day_manderly

I've been living in Boston area for a while, and I still haven't really explored other schools except for mine. Do you know where I can find MIT, Wellesley, etc. lovers and connoisseurs? I would like to know more about different schools' history, culture, traditions, atmosphere... Is that possible?

So I have been reading different posts about grad school - way to feed anxiety! I worry about relocating, I worry about archery clubs near the place where I'm going to live (what if there are none?), about free time (what if I forget what it is?), etc, etc. And on top of that you get posts like this one when you try to calm yourself where the author tells you there no fun will be had in the next 3+ years. None. Still, I do believe that grad school is great. However, I have no personal empirical proof. So, dear grad students, please, do share all the reasons why you think grad school is fucking awesome. Why do you find it fantastic? What do you love the most? Why would you never trade it for anything else? Thanks. We, new grad students, will be grateful for our anxiety being replaced with excitement!

Optional. People are motivated, mostly, because they are interested in the topics. But they do not take anything out of it for themselves (though they can if they want). Food is simply never consumed at the seminars in our organizations (they usually don't last long). People come with their own coffee, etc., and everybody is happy with it. It is a separate applied research center, not a university.

Sure. So, more information: 1. We are talking a 'soft' field. New information can easily be digested by all the participants. 2. 10-15 participants, mostly specialists + few people familiar with the umbrella problematics of the seminar. 3. Goals - to determine how to make research more applicable and its representation more interesting for the public. So, maximizing impact, basically. 4. Physical setting - daytime, great facilities, no food options.

So I am organizing a research seminar in our research center, and we are looking at different options. How to make it truly engaging? Truly special and interesting? What would you suggest? (I mean, besides free beer ) We are thinking about breaking it into two parts: 1. discussing relevant issues in our field; 2. discussing the problems one of the participants has come across in their work. But, how to make it truly... hot?

I'm in Higher Ed.

Hey! Me too, me too! When is the day? I might consider going, but for me that comes to visa obtaining, and blah blah. Which program did you get accepted to?

The real question to ask yourself is 'How can I bring about more positive change?'. If it's by getting a Ph.D.? If so, there should be no guilt. Your job feels like the world to you now, but the world is actually larger.

I'm going to be attending Boston College this Fall, and I'd like to live very close to BC (it's in Chestnut Hill) and away from big city life. What would you guys suggest?

I was waiting for a taxi with one of my favorite colleagues. It was the morning, and I was sleepy. The letter arrived. I grabbed my colleagues arm, read the letter, jumped up, started pacing excitedly, read the letter again... It was in Siberia, in a beautiful place, -20 Celcium, the sun was shining, and the air was extratransparent.

Got an informal but solid offer of acceptance to Lynch School of Education (Boston College) today! The professors are wonderful, the program is superb, and I cannot wait to move to Boston!

OK, so I have developed the following plan. I am not sure it is the best one, but it is the one I am following. It is finetuned to the skype interview, but can be modified to accommodate the on-site interview as well. Tell me what you think. Plan the process of preparation. Of course, you can always just go with the flow - read a little about the school, reread your SoP, go back to the school's website, etc.. However, during the very interview you have to feel sure that you have done everything to prepare, and the only way to guarantee that (at least in my case) is going through the checkpoints one by one. Double-check the interview time. If you are abroad, use a time zone converter. Double-check. Mark your calendar. Count the days left. You will have a task for each one. To have a visual in your head, plan your outfit and the place where you will have your interview. The outfit has to be smart and simple, nothing exotic - they should pay attention to your words, not your looks. Dress well up and down, despite the fact it's skype and technically you can wear your pj in lieu of pants - this will make you fell professional. Make sure it's your 'you' outfit - something you love and feel comfortable in, something you have worn multiple types with unfaltering success. The background should be simple, too. I am borrowing a high-tech video cam from my friend as well. Make sure there are two sources of internet. I will be using wifi and I will have my mobile internet to share if something happens. Reread your SoP, your CV, and your Writing Sample. Imagine you are someone else, highlight everything that can generate questions. Here's the list I've made: anything unique, anything mysterious (like that course you mentioned in passing but did not elaborate upon), anything your interviewers are good at (pertaining to their area of expertise), because they read 100 SoPs and naturally pay attention to the familiar things. Write the questions down. Do a mock interview if possible - with a friend, a fellow applicant, or even with that ruthless alter ego hiding inside you. Get confused because of some of the questions. Write down all of the confusing/surprising ones. Reflect on your performance. Note areas for improvement. For example, I get nervous, time starts flowing in a strange way, and I feel overwhelmed because of all the things I am attempting to do - keep the question, the answer, pieces of advice from Grad Cafe folk in my head. I also found it difficult to think of examples to illustrate my points. Now the real works starts. You have an advanced list of questions - the original ones augmented by your ''interviewer's'' input. Answer your questions: write the answers down, or answer them in your head. Make concise notes (this is really important). Every answer should be 2-3 min, so that you get as many chances to shine as possible. Make sure to use examples. Look for the best ways to phrase your answers. While you will probably not say the same exact thing, the whole process will direct your mind towards working on the task. It will keep working out different questions and answers while you do other things - eat, sleep, take shower, etc. This is a psychological trick I like to use. Practice answering the questions. I am going to do that staring at my laptop's camera, no kidding. I find that problematic and usually end up looking at the little picture of myself when I talk to people via skype. Practice answering them with assurance and style. This is your chance. Own it, kick ass. One question they will definitely ask, as you might already know, is whether you have questions. Well, you do. Visit the schools website, revisit every conversation you've head with them, everything you know. Think of clever questions for them. Only ask things that demonstrate that you are prepared, you've done your homework, but yet you are thoughtful and curious. I.e. asking about living conditions for grad students is probably not a good idea at this stage - you should have done that prior to applying. Do ask about current and planned research projects, the school's publications, etc. Practice asking questions. Play the whole thing out in your head, think of different scenarios. Read grad cafe, but do not obsess. Do not think about other schools if possible, especially the ones you haven't heard from - it will only stress you out. The day. Put on what you have planned to wear. Make sure you have a spear shirt/tee/blouse in case you spill coffee on the one you have chosen 5 min prior to the interview. Check the time difference if you are abroad again. Abstain from caffeine - you will be full of beans anyways. Instead, eat healthy, drink water/herbal tea. Avoid everything that might make you nervous - checking news, your ex' facebook page, talking to that friend that always makes you feel less than, taking public transport, etc. Make sure you are alone in the room, and it is quiet. Adjust the camera, and the light. 15 minutes in, turn off the sound on your phone, and tablet. Close the facebook page on your laptop. Only have skype e-mail (the one you used for your application) open, nothing else. Check skype connection. Look through your notes. Make sure you are doing something during the minutes you have left, but not overwhelmed with tasks. And... game on!

I'm comyling a comprehensive (or I hope it will be so) set of advice tailored to interviews social sciences/humanities. Going to share it in a while. What I don't get is how does one ask about the interviewer's research without coming off as overprepared? This is especially problematic if the interviewers are not one's POI. On the one hand, of course I'm interested in what they are doing! They are in the same school! On the other - there is less common ground here (compared to the POI)... How do you do that?.. I keep playing really silly questions in my mind, i.e. 'So you are doing a research in X, yeah?'

Thank you! Doing just that!

Don't give it up for now! You still have lots of time to hear from your schools! As per improving your application - this forum is to swear by. Also, you could talk to POIs and just ask them if you have rapport. You cannot change who you are, but you can learn to show off better.