katanianQ

regular jeopardy is for dorks too.

I'd say it depends on the school. TCD has an excellent reputation in europe and in the us among academic circles as well. (although if you ask non irish non academics in the us, they will have no idea what/where the school is). i got my masters there and was very very fortunate in that I got a teaching job almost immediately upon returning to the states. this might have been kind of flukey- but anyway the rep is quite good. UCD also has a solid rep but isnt seen as 'prestegious'- im not saying it isn't a better school but it lacks the history, architecture, big name etc that trinity has, so it wouldn't be as recognizable to people outside of ireland. If you said which schools you are considering, I might be able to give you a better idea.. Good luck w the whole process- if you have any questions about moving to ireland, the adjustment, schools etc please feel free to send me a private message.

single strap backpack!

that isnt stupid at all! ive been wondering the same thing myself.. mainly because i feel you can't beat backpacks for comfort but they make me feel like i'm in 4th grade again. messenger bags look cooler yet they hurt my shoulder. those backpacks look cool and comfortable. if anyone knows, please pass info along.

um......seriously? I agree with you that MJ was a very talented artist.... but he settled those lawsuits out of court and paid the plaintiffs like 20 million dollars.... and then ran off to bahrain.. they showed his neverland ranch on the news the other day and his bedroom had a security key code lock on t he outside, a peephole, 3 deadbolts on the inside and then there was a secret little room in his closet with a hidden door and various other locks. I'm not saying he definitely was guilty of abusing those children, but it just doesn't add up. I think there's something a little dangerous in romanticizing someone after they're gone.. (dangerous, sorry bad pun..)

I'd agree with Jaxie. I would kill for a more marketable skill than the ability to study and teach literature (I love it, but still). You can always continue to study lit in your own time, and maybe your grad program would even let you sit in on a class or two. If the tech route has great career opportunities etc while the phd is seriously a crapshoot.. as long as you could be happy doing either thing, I'd say youd be crazy to forfeit the option that actually has jobs and growth rather than the one that is such a crapshoot. plus, if it's any consolation, literature at the grad level is a completely different horse than undergrad.. its possible you might not even like it. good luck

i'd vote for the netbook too.. after weeks of reading reviews, articles, etc. i got an asus 1000he and so far am very happy with it. it weights i think 3.5 lbs, screen is easy to read, keyboard is like 92 percent full sized and its quick. but yeah, i think the netbooks are really ideal only for word and web.. if you are doing crazy engineering CAD stuff on it, its not for you.. the other benefit is that this particular one has a battery life of up to 9.5 hrs...

Man, Ridgey.. more stuff to worry about. I think to some degree that's a legit fear, but I don't really see any way around it.. An intriguing idea is prob what you need to set yourself apart from the crowd.. I've heard horror stories about people's advisers stealing their work and publishing it.. you just gotta hope for the best. I'm sure 98 percent of the people out there are honest..

good luck with that. seriously. i worked my way through my m.phil while the majority of the other students were free to spend those 30 hrs a week in the library and it was really difficult to keep up with them. as in, i couldn't really bc there weren't enough hours in the day. it sucks but we do what we have to do. and it certainly can be done. my suggestion to you would be to try and get your applications essays (and a definitive list of the schools you want to apply to) finished this summer before you begin the masters.. cause come fall, you probably won't find yourself with too much , if any, free time. although ideally, I guess it would be nice to have the ma before applying to the phd programs, I don't see why you should wait an extra year of your life cause someone on this board says its a good idea. if you have the money to spend on applications, apply and worst case scenario, you can apply again next year. and you know what? this isn't necessarily a bad thing either. i took 3 years off in between and i've been teaching college during that time, and you know what? i feel MUCH more prepared to enter a phd program now due to the jillions (no lie) of papers i have read and graded and cried buckets of tears over. some stuff you just can't learn in school.. so my point is that even if it doesn't go your way, this might be a good thing. I think its an esp good idea that youre taking the class at pitt to try and get to know professors though. that might just give you the extra edge if you make a great impression on em. good luck! if you want it bad enough.. theres a way to do it.

wow i hope we dont live in the same state.

just a little friendly advice for when the time comes.. if you don't have a dog , cat, rabbit, bird, whatever.. I strongly recommend having a pet. I'm halfway through a huge boring and very lonely writing project and if I didn't have my dog to lie at my feet and keep me company, and occasionally whine for a walk , I'd be a lot more depressed and prob forget to leave the house. Plus then when you talk out loud, you're technically not crazy bc someone is listening.. right?? tell me im right people. Who couldn't use the extra company and unconditional love???

sorry if this has been addressed before.. I'm relocating to Ireland for school and have gotten wildly different estimates from shipping companies.. any ideas of what seems 'fair' per cubic meter? Thanks in advance..

Screw academia and move to greece.

More confused than ever..stay? go?

MMblue, I don't think there is any rhyme or reason to this process. I've heard of people never getting an official notice of their rejection. pretty shitty if you ask me, esp considering some of the crazy application fees- a timely response should be common courtesy. that being said though, I'm waiting on a school that has had my app since Jan.