Strangefox

BTW another reason why I would prefer writing notes instead of typing them is because old-fashioned pen and notebook seem more reliable to me. If a pen stops writing I can take another one out of my bag in a second. But what if a laptop slows down for some reason? I will be stuck, trying to make it work normally again instead of concentrating on the lecture! I can of course buy a super quick - and expensive! - laptop but franky I am not sure that is worth it. Only for taking notes? Meh I use my desk top computer all the time when I am at home. I practically live by it But I have never used a laptop during a class so I am afraid that it will take me some time getting used to it and while I am taking this time, I will not be concentrating on things the prof is saying. I don't know, may be I am just overanalyzing things, as usually

My thought exactly.

Just a thought: and what if when a professor draws an equation or a diagram on the board, you just take a photo of the board?

BTW I was thinkig of doing it exactly this way. May be I will reconsider. I just don't think that I will be taking that musch notes and bringing my netbook with me every time for that... I am no sure I want to. On the other hand, when I am typing my notes after the class, I will rewise the info this way, which can be useful. But again, may be I will reconsider once classes start, if I see that I am taking lots of notes...

What brands would you recommend?

Thanks, Fuzzy!

Forgive my ignorance... but can Kindle books be read only with Kindle?

Try browsing the City Guide board. You might find your city there and then there will be some info about the cost of living in it. Don't forget that stipends are taxable!

What about taking GRE again? There is still time. You can study for it and then take another shot in August-September.

There is a way - seach the program's websites or email the grad secretary if you can't find them yourself. On the one hand you don't need particularly high verbal score for Biochemistry. On the other hand, if you want to apply to Ivy League schools... May be it would be better to get at least 600 verbal. And I would say that quant would better be around 700 at least. That said, your score is not bad and I guess you can get in with it. If the rest of your application is perfect. You can study more for GRE and take it again in August-September, if you are worried. There is still time. Just don't spend all the time preparing for GRE. Work on your SOP and polish other parts of your applcation as well. BTW I started working on my SOP in July.

BTW there's another thread about contacting potential advisors. The original poster received positive replies so you can ask them how they had arranged their letters: Last year when I was applying I contacted professors as well. Here is my advise. Don't write letters that are too long, fill it with citations. Of course the letter must be formal but it's still a letter, not an article. Tell briefly about yourself and in some detail about your academic interests. If you have a research project in mind, describe it. That will help profs to understand if you are a good fit with the program and if they would want to supervise your work. If you describe a project you want to work on, ask for their opinion. Or ask them if you they be interested in being your advisor. You can also attach your CV. When I was contacting profs last year, I did not attach a CV but I already had a project in mind and I described it. I think it helped me a lot to find a program with the best fit.

I believe that they are not just being polite, that they are genuinely interested. It is especially importnat that they forwarded your email to their colleagues: it's a very good sign. But remember that even a prof is interested, that does not guarantee that you will be admitted. The program might have sudden problems with funding, or a prof who can be your advisor gets ill or something similar. Apply to at least 5 schools from where you've got responses. You got responses from 3 profs, right? I suggest you keep looking. The more schools with profs who expess interest you will find, the higher are your chances. Good luck!

Thanks for the information! I will probably buy it, then

What is an exchange account?

I have just sent an email to myself this way and it does not say that it was "sent of behalf" of my gmail account. So you can definetely accomplish that!

BTW may be you can bypass that. My school has also assigned me an email with letters and numbers but on their website I could choose an alias. Like, the email by default is abc123@school.edu but I could also choose name.surname@school.edu. So while the email address is still abc123@school.edu, after I changed the settings everybody to whom I send an email will see my address as name.surname@school.edu. May be you can do that too!

Great idea, thanks!

Ok, WiFi vs. wireless router - could you explain the difference? The sad truth is that I know very little about modems I guess when I wrote that I want WiFi I meant wireless. I had asked a friend of a friend who works with computers and he recommended this modem: http://www.amazon.co...s/dp/B002M3SJ6U What do you think about it? It's the secure option you've described, when nobody can break the encryption, right?

This is a great advice! Thanks

I could stay in the US with an expired visa as long as I am a graduate student and there is no need to return and renew it. But the thing is I want to come home next summer so I will to have to deal with this hassle again. And pay extra $140 At least I won't have to pay SEVIS anymore. I don't think I will have any problems renewing visa. I am planning to be a good student, - if I don't they can take my funding away. So if I remain in a good academic standing (which I will) and don't commit any crimes (which I won't), renewing visa will be a piece of cake. Mmmmm.... a piece of cake! [That's what Homer Simpson would add ]

Thanks

So as I've thought they gave me F-1 for one year only. Could be better... but certainly not a tragedy

I will do that, thanks!

I believe (and I hope!) that there is no difference between official rules and practice, otherwise there would be too much confusion. But may be I am wrong. May be there IS difference. I hope somebody more experienced in flying will come forward and tell us.