Jae B.

Damn it, I'm so sorry that happened to you! Talk about leading you on. May I ask what happens with your fellowship? Does it give you something to do? I wish you better luck.

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My paper (The Neiman Marcus Rotunda: Architecture for "The Paris of the West") was related to city history and planning. I was interested in the rotunda's construction and preservation. The Neiman Marcus location was originally the site of an upscale Beaux-Arts department store called the City of Paris. City of Paris was there from 1898 until Neiman Marcus had most of the building demolished in the early 1980s. While Neiman Marcus built themselves a new "post post-modern" department store on the spot, because of residents' protests, the city forced Neiman Marcus to keep the historic City of Paris rotunda. The rotunda itself was constructed between 1906 and 1908, after the original City of Paris building was gutted by fire following the 1906 earthquake. Its stained-glass imagery of a ship sailing on a stormy sea seems like a symbol of SF's survival through turbulent times, but most clearly references City of Paris's founding -- the Verdier brothers came from France to San Francisco's harbor and sold French goods from their ship -- as well as their use of Paris's motto, depicted on a scroll in the glass: "Fluctuat nec mergitur," meaning "It is tossed by the waves but does not sink." I thought it was a cool story. I was always interested in the history behind the two contrasting architectural styles of that one building. The Beaux-Arts City of Paris building really was a significant manifestation of San Francisco's early aspirations to be "the Paris of the West," to be important, sophisticated, European, etc., as well as the revolution in department store shopping that occurred in American cities in the early 1900s. The rotunda, as a marvel, was connected to both occurances. Fun stuff! ...And that's why I want to eat under the dome.

I don't think I've been to Arinell. But I forgot to mention Bobby G's Pizzeria on University! I love that place. I second Pho Hoa (although pho is another messy food I'd rather eat in private) and Tandori Kitchen. And I've accidentally overspent at Gelato Naia a couple times, ha. The sesame flavor is nuts! My class schedule is so overloaded, I generally stay close to campus for eating. The furthest I've gone during the day is Zachery's, and it wasn't worth it, IMO. But all my other non-walking-distance favorites are in Marin County (especially coffee shops) and a few in SF (like On The Bridge restaurant in Japantown, and Sushi Rock near Chinatown and the Financial District). Although I usually just wander around in SF, forever, trying to decide where to eat...there are too many places! My thing is, someday, for some special occasion, somebody -- I don't care who -- has got to take me to eat at Neiman Marcus's Rotunda Restaurant in SF, because I once wrote a massive research paper on that rotunda. If I'd written a little more from the notes I had, it could have been my thesis. I should get to eat under that dome! But the restaurant seems expensive. The most I've gotten from Neiman Marcus is chocolate chip cookies from their café. Hmm, Oakland. I don't even remember where I ate when I worked there, except I went to Fat Cat Café near the 19th St. BART a lot. There was a really good pizza place on the edge of the downtown plaza -- next to a nice crepe place -- and that was about all I could afford in that ritzy spot! I did go to a yummy place by Oakland's Chinatown, though, called Golden Lotus Vegetarian, I think. My budget is almost too tight for eating out -- I thought my list would be short -- but apparently I make it work. Thanks! Haha, yeah, the administration started to cut the hours last semester. But thank goodness some nice couple donated to Moffitt to keep it open! Yay for them.

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One of my grandparents was born in Barcelona. I've always really wanted to visit there, hopefully for educational reasons. I planned to already, but it didn't work out -- didn't quite have the money. I hope you don't mind me asking, but is there really a lot of difficult bureaucracy in Spain? That made your applications difficult? Traveling there seems a little complicated, but surely they wouldn't make it too difficult for a "tourist"...right?

high time

I don't see anything wrong with someone trying not to misrepresent themselves to friends back in another country; former peers who may be future colleagues. Sometimes I worry about settings and profile details on websites, too. They can be worth some thought. I would never want to chance someone thinking I hadn't been honest, or slacked off and didn't finish my degree within the appropriate time frame, etc. It's unlikely they'd notice, but just when you think it won't happen.... I hope you found a format you are comfortable with! P.S. I think this topic is cute!

I'm a vegetarian, so I can't tell you where good meat dishes are. And I don't eat out late. But (lol)... I like Café Durant a lot for Mexican. Some people complain it's not authentic enough, but some of the veggie, bean and egg dishes are really good. Also, it's the only place I've found in Berkeley to get Mexican hot chocolate. They keep funny hours sometimes, but stopping by is definitely worth it. Smart Alec's is a popular place and easy to get to on Telegraph & Durant. I think they'll give you free fries with your burger if you bring in an A paper. (I never remember to!) I love their salads. Bongo Burger is probably better for burgers, though -- delicious food there. Expresso Experience on Bancroft is really nice, and I love their sandwiches. (They charge a small fee for credit / debit cards, though.) All-Star Café on Shattuck is nice, and has an awesome selection of muffins. Nowadays I'm pretty lazy and get my coffee on campus at Peet's, sometimes the new Tully's. I'm not sure, but the Free Speech Café in Moffitt Library stays open pretty late -- maybe all night during finals. (Someone else know for sure?) It's close to Gardner Main Stacks, which is my favorite on-campus place to study when it's not too busy. Café Panini is great for -- guess -- paninis! And it's kind of hidden away near Shattuck. But they close really early. There's a crepe place near Sproul on Telegraph that also has nice paninis. (I've never had a crepe there -- I always worry about being messy with those and use too many napkins....) If you like nuts as toppings, Pie in the Sky on Center is a good place for pizza. Don't make any strict dates there, though; sometimes they're randomly closed. A bit of a bus ride from campus, Zachery's gets some buzz for their pizza, but I personally don't care for it. I've been to a lot of nice places in the Asian Ghetto, but I'm really bad at remembering names. There's a great Italian place on the corner there, though, and an excellent Korean place. Now for the sweet stuff. There's a bubble tea / Double Rainbow ice cream shop on Bancroft that's my favorite for tea between classes! (They don't take credit or debit cards, though.) There's also Tapioca Express on Shattuck (which also has warm snacks like onion rings), but they are really, really slow for some reason, and the place is usually crowded with high school students. Nation's is popular for pie. I loved it the one time I went, but it seemed so unhealthy and filling I haven't dared to go back! Yogurt Park is my favorite frozen yogurt place. The new self-serve places are popular, but...I don't necessarily trust the cleanliness of those machines. My worries could be completely unwarranted, but, ya know.... Finally, the $1 scoop ice cream place on Shattuck is a great deal, compared to the prices at other nearby ice cream places. I've been to Ben & Jerry's a few times (Chunky Monkey...) but that's for special occasions! Oh, and in the food court of the MLK building, the café there sells lovely simple fresh cookies baked by one employee's mom. I hope they stay on through the renovations! ...I love food. / longest food post ever.

I haven't dealt with a scenario like this, but I want to congratulate and encourage you! I wish you the absolute best at the school you wind up attending. Regarding the guilt complex: the fact that a school didn't accept you because of funding issues -- but is trying to admit you now -- says they wanted you all along, but realized you deserved funding they couldn't offer. They wouldn't entertain admitting you now if you weren't worth their time or trouble, especially with the administrative issues involved. You're right, it's kind of like an old-fashioned relationship: "I'd love to stay together, but I haven't got the money to support you...." But it doesn't mean they don't like you, and you can develop a better relationship in the future. Sure, it would be more convenient for you now if they had accepted you without enough funding, but if you hadn't gotten this amazing fellowship you might have had an even more wrenching decision to make. Again, congratulations on your fellowship and conquering this complicated admissions business -- so you can get back to academics!

I included a recommendation from my favorite community college professor with both of my graduate school applications, and I was accepted to each school with competitive aid for master's programs. If you take your time in community college seriously, graduate schools will, too! I graduated from high school with a 4.0. Then I spent two years in community college, taking aggressive course loads. My last semester was about 25 units, including chemistry -- not my cup of tea! Like you, I already knew I wanted to go to graduate school, so I participated in courses and activities related to my topic of interest in addition to my general education courses, even though many of those extra units would not transfer to a 4-year school. I graduated from community college with a 4.0. I can't say my journey was without stumbles: Up until the beginning of my sophomore year, I planned to transfer to San José State University (for journalism and graphic design), but then I suddenly decided UC Berkeley was the only school for me (for media studies, American studies and public policy) -- right before applications were due. The CSU and UC systems have a few different transfer requirements and courses, and of course have different major requirements. I ended up taking all of my required transfer courses and major prerequisites for Berkeley in my last semester of community college -- so if admissions accepted me, it would be without knowing how well I did in the courses they cared about most, or if I'd manage to finish them all. I was so happy and relieved that they accepted me anyway! I successfully transferred to UC Berkeley, and am graduating on-time as a double-major this semester (yay). So, if you plan carefully, you can go to community college, accomplish all you desire and still graduate in a 4-year time frame. I wrote proudly of my experience in community college in both of my graduate school applications. And community college was a great experience for me. I never said I went there for financial reasons, because that was only a part of the value -- although I do have zero debt from college. Going to community college was an excellent beginning for me: I remained active and relevant in my locality -- where I plan to have my career -- and I made connections with people of different ages, life experiences, professional backgrounds and goals, and not just twenty-something academics. Community college was relevant in my graduate school applications, because I did a lot of work towards my graduate school ambitions there. My community college not only served as a great launching pad, it's also been a great support network for me. They awarded me a large transfer scholarship, and my work there helped me secure two other large renewable undergraduate scholarships. Many of my professors there still advise me today. A few of my community college friends transferred to Berkeley as well, so we have a community at Cal, too! Heck, I include my community college A.A. degree in my e-mail signatures. My advice to you is, make the most of your time anywhere, but only go somewhere you'll be proud of your work. If you go to community college, go the extra mile; challenge yourself inside and outside of your major fields. Think of it as a smorgasbord. Make yourself well-rounded. Take classes and do extracurricular activities related to your future graduate school interest. Build yourself a network of contacts related to your interest. Develop relationships with local scholarship programs, so you can afford to transfer. Try to take as many classes as possible for letter grades, to impress schools with your achievement and transparency. Use community college as your time to shine in a smaller circle. Respect it. Ace it. In no way does community college rule out graduate school, as long as you excel there and at the 4-year you transfer to. Good luck!

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Hmm...I know I-House has some scholarships, though! http://ihouse.berkeley.edu/l/aid.html I know what you mean -- I've always cringed at the on-campus costs. And, other than I-House, I'm also extremely underwhelmed by the on-campus options for grad students. I'd rather live in a co-op, except I don't think they'd like my cooking. I also expect to be extremely broke no matter what I do. But it's so worth it. After looking at other universities, Berkeley is such a deal. I can't help but feel good about it. You haven't heard the last about your funding yet? I couldn't relax until they told me. I hope you get good news!

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I'm not deciding until this summer, because, being a J-Schooler, I'll get a newsroom assignment then. If my assignment is for San Francisco, I'll consider moving there to make reporting easier, but in a location that makes my commute to class as simple as possible. I've heard some other journalism students do this as well, so maybe it wouldn't be lonely out there. Otherwise, I'm pretty bent on an apartment super close to campus. No in-between for me. Either I'll stick with the Telegraph Ave. edge of campus and get a little exercise walking across campus for class, or I'll be lazier and move as close to North Gate as possible. In terms of Berkeley, I really haven't considered graduate housing. I like the idea of being close to campus so it's easy for me to work on my friendships there, but keep my home-life fairly separated from my social life at the same time. That said, considering Columbia, my other potential school, I have been very interested in a nearby graduate student International House. Anyone interested in Berkeley's I-House?

Hmm. Maybe they literally interpret "Dear" as intimate, as in "dearest" or something. In that case, I guess a solid, respectable "Hi" would be more formal!

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Eye Street