hippyscientist

Ahh @Neist I may take you up on that! My main issue is my bog standard Yorkshire Breakfast Tea. It will be sent over as we can bulk buy it in Costco and shipping will still be cheaper than buying online (yep I've researched this). As for the earl greys, darjeelings etc., I'm sure it will depend exactly where I end up going but I will always remain open to good tea dealers On a note slightly more related, I made a hot toddy this evening and I forgot how amazing they are!

I have no bacon prejudices....tea on the other hand, well if I get accepted that will be getting imported by the ship-load.

Oh I know, I am well aware. I've spent many times in the states, but I do love your bacon too!

Ummmm...if you could send some of that my way that'd be great Holy hell that sounds like a heart attack on a plate and I would totally dip bacon in it just to make it worse!

PLEASE EDUCATE ME WHAT IS A CHEESEBALL?!?!?! (Sorry excited about the name it sounds like heaven). The best bit is, the mexican banquet fitted into my macros for today so I'm still on track! Sending positive-programme-related-vibes your way

OMG CONGRATULATIONS!!!! (I don't know you and I feel so happy for you! I raise my tea to you)

@nevermind Good luck! Relax and wow them with your awesome

@Pink Fuzzy Bunny oooohhh I am very much a fan of homemade pizza! Maybe that's next fat friday... And thanks for the congrats I'm feeling very excited to finally be getting going on hearing back. Congrats on your 4 acceptances so far!

Ahh me and my friend decided to do a big blowout "Fat Friday" so we had nachos with homemade guac and salsa, with a quinoa & rice based fajita mix with refried beans and a tonne of cheese. Was SO good. I needed to be rolled home though! Ohhhh grad school related news! 2 POIs emailed me today!! One to finally schedule my skype interview (I've known about it since before Xmas but no date so far) and the other to feedback on my fellowship statement! YAY progress

Okay that sounds amazing. Any chance I can get it in the UK? (Goes to google) Nope. Come on grad school, yet another reason to accept me! Good luck to all of you on the east coast about to get swamped by snow (apparently there's a big storm?!). In other related news today, if this grad school thing doesn't work out I think I have an excellent career as a tex-mex chef in my future, provided I'm allowed to drink tequila on the job.

Only 2 bottles?! Yikes I have 8 + whiskey + tequila in my dorm room right now, with no chance of getting snowed in!! Good luck

See I've never seen Buffy (I had a repressed childhood - i was banned from any all sci-fi/fantasy/cartoons/animations so I'm spending my adult years catching up) and am 3/4 way through season 2. I do love it though and find myself humming the theme song frequently

Buffy is life right now. It is the sustenance that is keeping me going through this waiting.

@juilletmercredi and @Eigen you both raise excellent points, and my favourite mentor (albeit in an adjacent field) is a white, middle-aged man. The difference is he is sympathetic, encouraging, open, non-confrontational and you feel like he truly has the time and cares about you. Regardless of gender or skin colour or anything, there isn't one faculty member in my current department who acts that way. I think it's sometimes easier to assume (gosh I hate assuming) that females will be more sympathetic and understanding, when sometimes supporting the current department members may be as effective. It's a really difficult topic to find a solution for. In the ideal world, everyone would be equal, and lovely and supportive and encouraging AND excellent teachers and researchers. It's a nice dream!

@gelologist I saw that...uhhhh take it they won't be accepting the offer then!

What do you mean by greeked text? I'm imagining they just switched to ancient greek halfway through....

I think /most/ acceptances/notifications come out mid-Feb, early March so we've all got a bit more waiting to do! @Pink Fuzzy Bunny "Tell me about yourself" Gosh where to begin, I applied here because I'm really interested in knees and how they respond to surgery. This is because when I was an international athlete I saw so many of my friends, teammates and competitors undergo reconstructive surgeries at ages as young as 12. Also, being an athlete exposed me to a whole world - I got to travel lots, experience a variety of cultures as we normally stayed with locals, I loved seeing all of this and it fuelled my passion for travel. I've been around the world twice alone at 18 and 20 respectively, went to martial arts camp in thailand which was an incredible experience, went surfing/hiking/meditating in Bali for a month. It was amazing as I got to work as a freelance journalist at that time writing about what I saw and experienced. I used to play the flute, and was in choir which led me to performing at the Proms in the Royal Albert Hall. I realised I couldn't be an athlete, and a musician and a good student so something had to give. It was my music, but I still love it! I'm really keen about bands... I then quite often get asked more about whether I still compete and go into detail about a couple of serious injuries that meant I transitioned out of my main sport and into martial arts and weightlifting. It's awesome because these are super related to what I want to do. I normally throw in that I was in a plane crash as that's pretty memorable! I never really go into my family, or home situation. It's all about my interests, how they've shaped me and why I am where I am today. This was a very brief slapdash answer while I'm cooking (oohh could have mentioned my foodie tendancies too), but it kinda gives an example.

@rosali yep I've seen the movie so many times and read the book so many times, I just don't have either with me right now. Darn it!

Oh god this. The lowest ranked school I applied for was top 10...

@haltheincandescent congrats! (and congrats to anyone else's acceptances/interviews I might have missed). I was supposed to have an interview either this week or next (Skype) but the POI still hasn't got in touch about specifics. I'll give them til tomorrow then email again and ask to know when it will be, as time differences mean I will have to shuffle my schedule around and the more notice I have the better.

Dammit @bioanth & @rosali you've got me wanting to watch Holes now!

Ahhh I just got my exam grade back from one I did a few weeks ago, and I aced it Aaaaannnnddddd breathe. 2 more exams to come back until I know for certain how fall term grades look. I'd love to be able to send these into my PhD applications, as they're so much more reflective of my potential than my undergrad grades. Plus I've definitely refined my research interests since applying, same area just more theoretical and statistical than 100% experimental.

Well today I feel successful because I successfully ran a simulation in Excel using first principles! It was a very basic simulation but I feel like I understand the concepts now, which is so reassuring as this is what I want to do my project and further research on. Okay pre-warning, I'm going on an admissions/academia/anxiety rant. Everyone needs to realise that their self-worth isn't based on admissions, or publications or what so-and-so said. Find something that centres you daily, whether it's going for a walk, reading a book, playing music, knitting, vegging out in front of the TV and make sure you do it. Tune out the day, other people, emails etc and give yourself you time. Remember who YOU are, what your interests are, WHY you're doing this, and what your back up plans are. Realise that the world won't end if things don't go according to plan and that things do happen for a reason (sorry so cliche but it's true). Have faith in yourself because you are the only one with any control over how you feel. Don't give others that power. Good luck everyone and keep your heads screwed on!

@rhombusbombus that's impressive though! I visited 3/4 of my schools when I went to the US in September to see the boy. I took 2 weeks off between finishing work and starting my masters and flew from one school to the next (my friend is a pilot so I got an excellent deal!). It was an invaluable experience, but was kinda costly (accommodation wise, sheesh that can be expensive). I found a PDF document with information for prospective grad students in for my top choice school yesterday. It gave details about funding, and said that fellowship nominees usually have a 3.8 GPA+ and GRE scores around 160. My GREs aren't far off (159) and my GPA is from a UK school with exceptional circumstances (losing 8 people in 2 years and having a psycho housemate who tries to kill you will screw you up a bit). I'm now wondering whether I am competitive at this school after all. I thought it was a huge long shot but now..... I need to shut my brain up so I've started Lord of the Rings for the first time ever (books). So far I'm loving it!

@123hardasABC they like you otherwise they wouldn't have invited you. Be your knowledgeable, professional self! Numbers and stats are just that, numbers and stats. Personality and fit will determine a lot. R. E. L. A. X. (Frankie Says Relax).