bugabooo

I'm interested, if needed.

I'm in the same boat. Interview weekend early next month, no idea what I should wear. I feel more comfortable rocking a pantsuit than dresses or skirts, plus their current students are overwhelmingly male... I normally dress way more "girly" than usual for interviews or formal events, but I suspect that's not the right plan of attack here. So far my ideas include: Nice dress, similar to this one from the same brand. Nylons and low heels. Possible interview outfit, also contender for the more formal dinner event. Charcoal slacks, navy and teal silk blouse with black knit cardigan. Low heels or black leather flats. Possible interview outfit. Nice dark wash jeans, leggings and t-shirt for pajamas (I'm staying with a grad student aka total stranger), and some decent blouses. I'm going to pack a "going out" outfit only because I may meet up with an old friend who is a current student for drinks while I'm there. Every time I've asked, people have told me to go one step down from a suit. As a female, I believe that gives me more outfit options but more room to mess up.

Even though most of my applications have been sent in, there's something bothering me. I tried to search for a similar and active topic, and did not find any. Applications tend to ask "diversity" questions. For example (using myself as the applicant), all of my schools know that I'm female and that I'm a minority. Most applications I've seen ask about military status (I marked dependent if the option was present, otherwise I would mark non-military), some ask for religious affiliation or if you identify with the LGBTQ+ community. Now, this type of question is frequently optional, which makes sense. What doesn't make sense to me is that none of my applications asked about disabilities, even as an optional question. I am not physically disabled, but am diagnosed with what legally qualifies as a learning disability, and it's a huge part of my life. Obviously. This is part of the reason that I had mediocre grades right up until I was diagnosed and began treatment, which is when my grades (and, frankly, quality of life) skyrocketed and stayed high. I have a small section of my SOP that touches on this by naming the diagnosis and explaining some of the near-magical results gained through proper treatment. Part of the reason I felt I needed to talk about it is because there's a very obvious difference in my academic and professional life before and after diagnosis. My life is, without exaggeration, almost entirely different. I don't mean to "play a card" to help me get an edge, but it is an extremely important part of my life and who I am. If I'm going to be a good fit for a university, this detail might matter. So I'm a Hispanic female who is a military dependent with a disability that is not physical. Did I make a huge mistake? Is this going to haunt me? Does it even matter? Can anyone else share similar experiences? Anything?

Great points. Reminded me to mention for commuters: I keep extra gloves, a scarf, hand warmers, flashlight, socks, and a pair of dark flats in my car at ALL times during the winter. Plus, since it's cold, I can leave food like a frozen meal in my car for long days on campus. Car/ wardrobe/ emergency kit/ freezer. This thread makes me glad I grew up in this weather because I know how to deal with it, but also glad because this is probably my last winter here!

Nope! You're not too far off, though. They get more snow than I do, actually. Tech is nice, and they do tend to dole out good funding packages especially for females and minorities. They've gotten to be much more diverse, which has been great to see.

My plan B is to stay where I am (I go to school in my hometown), possibly attend my university's general psych masters program and keep working in the lab I'm part of. Continue living in my apartment, or move back in with my parents if I need to. I could maybe get my part time job increased to full time, MAYBE. I would probably take the GRE again, just in case I could improve my scores, and I'd apply to my original schools plus as many more as I could justify. And I have no idea how I'd do it. I have a good support system, but I also have a lot of toxic managers and coworkers who would ask loudly and often "so what did you screw up?" type questions and otherwise humiliate me unintentionally or intentionally. I'm the first person in my immediate and extended family to have finished a bachelor's in four years, and the first to apply to grad school of any kind. I have 5+ states and two countries where people brag about me, which makes me uncomfortable even when I have GOOD news. I can't imagine if I had BAD news. Relocating isn't really an option for me unless it's to a university for school. This is my first application cycle, as I think may be obvious.

Hi everyone! It's winter for 7-8 months of the year where I am. I HATE cold and snow, unfortunately, so I've learned to do a lot of things to deal with it. Getting to class takes longer in the winter because you can't really cut through parking lots or grassy areas, so you learn to leave for class earlier. Also, I always try to get to class a little earlier so I can peel off my numerous layers of cold protection and settle in. Dress in layers, abandon trendiness and focus on utility. I wear tights under my pants if I know it's going to be below zero while I have to be outside. I frequently see faculty teaching in their winter boots, and most just throw their coat/other winter gear on a spare chair near their podium. In one classroom that was unusually cold, my professor wore a puffy-ish, north face type vest. Students wear hats and scarves during class especially if they've just come in from outside, and as long as it's actually cold enough to warrant that, most professors don't mind. I've heard of people having hats or scarves stolen, but nothing like an actual coat being stolen. There are a lot of organizations around that provide cold weather gear for people who can't afford it-- on campus and around the community. My university doesn't cancel class unless it's -35, so we're all completely used to everyone having lots of cumbersome coats and other winter stuff. That goes for public places as well. I usually stuff my coat and things into my cart when I'm shopping if possible.

I used Kaplan's 2015 edition GRE prep book. It came with a CD (which I never used, since I don't have a disc drive) and some other useful features. Kaplan also has a GRE vocab flashcards app for iphone and android- not sure if windows has it. Anyway, since I only took the GRE once I can't say really how much it made a real difference, but I believe that it helped me prepare well. The vocab app was great, especially when I was at work or just waiting around anywhere.

School Name: Western Michigan UniversityDegree: M.A.Type: I/ONotified via: Phone call followed by emailInterview Date: Feb 6th

I was just invited yesterday to interview at Western Michigan for their IOBM master's. Super excited, but very nervous. I'm trying to apply to Elmhurst, but their office of admissions has been close to rude in our email conversations, at one point saying I failed to send my GRE scores to the correct office, and then blaming a clerical mistake when they finally admitted that I had done my part correctly. I was told that an adviser would be in contact with me after submitting my application, but that was in November and I've heard nothing. Yikes. (They DID send me a christmas card, though...?) I've been contacted by a few other schools and am applying to a few more on top of that. I'm especially interested in Roosevelt University. I've been on my Uni's dean's list every single semester, have a 3.7 cumulative GPA and will graduate w/honors in April. My GRE-V is 87th percentile, GRE-Q is 52nd, and GRE-A is 80th. I'm the ONLY student at my university with an I/O focus of any kind. I really don't know what I'm doing, but I found this forum today. So, here I am. Sending good vibes!