Cici Beanz

I honestly don't think it's worth paying an arm and a leg to live in the city and commuting in to Newark. Life is so much cheaper (though still not cheap, per se) on this side of the river, and you could go into the city every weekend if you wanted.

My content is missing as well...and I'm also getting the blank searches.

I did my undergrad in psych and am going for my masters in biological anthropology in the fall. In my SoP I tried really hard to articulate the links that I saw between the two fields, and it worked. It's not so much that I'll be looking at different things...more that I'll be looking at the same things from a different perspective. Honestly now that the panic of "oh my god they're never gonna let me in!" is over, I'm pretty happy that I'm gonna have some depth of knowledge in both disciplines. It fits with my worldview quite well.

My SOP was focused on my research interests in a pretty broad way (basically I gave a paragraph or so on the stuff I like to get drunk and ramble about to unsuspecting friends...anything and everything addressing the intersection of biology and social behavior, in this case) and then had a little bit about one of my current favorite specifics (genetic markers for PTSD). I also spent some time talking about what I've been doing with myself since I graduated college in 2006 and why I've decided to approach my areas of interest from the standpoint of anthropology rather than psych (my undergrad degree).

Seeing as I stole it myself...I say the more the merrier. Mugs for all!!

I've decided to leave my beautiful husky home with my mom and it's killing me to do it, but it's SO hard to find a place that will allow a 40 dog. Huskies are on a lot of placed banned breeds lists as well. With that said, if you find a super pet-friendly place with space for me and the pup, would you PLEASE let me know? If there's any way I could realistically have her with me if would be amazing.

This happened to me a few years ago. I guess I just kind of misunderstood what they were looking for...ended up with a 710 Verbal and a 2.5 or 3.0 AW...not to sound like an arrogant ass, but clearly something's not right there. I re-took the test just to be cautious and ended up with a 4.5...not stellar...I guess I just won't ever completely get what they're after...but decent enough that I didn't have to freak out about it. The key is that they are looking for the logic of the arguments/essays...not the right or wrong. It's not about editorializing, no matter how eloquently you go about it. It's about analysis. Whatever you decide to do, good luck and don't let this get you down. It's just one essay and certainly not a hard-and-fast indicator of your writing ability.

Somewhere else on the site I read that somebody bought their recommenders mugs from the school they ended up going to. I think I'm going to do that, though of course I've already thanked everybody and updated them in an email...and sent a holiday card back in Dec. to the one prof who helped me out most of all.

This application season I got letters from two professory who helped me get into the exact same program a few years ago. I ended up being accepted and then backing out for personal reasons pretty late in the game. I had figured that my chances of ever being able to look them in the eye again-let alone get references from them- were shot to hell. As it turns out, though, once I got up the nerve to tucl my tail between my legs and ask them again, I managed to convince them that I was 100% dedicated this time around, and they actually ended up supporting me MORE fully than they had the first time around! I think that you have an advantage over me too, in that any wandering off course that you did was through no fault of your own. Your goal has been the same, so I don't think they will be even surprised, let alone put off, by the fact that you will continue to need their support as you move up the ladder. In addition, though, remember that you will likely meet at least one awesome professor in your post-bac program who could also be a resource for the future. All in all I think you've got your head on straight and as long as you articulate yourself as well to your referees as you did here on the forum you should be good to go! Best of luck to you.

The Dr. Claw reference made me LOL.

As others have already mentioned, I that's not what the OP meant at all...although I'll admit that I had to re-read the post myself after looking at those comments to get what she actually said.

Hey...I'm just hoping to reawaken this thread, as I'll be in Binghamton this fall. Is anyone else going to be looking for a roommate/place soon? I know most leases in the area run June through May, but I'm really hoping I can sign a lease closer to the start of the semester since I don't be actually moving until August...thoughts?

I know it's not as exciting as living in the city or even the nicer parts of Hudson Co., but there are decent areas of Bergen and Essex Co. NJ that are within reasonable commuting distance to the city as well. NJ Transit has decent routes to the PATH. Again, not glamourous and not the quickest commute ever but you might find better prices on housing.

I managed to save face after pulling out of a program, and I am incredibly grateful that I did...but I will tell you that I put a LOT of effort into convincing them that I was serious this time. And I don't mean to sound judgy, since after all I don't know ANYTHING about the specifics of your situation, but if you would prefer a job over grad school to such a large degree, maybe you should just keep on holding out for a job just a little longer and see what your situation is for next year? Or if you are sure you want to accept an offer this season, maybe you can defer for a year should you find a job?

Yeah, it always makes me sad when subsequent books don't measure up to the original...somehow my view of the whole franchise ends up getting averaged out. Thankfully enough time passed between when I read The Giver and Gathering Blue that in my mind they stayed separate.

I've also started reading some work by folks in the department. Specifically, I've got the 5-6 most recent articles by my advisor printed out and have been slowly but surely working my way through them. He's got a few different research streams going on and I'd like to be at least somewhat literate with regard to all of them. I also plan to check out the CVs of one or two other professors whose work I find interesting/pertinent to mine. Besides that, I've also started looking at living arrangements and put an ad on Craigslist looking for other folks in a similar situation who might want to get a jump start on housing- so I'm looking for roommates before we even find a place, I guess. In between that fun stuff I'm working as much as possible to get rid of as much current debt as I can, and reading a crap ton of novels and whatnot.

I read Gathering Blue but don't recall reading Messenger. I liked GB, but not nearly as much as The Giver.

I started it a few weeks ago but back-burnered it in favor of my sudden Rizzoli and Isles obsession. I'd like to get back to it soon, though.

Amen. I do it all the time. I've probably only read about a third of the books I own.

I started to suspect that based on the trailer. Now that it's confirmed I really want to read/watch. I LOVED the Giver as a child.

Let me know what you think of it!

Interesting. I'll have to google making your own...I have no clue how one might go about that.

Not that I have anything spectacular to add to this, but I just had to comment on how we seem to have very similar priorities when it comes to this stuff. Everything you mentioned it at the top of my list, and for the same reasons.

I'm also planning to get one. They just look so cool!

I just finished In the Woods by Tana French, and I loved it. Now I'm working my way through the Rizzoli and Isles series by Tess Gerritsen.