MoJingly

Absolutely, contact your advisor. That's what they are for. If they don't have the answer, hopefully they can put you in contact with somebody who does. Good luck!

Oh my! OK... STOP thinking like that. Seriously. Negative thoughts decrease life expectancy, life productivity, and life enjoyment. If you keep telling yourself you are a failure, you will believe it. And you are not. YOU are not a failure. Sure, you've failed at things. I have to. I've failed quite a few times. But then I bounce back, learn, move on. This all being said, I'm not going to start quoting those inspirational posters you saw in your elementary school classroom. (You know - "If you dream it you can do it.") The truth is, you might not be able to do it, even if you dream it. And that's a tough pill to swallow. You seem to have it in your gullet already. You get to a point where you have to be realistic and realize what you can do to make money. And then you know what? You do it and you make money. And then you use that money to do what you love. It sounds stupid, but if you start smiling, and thinking positively, things really WILL go better. It's worked for me. There is NO reason not to be happy. NONE. NONE. NONE.

I second this! That fitness center was so nice that I actually ended up LOSING weight in college.

I'm a member of the Performing Arts Medicine Association, and it's been a great way for me to connect with other people working on similar projects. It's actually how I landed my job last summer. With my subscription, I get discounts to conferences and also get their quarterly journal. For $50/year, it's a no-brainer for me. Plus, I find it encouraging and supportive to belong to something bigger.

That's actually a good point!

WELCOME!

I like it! Thanks for sharing!

This "dating inside your department" topic comes up frequently here. If you are mature, level-headed, and even-keeled I think it's manageable. (btw, if you aren't mature, level-headed, and even-keeled, you should be working on that before you start dating). Everybody is different, and only you can know how you would react in professional situations with somebody you dated and then broke up with. Let's say your significant other broke your heart. Do you have the strength and maturity to act professionally and separate you personal life in conferences, presentations, etc? If the answer is no, then look elsewhere for love.

Good idea for practicing! Nicely done

Thanks guys!! You are all making me feel better :-)

Good advice! I will also add that, as prejudice as it might sound, it is really important to get your letters from somebody with a PhD/MD/JD... this comes straight from the head of my department who reads about 920847573 applications every year.

I got into a great program. Really. Great. They gave me the heftiest fellowship awarded by the graduate school in any department. And that's awesome! Here's the thing. I was a music major. I spent my undergrad bouncing between practice rooms and symphony halls. I did a postbacc premed program for a year, and am now spending a year working on a research project, but I still feel ignorant. (I know, I've read many threads on here about how feeling stupid in science is normal, and even good sometimes, but I don't feel as stupid as I do... ignorant). My first rotation advisor gave me some articles to read and I had to research every other word in wikipedia to really understand what is going on. I know I am a fast learner and will be ok, but it's just stressful sometimes. I just got back from a poster session with the students in my program and I didn't even know what many of the words on the posters meant. I guess the main point is that this scene is outside of my comfort zone right now. I'm still more comfortable in a symphony hall, but I can feel it changing slowly. But, every time I've ever stepped outside my comfort zone, the result has been awesome. So let's hope it happens again! The music major turns out to be incredibly relevant because I am interested in researching the medical problems of performing artists (dystonia, repetitive motion injuries, etc). And the thing I love about this institution is that they look at my different background as a strength as opposed to a weakness (like the other institution I applied to). And I am so psyched and honored to get that fellowship (it's letting me buy a house!), but I feel like it adds some pressure too. I need to be good. I need to show them that they made the right decision in putting so much faith in me. But I feel like I have my work cut out for me. I'm hoping that what I lack in scientific experience and background I will make up in my diverse education and my creative ways of thinking that resulted from it. There was really no point to this. Just talking. Go ahead. You can talk too.

I don't have kids, but I know many who do. If you stay west of the Genesee River it is better for families. Look at Southwedge or Park Ave areas. There are great parks and the areas are safe.

I have a really supportive and encouraging family, and I know how advantageous it can be, so I am rooting for all of you who feel alone around the Thanksgiving table. My mom has her Masters and my dad went back to get his PhD after I was born (he was the first in his family to get anything beyond a bachelors). They are so supportive that sometimes they can't even believe it is real. "Wait, you are getting paid to go to school? And you don't have to teach? And you only take classes for a year, and then do research? Is this for real?" Sometimes I feel the exact same way. "Is this real life?"

That's insanely stupid.

I had your score on the quant and a lower score on the verbal and a 4.0 AW and didn't have any problems. Every program is different, but the GRE isn't the end-all for most.

I learn so much from this forum!

I agree. Save the AW, your scores are great! I wouldn't worry too much. In my experience, the GRE wasn't a huge deal. But of course, every program is different.

I'm finally done waiting, but I can tell you that I went through the same thing. You'll go through sentimentality, depression, angst... actually, come to think of it, this sounds a lot like the Kubler-Ross model: 1. Denial 2. Anger 3. Bargaining 4. Depression 5. Acceptance What you're feeling is normal. Have some ice cream, sit on the couch and watch some cartoons. This too shall pass.

I have to revive this thread because I just found this website. I laughed out loud on a few. http://www.chucknorrisfacts.com/