broquemo

Accepted about a week ago to USC MPD program. No word on funding yet.

My mom on my rejection from a PhD program that could only accept 1% of applicants this year: "Well, it's probably because you don't have enough experience." (I did, however, get a first wave acceptance from a great masters program.) Adding to the "explaining what you do" conversation, people are always asking me what my husband actually does. He's got a PhD in Astrophysics/Cosmology. I tell them that he does stuff with equations and writes computer programs to do calculations based on data from galaxy surveys in order to understand properties of the early universe. I think people wish they hadn't asked....or (since he works with NASA) want to talk about how their friend in the military told them that aliens really DO exist... I don't know if it's much better when I tell people that one of my research interests is the role of modern Arab literature as a political force in the Middle East, as seen through postcolonial and feminist paradigms.

I'll be there too. Definitely excited!

Unfortunately rent in the area is kind of high. My husband is a Caltech grad and we pay about $1000 a month for a decent 1-bedroom, which is a good deal for a nice, well-kept place. Granted, part of the reason for the rent being so low is that you have to have really good credit to be approved. We do rent from an individual who owns the building. You might have a hard time finding a larger company with low rent in Pasadena. Most of what I've seen for anything bigger than a studio is in the $1600+ range with not too much on the low end of that. Sorry! As far as getting to Caltech, there is a decent bus system, though you could walk if you lived close enough. It really just depends on where you end up renting. You might also consider living in Los Angeles and taking the metro in, but Pasadena is a really nice city and generally very safe as well.