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Bibbidi-bobbidi-booyah! (See what I did there?) For those of you familiar with the tale of Cinderella, let me first start off by saying that I'm not expecting a old, stout woman with a magic wand coming in and hooking me up with an awesome outfit and a night off. While I do have two step-sisters, I know this is far from happening, and although I'm not the biggest fan of the original/Disney version, I do like many of the other "remakes," so to speak. However, if you've watched any of the others (A Cinderella Story or A Cinderella Story: If The Shoe Fits, for example), you'll realize they each have one thing in common: they each have a fairy godmother (in a way)! Now most of the times, this fairy person is a best friend of some sort and that, my dear readers, is exactly what I'm going to talk about today!! Most of you currently in the abyss have understood a few things by now: 1) that annoying voice in your head reaches pitches you didn't even know were possible, 2) how much you love, love, love the Girl Scout cookie season, and 3) what it means to have a good friend who is beyond encouraging during this intense and maddening experience. For some, this friend could me a family member, but for me, my fairy godmother is my best friend. Now just to clarify, this girl had to put up living with me while studying for my GRE while working a full time job. She watched me go through the application process once before only to get rejected due to not having two pre-requisite classes, and she helped me destress by going out one day and buying my favorite snacks and watching movies. I know what you're thinking: "where can I get a friend like this?" Well, that's what I'm here to tell you! During the abyss, the time spent here reveals a multitude of things. Mainly about yourself, yes, but it also reveals the feelings of those closest to you. Who supports you, who encourages you, and who secretly thinks you're wasting your time. The point I'm trying to make here is that in every Cinderella movie, the fairy godmother is someone who sees the spark in Cindy even in the darkest of despair. She not only encourages her, but helps her transform into the princess she is meant to be. Therefore, here is my little piece of advice for you: forget about yourself. I know it may seem strange, especially thinking that your fairy isn't the one who's future hangs in the balance, but this whole grad school process isn't just about you (no matter how much you want to argue with me about it). Forget about yourself, forget about the abyss, and forget about what your next steps are going to be. Your mission, should you choose to accept, is to go out and figure out who your fairy godmother is, then show them your gratitude. Let's face it, you probably wouldn't be where you are without them, so stop trying to pretend otherwise. While your in the midst of stressing about life, they are worrying about you. So go out, give them a hug, buy them their favorite coffee, and show them that you appreciate them! It's not that difficult. Especially since they've had to put up with your abysmal bootie throughout this entire process...plus, better to do this now while you're sitting around doing nothing and staring into the abyss than later down the line when your stressed, panicked, and screaming at your self conscious to finally clean out your closet. So, here is to you, my fairy friend! And here is to all those other fairy godmother's out there who are about to get a amazing surprise. I hope this weekend is great for you all and I hope to hear from you all soon. Thanks for reading! K. P.S. I GOT MY FIRST FAN MAIL THE OTHER DAY!!!! YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!!! WOOHOO! I feel special! P.P.S. For those dedicated readers, you probably know about my #SpreadTheLove post I plan on doing in February. It's my idea that since we are all on our way to a higher education (or attempting to be at least), to participate or spread the word about some amazing organizations that are trying to raise money to educate the children of other countries. Please take a few seconds to vote on one of the organizations you would want to see some support for, and please, please, please help me get the word out by sharing it on social media! Let's help future generations get the education they deserve. #SpreadTheLove

Hi gradcafe! We're the Graduate Recruitment Initiative Team (GRIT) at the University of Chicago. We're a team of graduate students committed to the recruitment and retention of students from marginalized backgrounds to graduate programs in the Biological and Physical Sciences at the University of Chicago. For students from marginalized backgrounds, the road to grad school can be confusing, downright scary, and may seem impossible. The lack of diversity in STEM is a huge problem, generating unsupportive and sometimes hostile work environments for students of color, LGBTQ+ students, students with disabilities, and female-identifying students. GRIT aims to help fix the "leaky pipeline" in graduate school recruitment by actively recruiting minority students to graduate school, connecting prospective students with faculty members of interest, and fostering personal connections with prospective students to ensure they find the best graduate program for their interests. In addition we aim to bridge gaps in marginalized student retention by providing programming that aims to provide supportive environments, community building, and increase access to mentors and role models (such as seminar series featuring LGBTQ+ scientists, womxn's networking and mentorship events, and community-focused events). So... why are we here? We want to reach out to the prospective graduate student community and offer our support! We're here to talk diversity and inclusion, talk about struggles we have faced, talk about the graduate school experience, talk about applications: ranging from "am I a competitive applicant" to how to talk about non-scientific strengths (i.e. you balanced 3 jobs in undergrad and don't have a high GPA because of it) and even what graduate and non-graduate programs to consider, to talk about our successes in recruiting, STEM identity etc. We are here to help other students have a better experience, both in the application process and after they get in. Reach out and let us know what we can do.

I need a buddy who's currently applying for a doctoral program, from outside the US. Will be great to have a companion to pace ourselves, ensure WES and other steps are correctly done, etc

Hi all! I'm [supposedly] at the end of my studies, but I've had what I feel is an awful advisor/student experience and I’m concerned it’ll prevent me from finishing. I’m currently finishing writing up my dissertation. The majority of it is written, I completed my last science (work) chapter earlier this week and am now working on my introductory and concluding chapters. Short version: Problem: I haven’t gotten meaningful feedback on the last 60% of my research work and it stresses me out! Put short, my thesis is three mini-projects, with the last 2 being spin-offs from the first that was actually published. I submitted the work for my 2nd project last September (as a thesis chapter) and the work for my 3rd project last February. My main feedback, concerned the number of citations, formatting of the paper and introduction. Is this normal? I ask for feedback all.the.time regarding my research and I just don’t get any. I have no clue if my analysis is sound, techniques are good, just nothing. We actually had a group meeting, two of is other students presented on their research about 10minutes (They do get regular meetings and feedback). When it was time for me to go, It didn’t go so well. He asked me to present on a paper I found a week earlier, so I started with that before my research. Well….it was a 25 minute tangent lead by my advisor on why the people in the paper are wrong. I didn’t get to present on my work because they all had to go. It was really frustrating. On top of that, I can’t even manage a meeting with my advisor at best, maybe once every two weeks, because he is “to busy” (but he wants me to be in my office all day Monday-Friday, it’s crazy). It really has me worried. Any advice? He also does not want me to confide (or ask advice) from any of the other faculty concerning what is going on. I remember once, I was talking with the faculty head in the hallway (my advisor was running late for one of our meetings). While we were talking, I spotted my advisor standing awkwardly nearby, before he interrupted our conversation (rather abruptly) and sent me to his office while they talked. What do I do!? I literally feel helpless at this point.

You will work alongside a team of highly skilled engineers delivering World-Class customer support for our market leading products. Riverbed prides itself on delivering an exceptional customer experience; come and join a team that’s proud of its high level of Customer Satisfaction. The primary responsibility for the Escalation Engineer is to manage technical issues for our clients. Thorough understanding of the customers environment and the ability to provide expert advice and advanced troubleshooting problem resolution steps are essential. Many of the problem scenarios require trace analysis, proprietary log analysis, advanced debugging of Windows, Linux and Unix O/Ss. Requirements: · Previous vendor support experience – desirable · Knowledge of networking, understanding of packet flow and TCP session establishment, knowledge of LAN, WAN Technologies and SAN/NAS desirable · Understanding of WAN technologies, bandwidth and latency. · Experience with general routing/switching, policy based routing, spanning-tree, VLANs and VLAN trunking (WCCP a big plus) · Experience with Virtualization Platforms, VMware and/or Microsoft Hyper-V, desirable · Experience reading and understanding packet captures with tools like Sniffer and Wireshark · Experience with any of the following is a plus: QoS, Netflow, NAT, SSL, HTTP, CIFS, MAPI, NFS, Firewalls, RAID · Experience with UNIX/Linux, scripting is a plus. · IT experience, knowledge in one of the technology sectors: - Application Architectures & Performance Management, Storage & Infrastructure Management or Network Infrastructure · Cisco network certification (CCNA, CCNP) & Microsoft Certified Professional (MCITP, MCSA, MCSE) desirable or looking to future certify · Strong communication skills with customers, as well as internal company groups. · Keep customers/partners regularly informed of problem investigation, and resolution throughout support case lifecycle. Please apply at https://international-riverbed.icims.com/jobs/3630/escalation-support-engineer/job?mode=view&mobile=false&width=705&height=500&bga=true&needsRedirect=false&jan1offset=60&jun1offset=120 Why Riverbed Technology? If you are a high-achiever who wants to be part of a dynamically growing, billion dollar plus company, then you should look closely at Riverbed. We offer the rewarding experience of working with the best minds in the industry that are changing the world through cutting edge technology and applications. The company has been recognized multiple years for attracting and retaining today’s top talent as a great place to work by Glassdoor, Fortune magazine’s 20 Great Workplaces in Tech and by numerous other publications. Riverbed is a market leader recognized for delivering solutions that work as advertised. We pioneered WAN Optimization with SteelHead and have led the market we created for all of the past 12 years. Today, we have over 28,000 customers, including 97% of the Fortune 100 and 98% of the Forbes Global 100. With the Riverbed Application Performance Platform, we provide integrated solutions for the interrelated challenges of hybrid enterprises in the cltoud era. Our solutions for SD-WAN, for visibility across the hybrid enterprise, and for software-defining the edge enable companies to deploy and manage network services, applications, monitoring capabilities, and branch IT as intuitively as downloading apps onto your smart phone and as instantly as spinning up compute and storage resources into a public cloud. Riverbed is a pre-IPO opportunity with over $1 billion in revenue headquartered in San Francisco with branch offices around the globe Learn more at www.riverbed.com.

Hey All!I saw this thread created in previous years and thought it would be great to have a support network! Applied to 12 clinical and counseling programs this cycle. Have completed 3/4 interviews so far. I was wait-listed for a two programs post interview, and alternate for one program pre-interview. Not sure how to feel at this point. This is my second application cycle. Any who.. Looking for a judgement-free zone to discuss the process and offer support to my fellow wait-listers...

Hi everyone -- I am a U.S. prospective PhD student, but am applying for programs while working/living abroad. I visited 3 of the 4 social sciences programs over a year ago when I was just thinking about applying but it was a long time ago now. I've since been admitted to one and received emails from POIs at two other programs checking in to say my app has gone to committee and asking if I had any questions about the programs. So far, I've asked about funding, about job placements, I've taken a look at the current students and recent grad profiles to see where they've been and where they are going. But are there other questions I should be asking?? It's a long time to be at a program and I'm afraid I'm missing an important piece that I should be considering. I'm definitely hoping to visit but am waiting to see if I get into more than one program so I can take advantage of the visit to see multiple places at once.... For those already enrolled in PhD programs is there something you wish you had asked about going into the program?