Ennue

I agree with runonsentence, and if you have any more specific questions you should ask them I definitely recommend spell-checking everything you hand in. Oh, and use the universities' websites to get to know the professors, so you know who you would like to work with. Find universities/programs that fit you and that you fit in - don't apply to e.g. Harvard "just because it's Harvard".

I bet your program has a Writing Center. Go there. They exist to help you. Edit: ugh, now it sounds as if I think the WC will write their paper for them. I don't. I think they are experts at getting people to write their own papers

It's good to hear that I am not the only one... Although of course I hope the feeling passes soon for both of you! As you said ktel, it takes time to make new friends... but eventually we will

Sooo.... We've all moved to our respective programs, all the visa issues should be over with, the programs has started - and now? How are you doing? I have to admit I'm feeling homesick. I didn't for the first two months I was here - I think I was very 'up' from the excitement of a new place, new people, new program. But now I would just really like to spend a night with my friends. I don't necessarily miss my home country (sure, I miss it, but not in a heartache way) but I just really really miss my friends and family. How are you dealing with not having anybody near who has known you for more than a month or two? With my friends, I don't need to say anything - they know how I feel, they know Me. It's not that I'm pretending to be someone else with these new people, but it is just easier to be completely yourself with friends... And I miss that. A lot, at the moment, to be honest. I know things will be different when I get to know the people here better and they get to know me better. But I'm not there yet, and I think it will take a while, unfortunately. Anyone in the same boat?

I have no idea because I had never been to the US before my visa interview. All I can say is: I worried a lot beforehand too, and in the end everything was really easy (no difficulty in getting the visa at all). I think it really depends on your home country: if you are from NW Europe you should be fine. If you are from, say, Nigeria, the process will tend to be more difficult. Sad, but true. So if you include your home country that could help people to answer your question.

My favorite B&J is Phish Food! Yum yum. In a general ice cream shop I usually go for nuts (walnut, hazelnut, pistachio) or chocolate. So deliciously unhealthy

Can't you just be P------, R.A.K. ? Would that be so weird? in my home country many people have multiple middle names and I am used to seeing a string of letters after people's surnames...

I had to take the GRE subject test far away from my house as well. I took the train there (it was Brussel) the day before and spent the night in a hostel. It was a cheap hostel - people were having noisy sex, my roommates left and got back in the middle of the night for partying, another roommate arrived with all her stuff at 3 am... Pretty funny actually, in retrospect But I suggest maybe splurging on a hotel, 55 dollars isn't that bad and at least you'll be well rested!

I took it as well - it was not required for my school, but it was recommended. I scored well and I have received a fellowship - I don't know if the subject GRE helped with that but it may have! I used my introductory textbook (Psychology by Grey) and practice tests for studying. In general, I would say: if you have the time, take it, especially if you think you'll do well. If you weren't a psychology major, definitely take it to show that you know enough about psychology. If you don't have much time (so you would have to do worse on your SOP or general GRE or something) or if you aren't a good test-taker, don't take it.

They're bots, the best thing to do is report them to the mods using the Report button.

I am an international student myself, just moved to the US for graduate school, so this is based on my personal preferences. I think that expressing some interest in their culture could work - I haven't met anyone else from my country yet so I like talking about it a bit, because of course I miss home. And helping people to settle in is great - maybe you have a car and they don't, so you can show them a bit of the town or state. But mostly, they will probably know American tv shows, or movies, or music; they may enjoy sports; they may like looking at or creating art; they may love going on hiking trips; they may play video games when they're at home - and it's much more fun to chat about those things than about "weird American culture" or "so what food do you eat in your country". I am so much more than "international" and therefore there is so much more to discuss with me than "life as an international student". So mention your hobbies, see if anyone looks interested - maybe they already love it, maybe they would like to try it. We're all multifaceted people, I'm sure you'll be able to find some common ground To the person in the lab with students who often don't speak English: that absolutely sucks and is, in my opinion, very inconsiderate. I hope your situation changes!

Regarding the port of entry thing, it was exactly as some earlier poster described. I showed them my passport, my I-20, the 94-card and also a customs card that I got on the plane. They asked a few questions, the most notable of which was "so what kind of food do you like? Do you like Asian food? You should totally go to <such and such restaurant>". So, based on my experience: don't worry, you'll be fine, they don't make it difficult

Thanks for the encouraging words! The trip was good - long, but nothing went wrong. And now I've already been here for 5 days! Strangefox, good luck with your big move

Hey everyone, This topic has one major goal: ranting about how horrible it is to move to the other side of the world So much work! I'm almost done now - my boxes which I'm shipping to the US have been picked up, the stuff I'm not taking with me but I do want to keep has been stored at my parents' house, almost all of the stuff that I don't want to keep has been thrown away or redistributed... I do still need to take my bed and couch downstairs, which is difficult (small hallways), and I need to scrub my room, which is annoying. Then, I'm going to a friends house with my two suitcases and my backpack, where I will sleep before flying to the US tomorrow. So, really, I'm almost done... but that's why I have a bit of time to complain, haha. Of course, the real problem with moving abroad is leaving friends and family behind, which I'm finding very difficult. I love them very much and I don't know if I'll have the same kind of friendship in the US (I probably will, but I don't have it yet so it's hard to imagine!). I just want to hold my best friends really close and not let go. But, of course, I'm doing this to myself (and to them) so I'm the only one to blame! Ugh Also, I'm continually a bit nauseous, my body's reaction to nerves. I guess my point is: this is normal, right? Right?

I kept starting a post and stopping again because I didn't feel like getting in the middle of this discussion, but I do want to say this: I am from the Netherlands, where most university bachelor degrees focus on only the major (with the option to take a few other classes if you want). I feel that elementary and middle/high school is intended for broad education and showing students important things from the world around them, and higher education is intended to train somebody in a specific field in order to work in that field (i.e. a marine biologist at university, an elementary school teacher at hbo (comparable to college I think) or a baker at mbo (comparable to trade schools I think)). The downside of this system has been mentioned here: after high school you might not know exactly what you want to do and switching majors costs time and money. This does happen, but most people stick to their choice and enjoy what they learn. I'm not saying one system is better than the other - I do see the value of LAC education and I did think about going to University College Utrecht, one of the few Liberal Arts Colleges in the Netherlands, but I decided I personally wanted to learn a lot about my subject, psychology, rather than learn a bit about a lot of things. I guess I just wanted to say that the Dutch system has worked for me and most people I know

I will move to my new city in eight days, and one of the ways I hope to meet new people is at a sports place. Personally I love dancing, which is of course a pretty social sport activity, so I have an advantage. But there are probably running groups in your city, or you could join yoga classes or a lacrosse team, or join a tennis club. Whatever you enjoy. I think it's a good way to meet new people and working out is good for mental health as well!

Wow, that was... special. I knew I was wasting time reading it, but it was like watching a car wreck, I just couldn't look away!

Yeah, the price tag is large for the meal plan and I plan on actually cooking with vegetables and stuff - I've read about the portion sizes and the amount of fat/sugar in US food and I know that is something I'll need to watch out for as much as possible I found some people looking for a new housemate on craigslist - so they already live at the apartment, but one of them was moving out. It's ideal, because I don't need to sign the lease while I'm still in Europe, there's no credit check (I can't show that I've paid back debts/credit in the past, because I've never had any), etc. And they can let me in and show me around when I get there. Regarding prices, that's really difficult because it depends on what you want. A room in an apartment, an efficiency/studio, an apartment to yourself, near campus or further from campus, etc. I think a room in an apartment is usually around 500-600 dollars, but I'm not sure. Good luck!

Welcome dickchng, and congratulations on your admission! I'm not sure about on-campus housing - I looked for off-campus housing for various reasons (one of which was the obligatory mealplan). I do know that there is not a lot of on-campus graduate student housing available, and it is awarded on a first-come-first-served basis, so I think your chances of getting on-campus housing now aren't too good (but as I said, I don't know a lot about it!). I would advise you to apply for the temporary housing for international students so you will at least have a bed when you arrive, and look for off-campus housing. I know other people are still looking too. Maybe your advisor can help, or you could google - I found my housing on craigslist. There might be some options there. Good luck!

Oh, wow, in that case I can imagine why you were shocked when I said it came through snail mail! Thanks for making me realize how lucky I am here...

If I compare prices for electronics in my home country with prices in the US, I would personally be much better off buying in the US. Partly because of the current dollar-euro exchange rates. However, even if that wasn't the case I would probably prefer to buy my electronics in the US, because if something breaks down you can go back to the store where you bought it.

The passport was sent with 'aangetekende post', which is a registered form of snail mail. So it is part of the regular mail system (which is reliable here), but you can check the status online. I think it's about as reliable as a courier, but we're a small country so snail mail is actually pretty fast anyway Congratulations by the way for those who got their visa!

Good luck! Although you might not need it. I don't know where you're from, but I'm from western Europe and the 'interview' was not even worthy of its name. At the consulate I met with 4 people: the first three checked basic things (first security clearance; then 'do you have your passport, a passphoto, an envelope with enough stamps' (they sent some people back to get a different photo or more stamps); then 'Please give me your passport, your I-20, proof of the funds on your I-20, your DS160, proof of payment of the SEVIS fee, proof of payment of the consulate fee'). The fourth person was the interview person, sitting behind a window, asking me what I was going to study and where I did my Master's. That was it. I spent about 90% of my time waiting to be called to the next person. From walking up to the consulate to walking out took about 50 minutes. It really was a relatively smooth and easy process. The only thing that bothered me was that I had had to travel to the consulate at all, considering how little they needed from me! So good luck, but don't sweat it, I'm sure you won't be grilled on why you chose this particular university or what your future career goals are

But the thing is, if things don't work out with a roommate that usually creates tension, and if said (ex-)roommate is from your department that can be awkward! So personally I wouldn't like to live with other incoming students from my department. Not because it wouldn't work (it very well might!) but because if it doesn't work, you'll still have to work with them.

When you're on the other side of the world google maps is especially wonderful! I've checked out the university campus & psych building, the international students building, my apartment, supermarkets... I'm happy that I can look around before moving, it makes it less scary