Anthony2016

Look into nonprofit work. With your training in social science you'll be a good fit and have skills that many are looking for. They won't pay well but they have flexible schedules and are fulfilling to work with (depending on the route you go-- most of the nonprofits I've worked with deal with food security and domestic violence). 

Doesn't seem unreasonable to me, but I might elaborate a little more so that it doesn't come across as terse or snippy. Time conflicts happen and they should understand that much at least. I agree with Decaf that you'd be better suited by explaining how you're unable to do it, instead of unwilling to. 

That sentence does sound very pissed and pretty harsh, at least to me.
Anything starts with "In the future, please...." seems very pissed, in my eyes.
 
Now for the TA assignment situation, they should consult your availability first. But they didn't, and if you can prove you are incapable (instead of unwilling) to do it, it's on them.
Maybe you have class schedule conflict or official research-appointment time conflict. These reason can be strong argument. Try to emphasis on these reasons. If you don't have this kind of reason, try to arrange an cahoot with your advisor, saying you need to be assigned for research tasks during that time.
However, "I cannot wake up that early" is not an acceptable reason in profession settings, especially if you are paid, and if the working time is within your school's business time. Also, don't say " Others have gotten better sections" or anything like this in your augment.

reading this thread now is so depressing. There's lots of posters here encouraging exploitation where inspite of the OP saying the assignments are unfair and one group is systematically working more than the other, he is being told to be quiet and hush up

reading this thread now is so depressing. There's lots of posters here encouraging exploitation where inspite of the OP saying the assignments are unfair and one group is systematically working more than the other, he is being told to be quiet and hush up

“The only time you look in your neighbor's bowl is to make sure that they have enough."

it's almost like you have a perfect reading of my situation (maybe even know someone like me? )thanks anyway and I agree i should not have overshared. It has cost me in my relationship. Usually when a professor says they care about mental health,, it is easy to over-share

Therapy isn't a quick fix in 2 sessions. Typically, evidence-based treatments are around 8-10 sessions. It also typically requires a lot of work outside of the therapy room as well in the way of different homework assignments. Additionally, finding the right clinician is important. If you don't feel comfortable with the provider, it may be harder to open up. 

You investing time and energy into someone does not always mean they will return the favor. It seems like you did a very nice thing in making an effort to ease the transition for your housemate. However, that doesn't mean people will always reciprocate (or even that they have to). 
I would absolutely talk to the roommate about the household chores because that is a typical agreement between housemates. However, she does not owe you anything above holding up her end of the living arrangement. I understand that's frustrating and may be hard to hear. But at the end of the day, no one owes you a friendship just because you were nice to them. Ideally, we hope the energy we put in is what we get out of people. But it is not a quid pro quo situation. It must be frustrating feeling so isolated. However, at the end of the day, making you feel less so is not the responsibility of your roommate. No one is required to look after your well being aside from yourself. It's a tough lesson, but it's one everyone needs to learn at some point. 
Based off of this and some of your other posts, I would recommend seeking counseling if you aren't already. This may be helpful in getting you to better understand what you need and how to seek out those needs. Maybe also branching out (hard during the time of COVID), but joining clubs or sports or whatever that are related to your not academic interests. Chances are that even in a small town there are things going on if there is a university nearby. Also, try to connect with people your own age. You said there is a 10 year age gap between the two of you. While things may differ, the average 20 year old may not want to hang out with the average 30 year old (not sure if these are your ages, I'm just estimating). A decade is a big gap and a lot of people transition to different points in their lives within those 10 years. 

These are not normal times. A housemate who is not staying at home is putting others at risk.
MOO, I think that there are two sets of issues. First, your housemate not holding up her end of an agreed set of behaviors. This dynamic is troublesome since she's putting you and others at risk by not following "safer at home" recommended practices.
Second, I think that you may have  an unsustainable  (if not also inappropriate) set of assumptions and expectations. Based upon this thread and your other posts I think that you may seek from social relationships a different type of closeness than others anticipate. 
I recommend that you focus building on rapport as people living in the same space. Please consider the benefits of focusing your efforts on establishing and maintaining appropriate boundaries and leaving aside permanently your aspirations for a deeper personal relationship.
 

I get how frustrating a sink full of dirty dishes is. Heck, I hate when my husband does it lol. However, I personally don't think these rise to the level of asking a roommate to leave. And you will come across plenty of people who may leave their dishes in the sink, even if you are best friends. The only way to guarantee things are exactly as you like is if you live alone. I have had toxic roommates. I once had a roommate who I started out friends with. She spent the year we lived together verbally harassing me, barging into my room to yell at me about whatever her purported issue was with me. She left her dead hamster in my freezer. Berated me on a daily basis to where I never used any of the common spaces. Even though I was there first, I left when the lease was up. I couldn't stand living in that environment because it was 100% toxic. However, I also knew I could not tell someone to leave the apartment they have equal right to, so I moved into a basement studio I could afford alone. Roommate situations are not always going to be perfect (probably more often imperfect than perfect), but asking someone to leave because they like to hang out with their friends and sometimes leave dishes in the sink seems a little extra to me. I get the frustration, but telling someone to leave the house they have been paying to live in doesn't seem like an appropriate level of action to me based on the facts you've provided. 

Honestly, a roommate situation is a business transaction, not an automatic friendship. As long as she has been respectful and has not broken any lease condition, I don't think it's necessarily fair to ask her to move out of what has become her home just because she isn't your bestie. When you say, "she does something that we have agreed on not to do" can you give some examples? Is it like...she ordered pizza when you said you didn't want it or is it something worse? Also, are you the homeowner or are you both renters? 

I appreciate all your intelligent and insightful answers! You can read the situation perfectly. Thanks for this link! Will check it out!

hi everyone, I noticed that the recording button was on during my meeting. Is that a sign that the advisor is recording the meeting? Is that something I should be concerned about?

The feeling you have is very common among PhD students. Do keep in mind that past your second year, the life of a graduate student is very different - you will be very much focused on research and take few if any classes, depending on your program. Having said that, it will not necessarily be less stressful. I would suggest you talk about your feelings with your director of graduate studies or/and with any faculty member who you feel comfortable talking to. But also do try and consult a mental health professional; possibly your university will have a place where you can go and talk to specialists. Depression is common these days but it should be taken seriously. Your health is most important!!!
I personally found it beneficial to also talk to other people in my cohort - the chance is, they are going through a similar struggle. Also, remember, in grad school, there is always more work than there is time to complete it. This means you will have to prioritize and draw a line - you need to set aside time for yourself, even if the work is pilling up. Physical exercise is a great way to relieve stress and combat mild depression, and it helps with the consequences of all the sitting. A tip: buy/construct a standing table, don't just sit all day long.
Regarding job prospects with an MA degree for international students, well, that depends on what country you are in, what's your citizenship and visa status, do you speak the local language, and a bunch of other things. I don't think anybody here will be able to advise you on that without having much more information. The short answer is: it depends.

I have also not heard from NYU..any idea if it means rejection or admit to MA?

Still waiting on NYU, as well, which is frustrating. I'm pretty far along with researching my other options, and want to make a decision soon!

I've just asked questions about stuff that I'm actually interested in about the program/the classes she's teaching/her research--I don't get the impression my POI is expecting me to confirm my acceptance yet at all either, especially given how early it is and how many schools have not even sent results yet (ahhh yet another reason I love her)

Fully funded acceptance at Brown!! (Ahh now I'm conflicted because someone I'd really be interested in working with there...)

Claiming the UNC admit from yesterday. I was assuming it to be a rejection but I guess they send decisions really slow. Until you receive the rejection letter, nothing is over ? 

Lots of excellent advice here - I don't really have an original contribution to make, but I'll add my experience to the pile.
1. Basic knowledge of LaTeX (particularly math and BibTeX) is something you can pick up over the summer, and it proved to be really helpful for me when I started my program. Of course you can pick it up as you go, and many (most?) do, but a lot of my cohort-mates found it frustrating to have to struggle with LaTeX under the pressure of problem set deadlines.
2. If you have little to no familiarity with any statistical software/programming language, it would be beneficial to gain basic proficiency. The Coursera tutorial recommended above would be a great option for R, and I am also a big advocate of DataCamp's short courses. I had some prior knowledge of R before I started, and what was helpful wasn't so much my limited knowledge of how to conduct statistical analysis (the department wants to teach you this anyway) as much as simply being comfortable with programming terms and concepts.
3. If you don't already use a reference/citation manager (Mendeley, Zotero, etc), I would strongly recommend that you pick one now and learn how it works. Not only is it essential for keeping all of your readings organized, they also auto-update BibTeX files for each of your class/project folders. I wish I had started using Mendeley from the beginning of the first semester instead of picking it up halfway through and having to work backwards.

Several people on this thread have expressed suicidal thoughts. If you are having these thoughts, it is important that you seek professional psychological attention. If you feel that you are in a state of extreme emotional distress or may be a danger to yourself or others, consider contacting loved ones and/or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255). Developing resilience in the face of rejection or other difficult circumstances will be critical to our lives and our professional success, regardless of whether we ultimately pursue a PhD or not. That starts with developing healthy coping strategies. Please seek help from professionals who can help you to develop those strategies. Mental health comes first. Finally, please know that you are not alone. You are not a failure. Your life is not hopeless, and it is not meaningless.

Are you asking about US political science programs or Canadian economics programs? If the former, then a 161 on the quant section will certainly not disqualify you.

Shout outs to my fellow UCLA rejects!

On the advice of a friend and recent PhD grad, I'm visiting all of the schools I've been accepted to and would at least consider attending (there's one I've ruled out).  For me, they're all clustered around the same ranking (although some are better for what I'm looking to study than others).  He suggested making the most of the opportunity to meet people and ask a lot of questions.  Talking with the current students will also be really helpful and they tend to give very candid answers.  The 3 schools I want to visit all had RSVP dates before the decision date of the 4th school that I'm waiting to hear from and want to visit, so I just went ahead and scheduled them.