TropicalCharlie

In addition to craigslist, there are plenty of free roommates search sites. Just google roommate finder and tons of sites pop up. Another resource is your university housing office. Most schools have roommate wanted bulletin boards. When I was an undergrad I found several roommates through my school housing office. All but one roommate worked out really well. Just a note of caution, even when you know someone well, you don't really know them until you live together. I learned this when I moved in with someone whom I thought was a very good friend but turned out to be completely incompatible.

I received email access when I accepted the admission offer back in December.

baby talk

As contretemps stated, it really depends on the school. If it doesn't say explicitly on the school's web site, then I suggest that you contact the grad program coordinator. Your answer is just a phone call or an email away.

SO: Congratulations! I'm so proud of you. Mom: That's good. So you're going to move? (Yes, i'm going to move. I can't commute 3300 miles.) Youngest sis: Yay! Congrats! Middle sis: crickets Friends: I knew you could do it. Congrats!

Since you know the name of the Head guy, address the letter to him but send it to HR. Include Re: xxx position, job #abc (usually jobs have a requisition number when posted to HR's site for most employers that utilize online recruitment). Most HR offices nowadays use a software that searches for key words based on the posted job description. This is another weeding tool companies use to separate qualified applicants from the rest of the pool. It would be very advantageous to write your qualifications and experience in a way that includes these key words.

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.

For the fall 2013 app season, it's not too early to contact POI's. Generally, summer is a good time to do so as most professors have a lighter or zero course load. Don't be surprised if you don't hear back right away since some may be on vacation or away conducting field work. Some will simply ask you to get in touch with them at a later time due to undetermined funding. From personal experience, I actually contacted many POI's back in March for my app season and was really well received by all. Good luck!

California is a very large state, and like most places, it has urban, suburban, agricultural, rural and sparsely populated areas. You can go an hour north of LA and San Francisco and find towns with less than 100k people. There are plenty of quaint seaside towns along the CA coast and more inland where you can get away from the hustle and bustle of the city. You can hike the sierras for days without seeing anyone around. I grew up in and have traveled through most of CA and can honestly say that there are tons of outdoor activities to do with or without a bunch of people around. I get that urban living isn't for everybody, but to generalize all of CA as being the same is unfair. It's like saying that all of CO is like Denver which would be an unfair assessment.

California is also my former home state. However, I did not leave due to the state budget crisis. I do agree that the state's budget problems have cascading effects on its higher education systems and likely play a part in funding allocations and such. I think that the delay in admission decisions is campus and department dependent for both UC and CSU schools. Just looking at the results section here, you can see that admission decisions have been rolling out since Jan of this year for both UC and CSU schools. Keep in mind that many programs and PI's bring in their own funding. Yes, some come from state agencies. Others are from federal agencies which are also affected by the current economy and their own budget cuts. And some funding sources come from private industry. While the state's budget crisis is a major player here, other variables make this more complex an issue than we think.

Given that these are the only options available to you, then that's what you have to work with. If both LOR writers in the lab were going to write the same things about you, then that would not be helpful. However, since you plan on having the PI and another researcher write about different attributes, that sounds totally fine. The only thing I could see adcomms picking on and may view as a negative is that you lack diversity in work experience. When you were an undergrad, did you hold any degree related volunteer/internship/research jobs? This could be a source of another experience-related LOR. For your third LOR, i would be very selective in the writer. You want their letter to have substance as oppose to one that just says so and so got an A in my class. Good luck with your application season!

Frenchdude- I am leaving the islands to start my MS program on the mainland this fall but did not attend UH. Just curious, did you apply to the Manoa or Hilo campus? Is UH your first choice? Congrats on your departmental admission and good luck!

Aloha and welcome!

Most people are reasonable when it comes to these things. Just be sure to let them know as soon as you find out and make arrangements for a future date, if necessary.

The reply-all button can be tricky. Lesson learned in this case. At least, what occurred here is salvageable. I'm sure that a quick apology will suffice, and as others have said, it's unlikely that anyone will remember this a month from now.

scientific center

Has anyone used a virtual mail service such as earthclassmail.com or mailforwarding.com? I am moving out of my current place next month, moving into a temporary place in another city for 6 weeks, and then starting grad school in another state in August. I want to avoid having to do a mail forwarding request multiple times with usps, and the virtual mail service option seems to be the way to go. Just wondering if anyone here has tried it and whether they liked it. Any thoughts?

You are more ready that you think and will do great. Good luck!

fried chicken

A good friend of mine went on to complete his MA in marine biology with a BA in sociology. He took intro chemistry, biology and marine biology classes as a postbac at a small state college to meet pre-reqs for the MA program. Through these courses, he was able to make connections with marine bio folks and got some great LOR's. Now he is a prof at a large CA community college teaching biology and marine biology. As others have said here, volunteering in a research lab to gain experience is another great way to get your foot in the door. If you live near an aquarium or museum of natural history with marine exhibits, look into volunteering there as well. It will give you another perspective on marine bio and career options other than academia. My ug degree is marine bio, so i'm rooting for you!

For most schools, you are officially enrolled on the first day of classes. Until then you are not officially a student. Your department can easily provide this information. Send an email or give them a call, then you don't have to spend your days worrying about it.

kit kat

I'm moving over 3000 mi to my destination this fall. Since we don't have to furniture to move, we are shipping boxes to my in-laws in california. Then from there, we'll either caravan with our boxes or rent a uhaul trailer. It's going to cost a pretty penny any way you look at it. You should look into whether it's possible to share a pod with someone else moving to the same area. I know that container shipping to hawaii allows this, but i don't know about pods.

2 acceptances out of 3 MS applications. Got into my top choice, so I'm happy.

I concur with Spore. Take it over the summer at the earliest, so that you have time to re-take it, if necessary. The application process itself can be overwhelming, especially if you apply while still finishing up school. Get this off your check list and you will be thankful during application season.