First Year Students - Fall 2015 - How's It Going?

[Cheshire_Cat]

That's my instinct But he's my non-writing-related prof and I don't want it to come off as extreme toadying (because it's not--that's my worst nightmare!)

My dad is a business professor and students ask him to sign his book all the time.

[Chai_latte]

That's my instinct But he's my non-writing-related prof and I don't want it to come off as extreme toadying (because it's not--that's my worst nightmare!)

I see.  Well, I think it's all about how you ask.  Maybe preface it with what you liked about the book/why it spoke to you.  Your genuine interest will show.  Then, ask for the signature.  

I never requested a signature, but a prof in my old department wrote a chem text while I was a student there.  I purchased it (for my own, personal library) and thought it was fantastic.  He never taught me and probably did not even know my name.  But, I introduced myself, told him how I felt about the text and why it resonated with me.  We had a nice interchange. 

Go for it.

[1Q84]

My dad is a business professor and students ask him to sign his book all the time.

I see.  Well, I think it's all about how you ask.  Maybe preface it with what you liked about the book/why it spoke to you.  Your genuine interest will show.  Then, ask for the signature.  

I never requested a signature, but a prof in my old department wrote a chem text while I was a student there.  I purchased it (for my own, personal library) and thought it was fantastic.  He never taught me and probably did not even know my name.  But, I introduced myself, told him how I felt about the text and why it resonated with me.  We had a nice interchange. 

Go for it.

Thanks! I'll do it!

[SunshineBrew]

Can't wait to get started!  Since quitting my job and relocating 500 miles, I've spent the last month watching most of Friends, HIMYM, and Unbreakable on Netflix and hammering out wedding details.  Orientation/TA/safety training starts next week and classes begin in three weeks.  But before that... I'm off to a friend's wedding across the country this weekend and then back on the road for my own wedding two weeks later

[CBclone]

First week has been good; I love how passionate my professors are about this field. My GA position seems to be off to a good start as well, but the first couple weeks of the semester are very different from the rest of the semester so we'll see how that's going in a month or so.

In other news...got a call from Financial Aid this afternoon, saying I didn't have enough "required credits" and am at risk of losing my financial aid if I don't add a class by 4pm tomorrow. I'm at 8 credits (3 classes), but only 5 of those credits are 500+ level (grad). 3 credits are a required pre-req that is 300 level (undergrad), and not all grad students have to take that pre-req if they took it elsewhere, typically in undergrad. So it's required for me (and a few others) but not all grad students, so it's not listed on my degree audit as being "required" -- therefore, it appears to the FA office and loan distributors that I'm taking it as an "elective"...which I'm most definitely not. I ran into my advisors office after class tonight (luckily she was still around) and we came up with a few quick options to run by the FA office, hopefully one of them works. Ugggghhhhh.....

[Cheshire_Cat]

I'm starting to get more confident in speaking up in class.  It still kind of terrifies me, but since most classes are discussion based, I need to get over it.  It is just a matter of getting comfortable, then I will probably talk too much.  But right now it is a struggle. Tonight was the first class I actually felt like I had something to add and that maybe I understood the material better than some of the other students in the class.  It was a statistics class, so to me it is very cut and dry and makes a lot of sense.  This will also be my fifth time studying basic statistics, so that may have had something to do with it.  The professor is actually doing a really good job though.  He's bringing in application and discussion in such a way that it isn't just a boring math lecture. I was actually pretty engaged.  I slept through my other statistics classes, so that is pretty impressive.

[Dedi]

It's been hard communicating with my supervisor. I talked with him Monday and I need to talk to him again. Unfortunately, so does everyone else in the lab. It's becoming a slow start to my own research. I've been piggybacking off of someone else's project, and there isn't enough for me to do. I have ideas for my own project (and I can pilot them in the project I'm in now) but it never gets beyond the "idea" stage. It's the same with my PhD proposal--I'm ready to start drafting a proposal, but no idea I've had has gotten beyond the "idea" stage. So basically, I don't feel particularly useful in the lab. I ended up leaving at 12:30 today because there's nothing for me to do (and I was feeling pretty bad about myself by then). That isn't the way I want to work--I want something to do!

[ballwera]

It's been hard communicating with my supervisor. I talked with him Monday and I need to talk to him again. Unfortunately, so does everyone else in the lab. It's becoming a slow start to my own research. I've been piggybacking off of someone else's project, and there isn't enough for me to do. I have ideas for my own project (and I can pilot them in the project I'm in now) but it never gets beyond the "idea" stage. It's the same with my PhD proposal--I'm ready to start drafting a proposal, but no idea I've had has gotten beyond the "idea" stage. So basically, I don't feel particularly useful in the lab. I ended up leaving at 12:30 today because there's nothing for me to do (and I was feeling pretty bad about myself by then). That isn't the way I want to work--I want something to do!

Same situation with my rotation right now. Advisor is super busy and hard to get a hold of. Basically wasted a week because I couldn't get in touch to ask a question.

[ShadowFairy]

To be fair, I'm about 4 to 5 hours upstate from NYC; if I was in NYC I may have just gone w/ a furnished place or sublet or on-campus housing for simplicity. I also was able to visit my school and town in April and looked at a few places that landlords knew would be available in August and was able to sign a lease sometime in late April or early May. I'm a bit of an over-planner...some friends who also moved onto grad school this year packed their places 2 days before moving and kept saying they'd "just find a place" upon arrival, less than a week before their classes start. I'd go nuts with that idea. Two of them found places, the other is, as far as I'm aware, still living in her van in search of a place. 

To each their own, as they say!

Good luck to you on your move and grad school adventure, RideTheLightning469!

Ahh, been pretty busy lately so I forgot to check back till now. Nah, I feel ya. I tend to over-plan things often as well, and I can't imagine moving in a few days before just to begin looking for a place to live...! Unless you want to live like a hippie then you should definitely give at least one month in advance to search for a place to stay.

Thanks, CBlone! ^^ I'll keep the forums updated on my journey as I'm writing this.

It's been hard communicating with my supervisor. I talked with him Monday and I need to talk to him again. Unfortunately, so does everyone else in the lab. It's becoming a slow start to my own research. I've been piggybacking off of someone else's project, and there isn't enough for me to do. I have ideas for my own project (and I can pilot them in the project I'm in now) but it never gets beyond the "idea" stage. It's the same with my PhD proposal--I'm ready to start drafting a proposal, but no idea I've had has gotten beyond the "idea" stage. So basically, I don't feel particularly useful in the lab. I ended up leaving at 12:30 today because there's nothing for me to do (and I was feeling pretty bad about myself by then). That isn't the way I want to work--I want something to do!

You need to be more assertive and let your supervisor know that it's urgent. A better thing to do is to start an abstract of the proposal and take it to your supervisor for his opinion and feedback, which should lead into a discussion of your proposal anyhow. In the meanwhile, you can always ask your labmates and have them comment on your idea too. Don't make yourself into a victim if you haven't been trying your hardest to go see whoever you need to, or if you feel you've been having an unproductive time because of it.

[Kleio_77]

I just moved cross country via plane. I had six bags of luggage and my cat. I moved into my apartment Sept. 1st and it was a complete disaster; absolutely nothing was cleaned before I showed up. So instead of exploring my new city this week before school officially starts, I have been cleaning 4-5 hours per day. I am also waiting for my funding so that I can buy a proper bed. I do really like my new city though, and my apartment is beginning to look good as it becomes more clean. 

[Dedi]

Ahh, been pretty busy lately so I forgot to check back till now. Nah, I feel ya. I tend to over-plan things often as well, and I can't imagine moving in a few days before just to begin looking for a place to live...! Unless you want to live like a hippie then you should definitely give at least one month in advance to search for a place to stay.

Thanks, CBlone! ^^ I'll keep the forums updated on my journey as I'm writing this.

You need to be more assertive and let your supervisor know that it's urgent. A better thing to do is to start an abstract of the proposal and take it to your supervisor for his opinion and feedback, which should lead into a discussion of your proposal anyhow. In the meanwhile, you can always ask your labmates and have them comment on your idea too. Don't make yourself into a victim if you haven't been trying your hardest to go see whoever you need to, or if you feel you've been having an unproductive time because of it.

Good idea! I'll do that over the long weekend. 

I've already sent him an email about it--he did not reply. He was also supposed to meet with other students today (he was on campus), but he never did it. There is a student that hasn't actually met with him for months (she was on maternity leave), so I'm just waiting for my turn. But I might as well start an abstract on the proposal while I wait.

[SocPhDStudent]

Classes have started for me, but I'm still struggling to really get into school mode. It could be because the assignments/readings are relatively light right now and I'd rather be enjoying the nice weather while it lasts. Either way I got to figure out how to flip that switch.

[ShadowFairy]

Good idea! I'll do that over the long weekend. 

I've already sent him an email about it--he did not reply. He was also supposed to meet with other students today (he was on campus), but he never did it. There is a student that hasn't actually met with him for months (she was on maternity leave), so I'm just waiting for my turn. But I might as well start an abstract on the proposal while I wait.

Then you're off to a good start. Yeah, I hate it when a professor doesn't reply back within the next 6 hours or so especially when you're in his lab, but hey they receive a crap ton of email anyways so that's deterring. I feel like writing an abstract always helps me generate ideas and methods on how to write the rest of the content, such as procedure, logical order/categorization, and details. It's like your thesis statement, after all!

[Chiqui74]

I survived my first week, just barely.  SO MUCH READING.....

[CBclone]

Week 1 was hectic, between having to swap a couple classes, settling into my GA position, and trying to figure out the best times to go to the gym and still be productive (still working on that last one). 

Made a sheet tonight for each class that lists the due dates and a short description of all "Major" assignments like papers, presentations, midterms, etc. Anything that's not due weekly made it on there. One of my goals for the semester (and grad school in general...) is to be much more organized than I was as an undergrad and work on time management. I have a lot more "unstructured" time and that has historically been bad news for me. I start watching football...or chatting on Facebook...or using StumbleUpon...or sites like this one...and suddenly hours have passed and I still have all my reading to do! I digress. Also trying to figure out Blackboard and my school's main "student login/controls" site. So many links. So many options. tl/dr: Working on organization

Went to a couple stores today to look at laptops (mostly Chromebooks) and narrowed it down to a couple top choices that I'll research online this week and then order. I just can't seem to study at home because 1.) it's hot. I don't have A/C and my place is just muggy. yuck, 2.) too many distractions, 3.) I live alone, but even just hearing conversations going on outside my place, doors opening and cars pulling in & out makes me lose focus. I can't close my windows because I need the breeze and circulation...sigh.

Anyway, onward and upward, right?

Edited September 8, 2015 by CBclone

[elijahbaley]

The first two weeks were very interesting and eye-opening. I realised how long it actually takes to cook dinner (1-1.5 hours). Spending about 10 hours in the university, attending classes, walking between classes, sitting and reading in the office, and then making dinner after coming home leaves me too tired to do any studying at night. The days seem to flash by. If this continues, I will have no recollection of the last 5-6 years when I complete my PhD (which might actually be good thing). I am a bit (actually a lot) behind in my courses and just wish there were more hours in the day.

Other than that, I am excited about receiving my first stipend today. Finally, I will have some money in my wallet.

[mouse13]

I am done with my third week of graduate school now. I finally got into a reading rhythm this past week. I joined a reading group for one of my classes. I am glad that I worked working out into my weekly schedule! All in all I am adjusting gradually to the reading load of my degree program and I haven't lost much sleep!

[shadowclaw]

The first two weeks were very interesting and eye-opening. I realised how long it actually takes to cook dinner (1-1.5 hours). Spending about 10 hours in the university, attending classes, walking between classes, sitting and reading in the office, and then making dinner after coming home leaves me too tired to do any studying at night. 

Crock pots will seriously save your life. I know some people get worried about leaving them on while no one's home, but my family has used them for years without incident. You just put your ingredients into the pot in the morning, put it on the appropriate setting for how long you'll be gone, and bam! Food is ready when you walk in the door. Rice cookers are also amazing if you like rice. I have one with a timer, so I can set it to be done cooking just as I'm getting home. You can also make a wide range of food in a crock pot, too. I especially like making chili and thai curry in mine.

As for me, my husband,  two cats, and I left Pennsylvania on the 1st and began our road trip to Oregon. The first few days were boring, just lots of diving. Once we got to the southwest, it got more exciting because we had never been to that part of the country before. Our first major stop was Roswell, NM, but we got there at 4 and that's when all of the cool alien stuff closed, and most of it didn't open until 10 the next morning, which was too late. So I was really bummed about that. We went to Flagstaff, AZ next and went to a nearby national moment which was cool. Next we went to Moab, UT which is an amazing place and visited Arches National Park and I bought a nice rock containing a few pieces of red beryl at a rock shop. We went to Las Vegas, but didn't have time to do anything on the strip because we primarily were visiting friends. It's not terribly far from our new home and we can stay with friends for free, so we might head back at some point. Our last stop was in Reno, and we stayed at a terrible hotel and my bike got stolen. It was a very low note to end the trip on, and I was too angry during our drive up to Oregon to really appreciate the national forests of northeast California. At least the cats didn't act up during the trip!

Our apartment ended up being smaller than I pictured it and the appliances are old (but functioning). However, it was clean and they just painted it (which made it stinky). Our relocube arrived the next day and all our stuff was perfect. No smashed anything. We also found a cool used furniture store and scored some dining room chairs, a love seat, and a rocker chair for under $100. That leaves more in the budget for other things, which is awesome.

I'm not crazy about my new city. I don't live in the same town as my school, and honestly, that town is much nicer. However, we're in a nice neighborhood away from all of the stores and we have a yard and garage. Orientation starts on Monday!

 

[MathCat]

The first two weeks were very interesting and eye-opening. I realised how long it actually takes to cook dinner (1-1.5 hours). Spending about 10 hours in the university, attending classes, walking between classes, sitting and reading in the office, and then making dinner after coming home leaves me too tired to do any studying at night. 

Crock pots or leftovers are a big time saver. I cook dinner and eat leftovers for a few days. You can freeze some and alternate if you make a big batch. 

[Kingsfade]

Three weeks in the semester, I think I'm finally setting in a decent groove and managing to handle things. Course wise I am still struggling a bit with the material but there is a professor whose given me some extra reading and whose offered to have occasional check-ins to discuss the material if I ever need the help so that's good. Hopefully by the time this first month is over I'll be feeling a bit more confident on the material and discussion. 

Edited September 13, 2015 by adrcreyes

[Cheshire_Cat]

Made my first big mistake on Monday.  I made a presentation and stupidly addressed a non-existent point in one paper because I confused it with another paper. (To be fair, the paper was building off of the one I confused it with)  I am NEVER AGAIN preparing a critique the night before it is due.  I got no sleep and it turned out crappy, imo.  I don't care what else is going on, I will get it done during the week, when I can talk to a professor if I have any questions.  

Also, the professors I am GAing for are not giving me any work this week.  I don't know if this is a good thing or not.  One said to check with the other, and the other said nothing.  They seem pleased with my work though, so I think I'll just take this break.

[Cheshire_Cat]

Just completed a critique for my critical thinking seminar.  I feel stretched. And accomplished.  I'm not sure if I really addressed anything substantial, but I feel like I understand the subject better. The process that I used, which included looking up a lot of relevant literature, was a lot more thorough than I had done before.  I was so frustrated with it yesterday morning that I had to just leave it be.  But after hanging out with friends this weekend, and praying about it, (Yeah, I know, weird right?)  that frustration finally went away and I think I came up with a pretty decent paper.

[shadowclaw]

I haven't even officially started and already there are some hiccups. For one my the courses, only myself and one other student registered. Generally, the course would be cancelled with so few students, but the instructor indicated the course will still be offered if we both really want to do the course. I'm really surprised more students didn't register. It's a special topics course on biological invasions, which is kind of a hot topic in ecology. In any event, I e-mailed the professor and let him know I would still like to take the course. Hopefully the other person will, too, but I think it will definitely be interesting with only 2 people. Then again, I took two semesters of intermediate Russian as an undergrad with only 4 other people and we had a blast.

The other things that happened is the director of the program suddenly decided to resign from the position effective at the beginning of next month (I assume he's still remaining on the faculty since he has several graduate students). The dean of the graduate school called for a meeting with the faculty tomorrow, followed by a meeting with all of the program's students to "begin a conversation about the future of the program." On the first read through, I thought it was a very ominous e-mail; however, on the second read, I realized she just wants to talk about what direction the program is going, which could be good or bad. Either way, it's an interesting way to kick off my PhD program.

[hippyscientist]

I move on Thursday - I'm pretty much all packed up to move into my tiny little place on campus and my mum keeps trying to get me to buy way more stuff for the kitchen than I need.

I also have just got my timetable through - looks like some interesting classes, with some interesting faculty and I'm really excited about starting. On the downside - I have class every lunch time  They also just sent an email out about free classes to learn gymnastics and a departmental volleyball squad. Woohoo! Classes start Friday.

[isilya]

Is anyone else feeling sort of overwhelmed already? I really like what I'm doing so far but I have this nagging stress in the back of my mind that I'll move too slowly on research and fall super behind.

Also, everyone in my cohort is significantly older and more experienced than me and I feel like a stupid little kid...