InquilineKea

For those who have used Academia.edu, what field did you find it useful? Do you mostly use it to talk with professors, or with grad students too? It seems that it's still mostly barren for most academic departments. Very few professors seem to use Google+ so far - I mostly just use it to interact with science bloggers and other academics who are really involved with the Internet (but that's a very small minority of them)

What about professors? Undergrads?

To be honest, I find that I remember things best when I post them on Facebook or Quora. =P Not many people reply, but when they do, I can explain more and then defend the author's thesis in my own words (and also evaluate the credibility of his thesis in public too). Plus, I also take the really interesting diagrams and post them on Facebook too. It sort of floods people's news feeds, but it's science, so it's awesome. Usually I just post the main points (that I'm most likely to forget) on them, or on a Wordpress blog. If I don't fully understand something, then I'll get help from Stack Exchange/Quora/Reddit/Physics Forums. It helps more often than not (even if no one responds, it's easier to understand it later if I post it somewhere) But most importantly - I simply can't track down what I've read more than a year ago - unless I post it online where it's searchable.

It's often pretty easy for many of us - most academics hate Republicans. Republican-bashing seems to even be a bonding experience among academics. Though things can diverge quite quickly beyond that. I generally have very libertarian views on most issues, and I'm kind of scared that some faculty members might not like that

Which ones of these are highly computational/mathematical? I'm planning to apply to Stanford's and maybe Caltech's, but I'm looking at expanding my options

Can someone please describe what's involved in data entry? (and what people input in data entry?) And also, if an undergrad is doing data entry, can he say that he's doing research? Or is a possible LOR the only benefit? (a benefit that he entirely loses if he drops out midway through?) I'm quite curious. In the department I'm in, even the freshmen generally do higher-level stuff (see http://www.astro.washington.edu/users/premap/projects.php).

Well, http://www.phdcomics...php?comicid=508 (and following comics) describe the situation pretty well. I honestly have no idea (the field I'm in has no gruntwork), although I'm very curious about the issue (since I'm currently advising a few 16-year olds on getting research that has gruntwork). The one thing is that a lot of undergrads don't really want to do research but want to have something to put on their applications for jobs/med school, and we might just be in the position where we can just use them as free labor just because they're forced to go through undergrad first and need some grunt work on their applications. One suggestion, maybe, is to try to video-record instructions you're giving to undergrads? (or set up a webpage for instructions?) That way, maybe you don't have to repeat instructions whenever you get new students. And then it won't exhaust you as much, so then you can help them on the non-repetitive non-draining tasks. But of course, that's making a major assumption - the assumption that they'll actually follow the instructions on their own.

Do they work wonders on spiders though? =/ That's what I'm really wondering, since the Amazon.com reviews don't say

Yeah. Like, if I'm studying hard for a day, a single HORRIFYINGLY FAST spider can ruin it all. So.. how do you deal with them? Are there any spider zappers that work? Surprisingly, I do have Victor poison-free insect magnets that somehow work for spiders (I don't know how, but maybe they trap small insects, which the spider can't resist, so the spider ends up trapped too)

Hmm interesting. I just had a thought: What looks worse: grad student going barechested and barefoot, or same student wearing oversized t-shirt, sweatpants, and socks+sandals? Obviously, the first look might be more objectionable in a professional setting (hell, the grad student even teaches barechested, and he's quite hairy too). But on the other hand, he might not look horrible that way (compared to the other way)

Oh yeah, that's true. http://www.quora.com/Are-tenured-professors-more-likely-to-give-a-student-first-author-position-on-a-paper

http://www.ets.org/s/gre/pdf/gre_online_bulletin.pdf So apparently, they do have Monday test days as well (and supplementary test centers). So is it possible for me to do that? I'm in a strong position to take both the Physics and Biology exams, and since I'm going into an interdisciplinary field, both will help. I'd like to take the Physics exam twice though, just in case I screw up on one administration of it. Thanks!

Oh okay I see. Thanks for all the replies! I was just particularly surprised over all the hype that surrounded Amelia Fraser-McKelvie (http://www.scienceda...10524094515.htm) - the student who got in the news for the astrophysics related discovery[1]. Certainly, her work is quite interesting, and I'm sure that she's a very bright student with a bright future. But the paper itself isn't that groundbreaking or exceptional. A lot of other astrophysics undergrads could have done the same work (or so I believe), if they were in the right place at the right time [1]"She has managed to get a refereed publication accepted by one of the highest ranking astronomy journals in the world as a result of her endeavours. I cannot underscore enough what a terrific achievement this is. We will use this research as a science driver for future telescopes that are being planned, such as the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder, which is being built in outback Western Australian." ^But maybe it's not as common in astronomy because the sample size of astronomy undergrads is very low to begin with.

And what about a grad student? Or someone in between undergrad and grad school? I'm just wondering. It seems that a lot of professors do think that I do have the skills and experience to get first-author on a paper in a year or so.

lol, I'm not nearly as scared of tornados (most of the universities I want to get in are on west coast/east coast/chicago)

LOL none of you went as far overboard as i did i've already looked at MANY different schools through google maps and google street view. hell, i even cross-check the university physical locations with the USGS seismic hazard maps (because i dont want to lose everything in an earthquake).

It's an interesting question that applies specifically to grad programs here but not really in any other field

So... Academics travel a lot. And this could cost a lot of money - but thanks to couchsurfing.com, maybe it isn't necessary for us to pay for any hotels at all. Does anyone else have experience with this? Are there any tips that you'd have for academics in particular? In particular, I'd like to buy airline tickets after talking to a couchsurfer who might be willing to host me - but don't want to get screwed over if they cancel at last minute.

Can't you try hanging out with some of the undergrads? What about hanging around with people in different departments? I'm scared myself, since most of the departments I'm into are very small departments. The other thing is that the grad school years are when people start to marry, and when they *really* have less time to talk with you. And that possibility really frightens me. Other thing, i guess, is - how nerdy are most grad students anyways? I know a fair number of them, but still, none of them are nearly as much into interdisciplinary science as I am. =/ Like, they don't go around posting numerous links to Nature or Science and the various science blogs. As in, something like https://profiles.goo...om/simfish/buzz . The sad thing is that when I get lonely, I end up posting on "High School Life" on College Confidential. =/ I wish I could find another place, but there isn't. People just aren't as responsive anywhere else (somehow, responsiveness is almost a decreasing function of age, and as I lose contact with people who hit the magic age of 18-20 or so, I pretty much find a new cohort of early entrance students to socialize with. I'm not even the only early entrance student here who feels that way). Oh well, maybe I'll just try to recruit some undergrad or HS student to help with research or something. That might turn out to be rewarding.

Oh okay thanks very much! Hmm, something tells me that there's a high chance they won't reply to it. And I know - it's a fact of life, and it's not a bad thing. But the possibility scares me. =/

Hey, does anyone know if you could ask the academic journals for a "retroactive name change" after you get the name change? As in, to ask them to change your name as it appears on the list of authors that's printed online? Wow, I just found http://iammarkzuckerberg.com/ and it's sort of sad. == And wow, just wow

Oh okay - what does a thank-you email look like? Also, is it appropriate to send thank-you notes/emails after the decision or before the decision? When do most people send these notes? If they get rejected by where they're applying, do they still notify their professor of the rejection?

So I just got accepted to a summer program and I'm wondering if I should send thank-you notes to the professors who wrote me LORs for it. I'm also wondering when I should notify them that I got accepted (I'm not extremely close to some of them, since it would sound sort of abrupt). I'm quite gracious, but I feel awkward notifying them of the decision right now (I do intend to do it after school ends in 2 weeks and when I can finally do research with them) The one thing is that a thank-you note might be premature because I'll continue to work with them, and will probably ask for more LORs from them for the application season next year.

lol, i might apply to multiple departments in Caltech, Chicago, and Washington. So I'm like - REALLY scared of it happening

I missed them from grade school. There aren't really any in college (although you might have funny professors). But maybe they exist in a few small classes where a student has rapport with a professor? (which might be more likely to happen in grad school?) I'm actually sort of the class clown in one of the grad-lvl courses I'm taking right now.