shellybe

sorry, may be too late to actually help. i've been here at notre dame since may and i haven't felt uncomfortable at all. i am not catholic and i'm not christian. but i'm not anti-religion, more open-religion. i think religion can be a great thing, too bad some people distort it into something ugly and hateful. i've seen the basilica and the grotto on campus here and i think it's very interesting. and a crucifix in every class room! like i said, no one has made me feel uncomfortable about my religious views. and i think only a couple of the people in my cohort are catholic. i think it's a good idea to visit and see how comfortable you are. Best of luck

my dog's not quite that bad. he tries to climb onto the driver's lap but only once and then we tell him no and he stops. but he does climb back and forth from the front to the back and really irritates the passenger, which was me half of the time. and after 6 hours in the uhaul i suddenly decided that if the airbag deployed, my dog would be decapitated so i wouldn't let him sit on my lap any more and he was so sad. better sad than headless, i say.

my pup has been very stressed out lately from packing and moving. poor guy doesn't know what's going on. then he was really confused when we took him into the new apartment with all of our old stuff. he was sniffing all around wondering how that happened. i guess he likes it ok, but he hated the 7 hour car ride. as did I.

I have to find a job to pay bills until I get my first stipend check in August or September. I have a great job now so I'm sad that I have to quit to move to the city my grad program is in and get a most likely crappy job. I hope I don't end up working at Mcdonalds but that's a definite possibility. i have 3 years experience in fast food, so it's not so bad really. definitely better than walmart--i used to work there too. I'm also going to try to do lots of reading so I feel more comfortable about not majoring in what I'll be studying. I don't want to behind everyone else in my cohort right off the bat.

doesn't everyone feel like people like to start silly arguments in forums just for fun? things that they would never argue about for real...? oh well, it's all to keep us entertained when we should be working...

wow you are making me nervous. i haven't done anything like that. sounds like you will be very successful! good luck!

i think it really depends on you. what kind of job you want when you're done, how much you love cities/dislike college towns, whether you can live on limited monitary means, etc. just think seriously about your priorities. what is most important to you? good luck and congrats on getting in.

thanks. too bad i didn't get to go to that visit day, but i'm sure i'll go visit soon. it was driving me crazy so i looked it up and this is from http://www.nd.edu/%7Euhs/html/insure_bill.html "Health Insurance for undergraduates is encouraged but not mandated; however, graduate students must be covered by a health insurance plan" that's ok. like i said, i should get insurance anyway. congrats on your almost decision! i'm confident that i will be happy there and that you will be too if you do accept.

that sucks! have you emailed notre dame? or any of the others? you should try to get the guest above to hurry up and reject his offer from ND so you'll have a chance. :wink: just kidding, guest, i know it's an impossible decision to make! at least april 15th is right around the corner, people will have to decide and you should get definite answers within the next couple of weeks. i know that doesn't help you get any work done either!

sorry guest, no advice for your questions. it will be a hard choice...good luck in making your decision! i do wonder when you found out that notre dame was covering your health insurance? was it in the letter from the dept or from the grad school? i'm not sure if mine will be covered but it wasn't in those letters, so i'm guessing not. also, have you gotten any other info from ND? i'm wondering who my advisor will be and everything. so nervous and excited! thanks and congrats on getting into so many good programs!.

i went to south bend and got an apartment saved. that's one relief. it's small but not too expensive. about 2 miles from campus. close to walmart (ICK). it's less than $550/month for a one bedroom with a washer and dryer and pet rent included, they pay gas, trash, and water, we pay electric, $100 deposit, $30 application fee, $150 pet deposit, if you're curious. i'm sure you'll all be looking within the next few months. now i need a job for the summer! i walked around the campus and that was exciting. walked by the building i'll be working in, the library, the main building, went to the bookstore, grabbed some brochures and their newspaper. (one of the brochures talked about the golden dome, that it's regilded about once every 20 years and the last time it cost about a quarter million dollars! wow.) i didn't have too much time, but it was nice to see everything. i didn't get to see much of the city, like restaurants, parks, businesses or anything. i did start getting familiar with the streets though. i can find my way around a little bit. i also got a city paper. in the news? smoking ban in the works. i'll be moving in less than 5 weeks! wow!

are you kidding? arby's is too expensive. more like ramen for us...maybe mcdonalds or wendy's if we're lucky.

Sorry again Yin. I hope your partner can get a job asap! are you still considering staying at ohio state for another year to take more grad classes and gain another major? my fiance also doesn't have a job in south bend and he's moving up there in 10 days! some good news: we got an apartment up there this weekend. i'll be moving up there in 5 weeks and i also don't have a job up there for the summer. i think i will run out of money (and max out my credit card) right about the time i would get a check from a new job if i start the day i get there... i'm going to have to get another credit card just to make it through the summer but i'm lucky that i'll be good after the summer. i'm sure i can get a crappy job pretty quick, but not quick enough! i always feel bad accepting a job knowing i'll quit in 3 months and if you tell them, they won't hire you. i did get the chance to walk around the notre dame campus for about half an hour so that was really exciting. i can't wait to visit the dept, hopefully in may!

well, at least it's cheap! relative to others schools and what i was expecting anyway. thanks!

thanks, good advice!