MinervasOwl

Has anyone received a rejection yet? I am now wondering if I ended up submitting or not. There's no confirmation email in my inbox- i do remember submitting- maybe I trashed the confirmation. I am freaking out. Has anyone gotten a rejection? Am I the only one waiting around thinking, well, its definitely a rejection since I didn't get a transcript request?

oh no!!!! I was thinking if we haven't gotten an email yet, that probably means the rejections are in the snail mail-- this was my second time Do you think we still have a chance?

Thanks. Getting ready to code some interview data and trying to figure out which option to choose. Which one did you prefer? What do people think about dedoose?

Hey, What software if any are are you all using to code qualitative data?

Hey, Someone told me that Dragon can be used to transcribe interviews. Has anyone tried Dragon or any other software to transcribe interviews?

Its a great department, some of the younger faculty are really doing some excellent work. Its a very supportive environment over all. Am a minority but have felt very comfortable and found (especially some of the younger faculty) to be very approachable, and friendly, but they will certainly push you to produce better and better work. I know some people have strange ideas about the dept but I think it is definitely transitioning into something very different than the conservative type of place people think it is.

thanks, so much for this advice ps I'm female btw. I did ask a few people over for dinner but they refused, twice selecttext post is really helpful because now I know not to feel bad about being turned down and to keep trying. Maybe with different people than the ones I invited this time around. What's the protocol about getting in touch with grad students from other depts one meets at on campus events? I got a couple of phone numbers from a friendly group, should I invite them to a movie night, or out to dinner or something? Or should I wait to see if I bump into them at another event in the future?

So, almost a year in and I am so alone- the only single person in my cohort and with time constraints only a fellow grad can relate to I don't know how to make friends To make things worse, I'm in my 30s so everyone I do meet is about a decade younger than me. This is a small town AND I'm an ethnic minority. Any advice about how I should go about finding some friends? (And maybe some romance too)?

Thanks everyone I feel quite cheered up!

I enjoyed reading it even though I am heading to a social science program. Since I'm also moving to a new culture, I've been thinking of keeping a blog about my experience- don't know if I'll get the time though!

My program starts in a couple of weeks and as I prepare to fly overseas I am freaking out. What if I can't hack it? I already sold my car, paid a deposit on my apartment, and purchased tickets- so this is a big investment. What if it doesn't work out and I'm miserable? What if this was all wrong, applying for a PhD, saying yes to this program etc. When I first heard from these guys I got a real bad feeling but I still went ahead and said yes. Later I was reading Blink and I felt quite stressed about that initial panic I felt when I heard back! Anyone else feeling this way? It might be worse because I am 36 and can't really afford to make exploratory starts that may not work out.

I'm choosing my mattress based on user comments on Walmart's website. I was going to get a foam mattress in a box but am thinking of getting a spring one instead. On another note, does anyone know how long Walmart takes to deliver if you buy stuff at the store itself instead of online? I'm worried I might not be able to pay from outside the US with a non US credit card.

I have the same problem- additionally, I'm not even in the US so I can't even go to comparable shops. Right now i plan on buying the cheapest bed, mattress i can find on walmart two days before I arrive, this means I might have to sleep on the floor for a few days but i don't have a choice because i don't have a car (or a US drivers license) so cant drive or carry stuff back, dont have too much money and i am very petite so I can't carry heavy stuff up to my apartment anyway and would have to hire someone to help me. I might go pick up a futon at walmart to tide me over if my furnitures going to take too long to arrive or I can't order it with my foreign debit card. For starters I'm buying cheap stuff- just a bed and a couch because I havent decided what I'm going to do next summer- go back home / sublet my apartment/ give up my apartment and sell my furniture and start new next year..... I'll just figure stuff out as i go along depending on my financial situation and hopefully once I've made some friends it will be a little easier to figure out! The way I'm dealing with the craziness is to deliberately re-frame it in my mind as being an exciting adventure and a great story to tell in the future- otherwise I was panicking and the move to a new country, culture, lifestyle, without any friends etc was really overwhelming and panic inducing

This is interesting. I was taking a couple of classes at an exercise studio from Nov to May, including a class called body pump which was an hour long class of strength training with free weights, where we did about a 60-100 reps in 2 or 3 sets. i wonder what the philosophy was behind that then? I have to say though that several months of 5-6 hours a week (classes) of working out did less for my goals than my current practice of running 3 times a week for 20 min and swimming or doing aerobics twice a week for half an hour. This is because I am finding it easier to cut calories when I'm working out for shorter periods. Those hour long workouts used to drive me nuts with hunger and I couldn't control myself I'd be binging like crazy. I want to add strength training to my routine now and am trying to decide whether to do 15-20 min twice a week or do the body pump paradigm for an hour once a week?

Thanks, one has to spend so much on getting moved in, pots and pans, a bed, etc that I'm just going to try not to buy anything new for the first semester at least.

thanks so much, I'm feeling a little less afraid, I guess i can try and sublet my place for the summer, go home and find kids to tutor there- at least for the first year. I do want to go home at least once a year if I can manage- guess I'll play it by ear, but it's nice to know that there are options. Thanks

hahah- ya that was a total typo

I don't know if I'll be able to do that- I won't have much left after rent.

I'm an international student (don't wear western clothes at home) and am wondering whether I'm going to need any new clothes in the fall. I've got 2-3 T-shirts, a couple of button down shirts (Gap), a couple of Gap sweaters for when it gets colder, along with a black cardigan and 2 pairs jeans and one black pants, I've got one black skirt too. I should mention- I'm female. So are jeans, t-shirts and sneakers fine for a first year doctoral student or should I invest in more button down shirts and pants instead of jeans? I don't think I can give up the sneakers, I won't have a car. I don't know why I've got this feeling doctoral students are going to make a bit more effort with their appearance than people did when I was in undergrad and grad school?

So, I was wondering how common 9 month funding packages are and what do people do for funding in the summer? I'm an international student so right now my plan is to fly home- although, it will be a mess dealing with furniture etc- and cost quite a bit if I have to pay for storage AS WELL AS an international plane ticket. What do people normally do in the summers?

I'm really interested in training for a 500k- and I've been working out for 6 months taking circuit and strength classes at a local gym but as far as running is concerned, I'm a newby. Right now i'm using a program I downloaded online. Any ideas how i can train more effectively? Are their groups or classes I can join- generally?

My teaching job ends in mid June and then I basically have nothing to do until I leave for my program mid Aug, so I thought it would be a good time to get fit- lose some visceral fat- and basically get in better shape. I'm planning on starting running (on a treadmill) 3 times a week and resistance training twice a week. Anyone else have get fit plans?

Same problem here, I've been manically sending emails about the i20 and things seem to be going nowhere. I'm suppose to request the i20 from my grad dept but I need financial documents about the Unis funding me to support the request and I won't get the financial documents until June. I went online and looked at the info the consulate has provided and they recommend applying 120 days before departure. I've got only 90 days and don't know how to move this forward.

I just accepted a place at UVA and am panicking about housing. That I live in another continent on the other side of the world does not make things easier. I need a safe neighborhood, conveniently located with shops nearby and either accessible by Univ shuttle or safe transport. I don't know my stipend yet but I'm betting its not going to be very bountiful. I don't want to compromise on safety though, I'd rather skip meals to save money Any advice for me? If anyone could recommend specific apartments/buildings rather than neighborhoods in general that would be really helpful. What's the deal with Copely? Do grads have to share a room or just share the apartment? And how do they pick roommates? Please help!!!!!!

I'm thinking of widening the net, applying in German schools maybe, Singapore?