Yellow#5

As MDLee said on another thread about applications that are held a long time: No news is good news.

Exactly! My application also needs a hug BigTimeUChair!

Hmmmm like where would one look?

It's hardly creepy or desperate. You may not have noticed, you are not the only one posting on grad cafe :shock: I hope you get in, I know you've been waiting on them for a while.

I think that associating yourself as "right" or "left" has alot to do with how you interpret information, or like information presented to you. Scientists like certainty, and republicans/righties tend to frame issues in terms of "this is right, that's wrong" (so "gov. spending = socialism). Democrats talk more in terms of greys. The presentation has a lot more to do with it than the substance in many policy areas, especially economic policy.

Orin, do you want me to email them a link to your post?

Yeah, but you would have never know what would have happened if you hadn't applied. It's not a donation, it's a "put your mind at ease" fee. (And why bother to dream medium. Dream big, dang it!)

But I hope you notice that the "right" votes for these bailouts when it suits them. This would be the difference between professes to share an ideology, and enacts an ideology.

Scientists who identify themselves as "right-leaning" or "far-right" probably don't consider government spending in their area the same as other "wasteful" government spending. That's always the way, isn't it?

Me four. Lawyers hate their jobs.

I think it's a tough year, that's all. You didn't shoot too high, it's all a crap shoot. (but yours is one industry where lay-offs might be driving people back to grad school) Hang in there.

I'd best describe myself as a pragmatist. I don't care about the ideology as much as I care about the plan.

http://www.subservientchicken.com/ This site features a man in a chicken suit and light bondage attire. You can type in commands and he has to do what ever you say. Some suggested commands: go bowling roll on the ground jump on the couch do the chicken dance If you put anything too naughty in there, the subservient chicken will scold you.

Yes, the name of the game is someday getting a job, right? I already have a good job, so to leave it, I need a compelling reason. I'm also older, so I don't have time to go to grad school just for love/personal interest and then when I'm 30 set out to seriously find my career. Already past that point. I think this was a good strategy for me all in all. I have learned alot by actually putting apps together and sending them out. Even though I started preparing a year in advance, I couldn't have figured out some of these things without a trial run.

I'd interpret that extremely favorably. Of course, you know that. The biggest question is how favorably. I feel for you. It's hard enough to wait, not knowing anything. It would be harder to wait knowing you're really close. A grad student at BC emailed me and told me that she had heard the committee meeting was postponed, so I'm answering my own question here a little. I'm sure you'd be happy to know, rinneron, that decisions have not been made. They are in fact a little later this year than last year.

Did she JUST use Rosetta Stone, or did she augment classes with the Rosetta Stone?

A couple people have mentioned they are trying to learn a language before starting grad school. I am wondering if anyone has ever tried Rosetta Stone programs to learn a language cold. I've played around with it a little for Russian, a language I've studied, but speak badly. Since RS is mainly listen and learn, I felt it didn't lend itself to Russian all that well. Has anyone used it for say, Italian or any romance language? I'm wondering if it could really work for a language whose grammar you haven't studied before.

Here's some jewels to search on youtube which I discovered wasting time and would like to share: 1. Jonlajoie (warning -- do NOT look if you are easily offended or offended by...anything.) 2. Ken Lee on Bulgarian Idol http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbiKpvoCkog 3. Bernie und Ert (the alternative lifestyle "Bert and Ernie" -- this is only funny if you speak German.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLK3WbvnNu0 4. And for the poli sci students: Duma fights! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1jcB5Jc3Ls

Thanks for the info! I must say, it's discouraging to hear that my cold app is competing with former BC masters students who are well known to the professors there. Seems like they have an "up or out" policy, promoting about a third of their masters students to the phd. One more thing I WISH I had known. With a thousand dollars worth of apps out there, it keeps striking me how much I don't know about this process. Thank god for thegradcafe.

The results board lists acceptances from Boston College starting on February 11 last year. No one has posted results yet for this year. Is anyone else on pins and needles, waiting to hear from their English Department? Has anyone heard anything about their financial situation this year?

When I started working at my current job, I absolutely hated it. It's alot of long hours in an office and it consumes a big part of my life. Drinking is the only way to socialize with my dull co-workers, who all seem to have only one hobby -- drinking. I'm not even a big drinker when left to my own device, but something about the atmosphere, my own stress level and crappy weather had me going out much more than I wanted to. I took up yoga, started taking night classes and in general, started being very active about making time away from all this fabulousness. I will probably take this experience to heart and do the same in grad-school. It's going to consume 70-80% of my life, but I think it's healthy to develop a life away from it, too. This might be a good defense against alcoholism or just the general hysteria that is passed from one stressed out person to another when you spend all day working together and have common gripes. edit: Of course, if you think the problem is that you have a tendency toward alcoholism, then you should do something more drastic, like AA, but if you feel that these are habits you are picking up from the people around you and you're not really eager to go out drinking, but everybody else is, I'd say consciously building a small part of your life away from your grad department may work.

Wait, you are going to start in Sept. 09 and your BF is finishing in Paris Jan. 10? I think you should start in the Fall. Your BF can visit you in October after you've settled in, then you can visit him over Thanksgiving and you guys will be back together in no time. Maybe some time apart is a good thing if you're starting school and he's finishing. Both take alot of work.

Word.

I also have no time to worry. And yet... I find the time somewhere, don't I.

Hello in China! Reading this board, you will quickly notice that even american students from american colleges are not exactly sure how to get in to a certain program. There is some amount of randomness or luck involved, so just remember, most of our postings are guesses or opinions, not many facts are known for certain Also, every area (math, literature, art) has a different way of doing things, so be sure to look at the topics related specifically to mathematics. Good luck!