VictorianTess

I would recommend not living on campus. If you're partnered, there's family housing, which looks kind of run down. If you're single, they'll put you in the dorms with undergrads. Also, those asking about cars: it is possible to do just about everything without having a car if you're near a stop. The downside is that during the Summer, buses only run every 1/2 hour or so, and almost every weekend in the Fall, the buses don't run (because they're used to shuttle people to the football games). They also don't run on holidays, and most places you need to go, you'll have to take the bus to campus, then another bus from campus to your destination. That being said, you can save lots of money on parking and gas by taking the bus to campus every day instead of driving. Those considering Treehouse Apartments: I have friends who live there and another moving in. It's not super fancy, but it's a convenient location (with a bus stop right there) and a good price.

I totally felt that. And there is quite a cultural difference between California and Texas, particularly small town Texas, but we're pretty friendly here. I'm at Texas A&M already. I know someone from the department already contacted you, but let me know if you have any other questions. :-)

No. Masters applications are processed after PhD applications here.

I'm guessing that you prefer night runs, because you're not a morning person. You might try a track. Another option would be getting up early to run, then napping before you have to start your day. About the OP's question, you might try class(es), either at your uni's gym or PE classes, particularly if you can get others to go with you. For a while in the fall, several of us from my previous program would go to yoga together. Then there's peer pressure motivating you to go.

I agree with annie hall. For my dept. orientation, I'm planning to wear a nice shirt with nice jeans and flats. I'm planning to dress it up a little more for my one-day university orientation, since some depts. are dressier. I don't want to look less professional than others.

We did something a little different. We actually bought a cargo van instead of renting a uhaul. It's pricey up front, but we will be that money back when we sell it (we may even make a profit since we got a really good deal on it). We got rid of all of our furniture that couldn't be broken down, stuffed the van and our car, and drove from California to Texas in 48 hours.

I think it's fine. They're only asking for partial numbers for each (except your DL#). I don't think that they can do much with partial numbers. I would suggest that any time you're uncomfortable with the info being requested, do what Shiryastya suggested and give them alternative information or just ask them if it's really necessary. We ran into that issue applying for this rental (the form even asked for our height and weight), and it turned out that she had just sent us a (highly invasive) renters' application that she had found online.

1. Exercise at least twice a week. 2. Get reading done at least a day in advance, so that I'm not cramming right before class. 3. Keep my house presentable (i.e. the places that guests would see need to stay clean, the bedroom and the office may be messy at times). 4. Keep in contact with family and some friends from home. I'm ridiculously bad at this, and now I'm in a different state. 5. Go to two conferences a semester and network while I'm there. 6. Try to get one article published per year. 7. Stay on top of my own research instead of just focussing on classes. To those who are introverted and/or shy: As one of the earlier posters said, go to happy hour, even if you don't drink. At my previous job, I learned that happy hour is how you get to know people and helps you make friends. Yes, there's lots of gossip and bitching, but that's because people are relaxing (usually). Make sure that you don't go beyond a slight buzz and be friendly. Also, a few people have mentioned being awkward. I think most of us here are to some degree. After all, we are pretty much all nerds, whether or not we are willing to embrace it. Even though I'm very outgoing and make friends easily, I'm terribly awkward from time to time.

I want to say that I would tell them I was older than them and leave it at that. Either that or I told them that I was old enough or that it wasn't important. I did tell them that I had taught before, even though it was my student teaching (which is teaching). If they try to guess, I would just redirect. One of the biggest things about being closer to their age is remembering that it's your class and you control the conversation. Since you mentioned being a pushover, I would also recommend being firm; basically your word goes. If you set a deadline, short of a major emergency, that's the deadline, and they receive the previously stated consequences. In particular, run things by more experienced teachers that you trust to reinforce your decision to stand firm (i.e. if a student is insisting that you're being unfair, and you feel the urge to cave, stand firm and run the scenario by someone else to reinforce your decision).

I was in a similar position when I started teaching high school at 22. You're going to be mistaken for a student. I got that from time to time all five years of teaching high school. If you want to avoid being mistaken for a student, I would recommend never wearing jeans. My own students would assume I was another student when they weren't paying attention (i.e. when they first walked into my room). I'd also recommend not wearing anything overly tight or low-cut. The two big changes that I made to avoid looking like a student were cutting my hair and wearing make-up, at first only when I was meeting with parents, then on a regular basis. As far as how you present yourself, you may want to be a little firmer than you might otherwise be (especially at the beginning of the semester), but at the same time, capitalize on the fact that you're closer to their age than many of their other professors/instructors (i.e. when you're trying to illustrate a point, you're probably able to reference pop culture or general culture that's more relevant to them). Also, it may have been more necessary, because I was teaching high school, but I didn't tell them my age. They asked frequently. :-/

Some companies also offer unlimited texting with your prepaid cell. This doesn't use any of your minutes. Many McDonald's also have free wifi. I'm in a McDonald's right off campus (Texas A&M, about 1 1/2 hours from Austin). Half of the place is a regular McDonald's and the other half is a study area with plenty of plugs for laptops. I would imagine you'll find something similar near UT.

Settled in to the new place and acclimatizing/waiting for the semester to begin.

I am who you think I am. Hi! Random running in to you here. :-)

That may be the case, but I think it also depends on your university. I went to a private (thought not prestigious) university for my undergrad. Within my major (English) I didn't feel out of place, coming from a blue collar family, but I did feel that I was unusual in my honors program there. I was very aware of the fact that few other people came from blue collar families, and, at the time, I felt somewhat envious and somewhat embarrassed (although I'm ashamed to admit that now). When I did my MA, I did not have that feeling at all. It was a school that had a large percentage of transfers from community colleges. Based on the people I've talked to so far, I don't expect this feeling at my new university. I've only talked to a couple other people so far, but they are also from blue collar families and/or the first to go to college. I think this is likely, because it is well-known but not the most prestigious school for the humanities. It may be different if I were at Stanford or an Ivy League school.

It's not the fastest or easiest way, but I would suggest not sticking with one brand and finding products that you like, regardless of the brand. I also second Sephora, if there is one near you or if you will be near one when you're in grad school. You can try just about everything. Just to give you a heads up, it's a bit pricey (some of it really, really pricey).