfect double chocolate chip cookie and has morphed into muffin-palooza. 3) stalking former classmates on facebook to see who is in grad school for what and where and who is also applying now 4) obsessively reading in all aspects of the huffington post i feel like my brain is on fire.

i've been baking muffins multiple times a week and giving them to friends and neighbors. before that i was baking cookies. i could start my own bakery at this point! i'm going nuts! i have a lot of downtime at work and i sit in front of a computer all day, so it's just torture to keep refreshing my inbox. sublimation! sublimation! sublimaaaaaaation!

i don't know what to do with all this nervous energy. i'm working out and doing yoga so much that my entire body is killing me. i can't sleep! i can't focus! all i can think about is getting in or not getting in. my mind oscillates between fantasizing about acceptance letters and then immediately landslides into rejection daydreams and then my heart starts to race and i break out in a cold sweat. aaah! am i losing my mind??? i've already been wait listed at one school and i recieved an email from another this morning saying my application is currently being reviewed and to check the website on feb 18 (that can't be very hopeful news...). i am majorly jacked up and it's really becoming painful. my mind is yo-yoing. i'm grinding my teeth! i feel like i'm coming down from some insane drug and it's not pretty! words of advice, suggestions on how to chill and xanax welcome.