ZeeMore21

Hi Everyone, I'm hoping for some advice. I will be moving to Nashville to start a PhD in the fall. From my experience while down there for Open House in addition to other students' advice, it seems that it would be kind of hard to get around the city without a car. Unfortunately, I still don't have a car, and I really don't know when and how to start looking for one...preferable a used vehicle. I've lived in the East coast my whole life, so I never really had trouble getting around since public transportation is pretty efficient. I've also have had really great people as friends who never minded giving me a lift if I needed one...but I must say, it does get kind of old having to depend on others for transportation...I rather just be able to get up and go whenever I feel like it. Luckily, I will be living pretty close to campus, so it won't be a problem running back and forth between campus and my apartment. There is a bus line close to my place, but I do not know much about it. A car would be useful for things such as shopping, visiting other students, and getting to other locations in Nashville. My roommate is not from the U.S and actually doesn't have a license yet, so the pressure is on me to find a car fast. Right now, I'm not really sure about how to go about looking for a car, what would be a reasonable price for a used vehicle, and how long the whole car search process could take. My parents, who understand my position as a broke humanities student, have offered to help me pay for a used car, but at this point, being close to 24, I rather take full responsibility for finding and paying for a car myself. I also am wondering if it would be better not to rush the car search process in the summer, and just wait until I get down to Nashville and figure it all out. I would like to hear what anyone's opinions are about this situation. Thanks! And sorry for rambling.

Is money an issue in your decisions? I know getting funding for British universities can be tough. As far as migration studies is concerned, do you have a specific sub-field? it might help posters choose a schools out of the 3 you listed. I know that SOAS is a pretty good school.

Sorry wanderlust, but do you really need encouragement with the information you provided? I know everyone wants to feel valued but sometimes I question people who seem to be worried but then puts down that kind of academic record. And I agree, wouldn't put down that "I've been wanting to do X since I was a child." I know professors who have told me that they just sit down and laugh when they read something like that."

Finding a job hasn't worked out for me this summer, but I guess it works out for the best...get to spend quality time with family, cook and bake like crazy, finish up on my knitting projects, and most importantly, read books that I want to read!

In my opinion, I don't see any problem with you deciding to concentrate on aesthetics. However, I think what is being argued by other posters is that you are limiting yourself to a certain extent by discarding sub-fields such as cultural studies. I really don't think that you can fully study aesthetics without studying the historical, cultural, sociological, and economic forces that shape it. This is where cultural studies comes in handy. You don't necessarily have to specialize in minority/ethnic/post-colonial queer studies, but these kinds of sub-fields help to interrogate certain beliefs about aesthetics founded on a Eurocentric, heteronormative foundation. I really don't see how you could be a competitive, marketable scholar in aesthetics without entertaining the sub-fields mentioned.

Great post JoeySsance : ) I appreciate your stance on the canon being someone who specializes in African American Lit. I think people must understand that minority/ethnic/queer lit shouldn't be seen as tangential or marginal.

Are you in the sciences? I guess you would be able to start your program early if your are doing a science degree to get ahead with research but I am pretty sure that in other fields, you wouldn't be able to start your first year until classes start in the fall.

I applied this past season to 14 schools...majority were in the top 30 but I did make sure to include some "safety" schools...schools that were still competitive but I felt a bit more comfortable with admissions-wise. I will admit that when December came, I did go a bit insane since I was still in school. But I do think it is better to be safe than sorry...especially since it seems as though admissions gets more and more competitive each year. I think that anything under 10 applications is a gamble. 16 applications might be possible if you start working on your applications this summer, meaning that you should already have a draft of a personal statement and writing sample. They wouldn't have to be perfect right now, but at least you have something to work with instead of starting from scratch in the fall. Also, make sure you give your rec writers a heads up early so you don't have to be waiting on them come deadlines!

Will pass on survey jobs, seem suspicious to me.

Hi, I am in need of advice. Right now, I live on the East coast without a car. I will be moving down to Nashville in August to start at Vanderbilt. I am still wondering if I should buy a car here and figure out how to get it to Nashville, or just wait until I move down to Nashville to find a car. At this point, I really am tired of not having a car, and I do hear that it is hard to get around without a vehicle in Nashville and the public transportation i. I will be living pretty close to campus, but I probably will still need a car for things like groceries, visiting friends, touring Nashville, etc. Does anyone have experience looking for a car in Nashville? What steps should I take in finding one and what would be the time frame? It is more than likely that I will have to wait until I get down to Nashville, and I am worried that it will take a while to find a car. Sorry if I sound ignorant, I've never owned a car before because I've never really had to and it has taken sometime for me even to be serious in looking for one....just don't know where and how to start : (

bump.

I agree, you don't have to assign yourself a historical period if your interests can't be categorized that way. Going by subject matter is fine. But to reiterate what most posters have said, in a time where competition for teaching jobs are very high, I wouldn't count on just studying theory, as many students do end up studying theory on top of specializing in a historical field or subject area.

I will say that I do apologize for using "useless" in my other post, and by all means yes, you are free to rant. But I don't appreciate someone saying that somehow I'm trying to be the holier than thou. Maybe what bothered me was just listening to today's news, with 14 million people unemployed. Somehow, someone complaining about being made to work 3 extra days hits a nerve with me. But regardless, of course you can rant.

I've seen other rants, I've never said you weren't allowed to have your own. I do, however, think that some rants are more plausible than others. That is my opinion, and I will voice it. My initial post did not mean to attack you, but you chose to argue that somehow I did not have the appropriate background to claim that your problem wasn't a big deal. You do not know me, and yes I have had the same work experience, so you were incorrect to say that.

I rather have someone help me put something in context rather than just blaming them for "trivializing"... especially if what they give me could be helpful. And yes, I did read your post as a tantrum.

I never got the opportunity to study abroad either, so I'm looking forward to people's answers. From people I've spoken to, it could be possible to go abroad during summer breaks for research or language intensive courses. I am also sure that if your research area revolves around other countries, you would be traveling for research. So I'm sure abroad time is possible.

I do have good news, I did land an interview for an internship position next week! Wish me luck. I am still kind of nervous about what to say when it comes to dealing with leaving in August. The ad for the internship said that the foundation was looking for either a graduate student or college senior. Does this mean that this position is only a summer position? I am wondering if they might be looking for someone who has already completed the graduate or bachelors...but they would have just said "someone with a graduate degree." They didn't make it clear and I am wondering how to find out. Any suggestions? Again, I am kind of nervous about lying in my interview.

I'm sure your manager did not hold a gun to your head and make you work for extra days. It was your lack of assertion that put you in this situation, so this rant about your employer is useless and unproductive. I actually just meant to help you put things in context with my last posting, so there was no need to be that defensive. I actually have been in situations where I have had to work past the time I said I would stop, but in the end, like I said before, you really can't let situations like this get to you, especially for someone who works with children. You will always come across these type of "pushover' people in life who, like you said, will try to take advantage of you, and this goes for grad school as well. But at the end, you can only blame the pushover so many times...you are responsible for your life to a certain extent and and at some point you have to learn how to say no. If not, you will always have those type of people taking advantage of you. This is something I have had to learn, so please don't think I'm attacking you.

This honestly doesn't seem like a big deal...just work the couple days and be done with it. Just be thankful you have a job to quit : )

Thanks for such a thorough and lovely post!!! I will definitely make sure to keep this post in mind, maybe even print it out lol.

The site is very helpful! Thanks!

Hi, I will be starting a PhD in English this fall and decided to share a condo with another PhD at the same school but different department. I made this decision based on housing prices basically....even though I wanted to live alone, the rent for one bedrooms close to campus (because I am not sure I will have a car yet) was really expensive so I figured it would be smart to share a two bedroom close to campus, and use my remaining money for other important or interesting things. I have talked to my future roommate via videocam on Skype several times as well as email, and she is very nice and easy-going. Yet I think I am a little anxious about how to make sure the roommate experience goes smoothly...especially since we signed a 2 year contract with the landlord. I have had roommates in the past, and for the most part, I've had good experiences, but this past year I chose to live alone for the first time, so I am a little worried that it might take some time to get back into having a roommate having really enjoyed having my own space. Also, I am wondering what advice might be helpful in living with another PhD student since I am sure there will be times when both of us will be stressed about work. But in general, I would like any advice people have on making this roommate situation a great and enjoyable experience. I know I definitely will not be perfect all the time, but if I have some general rules to live by, I think I could do my best to be respectful and courteous to my roommate, and she would do the same in return.

I strongly disagree about this being a "cultural" issue....and I wouldn't go that far in generalizing the immigrant experience. But I will say that sometimes you have to do difficult things, like leaving your family, in order to work toward making a living. I'm sure no one enjoys being away from loved ones, but when it comes down to it, you have to do what you have to do. In my opinion, I think that it sounds about time for the OP to fulfill her goals and dreams...for the partner to be taking this long working on his degree makes me a little worried he will run out of patience to actually finish it.

Whenever I have feelings of self-doubt I think about this quote by Epicurus: " Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for." I know that I can be ungrateful at times of what I have achieved...sometimes you have to put everything in context and feel happy with what you have.

I think the DOB portion is just bureaucratic, really nothing to worry about.