Cici Beanz

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

I haven't done this, but my advice is this: it can be fine to room with someone from your program if you already know them, e.g. sometime after your first year, and you don't have exactly the same classes and the same office. I definitely wouldn't recommend rooming with someone you don't know yet your first year. You'll need a place to blow off steam, and it would be nice if 'home' was that place. Also, being roommates comes with its own challenges and irritations, and you don't want your need for clean dishes or their precise accounting of who paid for what to influence your grad school life!

Finish strong.

Don't put your employer in a position where he/she will look skeptically upon future applicants who mention that they may want to attend graduate school in the future. (If you're slacking, your team mates will vent after you leave.) Through your hard work, build a bridge that will allow your return to your employer down the line. Build a relationship that will allow your employer to be a reference. (If you're working hard, your team mates will sing your praises after you leave.)

My $0.02.

The biggest challenge was to start and to believe that I can do it. Then it was easier and easier every day

(welcome!)

For me, it was trying to actually figure out HOW to do what I WANT to do. And then, finding an institution that had the desire to explore my path with me. It worked out in the end!

Well, I like to realize that grad school isn't suppose to be easy- it's suppose to challenge you and make you question your abilities. There is something to be said about feeling like you can't do it, but pushing through it and saying to yourself "you can do it" .

I think it's really important also to have a balance. I make sure I have down time and get out with friends...I vent and scream...and sometimes cry. But I love my topic, I am interested, and i take one day at a time.

You will be fine! Grad school is an amazing experience where you grow and realize how strong, determined and motivated you are. If you find something difficult and hard, be happy- it means you are learning and gaining experience! If you knew everything, there would be no point in doing grad school!

I think many people who responded this article perhaps missed the point. It is not advocating cardio exercise over strength training or discouraging strength training. It is simply stating that when it comes to burning abdominal fat, aerobic exercise is shown to be more effective. Anyone who has ever taken a PE class knows about the benefits of both types of exercises. Of course, everyone's body responds differently, so to each his own

Really now, this thread is amazing to me. Of all the stupid shit celebrities do, you're mad at James Franco for going to school? Seriously?

He certainly has no obligation to prove his qualifications to the public. The public doesn't vote on who gets to go to Yale! (but seriously, vote for me please) The only legitimate line of questioning here at all is whether or not you liked his published work. Perfectly valid if not. You could even then draw a valid conclusion that it reflects poorly on the school when an alumnus of theirs does bad work.

But other than that, all these rumors do a disservice to academia, and make everyone look extremely catty. Really now, you read a post on the interwebs from a guy who knows a guy who had a class with him who said he skips class a lot and hits on girls? Astonishing.

Then I suppose I am not a modest or decent person

I'm just saying, if I had the opportunity to go to my dream program without having to go through the stress I'm dealing with right now, I absolutely would. Yes, I would feel guilty, but I would still do it. And maybe add cynical to the immodest and indecent list because I really doubt there are a lot of people who wouldn't.

How would you suggest it be done differently? You can't very well pretend to be someone else to try and get in without your famous name. At least he's trying to gain an education as opposed to the myriad of things others are doing these days. I'm not saying that he's going about it the right way, just that it's not soooo bad when put in perspective.

Seeing James Franco's GRE scores > Seeing Obama's birth certificate

Hibachi with my best friend tonigt. Sorely needed. I cannot wait to get out of this office!

I always think about how this will pay off for graduation and how sexy and awesome I will look in front of everyone...then I remember I will be in a giant robe, where my figure will be lost under meters of fabric...at least my ankles and feet will look thin!

I just put some new posts up at my blog if you guys are interested. Shamelss plug, I know...but I figured if we're all bored and putzing around on the interwebs anyway...

You saw The Big Bang Theory where Sheldon had to overcome his fear of speaking? --- Drink heavily (but try not to take off your pants).

Streaming the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

I can think of more than one grad school situation where I'd have to psych myself up by saying "Kiss. Ass. You can do this, mama. Get to it. Kiss some ass."

Sorry if you have severe anxiety issues towards public speaking, but the original poster has noted that they have stood in for professors in the past and he/she is quite outspoken in many social settings and discussions. Your post seemed directed towards the original poster and offered advice of taking anti-anxiety medication, something that I doubt they need when you read their issue (maybe they do, who am I to say, but from the original post it sure doesn't seem like it).

Do some people need to take this type of medication? Possibly, I'm not going to disagree with you there because I don't have enough knowledge to try and argue the facts.

And from my personal standpoint (not directed at you), I don't understand how someone who has an extreme fear of public speaking could become a professor. That's like me saying I want to be a pilot but I'm scared of flying???

I wish you wouldn't call my advice lame. As someone that suffers from severe anxiety when it comes to public speaking and finds that practicing, even 3-5 times, does NOT help at all, medication has been a godsend. The medication I take is one that you take 30-60 minutes before a situation that might make you anixious and that lowers your blood pressure to help keep you calm. It has enabled me to give conference papers and teach courses without worrying about sweating through my shirt, panicking and running out of the room (which is something I did years ago, and which led to the discovery that I suffer from severe anxiety), or other kinds of freak outs. While practicing is a great idea, it does NOT work for everyone. Plus, since it was the only thing suggested on this thread, I figured it might be worthwhile to suggest something else for those who find that practice is either impractical or doesn't help much.

I realize that a lot of advice in this thread is geared towards conference presentations. But, at some point, it is likely that many of us will be in the classroom. It is difficult to find the time and audience to practice every lecture beforehand, moreso if you teach three times a week for 50 minutes. I'm not sure anyone really has time to prepare the lecture and then spend 3-4 additional hours practicing it before giving it. While it is possible that you may get more comfortable in front of the class over time, it's also possible that on the one day you don't get a chance to practice, you'll have a panic or anxiety attack, which can be crippling.

Please don't universally denigate medication or suggest that everyone's problems can be solved without it. Anxiety is a medical condition that can be treated and, if you suffer from it and have tried other solutions to no avail, you can and should talk to a medical professional about the possibility of medication and/or therapy and/or a combination of the two.

I didn't denigrate your advice, Gaijin Punch, so I do not understand why you feel the need to denigrate mine. There's nothing wrong with practicing but it is not a panacea for everyone, and shouldn't be presented as such.

I just want to say, if you look at the thread title from the front page it says:

"my phd-advisor stole my man"

I have nothing else to contribute to this conversation.

Bones, OK, things are a little clearer now.

My advice is that you should go past this incident and move on. As someone said, take the whole thing as a lesson.
Your purpose in coming to this institution is not to make money by any means necessary but to acquire knowledge.
Well, this is part of it ... Learning about research politics.

I hope this helps you.

That sounds AWESOME!!! Totally jealous!

I am hoping for some sun, my deck, a nice bottle of wine, and a good book!

ooo..any maybe indulge in some much needed gaming with Diablo III and Amnesia!

I'm taking an online course through the same school that I'll be attending in the fall. Other than that, I plan to spend most of my days at the beach and learn to surf.

You say that, but for many of us there is no other option. After 8 months of relentless job searching after I returned home from Ukraine as a Peace Corps volunteer I could not find a job in my field, I had one phone interview. Then I started just applying to any kind of office type job opening and got nowhere. I finally ended up a preschool. I work at preschool and I have a BA in International Studies and 2 years of Peace Corps services. I do not have the funds to go to grad school without loans. If I don't do grad school in DC I'll continue to get nowhere in my field of International Development. So for me the loans are a godsend. They will allow me to move on with my life. The idea of massive debt is unappealing to everyone but if they mean me reaching my professional goals than I'm not going to stagnate in my current situation any longer. To me that's worse than sinking into debt.

I'm just startgin my masters in the fall but I've already decided that I MUST do my best to create a balanced lifestyle for myself. If I don't, I know my motivation will go right down the tubes. My hope is that school will be fulfilling in its own right...allowing me to do a lot of work without becoming resentful or burned out...and that my projects will pick up momentum from my enthusiasm. I feel like when we drown ourselves too much in one thing we spend time stressing and ruminating that we could be putting to better use taking care of ourselves.

fuzzy has given you some really great advice!

For me, the first few steps in generating a research project are as followed
1) I read a few papers in the area that I am interested in...if you do a good broad search, 15 may be enough- this is really discipline dependent.
2) Once I know the 'area' that I am interested in, and have my papers, I look at the discussion section and see what kinds of limitations these studies faced or listing as gaps in the current knowledge. This helps me see what the current issues/gaps are in this area.
3) once I know the gaps and have more detail in the area that I am interested in, I can start forming a question.

For me, it was helpful to have a question to take to my supervisor to begin with. It kind of gives you a working point to start off of.

Key things I think about when I read the literature and think about my question are: what will be my dvs and ivs, what is my population of interest, is there a specific methodology/method I want to use, what kind of data might I need to answer my question, who might I need to work with..etc. Figuring out these kinds of things will help you narrow your question.

IMO, I think it's better to to a broad lit search to help you figure out your question. Once you have your question down, then it's time to really dive deep into the literature. I have recently changed my dissertation topic, and came up with a new question and objectives. I have written a 7 page proposal with easily 35+ papers referenced in it. Some of these are skimmed, or for specific items- on average, I try to read 4-5 articles a day, and synthesize/write along with it.

Hopefully this helps!