NinjaMermaid

HAH! I had no idea...

Hah! I visited my school in the dead of winter so my attire was a giant snow coat with giant snow boots. I guess this outfit was fine because I was accepted.

"Why did you apply to schools that are so far away and cold? You could just go to UT Austin." "You want to study monkeys? And then what.. be a zoo keeper?" Or my favorite from my 28 yr old neighbor just the other day-- Her: I want to apply to graduate school! Me: That's great! For what? Her: Oh, I don't know. But I want to live in Arizona so I guess I will go to Arizona state university. Me: Wait, you don't know what you want to do? What was your undergrad degree? Her: Psychology, but I don't know if I will like that. I really want to study the body. Me: Um, ok so you mean you would like to be an MD? Her: What? I don't know but I like Biology.... Me: I tell you what, why don't you start looking at graduate programs in Arizona and see what makes you happy. (I'll help her along as much as I can, but I never met someone so full of excitement who had no idea what she should be excited about.)

Jan 26th deadline - heard back the first of March Jan 16th deadline - heard back the end of Feb (but only because I called about a random question - would have formally heard first of March) I agree that relaxing is the best option. It will help you later on when you have the same agonizing moments with grants, scholarships, funding lines, post-docs, etc etc etc Form back-up plans, keep yourself busy, and remember the chinese parable about the elderly farmer whose only son fell off a horse and broke his leg. The farmer was distraught because his son would not be able to help him on the farm for several weeks and he was sure that his crops and their livelihoods would suffer. But then that very next day an army draftsman came to the home and was scooping up all able bodied men over the age of 14. His son was spared thanks to his broken leg. --The story continues but you get the idea--

My favorite thing to do is type in keywords to our online library Articles + resource. Even though all my research is already planned and in the works I still find some of the best papers this way.

It's true that life can hand you lemons regardless of your station, but when i had a career it was so much easier for me to handle stress. I had 100 employees that looked to me to be a leader; showing stress simply was not an option. Here in grad school, all we have is ourselves to look after. Somehow I can excuse letting myself down, where I can't excuse letting others down. I'm pretty sure that keeping busy with our grad club was a big help in handeling all my recent stress. I should add another trick I use to help myself -- I like to get dolled up the day after something terrible happens. It's difficult to be sad when you look cute.

PS - Every department is different of course but I emailed the Anthro department on Feb 23rd (of my application year) about some random question and they told me the good news in a reply. It was one full week before the letter came in the mail! Our applications were due around Jan 16th I believe. So maybe this info can help ease some of your fears.

What I mean by this post is not the normal school related stress that we all suffer through, but the life stress that didn't seem to realize we are under quite a bit of pressure already and could really use a break. Since I started in fall, 2010 I have suffered the following: 1. A flooded basement (3 times - before shelling out 7 grand to keep it from flooding again), 2. A myriad of other house disasters (storm doors ripping off hinges, sink faucets busting, garage doors falling down, 50yr old windows needing to be replaced, cracks in the basement wall, etc etc etc) 3. The death of my 20 yr old cat 4. The death of my 18 yr old dog 5. Having my CC # stolen - probably from a local pizza place 6. My 65 yr old mother's appendix bursting suddenly and needing emergency surgery 7. My best friend's dad (and my second father) being diagnosed with terminal brain cancer I'm sure that I am forgetting things but this is all the major stuff. Somehow I have managed to retain a 4.0 (I know.. I know.. grades don't matter), get a high pass on my qualifying exams, stay on track with my research, and serve as a prez for 2 large grad clubs. There are days however, like today, in which I feel like screaming expletives and quitting. I manage to get through these days thanks to friends, my boyfriend, and a liberal amount of libations. How do YOU manage?

I can tell you that that is about the average stiped that humanities grad students are offered at SUNY Buffalo. The city itself is cheap and you "can" live on that amount but it might be tough. Some grad students live on campus at special town homes and occasionally the cost for this is included in a stiped, but it is not common. I have a friend from India who got a stiped around $15,000 + tuiotion and he managed to make it by not having a car and living cheaply. The bus system is decent here, especially if you find a place close to South Campus. Your classes will be at North Campus - but don't worry the buses run in between them, every 15 minutes. He got a room in a house that housed about 4 other foreign students and he said it was a fun experience (and cheap). If you accept your SUNY offer please feel free to message me any questions you have. I can try to direct you to websites and let you know what areas of Buffalo you should avoid. -- there are many-- As for you US students - most don't hear until March so don't stress!

I graduated HS in 1997, took some basics classes and fiddled around at a community college for a year after then stopped all together. In 2001 I started school again (community college basics). Basically from 1997 - 2004 I worked in various careers and even owned my own business. Then in 2005 I got into an amazing undergrad program at a very prestigious university. I graduated in 2008 with great credentials but could not find a high paying job in my field (not even a mediocre paying one). So instead I managed a boutique for a decent wage until I settled on a graduate program. Bottom line - it is not how your life flows but how you ride your life. Only you can decide if YOU will go back to school once you leave.

I was forced this semester to take a break due to the death of my 18yr old dog. But otherwise, I would say I might have only 2 or 3 days with no work. Between grants and data - there is too much to be done.

Taking success seriously is never needy - I never said that. My warning concerns the possibility of not watching your words carefully. I'm sure you won't have that problem but I would have given poor advice if I left out that cautionary section. My advisor has occasionally confided in me, not regarding my peers but prospective students, and trust me that the line between needy and driven is fine. As far as socializing and networking goes, well that is an art. You will need to practice it. Try to pull yourself out of your tunnel vision so that you can see everyone as a possible boon to your career. It is important that you understand that really, truly, your career will depend on who you know. I have had friends who were never considered "competitive" for grad school get some very lucrative jobs/internships/etc thanks to their silver tongues. Don't mistake - they are hard workers - their brains just deal with academia differently.

Quals stand for qualifying exams - if you are accepted into the PhD and did not get funding, or are a Master's student who wants to enter in to the PhD, you can get a high pass on your qualifying exams and thereby enhance your chances to get funding the following year. Our quals are taken our second semester. This does not mean that every university has the same setup tho. You have got to ask questions to the schools you are applying. I'm not sure what you mean by social and exposure factor? Do you mean exposure to social and cultural anthropology? If so then again - it depends on your program. You REALLY need to contact your future advisor, future faculty, and possibly the chair. Don't be needy, just ask how you can make yourself more competitive. But you have to be careful how you do this - some profs can become annoyed. Grad school is balance, skill, and a little bit of luck.

You should talk to your advisors. Our program is very complicated in regards to funding. If you are a MA student then you are not eligible for funding, period. A PhD can be funded but not all of us get funding. Mostly it depends on how everything factors into the funding equation. Grades and Quals effect the most with GRE being the least important. You can have professors speak on your behalf but it will only offset the equation if you are on the cusp of getting funding. All this being said it does not hurt to get to know more profs in your department, especially your Chair. As for debt - that is something only you can decide if you are comfortable with. I have a very sizable debt amount because I happened to get divorced while getting my undergrad. Although much of my school was paid for (and it was a very pricey school), my living expenses were not. School debt for my circle of friends is just a fact of life - I think of it as another mortgage.

My turn for a freak out. Ever do something REALLY dumb you cannot imagine that it happened? I purposely changed one of my group associations that I have written at the base of my Personal section to the WRONG name. Even worse - it's a prominent primate society - of course that is my speciality and focus of research. I KNOW the name, I've been a member for 6 years.... Nothing to be done about it now but how bad do you think this will make me look?

Also if you apply to a school of choice that has both a Masters and PhD program then don't dispair if you only get in to the Masters. If you excel you will most likely get admitted to the PhD and not lose any time from your PhD quest. Just make sure your advisors know your plans up front and well in advance so that you can continue planning for this eventuality. I can tell you that at my university you would have a difficult time with that GPA, however depending on what your interests are, might squeeze by with backing from an advisor. We have a 15% acceptance rate. Feel free to message me directly if you'd like.

Don't give up! You will never know unless you try. What are your other credentials? Some schools weigh GRE's lower on their acceptance formulas, some don't even care what your GRE score is, and some only use it in funding formulas. Also, think about the fact that these GRE's are brand new - that may work in your favor. I understand your dispair but you cannot throw in the towel. Contact some possible advisors and build bridges. Work to your strengths!

You're right that it will be a steep uphill battle. My best advice - contact faculty that you would like to have as advisors. Build up a rapport with them and have them help you plead your case. The sooner you email them the better. I would even suggest a face to face meeting. You may not get funding but from what I understand if a faculty member wants you - then you can usually get admitted.

I would like to say that I approve of this advice. =)

There are a few classes of ours that are cross-listed. However, on top of the undergrad class time we also have a seminar style class, which has only graduate students and adds a bit more coursework. My first inclination was to be annoyed but our professor did an impressive job; in the end I learned quite a bit.

This is a valid point - I didn't think about your job possibly being connected to your research interests. If this is the case then I agree that you should say something up front. Had the job I accepted in Jan (before grad school started) been in any way remotely related to my research I would have discussed everything up front. Thankfully it was just a high paying position in retail. I told my boss in March that I applied, told her in May that I was accepted, then I found my replacement for her by July. 3 months notice is a MUCH longer time than most employees give when they leave their jobs. Everything worked out very well and she still remains a solid reference.

I believe that unless you are actually accepted into a program and you KNOW you are going to start then you do not need to mention your desires to potential employers. If you get the job and choose the PhD instead then you can gracefully bow out. Many employers have no idea how much planning goes into grad school application processes and may be none the wiser that it was your intention all along. How you handle it will determine whether a bridge is burned or not.

I have been told often that it has less to do with the school and more to do with your advisor. What aspects of Animal Science are you focusing in? I do not agree that there is no future in it, there are many opportunities. What you need to think about is what you are most interested in and how your current advisor has helped you achieve that goal. If you feel like you have not made enough connections or have advanced in your career then I say go elsewhere.

I changed things right up until 6:30 and then just decided it was all mush in my head. Good luck to all of us!

Agreed - I'm doing final touches on mine tomorrow morning before sending them but I still won't be satisfied.