hippyscientist

Lol I have a hybrid accent anyway (Australian, English and some Americanisms already) but I'm TERRIBLE for assimilating other people's accents. Like I'll order takeout and end up talking to that person in their accent - I don't mean to be rude it just happens. So I know I will become Americanised - it happens over Skype and has always happened when I visit. Plus I hate the swooning over my accent!!! Swoon over my brains and lifting skills instead And Penn State have finally got my transcript. Why do universities still insist on doing things with snail mail? What's wrong with a certified copy from the school transcript office?? Please now issue my student number so I can start registering for classes AND start the visa paperwork so I can book flights. Pretty please

@thepinkdragon76 and @FoxAndChicken yay for acceptances - we have another thread going for those who've decided so not to bug people who are still waiting. I have no helpful information about scholarships - but pink dragon, it may be worth communicating with the school and saying what you've said here?

Wow so much money talk! Undergrad is getting so expensive! The UK has a great system whereby you don't start repaying your student loans until you are earning above an income threshold (~£15,000) which eases the immediate pressure. I still have them, and still need to pay them off, and they are accruing a little bit of interest but not enough for me to be panicking about. In other news, I went to a conference today. A BIG conference (I'm not kidding - that's its title!). It was fascinating - 10 PhD students presenting their work in short 15 minute presentations, one long keynote presentation (on my PhD research area!) and lots of poster presentations. It really hit home how much I've come on in terms of gross knowledge and critical analysis this year - I could pick apart every presentation although didn't feel confident enough to ask any questions, I asked a lot of the PhDs and post-docs I went with stuff which helped gauge whether I was on the right track. Really interesting. There was a girl (VERY southern accent) presenting from NC - Greenboro which was awesome too - everyone kept putting digs my way at how I'll be sounding like that in 4 months time. Guys - I'm not going to get a southern accent in Pennsylvania!

WOOHOO! Congratulations @BooksCoffeeBeards Super happy for you!

I just realised there's going to be loads of us in the NE!

My fingers, toes, legs, arms everything is crossed for you! Let us know what the outcome is...

Come dine with me - grad cafe version with a book club? I'm in!

Hi! I actually did this. I flew from the UK to the US and visited my top 3 schools. I got acceptances from 2 and rejected from 1. While by no means necessary, I found it really helped me figure out where would be a good fit, local area etc, but I also found it helped the professors put a face to the name. If you can justify the expense, my personal opinion is that it's worth it for yourself. But if you can't justify it, I wouldn't worry. It's not going to be the thing that makes or breaks your application. Many professors I spoke to were more than happy to talk on Skype - and one even took a GoPro around campus to show it off to me!! So yeah - if you want to and can afford to, you're going to gain some valuable information by visiting. But if you can't afford it or whatever, don't feel like you're missing out or not giving your application its best shot - it's an expensive, stressful process so whatever you can do to reduce that pressure on yourself is worth it!

YAY! Hi GinGin again @gingin6789 Delaware looked beautiful!

Yeah I love my books but moving all over the place has meant I've lost many. I've transitioned to my Kindle for now, but I can't wait to start amassing some paper copies again. @pterosaur mmmm cooking. People who can cook well are always awesome

@Neist and @pterosaur I am a nester too. I love my own space - it doesn't have to be big but it has to be mine. Some of the tiny houses though, would be great for just me, but as soon as a dog or SO came into the picture I just don't see them as viable. Mind you - my idea of what constitutes a tiny house is ~ 50 sq ft. At this point in my life anything more than ~550 sq ft is too big for me. Is that considered small to Americans? I don't know! But I'm okay with the social side of living alone - I can cook, and cook well so when people find this out about me they tend to want to come over for dinner. That's fine by me! Bring some ingredients/dessert/wine and absolutely no problemo. Most of my social life has revolved around me cooking for people! @rhombusbombus thank you! it is exciting. Hope your apartment works out too

Nah you have a memory like me - so not creepy, just awesome! But yes it is that apartment. The irritating thing is I have to take it 5 days after I start my TA appointment (but 2 days before classes start). I also take it the day before my birthday!! Perfect timing. I HAVE MY OWN PLACE! NO ROOMMATES!!! I think I'm almost as excited about this as I was about getting in in the first place.

CONGRATULATIONS I just signed a lease! I have an apartment That's such a huge relief.

so block out some time for you to unwind. If you find staying in makes you think of work, go for a walk or a swim or to a coffee shop or climbing or cook yourself a fancy meal or ANYTHING! So good On that note...gym time!

Yeah I train a lot! Everyone does at my school - we're the top ranked for sport in my country and it's kinda the norm here. When I head to Penn State I'll cut it down to an hour a day. But I think it's really important to schedule in you time. If I block it out in my calendars I can honestly say to people "oh sorry I can't work then, I have other scheduled commitments". Obviously if it's important I'll stay late, but otherwise my mental health is a priority and for me that means gym, netflix and lots of tea!

I wouldn't consider myself a workaholic although my mom does. A typical day includes waking up at 7, catching up on the news, facebook, grad cafe etc while I have my breakfast, head to the gym 8-9, head to the lab and work from ~ 9.15 - 5pm (I eat over lunch atm), then normally it's a gym session, or yoga, or swimming or something until 7pm. Then home and eat - I shower while I cook - and curl up in bed to read any leftover papers I haven't until 9pm. Then it's vegging time - Netflix and my book. Depending on how busy I am the evening gym session sometimes gets cut to an hour so I can hit up the grocery store/hang out with friends/clean my room etc. So no, I don't think I work too much! I schedule everything though.

I think the thing is with a pet - it's someone who's going to be there to keep us company, force us to take a break from work, force us to focus on something - you gotta get dressed every day to take it out, you gotta feed them, you gotta give them love. It's good to get a forced break from screen-time. Plus - all the fun they bring, the love, the giggles, the exercise. All of it is beneficial. The way I see it - grad school is a job, and I'm not going to put my life on hold because of it. Balance is key. Guess I'd better start saving

oh it was. I highly recommend!!

@Pink Fuzzy Bunny oh the caramel ones...I bought a huge bag that stayed in my car as "stuck in traffic" snacks. They were gone within a week! The puppy thing is something I need to look into more, and definitely settle in first! I can exercise him/her a lot, it really is the first few months. I was thinking if I got one after my quals (which I take end of spring semester first year) I'd have all summer with the awkward peeing and no sleep phase - plus somehow getting up at 2am to take the puppy out to pee is a lot more bearable when it's not freezing outside. Oh it's the dream to have a little one - breed I'm looking at is only ~ 12lbs fully grown. The perfect apartment dog and suits my personality down to a tee! Aww man, I've talked myself into it more haha.

Ugh don't remind me. It'll be good for my chocolate addiction in the long run (although I love ghiradelli (sp?) chocolate) but the withdrawal period is not going to be fun! Mind you I adapted well at camp - rolos stuffed inside marshmallows then toasted and squished between frozen cookie dough. Okay, now I'm realising why I put weight on at camp... Totally unrelated note: I've been really wanting to get a puppy for a while, my apartment will let me have pets, my department will let it come in and chill in the office. Seems like grad school is about the right time. Hopefully this time next year I'll have my little woof. Is that totally crazy getting a puppy in first year?!?!

Noooo don't tell me this! My cut starts today 4 months of maintaining muscle and getting rid of my bulk weight. No chocolate or sweeties over here. Or wine. Or tequila. Come august all you Penn Staters need to be ready for tacos and tequila (or a soft drink of your choice ).

It was on a street that seemed to be quite popular with students...lots of thrift shops and stuff. I'm having a look through my photos to see if I can find any identifying features! EDIT: Down the street near the crossroads with colorado, and the iron signpost that's all old=school with phrases like "ticknock and rockbrook". That's as specific as I can get!

@RCtheSS I loved Austin (only one I've been to on that list). Such a quirky, fun place! NOw I can't remember any names but when I was there I found the most amazing hole-in-the-wall cafe that did the BEST breakfast smoothie and poached eggs with avocado toast. It was so cool, like you ate in a little herb garden place. Thats not particularly helpful though- sorry!!!

Wegmans is awesome!!!!! But I am a sucker for Trader Joes so I'm going to have to be careful where my food money goes!

I've no idea what the Boston housing market is like @haltheincandescent but I know the one in State College seems pretty bad. If you don't want to live near undergrads you have a battle on your hands!! @jlt646 i know what you mean about wanting to register! I think I've figured out what I want to take and what fulfils the requirements but I can't access LionPath properly yet and still am waiting for the official stuff from the Graduate School. My ID number gives me access to certain areas but not all of them - I can access student gym memberships but not LionPath for example. In totally unrelated news, my ex's best friend (I always thought they'd end up together) is engaged. This makes me happy because she's awesome but I know my ex hates the guy!