eco_env

Use Google Maps Public Transit to get an idea for how long it would take to get from point A to point B with and without a car. For example, it takes me 45+ mins to get to campus by bus/walking, and it would take 10-15 min by car. I can get to some places ~2 miles from my apt faster by walking than taking the bus. That's what I call a bad public transportation system. But I've managed to make it work, at least for everyday purposes, not so much if I want to get out to neighboring cities. This will probably be true for most cities with a bus system.

I was told in TA training that we aren't allowed to accept gifts from students. Presumably the same is true for professors at my university. But I gave cookies to my thesis committee in undergrad, and they didn't seem to have a problem accepting them.

If the career center doesn't have all the info you need, try the department secretary, or equivelant- someone who has dept-specific info, and won't tattle .

$20 couch. (I'm the 3rd owner).

I made my first friend since elementary school in grad school, but not IN grad school. (I mean I didn't meet her through my grad program; I met her through other activites that were not associated with my grad school).

if they didn't notice it, you didn't make it obvious enough. several of my reviewers did the same thing (saying I didn't do something, when I actually did and wrote about it). Reviewers read proposals quickly; it's your job to make important parts stick out (but don't ask me how, because i clearly fail in this respect).

They might not even realize you are older. I'm always surprised to find out how much older than me some of the grad students in my program are, when I assumed they were my age.

For me, right away. It was a little too much independence for me.

Am I the only one that got a "Poor"? (VG/G, G/P). Wow.

I like this line; I think I'll borrow it. Not for conversations with a prospective advisor, though.

I think it's ridiculous that grad students can't work when their pay is not nearly enough to live on- at my school you need to get permission to work if you make as little as $10K. Then again, I don't know how easy it is to get permission.

Can't you try to take the exams and take the classes if you fail? If you pass, clearly you know everything you need to know.

this kind of slippers? http://www.zappos.com/ugg-scuff-black~1 doesn't seem very safe for a lab...

Being a student, grad or undergrad, is a completely different situation from being a professor. Professors still have power over you. I don't want my professors knowing I'm the one that gave them a bad evaluation- if they feel my assesment is unfair, they might develop resentment towards me and evaluate me more harshly. If I (subconciously) resent a professor for what I percive as an unfair evaluation, there's not much I can do other than give a bad evaluation if I take a class with him/her again- in which case it's just one of several evaluations of his/her teaching, and eaching is not the most important part of his/her job anyway.

I paid a student (not much, maybe $20) to look at apartments for me. She took pictures and gave me an overview of the area of each apt. I mailed in an application with a deposit based on her recommendation. It turned out OK, though I might have hesitated to take this apt if I'd seen it in person. I told her which apt to check out; I found the mmostly through padmapper and called to ask about visits and availability first, so she only visited apts that looked good to me.