Levon3

I was wondering this too. I googled it, and found a forum somewhere on which people seemed to think it was an honor worth taking (sorry i can't be more specific; this was a while ago), so I joined. I've seen it on a few people's CVs.

In my field, that kind of work would warrant you co-authorship with most the professors that I've worked with. I have done similar work without getting co-authorship even after it had been promised, but that was a special circumstance where they wanted to be able to make a unified positionality statement. I would ask about it, probably saying something like, "I was just wondering if there might be any opportunities for co-authorship through this work." I wouldn't say "I think I should get co-authorship for this work" because your field may have very different expectations.

Yes--it's good that you already have this strategy. I take notes using Mendeley. I don't know if i have the best strategy, but generally i note things like "what is the problem that this research is trying to solve" as well as methodological or content notes i'll need to come back to. I try to summarize purpose/methods/findings in a few sentences if the abstract doesn't quite do it for me, so that when i'm looking later i don't have to re-skim.

ah, yeah, I'm not an engineer; I'm in the social sciences.

I switched from an asus to a macbook when I started grad school and I will never go back to PC. The simplicity and shortcuts have saved me SO MUCH time (though I admit it may be possible I was unaware of ways to create shortcuts and save time on the windows interface). The other thing is my macbook is still going strong after years of abuse, whereas I had been buying a new laptop every 2 years before this.

FWIW, I have seen a couple of people get rejected after interview weekend, not by being assholes to professors, but to current students. We report back to our PIs about whether we want that person in our lab or not, and they take our perspective into account.

Yeah, when I told my mom I got into my PhD program, she responded, "How much is THAT going to cost?!" as though it were a terrible life choice. When I told her they were paying me to go, she still wasn't satisfied. She says she just wants me to be happy, but she thinks happiness means married with children. I expected that since no one in my family went to college, no one would really understand a PhD, but I didn't expect them to be so actively against it. But I'm proud of myself, and happy with my choices!

Does your university have counselling services? I've found them to be SO helpful with strategies for managing emotions and stress, even if they didn't provide enough free sessions for me to actually tackle my depression too.

lol this is something I didn't know when I applied to grad school. I thought the anxious waiting was over when I was admitted ??

nope

I've met people with the fellowship in other programs who say it frees them from working for their advisor. That's what I'm asking: How often does it not? How much an an anomaly is my case, and is there anything I can do about it?

20 hr/wk is the maximum we're allowed to work while in my program (20 hours of research + 30 hours for coursework). Yes, I am still taking courses. It's not that I don't expect to work. It's that I want to not have to do administrative work as if I'm a research assistant for my advisor's grant, while I am not. I am not funded at all by his grant. Of course I want to accomplish research. I just didn't expect that landing the GRFP wouldn't change anything about my research. I thought it was supposed to allow me to do my *own* research. I'm confused as to how you think I eat up research costs. I'm working in my advisor's lab for free, so I'm pretty sure I'm costing him nothing. I understand that I don't NEED to do the project proposed, but won't it look weird if I got this fellowship and didn't *do* anything with it?

Does anyone else with the NSF GRFP still have to work full-time* for their advisor? It's not that I mind, particularly--it's interesting work and valuable experience, but I don't think I should be expected to work just like everyone who is funded by his grant, when I'm technically working for him for free. Plus, because of this work, there is zero chance I can actually complete the project they funded me for, which makes me worried people will ask about it when I'm on the job market. I'm just to figure out how normal this is. *grad student expectation = 20 hrs/week

Has anyone here successfully submitted an NSF INTERN application? I would love to pick your brain if so!

Have you tried looking at the CVs of the professors at schools you might want to work at someday? Try seeing where THEY went to grad school--it should give you an idea what kinds of schools can land you those kinds of positions (as well as what kinds of work/publication records).

According to PNPI, 11% of low-income, first-generation college students will obtain a Bachelor's degree within six years of enrolling in school, compared to 55% of their more advantaged peers. We should be very proud of ourselves!

PS. I was also choosing between these programs for my master's degree, and ended up going with a third option. But, looking back, I think I would advise my past self to choose Harvard (primarily for the resources).

FWIW, Nashville is warm, but not very sunny. It rains a lot. One important consideration is financial aid. Independent schools often don't pay well, so which master's program will put you in the least amount of debt? Also, Vandy doesn't seem to focus too much on rural ed either. Both programs have people who focus on social justice and teaching as a political act, but I think both emphasize urban education. Also FWIW, you can have great autonomy over curriculum at some public schools--it just depends on the school.

I would dispute this. I have several friends who are master's students. I had a friend who befriended undergrads through sports leagues, etc. I'm not close in age to the undergrads, so I didn't try to make friends with them, but I don't know anyone that judged my friend. I work a lot of hours--probably 50-60 hours per week (I am slow), but lots of people in my program work a more balanced life. I am in the social sciences and have summer funding (for part-time work). It is enough to survive on. Depends on the program. some places it's encouraged; some it is discouraged. It may be unwise if you're funded, though, because another year to strengthen your cv and get publications can be very beneficial for your job prospects. Yes, the same city can be boring for 5 years. But this is the price we pay for the thing we want (PhD). I think travel varies greatly from school to school. I have generous travel funding for conferences, so I try to attend 3 or more conferences per year. That is all I have time for now. I second TMP in advising you to search the answers to these questions in other parts of the forum, as they've been answered in greater detail and with more nuance elsewhere. But I will try to come back and give more thoughts tomorrow.

Acceptances have already gone out, so I don't think the OP needs this advice anymore, but for future applicants, I've heard the cutoff GRE score is 315.

I think the main question is, can you afford to pay $70k for a degree that you don't need for your career? Especially since subsequent admission to the doctoral program is far from guaranteed. Don't get me wrong, a master's from Harvard would certainly open up career doors, but in education it is not guaranteed that those doors would be lucrative enough to justify the debt.

Lots of my colleagues use backpacks. I have never heard anyone speak of it as unprofessional.

I think they vary quite a bit. In 2013, I was offered a $20k scholarship/merit award, but that wasn't enough to enable me to attend. And it seemed to be on the high side, too, compared to other posters. As far as I could tell from other posters, they take into account how much savings you have in their offer letters, so I guess I was "lucky" I didn't have any.

Unfortunately, it's quite thin and tenuous.

I use inqscribe's free version.