A blighted one
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Posts posted by A blighted one
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On 2/24/2017 at 1:55 PM, orphic_mel528 said:
I am a paper/pen snob, and I ended up unintentionally converting about 2/3 of my MA cohort to my system, including a couple of professors.
Here it is: https://www.amazon.com/Travelers-Notebook-Brown-Leather-LB/dp/B000ZYF22M
Midori is a Japanese stationery company that makes gorgeous paper and a number of other organizational accoutrement.
Is the notebook expensive for a notebook? You betcha. Mine was a gift.
Are there cheaper knockoffs that are just as nice and work just as well? Yep. https://www.etsy.com/market/fauxdori
Have I now had it for five years and would never write notes in anything else? Yep.
Is it refillable? Yep.
Can you fit like five of the notebooks in the cover and keep them separate and organized? Yep.
Can you buy moleskine or knockoff moleskine cahiers and have them trimmed down for free at Staples so you don't have to buy the expensive Midori paper? Yep.
Do they have an accessory binder that keeps your full notebooks archived for highly-organized future perusal? Yep. https://www.jetpens.com/Traveler-s-Notebook-Binder-011-Regular-Size/pd/13655?gclid=Cj0KEQiA0L_FBRDMmaCTw5nxm-ABEiQABn-VqaxdqILFJvcKr2aTe6C6oNcqQg4g_qtnwS68KzwDmlkaArmG8P8HAQ
I have a question about these! I have a Traveler's Notebook and I love it except for one thing....... it's hard to keep the notebook open for easy writing. Do you clip yours open when writing notes or am I just completely missing something? So far writing in it had been a bit of a hassle for this reason. Thanks!
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I was recently told by a PhD student friend of mine in the biological sciences that as a woman grad student you need to make sure not to dress "sexy" while on campus. This got me thinking about "dress codes" in the humanities and how they may (or may not) differ from those in STEM departments. A few questions (I'm curious about all male/female/non-binary dress codes, here):
What is appropriate dress for an MA student when attending a seminar/class?
How about while TA-ing/teaching a class?
How nice will I be expected to dress? I'm not very fancy and will probably need to buy new clothes. I also generally wear tight pants and shirts. Would this be considered inappropriate or too "sexy" on campus? Thanks in advance!
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5 hours ago, Silabus said:
The first semester of my MA program we had to take a course called "Research Methods" which could also be known as "Intro to Graduate Studies." In it, we read Semenza's book: "Graduate Study for the 21st Century." I highly suggest you read this over the summer.
My advisor gave me this book, actually! I'll definitely be reading it soon. Thanks for the reminder!
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One year a long time ago, there were penguins who didn't wear hats when swimming. This made their mothers livid. "Unacceptable!" Frightened, they screamed, "Bears!" Nobody seemed convinced so instead of going swimming they tried juggling. Their mothers tried everything they thought would teach her a skill. However, she couldn't even make oatmeal without disastrous results. So, the penguins gathered money (obviously) trying to purchase a bear. Towering over them, a grizzly beast danced, devouring all bears with such ferocity that even God enjoyed it. Afterwards, God congratulated the penguins and applauded them. "You did it!"
Suddenly, the grizzly beast started dancing vigorously. There was an acromantula nearby. It challenged the preconception that magical mushrooms were magical. Sparkling, the magical mushrooms were spreading throughout town. Nobody with pyromania thought grilled cheese would spontaneously erupt into nine identical squirrels! Nevertheless, the penguins elucidated the benefits of sparkling water from Iceland. Suddenly, Iceland exclaimed, "Enough!!! No more penguins. Kill all of the arcades on Monday because King Arthur suffered from sphenisciphobia." Tragically, everyone forgot lasers cure bug madness, meaning none of them stripped the violet beast of his powerful jaw bones. So while some arms spouted Kool-aid, others chopped nuts. This phenomenon halted commerce. Together twenty-five yellow dragons danced sporadically inebriating all anger gods, while academics drank champagne profusely.
Who were they? Snotty undergrads eating free Tetrahydrocannabinol Chlorate. Homicidal kittens emerged from congressional hearings purring rhythmic improvised melodies, infuriating the associate professors who stripped them intermittently of all credentials. The incredulous kittens meowed like dragons farts. Except Bruno, who mewed like tinkling bells. Understandably, one chicken farted. Then, surreptitiously, two giraffes killed the conspicuous dragon. Audaciously, someone belched "RAWR!" Startled, four punks flew down from the Appalachian, a bit wide-eyed, and jumped into a brobdingnagian beam of protons, flipping fingers zestfully. Meanwhile, the paladins prophylactically committed themselves to diabolical plots. Therefore, lemonade became the de jure punishment for audacious -
Thanks to everyone who replied! I've never really been successful with the fake deadline thing, but I may be more so contextualizing it in relation to my other assignments and how long it takes me to complete certain tasks...
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13 minutes ago, la_mod said:
I use a bullet journal! It's the only way I can map out exactly how much reading I have each week. I'm only in undergrad currently, but have two jobs and am the pres of two student orgs, and bullet journaling has changed my life.
Interesting! I'd never heard of this before but I will definitely give it a try! Thanks!
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I've been trying to get an idea of what my responsibilities will be in grad school a bit early so that I feel prepared when I begin in August. This (and @Wyatt's Terps) has got me thinking about time management and how, historically, I've been really bad at it! To my surprise, I could find much of anything about it on the forums, with this exception:
I don't really have trouble staying organized but I find that I often procrastinate (a lot of the time without realizing it or because I'm not sure where to start/what to work on first, but mostly just because the extra stress that comes with knowing my assignment is due very soon motivates me to get it done in a way that starting my work earlier doesn't). Anyone willing to share ideas/tips/techniques that have helped them stay on top of their work? Thanks!
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31 minutes ago, Wyatt's Terps said:
Yeah, this really can't be overstated. You have the mandatory reading for the course, which can be reduced a bit if you feel you're swamped (I'd say I've done 95% of the reading I've been assigned as a grad student, but every once in awhile you're simply overloaded and something has to give / be skimmed etc.), but then there's all the reading that you need to do when you're researching a paper. As an undergraduate I used to have a "source-per-page" rule, meaning that if I was writing an eight-page paper, I should have at least eight sources. You can safely double that as a graduate student in English. And while reading during research is arguably a different kind of reading (more like a strange combination of skimming and close-reading), it's very time consuming. And -- don't forget -- it's in addition to your mandatory class reading.
This is where time management becomes essential, and I truly believe that it's a woefully underdiscussed competency. I'm personally very lucky to have a strong sense of time management and organization -- if I didn't, I really wouldn't have excelled in academia. Being able to assess the amount of reading you have in a given week, and cross-reference that with how fast you personally can get through the material (factoring in your reading speed and mental health breaks etc.) goes a long way. Sometimes I'll have the readings for a Wednesday class done on the previous Saturday, because the readings for a Thursday class are going to be more time-consuming and will require a lot more attention etc. There are so many of these little nuances you'll eventually discover...and they're one of the many elements of the adjustment between college and graduate school.
I'm glad you started this thread, though, as I'm realizing how little this stuff actually gets discussed...I agree! As for time management...oh boy--this doesn't and never has come naturally to me. I'm the worst procrastinator. I wonder if there's a thread on here somewhere with tips on managing time effectively? **goes searching**
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Thanks everyone! This is all totally helpful!
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Hi everyone,
So I'm starting my MA in English literature this fall and I'm wondering if any of you would enlighten me as to how much reading I'll likely be assigned per week. I know this probably varies a lot depending on school/department/class, but if you could give me a rough estimate, that'd be super helpful. I want to make sure I get used to the expected pace before I start classes so I'm not totally overwhelmed. Thanks so much!
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18 hours ago, Warelin said:
Congratulations on deciding!
4 hours ago, klader said:Congratulations on making your choice!! I wish you the very best
Thanks!!! It was a difficult decision!
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Have declined MAs with funding at UW-Milwaukee, Oregon State University, and The University of Vermont in the last few days. Hope this helps someone out!
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As a few others have said, graduate school allows me to escape (at the very least, for 4-6 years) working a job that I hate and which pays me so little that I am far below the poverty line. In exchange, I get paid more than 2.5 times the money and am able to do something I enjoy and that is genuinely valuable for both myself and my students. I wouldn't choose to go back to being a "customer service representative" in the food service industry, nor back to being "the help" as a nanny even if it paid more than graduate school--which it obviously doesn't.
Graduate school, for me, is an insane opportunity and a privilege that I don't take for granted. I'm not even expecting a job out of this at the end, and I don't care. Sheerly for the stability and personal fulfillment it provides, graduate school is a great option for me (and many others).
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3 hours ago, R.Raskolnikov said:
If you don't mind. Will you tell me when and how the department notified you? I learned of my acceptance on March 7. On March 8, while speaking with the director, I was told that the committee would be meeting this week to deliberate about funding and that we would hear back early in the week.
Sure. I was admitted mid February and given notice about funding 3 days ago. I was notified of everything via email.
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16 hours ago, R.Raskolnikov said:
Has Villanova contacted you about funding?
Villanova told me that I was on the wait list for funding--if that helps. I'll also be accepting another offer, so I hope that helps someone else out as well.
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I received the same admissions letter but received a call from the DGS with my funding offer later that day. He told me that any funding offers turned down by applicants will be given to other admitted students who don't yet have funding. I imagine you are on some sort of funding waitlist. Good luck!
Also, I'll most likely be turning down my offer, so I hope that will help you out!
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Cheryl Mohr told me just this morning that, "The Graduate Studies Committee is still reviewing applications. You will either receive a telephone call or an email once a decision is made."
Sigh
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Is anyone else nervous about their upcoming campus visit? I'm attending one on Wednesday and I have no idea what to expect, how to act, what to wear, ahhh! My schedule has me booked to meet with professors.
I will say that my visit to Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) was spectacular. The atmosphere of the whole department is very collegial and supportive, or so I gathered from speaking with professors and graduate students. The professors also have some very broad interests, so no matter who I spoke with, we seemed to have some overlapping interests, either in time period or genre or the like.
As I said before, the campus is gorgeous, and there's a lot to do around there. The program seems excellent, with a lot of focus on filling in the gaps in your education with the required survey courses the first year and a lot of focus on preparing students to actually teach. It seems great. It also makes my decision a lot harder to make.- mk-8 and ClassyBrat420
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@fencergirl I have a Samsung Chromebook and it's awesome! It can do pretty much everything I need it to for school (I'm in the humanities though, other areas might need something a bit more functional) and it's super lightweight and easy to bring anywhere! It was also very affordable (I got mine for $179, but it was on sale. I think it's usually closer to $275 ish). I highly recommend it!
That said, I also have another laptop that I keep at home for when I need more functionality or a bigger screen.
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As @klader said, Penn State would be the only acceptance that would be a game changer for me at this point. Has anyone emailed them about their status? I'm thinking about doing that on Monday... I had a small mistake in my application that I emailed them about a few months back and never got a response, so it's not looking so good in terms of getting a reply, unfortunately.
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8 hours ago, bpilgrim89 said:
Fingers crossed for you! Don't give up hope yet! I know I am a weird case as I am currently on my Fulbright, i.e. on the other side of the planet with less than optimal internet access. Ergo, I think they let me know early in order to find a time to talk on the phone.
I was just accepted to Georgetown with full funding as well! Wow!
Congrats to everyone!!!
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2 hours ago, bpilgrim89 said:
I was just notified that I have been recommended for admission with funding at Georgetown!
A little bittersweet since I was hoping I'd be going to a PhD program, but I am more than excited to have a funded offer that I am 99% sure I will be accepting! Plus Duncan Wu, Dennis Todd, AND Kathryn Temple? I could faint right now!
Congratulations! I'm hoping to hear from them as well, but since you have already heard back and I haven't yet heard a peep, I guess I'm probably out of luck!
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Bethlehem, PA
in City Guide
Posted
Sorry, I don't know anything about the Saucon Village Apartments, but I'm looking for housing in Bethlehem too, so I second this!