Jae B.

Basket case

Country mile

Thanks for the details! How cool, that you've already taken classes there.

earthquake weather

Music video

I did check out CUNY's website, thanks! Heh, "project-based" education isn't exactly my cup of tea, either. How did you like Columbia first-hand? I've never been and won't get to go before making a decision -- both the timing and expense are too much for me. (I live in California.) I've got an obvious slant towards my other option, Berkeley, because it's my undergrad and I know a lot about the program. I feel slightly under-informed about Columbia, in comparison. Not really program specifics, but the student experience and after-value. The open houses certainly are during a busy time of the semester. I still need to focus on my upcoming graduation, but can't help spending a sizable portion of my time mulling over my near-future in grad school.

Ball cap

down wind

biggest fan

Thesis here. Need to finish 25 page draft. So sleepy, though. Lucky! If I really try, I can make 3 - 3:30, but that's it. And it's no good because it near ruins the next day for me. Somewhere I heard that an assortment of successful people swear they only need about five hours of sleep a night. Like Donald Trump and Martha Stewart or something. I wouldn't trade you for issues trying to fall asleep, though. Days like that make me sad, because I'm trying to do the right thing by going to sleep at a decent hour.

So it is my age.... Two and a half hours of sleep is my minimum now, and requires a lengthy "nap" later. :/ It is so much easier to work when the family is asleep! I live with my folks and little sister. Unfortunately, my sister's picked up my late-night homework habits. It's not just bad for her, it's bad for me, too! She's one of those people who insists on working with music on...and I'm one of those people who needs silence.

Good to know this happened to other people! Lol, ditto! Well said. Me too. I've always enjoyed working between classes (especially reading), but now I've got to speed it up so I get more done. Yeah, I had 8 a.m. lectures the past two semesters, but not this one, thankfully! It's 2 a.m. now and I'm fading fast. There goes the five more pages I wanted to write. I have good memories, too! I found this whole culture surrounding college all-nighters, a group of friends I could always chat with. We'd trade papers at some obscene time of night / morning to proofread for each other and share our thoughts. It'd always be good to have a second set of eyes when you're working that late!

I think a lot of people are hearing about some of their financial aid informally and/or unofficially (i.e. by phone) following their acceptance -- but I haven't heard anything about loans. Just fellowships. Maybe you just hear how much you have in fellowships, and figure out the rest you need in loans later, after you accept a school?

I wondered if this was about that article.

I don't think it's inappropriate to ask for an offer in writing at any time. You can just call or e-mail them and asking for written documentation of your financial aid offer. Even an e-mail describing the aid they're promising is better than nothing. It's fine to ask for an extension, too. Especially if they're not providing anything in writing.

True. Tests don't keep me up, either. Especially since one of my third-semester professors (biology) giddily told our class that drinking coffee to perk up before a test hurts your performance by lessening your ability to remember what you studied -- as we were about to start the test. He was like that. For me, the issue is more-so about time to write and my ability to get in the zone, sort-of-speak.

It does seem like nature's way. I get the same blurry vision. Now I have to figure out a better way of doing both my reading and my writing, and not just the reading before I fall asleep. I've also started taking short naps, but I prefer not to because they seem to give me headaches and make my limbs hurt. There's no compensating for missing a full night's sleep....

I used to kick into high-gear about 3 a.m. Now, if I try that, I usually fall asleep by 2:30 and will probably have droopy eyelids all day as punishment for staying up past 1:30. I used to bounce back well, too. I don't think I slept my first college finals week -- I was so wired with adrenaline and worry. Didn't even drink as much coffee back then. I was a slap-happy zombie by the time that was over...emphasis on happy. My eyes were still open, though! Goodness knows I've improved since back then! Congratulations on your publication! I'm writing my senior thesis (working on a draft now), and miss the extra time I had at night to just hunker down and concentrate on writing. It was nice because all I had to do then was write and stay awake, and not worry about being rude to people by ignoring them, or moving my laundry into the dryer, etc. This was my spring break, too, but I still couldn't stay awake all night.

That's nice, that your partner's schedule positively reinforces yours. Being able to pull all-nighters helped me in the past, but now I wish I'd never been able to! My advantage has become my weakness. In the end, this probably will make me a better grad student. My time management skills have pretty much equaled: however much time I have left to finish this is the amount of time it's going to take me, whether that's five hours or one and a half. So my time allocation has been disproportionate -- and included late night hours. I love to edit endlessly and if I get too frustrated with what I'm working on, I tend to delete the whole thing and start over. My work usually gets better because of this, but it's not exactly practical time-wise. Not being able to pull all-nighters won't be such an issue when I pick a new schedule knowing I can't rely on all-nighters to finish work. Right now, it just feels so difficult to cope with because I'm over-scheduled -- last semester's notice wasn't enough because this semester's schedule was already set in stone.

Welcome! It's definitely a good idea to bring your boyfriend and hear how he likes the area. Good luck!

I think "Hi" is most appropriate if you've communicated before and you're on a first name basis. If someone uses "Hi" when addressing me, I always use "Hi" in my reply. I understand your concern, though -- I always start off "Dear X," to be formal, with their last name if I'm sure of their gender and their first name if I'm not.

Throughout my academic career, I've taken as many classes at once as I could stand. I figured it was the best way to make the most of my time and money. I enjoyed the challenge. With multiple deadlines on the same days -- and, okay, maybe my aversion to doing schoolwork on the weekend had something to do with it -- I frequently found myself pulling all-nighters to finish projects. It wasn't a big deal to me, and I got adjusted to writing at night and enjoying the quiet atmosphere. But all of a sudden, I can't pull all-nighters anymore. I just fall asleep! It's gotten so if I even try to stay up late to do homework, I fall asleep without finishing it and I am extra groggy the next day. Oh, and coffee doesn't seem to perk me up anymore for more than an hour. I abruptly began to find this out the hard way last semester, waking up to my alarm with unfinished work in front of me, when I needed to run out the door for my commute. (Don't worry, I take the bus!) I still managed to get through a couple of nights awake -- as long as I went to sleep early the night before. This, my last semester of undergrad, however, I have not managed to pull a single all-nighter. At this point, it is a big pain to adjust to. Writing at night is so much more comfortable for me. But I obviously can't do that anymore and expect to finish. During a grad school new admit tour, some of the current students joked about spending whole nights in the newsroom, plowing through assignments. I thought, heh...that won't be me.... I'm 21. I don't party. I eat healthy. I walk everywhere. Etc. All that good stuff. Why can't I keep myself awake anymore? I understand that I get sleepy around 9:30 p.m. because I get up at 5:45 in the morning during the week. But I think it's kind of scary that I can't control if I fall asleep or not. Has this happened to anyone else? If so, when did it start?

I'd go for the money. You could try bugging Georgetown. Let them know you've got a full ride somewhere else.

Congratulations! I'm so glad you picked Yale!

I am interested in this, also. How long is your program? Mine is just a year, so I'm not sure I'd have time to be a TA anyway. My other school makes it seem relatively easy, as well!