eat.climb.love

Something like this happened to me. I sent them an e-mail asking if my application would still be considered the same way the others were since it was still sent on time. Luckily, it was and I was accepted. However - totally different field.

Part of me thinks an iPad is cool but the leap from the 140 kindle to the 500 dollar iPad is pretty big. Maybe if I were a desktop user that wanted the tablet as a secondary device - but I have a perfectly new laptop so I am trying to save some cash. Although for those of you that want to make the iPad leap, I have heard good things from my friends that have it. Thanks for the input on the Kindle! It really seems like a good investment. I plan on saving my class notes as PDFs and reading them on the Kindle as well. Unless the book is a supplement, I probably will not buy it on the Kindle unless it is dirt cheap. I actually do take a lot of notes in my textbooks (but not on articles, I have a scattered little studying process). For 139, the Kindle seems like a deal! (I've already started looking at cases... there are some cool ones!)

Some supplements to MIT's course: This guy got me through college math! His notes are great. http://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/Classes/LinAlg/LinAlg.aspx I also recommend getting this book but I bet you can find it for a better price!: http://www.amazon.com/Linear-Algebra-Problem-Solver-Solvers/dp/0878915184

I have a lot of friends who went to UMass and it is pretty casual. They are being hit with a pretty heavy winter so if you have any boots, I would suggest bringing them. Your outfit sounds fine. (Is this an accepted students day or an interview? I am not familiar with the term "candidate's day.") But if you haven't been accepted yet, I would suggest wearing slacks opposed to jeans. Oh wait - scratch that, I just remembered this was an accepted students thread. Duh. You are fine, then! =D UMass is very pretty, hope you like it!

I was rummaging through my undergrad stuff and noticed I had printed out a LOT of articles. I had an unlimited print quota so there were no worries in my little world at the time (don't worry - double-sided, two per page! I try to stay a little green! =P). But now that I am potentially heading off to grad school and will not be able to print as much as I used to, I was considering purchasing an e-Reader of some sorts. I personally don't mark up my articles too much (I take notes in a separate notebook and have the citation of the article at the top of the page) so I am not going to really miss that feature. But I did want to know how people have liked certain e-Readers. I was thinking of the Kindle because the basic one is only $139. Any experience with the Kindle or any other e-Readers? I tried looking at older threads but since the newer Kindle just came out in the fall, I was hoping that some of you have purchased that one and could share your thoughts. Thanks in advance!

While I totally understand this for grad students (I would not show up to work in sweats), undergraduates sitting in on a lecture are there to learn and generally aren't receiving payment to do so. What they wear (as long as it isn't offensive), really doesn't matter. As a grad student being funded by the department, yeah, I would dress up. But as an undergrad paying for tuition, I would dress up when necessary or whenever I felt like it. If I wanted to get in an extra mile or two at the gym and skip the make-up, then I did. Then again, I come from departments where professors wear socks with sandals so ANYTHING above that is generally seen as an improvement. =) (Nothing live a pair of Tevas with gym socks. Sexy.)

Two times ... was admitted to my university as a psych major. Was told by parents to switch to Bio so I did ... HATED it. Switched back to psychology second semester of Freshman year. Would have loved a biostats or public health major at my undergrad but sadly we didn't have them. (Because I would have probably switched again to that Sophomore year!) I took on two minors because I was just a confused little undergrad with too many interests.

I have seen this book before: http://www.amazon.com/Mathematics-Engineers-Problem-Solver-Solvers/dp/0878918388/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1298756061&sr=8-12 They also make a bunch of other math/engineering books. You can find them cheap on e-bay or Amazon.

I feel that way about stir-up pants. When I was in college they came "back in" on my campus. I have many a childhood photo with the little stir-up hanging out of my sneaker because I was so disheveled.

I had no idea about the contract fees people are talking about but I am still lucky and pay for my share of a family plan. However, I will probably be switching to a no-contract service because they have cheaper data plans. Some of my friends used MetroPCS. You can add a feature that is abt 10/month and call overseas numbers, I believe. My friend used this to call her friends instead of those prepaid phone cards. I don't know if there will be service where you are going or if they have some fee they will charge you, but you could check them out http://www.metropcs.com/

I am not a grad student (yet) but I took some grad classes in psych, stats and public health. My campus really didn't distinguish between grads/undergrads and we all sort of just blended together once you got to take upper-level classes.

Rainbow as in the brand of flip-flop? Everyone at my undergrad wore those! (Even grad students!) Those sandals last forever! I've had mine for 5 years and live my summers in them. Def worth the price!

I got the same UIC e-mail and then nothing. It seemed to be catered to all applicants? I will call if I don't get something by March because I got an e-mail in December that said 6 weeks. I feel like if I call around March, I will give them an adequate amount of time.

As an undergrad, I wore my boyfriends oversized sweatshirts all of the time. No one cared. I had a professor who joked about my huge clothes but it never was an issue. I would dress up from time to time if I had meetings or presentations and I feel as if my constant scrubbiness would make people think I looked more dressed up than I was. I doubt I will be able to pull off the oversized clothing next year but I will invest in some "dressier" yoga pants. I am one of those people who curls up in a ball while maniacally taking notes. If I have presentations or anything, I will definitely keep something nicer in my car.

When I was interviewing for jobs (some in health policy), all of the people had PhDs in Health Policy. The people who had the MPHs were mostly MDs or people with PhDs in something else. Maybe it was just the institutions where I was interviewing, but that seemed to be the trend. I am not in the health policy field but that was just a little observation that I had. Congrats on the PhD acceptance!

When I worked in a few psych labs everyone used SPSS. I learned how to actually use the syntax (in addition to the point and click option) because it is a lot faster once you get comfortable with it. My professors highly encouraged us to know both the point and click and the syntax for SPSS. R is handy but set up differently than SAS/SPSS. It is more of an actual program than statistical software. If you want to give it a go, it is free and totally worth learning. I have always been able to use SAS for free by being a student/working but if I didn't have the opportunity, I would definitely pick up R. There are a bunch of books that would help. I used a book by Cody and Smith for SAS, I believe. It was a great book. This website is pretty good for SPSS: http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/SPSS/ Also if you are planning on doing syntax, download something like Notepad ++. I like to do my code in that and then copy and paste to wherever I am going to run the code.

1) If you are really sure about the subfield of public health that you want to go into there is always the MA/MS option and then apply to PhD options. However, if you already have the master's in nursing, it could be possible to apply to doctorate programs. I have professors who started out with the MPH and then went to PhD and some who did the MA/MS option before continuing. Ouch ... I hope there aren't any nursing/nutrition/kin majors reading this. Might not be the nicest comment to say to someone who has Nursing as their program. . I do remember the nutrition major being extremely science heavy at my undergrad institution so I don't know about this being a field for people who don't "do" science.

"Oh 'epidemiology' .... isn't that a skin-doctor? I thought you didn't want to go to med school!" No, that's dermatology and epi is a field of public health. "Oh I see! Good thing your boyfriend is studying ___, you won't make any money in public health." ... sigh. I feel your pain.

This topic makes me happy. I thought I was the only one that was so particular about school supplies. When I was younger, I would bring binders AND notebooks on the first day of class to see which was the most appropriate for the class. I would get so excited to go back to school just so I could take the annual trip to Staples with my dad. That being said - I still bring both notebook and binder to the first day of class. If it is a powerpoint-oriented class, I use a binder to organize things in but usually only bring that week's worth of notes in a folder. (Preferably a folder with a cute animal on it. Or Lisa Frank) If it is a notebook kind of class, I try to either get those Mead Five Star Notebooks when they are on sale for a dollar at Target or Walmart. A few years ago, Staples had these recycled-paper notebooks with hard cardboard covers on sale for 25 cents. I bought 10 and am just running out. =/ Usually the recycled paper is pretty crappy but these were amazing. I guess I will have to go back to my Mead Notebooks. I then usually type up my notes (unless it is for a math class in which case I do not have the patience) at the end of the week to force myself to go through them. I once did a Moleskine for a calc class but I was so compulsive about being neat that I ended up buying one of those cheapo notebooks, taking class notes in that and then transferring it into the Moleskine. (Sometimes, I am a little anal and it definitely comes out in my class organizational skills!) Edit: I forgot to post the notebooks I use from Staples, they are great! The paper is so smooth and obviously not Moleskine quality but I like it. They come in a bunch of sizes. They are made from some sort of sugarcane waste. http://www.staples.com/Sustainable-Earth-by-Staples-Eco-Friendly-Notebook-9-1-2-x-6/product_749565 http://www.staples.com/Staples-Eco-Friendly-Composition-Notebook/product_749566?cmArea=sku_pd_box1

Have you ever heard of the SIBS program? I would highly recommend it especially if you are pretty sure you want to go into Biostats. There are a few locations throughout the US and if you get in they pay for everything. http://www.nhlbi.nih...ook/sibsweb.htm I would suggest doing one at a school that you like so that you can meet faculty before you apply. Keep in mind that this program is fairly competitive, so you might want to apply to a few of the locations. I would also recommend, if you haven't already, taking some sort of biology class. Not a ton, just maybe one or two might help. You have a decent chance. Lots of people can do the applied stats work but if you have the theoretical stuff under your belt, you will be fine!