SeriousSillyPutty

Interesting! I agree about things being less competitive -- at least, that's the vibe I've gotten so far. The good thing about our program is that it's pretty customizable, but the bad thing is that that means I will be taking classes in other departments, in a different order from most students. I'm sure they're all trying to strengthen relationships within their departments/cohorts, but I hope they're willing to meet other people, too!

Thanks so much for the feedback! Yes, you're right that I have to get into reviewing problems. I reviewed a bit of calc, then got caught up in other preparatory stuff (currently researching new laptops, as mine is dying), and I just have to re-dedicate time to practice problems. Some of my most pleasant memories were from our physics homework groups that started up spontaneously but became a weekly event. The difference was that, at that point, I could hold my own as a contributing member of the group, whereas now I think I'll just be on the receiving end of help. Maybe I can be the plucky comic relief? Or maybe I can bring cookies? I'm talking to my ed adviser this week, and she talked to the physics prof who's advising from that end of things. It sounds like he's trying to find the easiest classes he can for me that will count, which is appreciated even if somewhat patronizing as well. (Mostly appreciated! Like I said, the conceptual stuff is what I think is fun.) As a side note, since you all had such good recommendations for me, I just read the first part of "Teaching Introductory Physics" by Arnold B. Arons. I wished I had read it before working in the physics help room as an undergrad, and I think it would be useful for TAs, because most of what he recommends is guiding students through concepts, and that's best done in small settings. Turns out a lot of college students don't really "get" area or ratios, which explains/confirms a lot of the struggles kids (well, pre-med students, I should say) had in intro physics. Good stuff.

Any news on the ETA or price of the X1 carbon?

In the fall, I will be one of two (2!) students entering my PhD program. I met some of the current students and it seems like a friendly group, and I'm already on the radar of my advisor-to-be, so I feel okay about it, but I do suspect it will be a quite different experience. Can anyone else offer reflections on how being part of such a small group affects dynamics, classes, etc.?

Hi Wildviolet - Thanks for replying, and sorry I somehow missed this until now! There are two incoming students in the whole dept of Education. (I don't know about the other person, but odds are she/he is not a science ed person... it's a small group they're trying to grow.) The sense I've gotten is that all the students from multiple years are bonded, which will be great for seeing what different steps in grad school are like, but will still be a little weird. I'll also be taking some classes with physics students, and that scares me a little. We'll see how it goes come August!

First, my angst: I love physics. (I was a physics major.) But the physics I love is thinking about all the potential energy I've gained by cycling to the top of the hill, and cursing thermodynamics when I have to break at the bottom of a hill b/c of a stop sign, then going again reflecting on how I can make a 90-degree turn without loosing all my speed (even though I've lost all my original velocity) because good ol' friction gives me a boost. That is to say, I love warm fuzzy conceptual physics. I held my own in the upper-level math-intensive classes (quantum 2, intro to particle physics, etc.) back when I took them, but that was five years ago and I remember nil. Now, for my PhD program in Science Ed, I'm supposed to earn the equivalent of an MA in physics, which scares me. I keep reminding myself that if I could learn it once I can learn it again, but I haven't done a calculus problem in five years! Physics peeps tend to go straight from UG to PhD programs, so I suspect I'll be the only "old, rusty" person in the class, besides the fact that I probably wouldn't have had the chops to get into my school's physics program to begin with. Okay, now my questions: 1) What do you think is most important for me to review? 2) If you had someone in your class who wasn't in your cohort, what would make be more or less inclined to work with her on homework and such? Thanks for any thoughts and feedback!

Thanks! It seems like there are others, too, but I can't think of them until I see them.

I remember in elementary school when reading strategies would include looking for context clues to words you don't know. This strategy has served me pretty well figuring out what stuff meant on this forum, but there's a couple I'm still not sure about. Would people please post explanations for lingo here? (Or send me the link to where they're defined?) Some that I've figured out (I think!): SOP=Statement of Purpose OP= Original Post (or poster) UG= undergrad Some I don't know: POI= ... professor of interest? BB= ? And there are many others I can think of right now. Thanks for your input!

On my interview day when I met the current students, they were actually talking about that -- how they always try to dress somewhat nicely, which meant nice jeans and (as this was winter) sweaters. If you're able to, I would recommend emailing one of the current students and asking her what the range of clothing tends to be in the department. I'm guessing the normal rule would be no t-shirts with pictures/writing on them, and only "nice" (not thread-bare) jeans. Wearing dressier shoes can dress up the rest of the outfit, but I know what you mean about needing good shoes for transportation! (I'll be riding my bike, so I'm currently in the process of testing my wardrobe to see what I can successfully ride in!) And to second NotRick, I love thrift stores (used clothing stores). Some national chains of thrift stores are Goodwill, Salvation Army, and St. Vincent DePaul. (I bet almost any student at your university will be able to tell you where one is, after you get there.) Good luck with the transition!

If your concern was, "I don't think I have enough experience to get accepted into a good program", then it might be legit... but since you already got into a good program, they (the powers that be) have faith in your ability to learn. I agree with Dal that it is just normal grad school insecurity. A lot of programs are 9 months, so there might be options for summer experiences. (Don't know where your program is, but in the U.S. there are a lot of physically active summer camp programs that could probably use your expertise.) As a complete aside, I spent a year at Dublin City University and really loved it, and it makes me happy (and slightly home-away-from-home sick) to see Ireland represented on the forum!

Hi Nestor- Just came across this. Do you still need listeners?

Dr. Egg- Thanks for the lead on the MIT stuff -- I too am nervous about not having done any mathematical heavy-lifting for many years. I don't think this would apply to business, but the physics prof I've been talking to over the summer recommended "Div, Grad, Curl, and All That," by Schey, as a way to review vector calc for science types. Process- You are not alone! Though my program (and, thus acceptance) was through the Dept of Ed, the catch with the Science Ed strand is that we're expected to earn the equivalent of a master's in a science discipline -- in my case physics -- and I'm quite sure I don't have the chops to have been accepted into the physics grad program, in spite of good grades 5 years ago. What I remember about my upper-level classes was working really hard to kind of get it -- and that was when it was fresh! So, I'm trying to review this summer, and made a plan that involves reading/doing problems from various introductory math & physics classes, and even high school calculus is requiring some review. At this rate, there's not way I'll get through it all. (Ahh!) Thankfully, there's a physics prof (referenced above) who is really interested in physics education, and doesn't seem as phased by my rustiness in upper-level stuff. He also proposed meeting with me to discuss a book about teaching physics, and last night I pulled my first staying-up-late-to-finish-reading... and grad school hasn't even begun! I'm still optimistic that we will get into the groove, and it will then just be the normal (high) level of feeling inadequate that is par for the grad school course.

(I might re-post this in the general forum, if there isn't much response in Education.) Is there anyone else out there in the "teeny-weeny cohort club"? In the fall, I will be one of two (2!) students entering my PhD program. I met some of the current students and it seems like a friendly group, and I'm already on the radar of my advisor-to-be, so I feel okay about it, but I do suspect it will be a quite different experience. Can anyone else offer reflections on how being part of such a small group affects dynamics, classes, etc.?

Usmivka, I have a stupid question: How do you mount a bike with a milk crate on it? I currently get on my bike by swinging my leg above the rear tire and around to the other side... but I don't think I can do the high-kicks required for a milk crate. (And I have a "men's" bike, so no step-through center.)

Thanks for the tips! When I looked at racks, they were around $40. Some look to be on sale online for around $30 (http://www.rei.com/category/4500850). I've never heard of a cyclist getting ticketed in St. Louis... maybe there's just not enough of us for the cops to bother? But I do have a front and rear light, and will look into another before winter. I just bought one of those reflective bands for my ankle. And I'll look into the bag covers. Really I just hate spending on stuff, and bike stuff seems really expensive to me -- but, I also don't want to just make do with completely inadequate equipment for the next... 6 years?

Thanks! I have a few more questions: 1) Backpack or messenger bag? If I don't get one that's marketed as waterproof, how water-resistant do you think it will be. (I hate spending money on stuff...) 2) What's with the big price difference in bike fenders?! I've seen clip-on ones for $20 and more permanent ones for $60. I don't need to be clipping them on and off, but is the price difference worth the added protection? My commute will be short enough (1.5 miles) that I won't work up a sweat, so I'm hoping I don't have to bring a change of clothes every day. On the other hand, I've already seen that the unofficial dress code is business casual, so I'll be experimenting with what's worth riding in. (While the weather's nice I can wear skirts with my bike shorts, but when it gets cold, I'll be planning more strategically.)

Like JenJenJen said, this isn't apparently a steadfast rule, but it did surprise me that this one professor was so black-and-white about it. Maybe another way to split the difference between profs who don't want to be bothered and those who want communication is to shoot out a short email that says something like, "Hi Dr. X, I've been reading about your research on your website and it looks really interesting. Is there anything else I should know before apply to your school/department?" Then the ball's in their court if they want to talk to you, but it shows that you're not just talking to them about stuff you could learn on your own.

[Confession: I haven't read all of the above, as I don't think it relates to my comment. Sorry if this is redundant, though.] Also, be warned: At my university I've been warned that, while grad stipends are taxable, taxes ARE NOT taken out of our paychecks, like they are at other jobs. So, we're supposed to file something with the IRS giving them a heads up on the situation, so that they can take our money quarterly, so that we don't owe them a big lump sum come April 15.

Given that it was a small conference, the director's response kind of surprised me, too. Though, as kaykaykay suggested, it can be annoying to be the unwilling eavesdropper in a two-way conversation I'm not involved with thanks to the glories of "reply all" or yahoo groups. Maybe he was concerned about the number of people your note would go to that it didn't apply to. I second Eigen to keep it short; people don't like reading wordy emails from people they can't get useful information out of. (My strategy is to write what I instinctively write, then re-read it, move the important part from the end to the front, and cut out most of the details.) I bet by this fall nobody involved will be thinking about it, so I wouldn't worry too much!

Yeah, I hate repeatedly asking for favors, but I think it's part of the territory. FWIW, I asked the same people to do letters for a scholarship, because I figured it was less over-all work for them to re-work a letter they already wrote than to ask someone who would be a "second string" reference to write one from scratch. More applications have the option (or requirement) of uploading a PDF, so the long distance thing isn't so bad. With your profs being as gracious as they are, I think they'd be happy to help you with more things. There are ways to show that you don't take their efforts for granted, even if you do ask them for a lot of favors. It's all stuff you've heard, I'm sure: Give references at least two weeks to write the letter, so that they're not rushed. Make sure to write a thank-you email for each letter, and a real snail-mail thank-you card at some point. Send them follow-up emails with updates -- at least with positive ones. I also try to periodically touch base with the prof I worked for as undergrad, just so I know that there's been SOME communication in between asking for references. I don't know if it matters to him, but I feel better about it. (I graduated in 2007, but he's still my best academic reference... thankfully he's a really kind, helpful guy.)

My mom has the same problem! Have you checked out Land's End? I have a pair of Mary-Jane-esque shoes that are Land's End brand but bought at Sears and I LIVE in them. I can wear them with or w/o socks, get away with them with skirts, and are more professional than tennies but just as comfortable and quite sturdy for walking around. I've had them a few years, and I can't find mine on the website; these are the closest I can find on Land's End's site: http://www.landsend.com/pp/womens-chalet-mary-jane-shoes~225225_253.html?bcc=y&action=order_more&sku_0=::DCT&CM_MERCH=search-_-mary+jane&origin=search ... and these are the closest at Sears: http://www.sears.com/i-love-comfort-women-s-charley-casual-shoe/p-05487475000P?prdNo=6&blockNo=6&blockType=G6 Good luck! http://www.landsend.com/pp/womens-chalet-mary-jane-shoes~225225_253.html?bcc=y&action=order_more&sku_0=::DCT&CM_MERCH=search-_-mary+jane&origin=search

I agree w/ the Kindle concerns. I have a Kindle Fire (which I love), and it can treat *.doc files like books (making the word breaks to fit the page, bookmarking, etc.) put PDFs are just picture of the paper. Since screen dimensions are narrower than letter sized paper, viewing the whole page ends up really small. I also don't know of a way to highlight. That being said, I'm reading a paper on it right now, and I just flip it to landscape mode so things are bigger. Happy shopping!

It's always nice when one can spin weaknesses as, "One aspect I've been working on improving is..." -- because like others said, growth is a plus. It doesn't sound like she's out to get you, and so if you start giving her proof that you're working on it, I bet she'll be happy to throw that into any potential discussion about timeliness as well. Would it be too cliche to meet with for some tips on time management? Or to meet with current professors and set an earlier deadline for upcoming papers?

Oooh good question! One problem I've had in dating after college is that, in the "real world", there aren't as many opportunities for you to get to know people and become emotionally invested in their personhood without dating. (As opposed to in college, where there were classes, homework cram sessions, dorm peeps, etc.) So I'm hoping that, while busy and stressful, grad school will at least provide space for getting to know people around my age, and that dating would be a possibility. Now, in all reality, most of the students in my department are fellow females, so I don't anticipate finding Mr. Right any time soon. At my undergrad there were grad students I worked with who dated, and I believe they met there at school. The ones I know of are still together (post grad school) and some are married. So, like you say, it can be done.

I agree that the need for boundaries hasn't changed, but I think the use of Facebook has. Two years ago, my boss wasn't on Facebook; now she is. Because we don't have access to work email from home, the easiest way for her to get a message to all of us during off hours is through Facebook. Because I have a collection of nerdy friends and websites I follow, Facebook is a top source for leads to interesting science stories that I write about for work. I don't anticipate "friending" my professors, but I think it's good to be open to the possibility that it might be a useful tool in a professional context. (Yay for limited profile views!) My main point in reviving this post though was the talk about LinkedIn, which I think is more universally accepted as a business tool.