Ludwig von Dracula

What you should do really depends on your interests. You could go to art gallery openings, plays, meetings, yoga, etc. depending on what you're interested in. What I recommend is picking up local paper and looking at the events calendar and then choosing a few things to go to.

You got a near perfect score. You'll live. Cut the self righteous attitude and sass because no matter where you are, it will only affect you negatively. And from the personality you portray on the internet, it will likely affect you behind your back without your knowledge.

Seriously, was it necessary to write a whole paragraph recalling your high school writing skills and how that's not reflected in the "subjectively graded portion" of your gre? Apparently, your AP English Composition teacher's subjective opinion of you differs from those of the people (and computer) who graded your AWA portion.

I'm not sure if you've worked with grad students before, but your attitude is going to get crushed in grad school.

Waiting sucks, end of story. I won't stroke your ego about your scores though.

Apparently, the GRE is worth $185 + $23 per school you apply to + whatever value you place on months of your study and practice time (thousands of dollars?). Not taking into consideration the possible value of getting into a school and getting funded, whatever role the score plays in all of that. I'm sure ETS would like us to think that it's a large role.

My good friend is a Sociology major and is ALWAYS having to defend her major not only to hard science people but those in business, law, etc. But she is working with immigrants, poor people, and kids. Her success may not be as obvious as inventing a new a new seizure drug or something but I feel as long as you know you are improving lives that ought to be enough right? I mean she definitely ain't in it for the money!

Yes, BUT...genocide does not exist unless fed by propaganda. Go back and read the sorts of stuff people used to write about _________ (fill in the blank with favorite oppressed or formerly-oppressed groups: Jews, blacks, gays, etc.)--that people still write about those groups--that foster the hatred/malice/violence which led to genocide.

Words can be effective weapons, which is why I have such a healthy respect for English majors!

It does not matter what your gift is, be it words or chemistry; you can use it for good or ill. Words can be used to inflame passions or heal centuries-long feuds. Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors of various sorts can be used as chemical weapons, pesticides, or Alzheimer's drugs.

Stop arguing about whose field is more important and start asking yourself what you can do to use your own chosen field to benefit humanity.

You know, I actually think this was a good debate, apart from the tone.

I keep daydreaming my rejection letter. It's always a Hallmark card. On the cover: "You're in!" and then inside: "NOT!" with a picture of Borat grinning crazily at me.

Your insult only causes me to introspect. I might indeed have been bragging. And I'll admit I was disappointed at my AW score.

Nonetheless, I still think you could have made your original point in a gentler and more constructive way.

That's naive. There are already so many developments that no one in the world should be hungry or in the need of water. Those developments you are talking about are of course important and necessary and brought us to where we are now. But it's a myth that it's because of "helping people". It's about profit, not about helping the poor and hungry. Why are there still so many people in the world that are hungry/thirsty, can't read, die because of diseases which could be cured in an instant, etc. - It's because science and knowledge is not shared. Because there is no huge profit in giving knowledge/development to people who need it.

I just wish the humanities people stop would stop crying. Everyone has it rough. It's not like just because I'm an engineer I get automatic grants from everywhere. It's just as competitive. It's tough being an engineer. If you design something incorrectly you can get someone killed. May it be a drug, a building, a medical device, or even a car. The tiniest error of even nanoseconds or microns can cause disaster. So many accidents have occurred because of poor engineering, its terrible, yet engineering is unavoidable in anything so we need better and more engineers to keep up with the demands. It's what people want.

It's like some of you (not all) act like you are martyrs or something or actually better than us even though you didn't get admitted. I was chatting with a few people in humanities the other day saying they did what they wanted to do because it is what they loved, and I respect that. But when people start demanding respect because they feel underprivileged that just gets ridiculous. I'm sure if an English major and a engineer swapped shoes for a day both would actually realize how tough it is. And like I said, the world is the way it is because that's the way it is, so stop complaining and actually go do something. Maybe if you showed some strengths you would get more funding. If you showed Obama more progress in your field he wouldn't cut your funding first.

So far in this thread the only for-English argument posed was by one person about being the Cinderella of academia. All of the rest was just personal attacks or crying.So for all the tough ones out there in humanities , mad props. To all the sorry complainers, tough luck.

Definitely. I need to brush up on my vocabulary.

Although, the post was very enjoyable to read because of the varied and interesting wording.

InquilineKea posts some really strange questions here...
"Is it common to ask a person to repeat something?"
"Do professors care if you wear sweatpants?"
"Is it common to tell your adviser that you're too busy?"
"I've heard Columbia University provides free housing..."

I don't want to be rude, but I keep thinking that he/she just posts strange questions for the fun of others taking them seriously and responding.

A pamphlet, you say?

Presenting!

a preview!

Front side
Back side

Or a Taco Bell application.

"Thank you for considering our program. Unfortunately, there were many qualified candidates this year, and you were not one of them. We suggest you consider a career in the exciting careers of medical billing, HVAC, or aviation repair instead. We suggest you watch your local daytime television programming on weekdays between Judge Judy and Tyra for institutions suitable for your needs."

Bring earplugs. Seriously.

I was introduced to the wonder of earplugs at a competition in high school. As the only girl on my team, I was stuck rooming with the girls from Rural Backwater High. The competition was two days long; after the first day, my team was in the finals, and their team was out. The other girls decided to hold a party that night, and told everyone to come to their room. I had just parked my exhausted butt in bed, 11:30pm, when they showed up with a herd of friends. And I explained the situation, politely shoved the friends out - but as quickly as I could get rid of them, more arrived. Around 1:30am, I gave up and went over to my teammates' room. Where I nearly kicked down the door, but nobody woke up to let me in. I curled up in the hallway lounge. Around 2:00am, the security guard found me, thought I was a bum, and tried to run me off. I came back at 2:30am, saw a bunch of people still in the room, and threw a full-on hissy fit. Crying, throwing things, you bet. It worked, and the room cleared. Except for my room-mates, who decided they needed to take showers and otherwise goof around. I got about two hours of sleep.

The next day, I complained to my team, who filled me with Diet Coke - and explained that they had all been wearing earplugs the night before. No wonder they didn't hear me banging on the door.

Since then, I have not traveled anywhere without earplugs. In fact, I wear them at home, too; my apartment is next to a fairly busy street.

And I did get revenge in the end. The next year, the girls from Rural Backwater were back. I was team captain, and so was the girl who had organized the party. And we got to play each other in the opening rounds. Normally, if my team was substantially better than our opponent, we would go easy and let the younger players get some experience - not this time. I was in, my best players were in, and I told them to show absolutely no mercy. The final score was something like 350-4.

Morals: the world is small, payback's a b*tch...and earplugs are awesome.

Take a deep breath and slow down. Take out a piece of paper and physically write down all of the reasons you want to quit. Put it away. Come back to it in a day or two. How valid do those reasons seem now? On the back of the paper, write down all of the reasons to keep going and finish. Put it away again. Take it out in a day or two. Compare the two lists. Which one seems more valid? Take out another piece of paper. Write down what it will take to get it done - materials, tools, emotional/physical aspects, etc. Put this list away. Look at it in a day or two. Do you think you have what you need to get it done? This process may seem very simplistic and almost corny, but I guarantee it does actually work. You are giving a voice to your concerns, a name to the problem, and some space to think and reflect on everything - that will get you to a clear-headed answer better than anything any one of us could offer up to you by way of advice one way or the other.

Good luck!!

I will have a better opinion on this in a month or so when I hear back from PhD programs I applied to. If I get into a top ranked school then my answer is: yes, it is very important. If I don't then I will think that Ivies and other top ranked schools are over rated and going to one is actually counter productive.

A singing telegram

I know this is a few months ahead of time, but I might not remember to post this if I wait until April/May or whenever they decide to send out the awards this year.

In the event that you receive a Master's SSHRC and you are hoping to graduate in spring of 2012, it is in your best interest to start the award in May rather than September of this year. If you start the award in September 2011 and graduate in May 2012, you will NOT get your funding for the summer months after you graduate. The $17500 will be split into 12 equal segments of about $1430, and you will only receive 9 of them (what happens to the leftover money? Don't know. Probably goes back to the government). On the other hand, if you start the award in May, you will receive one payment per month until you graduate 12 months later, receiving your full award. Especially advantageous if you're doing research or fieldwork over the summer and aren't working.

I thought I'd post this just in case; my university made this woefully unclear (really-- they didn't mention it even once) and I thought it might spare some headaches down the road. Plus it distracts me from thinking about application results...

Just wondering how many other people on this forum are in the same boat-- I applied to PhD programs (7) in the biological sciences last year and was summarily rejected from each. I reapplied to PhD programs (8) this fall. It seems most biological science applicants start hearing back on admissions decisions between mid-January and mid-February, and although I haven't started obsessively checking my email yet, I'm nearing the 'constantly thinking about applications' phase. I'm trying to stay positive this time round. I received an invite for an interview at one of my top-choice schools, and even though interviews aren't synonymous with acceptance, it's much farther along than I ever got last year. (I am, however, nervous, as they're interviewing 50 candidates for 10-16 spots.)

So-- how many of you out there are submitting/waiting on applications for a second, third, etc. time? I wonder how common it is to be rejected in the first go-round but accepted in the second. How many people really do end up applying more than once?

I think it would also be interesting to hear what you've done with your failed application year, if you've had any neat experiences, how you've felt you've grown, etc. There may very well be first-time applicants on this forum who end up facing a failed application year of their own. Might be encouraging to others to read positive stories about how we've spent our time and how an extra year off has been beneficial.

I, for example, had the opportunity to work on a horse ranch. Not my ideal career choice, but I learned to rope cattle and barrel race, and those are two things I definitely never thought I'd do, and I've had a lot of fun learning about they western/rodeo culture! I also did a bit of traveling and had the opportunity to participate in some really neat research this winter. I definitely would have preferred to have started grad school this past fall, but I've done a lot of stuff this past year I never would have had the chance to do otherwise.

WHAT does "POI" stand for? I just always say "PI," as in "principal investigator." I've googled. I've lurked. I'm out of ideas. Here are a few I have:

Primary Opium Introducer
Pithy Orangutan Instigator
Perching Orange Intimidator
Person Oppressing Imagination
Pathological Optimism Incinerator
Professor of Interest (<---- that's actually a legitimate guess)


Don't judge me. Maybe somebody else out there has this question too.

Thank the Lord for anonymous forums.

At one point I was trying to write a mock bio for a fake industrial-goth-electronica-metal band that I put up on myspace. I decided that "Ludwig von Dracula" was a cool name that encompassed the cheesetastic, overblown evil pomposity of those musical genres and would serve as an excellent name for a frontman. Basically I still use it because it makes me laugh. Then I had to make a picture to go along with it, of course.