Aaron McDevitt

1. Chuck Norris doesn't apply to schools. Schools apply to Chuck Norris.

2. Chuck Norris only needed 1 LOR. It was written by Chuck Norris.

3. Chuck Norris' GRE scores: Verbal - No. Quantitative: Unquantifiable

4. Chuck Norris' Grade Point Average: Nothing is average about Chuck Norris.

5. In lieu of a statement of purpose, Chuck Norris sent photocopies of his fists.

6. When asked about financial support, Chuck Norris replied: How much do you need?

7. Chuck Norris isn't wait listed. Chuck Norris waits for nothing.

Ok...that's all I got. Good fun!

You should get your LoRs from the faculty who know you best and are in the best position to speak positively about your work and your capacity to do graduate-level work in the future.

I love "Their loss!" as a response, because it's flattering, but not gushy. *grin* I hate "It's all for the best" and I particularly hate any version of "I/noone/your friends didn't expect you to get in/thought it was a long shot/thought you were being unrealistic."

Thankfully I am not in grad school all year round. If the people who ran the program I'm in weren't complete idiots and maybe spaced the classes and such out more so normal people could complete them. Maybe have a semester be an actual semester long, or rather than have class for three days every four months for four damn years, get all the crap done and over with in a year or year and a half. When I'm not officially in class, I do have more time. But sometimes the homework they load us up with makes it very hard for me to do anything, like travel or look for work. So yes, it is very overwhelming and I think the program needs to be run like a normal master's program. I can barely get the assignments done and I don't even have a job - but then again, people who do work usually turn in a bunch of half-assed assignments and maybe one really nice one. Maybe if I quit trying and just do something without effort, it won't be as difficult.

It's too bad I am blamed for playing a "persecution card" simply for telling the truth. Some experiences are specific to my program alone, but some I think could be universal to all grad students. Perhaps from now on I should simply lie to make everyone else happy. I've been doing that my entire life, so why stop here? Grad school is a completely uplifting experience that is worth every penny and it will make you grow exponentially as a professional and as a human being. Even if you major in something you have zero interest in, even if you can't afford to be there, even if you don't want to be there...doesn't matter because grad school is nothing but sunshine, rainbows and happiness and time spent there will guarantee you a spectacular job that you love that also happens to pay very well. Please go to grad school, even if you're a complete drooling moron. And once you graduate, go get another master's degree or two - maybe a Ph.D. They're like Pokemon - you gotta catch 'em all. Have I mentioned how wonderful a life choice grad school is? The End.

some of you may be unfamiliar with wider message board culture. what just me is doing is called trolling.

don't feed the troll. don't respond. it's not sincere.

There are times grad school wasn't as bad - like when I accidentally do my work correctly. Then I feel smart and useful for about half a second. And heck, even though I likely can't afford it and it will cause my grades to plummet even more, I am actually looking forward to going to New York in October...mostly because I can see the few people in class I like talking to, and I can go to some cool stores and do some familiar sight-seeing, but it's a start.

And honestly, lack of time to to things or be around others is only from my own experience. My program is pretty jam-packed because it's made for working people - basically cram a whole semester into 4-10 days so people can go back to their jobs without getting fired. I digress.

WornOutGrad, people here think I am a substandard member, student, and human being because I hold a different viewpoint than them, but I truly only speak from experience and I do try and not allow my resentment and bitterness show through in all my posts (sometimes it does). But within much of my griping are really just some realistic and practical words. No one sees that, though, because I've been labeled high-school-style as an abnormal emo who should not be taken seriously. It's kinda cute.

Anyway, this isn't about me, this is about you. Grad school will drain you in every sense of the word, and if you don't like being there, the effects will worsen ten-fold. For those who are head over heels (this phrase doesn't even make sense, but you understand what I mean) about being grad students, the sacrifices and loss of money and time and such are all worth it and may make you feel accomplished at the end of the day. I still stand by my suggestion of slowing down to part-time or taking classes online (if possible) to maybe lift some of the burden. I think that may allow for enough wiggle room in your day-to-day schedule to pursue what you want without losing out completely on a social life. Or if need be, take a break, catch up on things in real life, and really sit down and think about if you are getting more out of grad school than it's taking away from you. People have already said that, but I do concur with those sentiments. I'm sure that is wrong, though, since I am just too unstable in the head to offer advice on anything.

No career (or time spend pursuing it) is worth it is if's going to destroy you. I hope you're able to find whatever answer is right for you. (hugs)

Honestly, I think now many people don't even read my posts. They just automatically down-vote them. Even if I try to be supportive of the OP or say something neutral, it gets a negative vote. It's kind of unfair, really. Guess I'm going to need to start down-voting those who are doing it to me to make things a little more fair. Personally, I don't see a damn thing wrong with what I said. It's okay to wear sweatpants to class if the dress code does not forbid it. Apparently that's a bad thing to say. It's very odd.

(have not read all the previous responses)

Tons of people went to class in sweatpants when I was in undergrad. Many of my classmates looked like they rolled out of bed, threw on shoes and came to class as is. Honestly, if you're paying out the backside to attend college,I think that gives you the right to wear whatever you're comfortable in. Personally I hate sweatpants in general and can't even wear them at home when I'm being a lazy bum, but I know loads of folks find them comfy and will wear them to class or to get groceries and such. That's their call. If a school doesn't want people wearing their jammies to class, they need to implement a dress code...if not, they need to expect to see some folks in sweats and sleep clothes.

Art school definitely brings out some interesting outfits - I've gone to class in furry boots, with my face painted like a mime, dressed as a maid, wearing all kinds of goodies (wrist cuffs, necklaces, chains, chokers, hats, etc.), and wearing a suit, tie and fedora. No reason in particular - just felt like it.

So by all means, if there is no dress code specifically saying you can't wear sweats and such, then wear whatever you're comfortable in. I personally wear a t-shirt, jeans, the blackest black eyeliner I can find, leather choker and combat boots to class every day in grad school. In the colder months, I also wear a hooded sweatshirt with the grim reaper on the front. If the school doesn't like it, they can kiss my ass. I'll be damned if I'm going to give them thousands of dollars and do their ass-busting assignments and NOT be at least semi-comfortable in the process. But art schools might be a little more lax about what you wear. I'm a rebel, so I'd probably wear the same thing on any campus.

Bottom line...IMHO, if a professor has time to care and judge you about your outfit, they're not doing their job. They are there to teach, not be fashion critics (unless maybe if they teach in a fashion-related major).

I'm moving from northern New Jersey (right outside of NYC) to Arizona. Being from the South, and having lived most of my adult life in California and Florida, I absolutely hatehatehate the winters here. This year, I slipped on the ice and fell down the stairs, injuring my back. Then I fell three days later and dislocated my shoulder. Then while I was going through physical therapy for my shoulder, I slipped on the ice again and fell on my injured shoulder.

I am completely finished with winter. You can have it. I never need to see snow, sleet, or ice again.

what is this thing, "make up"? I am a student. I don't have time to put crap on my face when I have to read the complete works of Chaucer by sunrise.

There's a world of difference between saying "Both genders should dress professionally for what is, in essence, a job" and "Girls should wear makeup, but not too much, because I like how it looks."

If you were out looking for dates, your preferences about the feminine countenance would matter, but the non-makeup-wearing female members of your cohort will just have to do without your tender attentions I suppose. What a shame for them. I am curious, since you don't mention it - what are your requirements for the dress of men? I trust they are just as exacting, or that men do a better job of following them since you don't include them as members of the school who don't care about appearances.

I don't like girls with heavy and overdone make up, if that is what you are wondering, but I do like it when a girl actually cares enough about her appearance to dress up and try to make herself look presentable (some of the people at my school don't seem to care). The jewelry might be over doing it, especially for school.

Eeek, definitely a political discussion, but I figure I'll put my 2 cents out there:

Romantic notions of cowboys be damned, the actual, practical purpose of the police is not to protect but to come take an official, historical account of events after they've occurred.

You are the only person who can reliably be counted on to provide for your own safety or that of your family. If carrying a gun and knowing how to use it makes you squeamish or you're relying on the police to keep you safe, chance alone will probably protect you, but I don't think you should categorically damn well-trained individuals who would rather not rely on fate to keep them off the losing end of a violent crime.

If you know enough about cars to feel comfortable buying from a private buyer, definitely suggest Craigslist or Ebay. You'll save 1000s over dealer price. Just sold my last car on Craigslist, and bought my Mini Cooper on Ebay. Saved over $6k on the Mini! Selling the wife's car shortly before we head across the country, but i'll sell her's on Craigslist as well. Make sure to do a CarFax, even if you buy from a dealer.

I'm comfortable with cars, but also have a friend who is a mechanic, but I know not everyone is in the same position.

Kelley Blue Book (www.kbb.com) will give you an idea of how much you should pay for a given car based on the model, age, mileage, features, and condition. When you run across a car ad that interests you, toss the specs into the car value tool and it'll provide the expected value of a car in excellent, good, or fair condition.

In what universe are guns peaceful? Legally used or not, their only purpose is to kill or injure. Your analogy makes no sense. Better yet, please refrain from putting guns on the same level as homosexuality....it's stupid.

I'm not trying to discount it, but it's just a question of how far you take the argument. Statistically, you could argue that a large portion of deaths are the indirect result of alcohol. I would feel safer if people weren't allowed to drink for that reason. Should your personal liberty of being able to drink supersede my right to feel safe?

No one has a right to feel safe. They have a right to *be* safe, but you can take the argument of what makes someone "feel" safe to all sorts of places that really aren't valid. And you aren't forcing someone to be surrounded by them... Some colleges allow firearms, others don't- you can choose to attend one or the other. No one is forcing you to be surrounded by guns. But again, I don't feel that anyone has a right to "feel safe". I think it would be great if people felt safe most places, but that's a much more personal issue to deal with, not really something you can make laws based around.

And as for guns hanging out of their pockets.... The point of concealed carry is that it has to be concealed.

And being as you have to be at least 21 for a concealed carry permit in most states, the majority of college students wouldn't even be able to get a permit.

And as for trying to diminish gun violence... I'm actually trying to increase the awareness of other types of violence. It is a tragic thing in our lives when someone dies- whether it was from a drunk driver, a gun, a knife, a bar fight, or even drug and alcohol overdose. I find our society tends to hold up death as a result of firearms as some sort of "greater" tragedy than the others, and I'm at a loss for why- either way, someone has been taken from their family and friends. And it's not as if they are the statistically greatest chance, either.

get a cat. the cat will eat them.

I'm not sure where everybody gets this notion that practically anybody can get into Stanford because as its put it is a "cash cow". I had heard about this before but I went to the visitation day for CEE and it doesn't seem like this is true at all. The majority of the students I talked to were choosing between Stanford and Berkeley plus the professors were extremely approachable and really seemed to care about each individual student. The professors in charge of admittance mentioned that he expects there to be about 40 students in the Structural Engineering program. My question is if Stanford is so easy to get accepted to then why do they shoot for a class of 40 students when they could easily double this number and make more money?

It was also mentioned that an estimated 8 students out of the 40 would get funding from partial or full fellowships based on merit. Also in order to get funding through RA/TA a second year was necessary because second year graduate students have priority. There are also not that many TA jobs because Stanford has a smaller undergraduate class than graduate class. Most MS students at Stanford complete the necessary 45 units in one year at a rate of 15 units/quarter. Rather if the 45 units are done in say 5 quarters at 9 units/quarter instead in order to get funding the second year, the lower units/quarter leads to a lower tuition rate per quarter. Meaning that it costs about the same amount of tuition money to complete Stanford's MS program in 1 or 2 years. So it is possible to get funding at Stanford it is just the way the program is run that makes it more difficult and not because Stanford's MS program is a "cash cow".

The point is that Stanford has a great engineering program and draws applications from some of the best engineering students in the country and chooses the best ones, no different than any other top university.

I am actually quite optimistic about your application. I don't see a reason why they should reject you based on the criteria of GPA or GRE, or the classes you've taken. But I must say that the program is very competitive. I think you profile looks like average accepted candidate pool, but many qualify candidate still don't get accepted, the space is limited. I don't know how much they value work experience, but a number of them have good work experience.

I think you should definitely apply, that's my 2 cents.

I feel that way, too. I've been so bored with regular life. I'm excited to be in an intellectually stimulating environment again. A little scared, but really excited.

I do not deny the charge of geekiness; in fact, I embrace it.

This must surely rank as one of the geekiest threads I've seen in a long time. I'm fairly certain that at the moment you typed "intellectual infatuation" millions of schoolyard bullies around the globe suddenly halted in their tracks or bolted out of bed and pounded their fists into their palms, not knowing why, but consumed with a desire to hurt somebody somewhere!

I figure this could be nice for people who are gearing up to apply somewhere next year. I know I felt like I went into the whole process blind, and would definitely have done some things differently even though it worked out alright in the end.
The rankings can be a good general guide, but take them with a big grain of salt. Especially the rankings by field. Instead look up the historians you like/have influenced your own research and writing. I wish I had explored a bit more--if I had I would have applied to WUSTL and Rutgers, but I didn't find out about those programs until it was too late.
Don't bother applying to a school ifs there is only one or two people that deal with your field, even if they are amazing. Or if one of those people would be your dream advisor, pick one school like that. But in general, unless there is a cohesive program within your field there probably won't be room for you.
Don't worry about the money aspect of it when deciding where to apply. I didn't apply to UCLA even though I liked the faculty because I figured the UC schools are strapped for cash, but I know some people on these boards got in with stipends. Sure, some people also got nothing, but when the whole process is a such a crap shoot if a program feels like a good fit it's worth trying for.
Don't bother applying to any school that you don't want to go to. This wasn't really a problem for me, but I've noticed a lot of people on these boards agonizing over the fact they only got into their last choice school. Some people may disagree, and I guess it depends on how desperate you are to start graduate school, but I think it only makes sense to apply to schools you are 100% excited about, even if that means applying to only schools that are a crap shoot to get into. As these boards show, some people who get rejected everywhere their first go get completely different results the next year. So aim big, even at the risk of having to apply more than one year.