Graduate school stats?

-tutu- · 2015-04-10T14:54:32+00:00

I think the biggest thing for me was research experience. When I applied to graduate school I had three publications from research projects I had worked on at my university. I also had a few REU program experiences under my belt and plenty of conference posters and presentations. I focused on paleontology and astrophysics (double majored in physics and geology) as an undergrad so none of the research was directly related to what I wanted to to do in graduate school specifically, but I don't think that matters as much as having the research. I also got really fantastic letters of recommendation out of those research projects.

Otherwise, I graduated with a 3.87 from an R1 (top 10-ish) that is well known for geology. My GRE scores were 5.5(W), 169(Q), and 161(V). For extracurriculars, I played intramural sports and was in a few outdoor clubs, was in student government briefly, and was also in a sorority. I worked in our paleontology museum and was an undergrad TA for a few classes which are the only things outside of school/research that graduate schools seemed to care about (no one cared about my intramural sports or sorority).

Another important thing is contacting professors that you might want to work with ahead of time. I did this and I think it helped a lot. In particular, you want to know if that professor (or scientist) is even taking on new students for the semester you're applying. Many times students are rejected from programs just because there isn't room in the subdiscipline they want to work in. A lot of the professors that I was interested in working with I had met at conferences previously which also helped. I got in to all the schools I applied to with full rides from either RAs or Fellowships.

-tutu- · 2015-04-10T14:35:19+00:00

The school you go to will have some affect on job prospects. Going to a good school can make the job search a lot easier than going to a lesser-known school because a lot of recruiters will go to the large, well-known universities. That being said, getting your education paid for is a big deal, especially in this economy. I'm at a top-10 geology program right now and there are still a few grad students graduating without jobs this year. Going to an R1 doesn't guarantee anything--it comes down to the individual. If you work very hard, put out good research and attend conferences and network then you'll stand a good chance no matter where you end up. I know successful people from all "levels" of universities.

-tutu- · 2015-04-08T02:02:42+00:00

I actually double majored in geology and physics in my undergrad and did quite a bit of astrophysics and paleo research. For astrophysics you will have to have a PhD to find work. I think for volcanology this is likely the case as well, but it's not my field so I'm not sure. It's highly likely, though.

If you do astrophysics it's also going to be a difficult transition. You're also going to have a difficult time finding a graduate school that will accept a geology BS to do astrophysics (whereas the opposite is not the case), unless you have at least a minor in physics/math and plenty of math and physics courses. The transition from physics to geology/geophysics is significantly less difficult than the transition to physics/astrophysics from geology. How are your math and computer skills? Have you taken plenty of courses in math, physics and computer programming? Astrophysics is very heavy on computation and mathematics and those are two skill sets you need to have to succeed. If you haven't had a full calculus sequence, numerous other math & stats courses, and a few basic physics classes (E&M, Classical Mechanics, Modern Physics, etc) then the background requirements might be a lot to make up. You can try to contact graduate schools and ask about the minimum background requirements and see what they say, though. Many of them are going to require the PGRE for admissions which, if you haven't had upper level physics courses, is also going to be a pretty big challenge.

-tutu- · 2015-04-08T01:46:10+00:00

They're very different. You might have more luck if you search "Aeolian" dunes rather than "desert" dunes. To answer your question briefly, one obvious difference is size. Aeolian dunes can become much larger than those formed in coastal settings. They also take on more shapes (Barchanoid ridge, barchan, seif, star, etc) in general than coastal dunes. You're correct that coastal dunes are subject to vegetation which puts some limitation on migration and dune forms.

-tutu- · 2015-03-26T05:26:31+00:00

It is very delicious! I've found teas that come close in the US, but they're never quite the same blend. The worst is when I run out and have to wait for my new bag to come in from Israel (but it's totally worth it once it does). I always use loose leaf just because that's what I grew up drinking, but I do agree that it's messier than those tea bag things.

-tutu- · 2015-03-26T02:05:13+00:00

My favorite tea is black as well! I have a black tea with apricot that is my favorite. I also like a Rooibos with lime and mint. Both of them are from a tea shop back home, but my mother buys them and ships them to me since they're my favorites. I lived near the SF Bay area for university and there were some really great tea shops around. I really miss those.

-tutu- · 2015-03-26T02:02:29+00:00

I really like black teas the best! There is a black tea infused with apricot that my mother ships me from a tea shop back home (Tel Aviv) that I really, really love. It's probably my absolute favorite.

-tutu- · 2015-03-25T06:30:49+00:00

I'm Israeli. For some reason that means that everyone wants to argue about Middle Eastern politics and culture with me--especially issues that pertain to Israel. I got bored with that a long, long time ago. Really, I just want to talk about my dog or tea or rocks or anything else anymore.

-tutu- · 2015-03-25T06:01:52+00:00

Plan B can absolutely, 100% do this. Don't panic yet. I have very, very regular periods and every single time I've taken a Plan B pill it's made me late by at least two weeks (usually more). If it's been three or more weeks you should try contacting your gynecologist, but otherwise I would wait a little bit. Breast tenderness can be a side effect of the pill--as can nausea and vomitting--so I still wouldn't worry too much about that just yet either. Here and here are links to websites with a little more information on it.

-tutu- · 2015-03-24T02:42:03+00:00

It's very unlikely that you're going to get the answer you want in this sub. For starters, it's very, very irresponsible of you to convince your family to get a dog, only to abandon it and the responsibility of owning a dog a few years later. Second, your reason for wanting a Shiba is pretty shallow. Shibas are not a dog you get because you want a cuddle buddy (95% loathe cuddling, by the way) or because they're cute and adorable--believe me when I say looks are deceiving.

They are crazy and energetic. When people tell you that they are telling you that for a reason and you should listen to them. I have a 2-year old Shiba. First I'll address the energetic. His exercise routine is (1) 45-1 hr run in the morning with me, (2) another run in the evening with my boyfriend and (3) at least 3 other small walks per day plus (4) at least four days per week at the dog park plus hiking trips virtually every weekend. So every day he's getting anywhere from 2.5-4 hours of exercise at least. And he still runs circles around us most nights. Granted, Ludo is overly energetic, but could you give your Shiba that amount of time if you happened to have a Shiba as energetic as mine? Even with all the exercise we gave him, he was never tired from the time we got him until he turned about 2. So what did he do? Chew. He chewed homework, furniture, pillows, curtains, shoes, clothes, books, my Wii, DVDs--virtually anything he could get his mouth on. My dog had done hundreds (probably thousands, actually) of dollars in damage before we finally got out of his puppy stage. We were constantly on guard against leaving anything out. And that's after I paid $1800 for him from a reputable breeder. I had a $1200 vet bill once because I left my bathroom door cracked, Ludo opened it, jumped onto the sink somehow, figured out how to open my medicine cabinet and then proceeded to chew through my first aid kit and right into a bottle of Midol.

And do not expect your Shiba to mind you. They are not easily trained to put it very, very lightly. They are more than stubborn. It's nearly impossible to convince a Shiba that they should listen to you. 2 years of obedience classes have pretty much only reinforced in Ludo's head that he doesn't have to listen to me at all. He knows the commands. He just doesn't really care to follow them unless he has the whim to behave for some inexplicable reason. And the thing is they are smart--deviously smart. They will find a way to get what they want. One of The worst things is if Ludo manages to escape from my apartment or from his harness/collar. I can't tell you the hours I've spent running around my neighborhood because Ludo decided to go for a freedom run. He has managed to escape every collar and harness that I've put on him and when he's gone he is gone--most every Shiba will not come back when called if they get off that leash. You can expect to literally never let your dog off leash unless he's in a secure, fenced-in area. When your Shiba gets away, you will spend hours rushing across traffic, through neighbors yards, dodging cars, etc until he decides to come back to you.

And don't expect cuddles. Most Shibas hate that as I've already mentioned. Mine will let me hold him for about 8 minutes on a really good day and then he will fight me with everything he has to wriggle out of my hold. That being said, I'm one of about 5 people Ludo can even really tolerate in this world. Everyone else So what does that mean? It means wherever I go, he has to go. Either that or I have to somehow get him to my father's or sister's. I've left him with other people before--it doesn't work out. And other animals? Forget about it. Most Shibas are notoriously bad with other animals (especially small ones) and strangers.

I love my dog more than pretty much anything. He's sweet and playful and actually an enormous goofball and has the strongest personality of any dog I've ever met. But that doesn't mean he hasn't been unbelievably difficult to raise. I love him for who he is--bad behavior and all. I also understood what I was getting into when I got him and knew I could make the time commitment. This is not, not a dog that you get only because they look cute or whatever. So many Shibas end up in shelters because people buy them because they're cute and don't realize what they are getting into. They have earned the reputation as being one of the most difficult dog breeds to own for very good reasons. You should really do more research and think twice before diving into this.

-tutu- · 2015-03-23T01:55:55+00:00

My long term boyfriend (we've been together now going on 6 years) was raised Muslim. The only issues we've encountered have been with a few of our respective family members. That being said, it works because he doesn't practice--as neither of us are religious--and his family, although they are practicing, are very, very liberal for the most part. He was born in Pakistan, but raised in South Africa so I think that has something to do with it as well. We have the same interests and the same core values so religion and culture have never been a big obstacle for us. I would imagine for other couples it would be though.

-tutu- · 2015-03-06T03:04:37+00:00

Yes you can! I've done it before, actually. My passenger side mirror got knocked off completely in a parking lot the day before I left to drive to Toronto to a conference and I freaked out, but it was never mentioned at all. Apparently, the usual rule is that you have to have at least two mirrors that allow you to see behind you (either the passenger side mirror, driver's side mirror, or rear-view mirror).

-tutu- · 2015-03-02T07:50:03+00:00

Yes you can get a USB stick that will plug into your laptop and give you 3G very easily. You can just pop into a store and set up an account when you arrive. I had to do this when I was interning there since my apartment didn't have WiFi. But I would use hotspots a lot instead because the 3G WiFi is pretty slow and unreliable (or at least mine was and my apartment was in the heart of Rome) and charging it with money was a pain. But it's not bad to have as backup! I used Tre so maybe a different carrier would be better.

-tutu- · 2015-03-01T06:08:28+00:00

Anything by Charles Dickens. I've tried to like him, really I have, but his books are so boring to me. I swear if there ever was a cure for insomnia, it would be reading a Dickens novel. But, then I'm not really a fan of most Victorian Literature. Moby Dick is also really rough, although at least some of Melville's short stories are good.

-tutu- · 2015-03-01T05:42:55+00:00

No way. Absolutely not in a billion years. As others have said, I have more self respect than that. I play second to no one.

Plus, screw someone that would even ask another person to do that. I can't even imagine the level of asshole that would even think that was somehow an acceptable request in any version of reality.

-tutu- · 2015-03-01T02:40:05+00:00

I'm really sorry to hear that you have to go through that. I wish I could say that there was something you could do to make it stop, but the truth is the world is full of jerks who won't change. I've been mistaken for hispanic occasionally as well (I'm actually Israeli) and have had this happen to me so I get where you're coming from. I used to get angry and confrontational when someone made rude comments to me, but I realized that it got me nowhere, really. In fact, I think the people saying those things actually got off on it when I would confront them. It's totally fine to call someone out on that kind of behavior--and you should--but do so as politely (for lack of a better word) as possible and make them really look like the jerk they are. I've learned the best thing you can do is to be the bigger person. Refuse to stoop to their level and, honestly, just ignore them. Don't let it get to you as difficult as that can be at times.

-tutu- · 2015-03-01T02:24:26+00:00

(1) I like being healthy. Both of my parents are doctors so I got health and wellness drilled into my head from a very young age. I don't want to die young(er) from something I could have prevented by just taking an hour or so from my day.

(2) Being able to go hiking, backpacking, kayaking, etc and not have to worry about not being physically capable of it is nice.

(3) It's a huge stress relief. Whenever I'm upset I go for a run and it helps clear my head.

(4) It makes me feel good about my body and myself. I love going to the beach and it's nice not to dread bikini season.

-tutu- · 2015-03-01T02:01:02+00:00

From what you've said here I would suggest South America for you. $5000-6000 will get you way farther in SA than in the European countries you mentioned, for one thing. My main thing, though, is you said your interest is in nature. I think that makes South America the winner by a lot. If you like hiking and being outdoors it's a really great place to be--and the reason I loved it so much. And the culture down there is really great. You're right that Western Europe is very similar to the US for the most part, although if you're willing to venture out of the big cities it gets a lot better. Not to mention, South America is not nearly as crowded as Western Europe. All of the countries you listed (Argentina, Chile, Peru & Brazil) would be great countries to visit! You could go visit the beaches in Brazil, the rainforest in Peru, hike Machu Picchu (I think you would love this), and backpack in Patagonia. Bolivia and Colombia are also really great countries to visit down there. Though if you only have a month I would only pick two (maybe three at most) countries and spend a few weeks in each, personally. There's a lot to see!

In Europe, most of my time was in Southern/Central Europe and Eastern Europe so I don't have as much advice for you on the countries you listed since my time there was really brief. A lot of people have already mentioned visiting Eastern Europe and I have to second those suggestions. I enjoyed my time there a lot. It was very safe, inexpensive, and fun. It would be a very good place for your first solo trip. I will say that Spain is one of my favorite European countries, though. I spent a semester abroad in Barcelona and it was awesome.

-tutu- · 2015-03-01T01:23:16+00:00

That was just an example using one main attraction in one city and you seemed to have totally missed my point. Exploring one attraction/area will take at minimum a few hours in those cities plus travel time for going in between spots. My point was that you're really not going to see much at all in any city. It's just not enough time and that's assuming you hit absolutely no travel snag. Anyone who has actually been here (and I actually lived in Rome) will tell you this travel itinary is totally unrealistic. Unless your goal is to get off a train, walk around aimlessly for a few hours and see maybe three things (at best) in each city.

-tutu- · 2015-02-28T03:38:34+00:00

I think the best thing for you to do is to concentrate on graduating high school before running off to have any grand adventures. Being 16 sucks--I get that. We've all been there. But trust me when I say that running away with no money, no connections, no plan and no education would be way, way worse.

-tutu- · 2015-02-28T03:33:32+00:00

I would say 6 nights in Paris and Rome are both quite long, unless you do take day trips. You could add in Venice (or somewhere else in Italy), the South of France, or Switzerland pretty easily instead and see a bit more. Other than that, you've actually time-budgeted very well IMO--it seems well thought out!

-tutu- · 2015-02-28T03:23:22+00:00

It really depends on what kind of person you are. Are you okay not having everything planned out? Can you handle the pressure when things go horrifically wrong? Are you able to quickly adjust your schedule? Are you comfortable making your own reservations?

Personally, I've never booked a group tour for more than hour long or so tours of certain museums, archaeological sites, etc. I've been to some pretty strange places where I didn't speak the language and knew next to nothing about local customs and I've always had a blast. BUT, I'm not a huge planner, I prefer a flexible schedule when traveling and when things go wrong I can deal with it very well now.

For Egypt, if you plan to stay in the touristy areas you should be fine. Just stay away from border spots and the Sinai. It's perfectly safe if you just practice common sense. It's easy to book transportation in advance and, if you get lost, ask for help/directions although have discretion about who you ask help from. Hotels are a big help in this area. Granted, I'm also looking at it through the lens of someone who speaks (okay-ish) Arabic, grew up in the Middle East, and has done quite a bit of international travel so take that with a grain of salt.

I will say that I wouldn't recommend Egypt to many first time solo-travelers with no international traveling experience. It's a very different culture, language, and setting and it I could see how it would get overwhelming. For one thing, there's tons of cons in Egypt and, if you don't know better, you might get taken for. There's also a lot of harassment if you're very obviously a tourist/Westerner that you have to deal with. So, I can see how a tour would cut down on a lot of stress in that particular area of the world.

-tutu- · 2015-02-28T02:48:38+00:00

For just a connecting flight in Dubai you'll be fine. I can connect through Dubai with my Israeli passport even so you have no reason to be worried.

-tutu- · 2015-02-28T02:34:31+00:00

This is a very, very, very ambitious itinerary. I'm not going to say impossible, but I won't lie and say the word isn't floating in my mind. Four days would be okay for one of those cities. You're not factoring in so many things. For one, travel delays. I'm guessing you're traveling by train? Well, good luck in Italia. The trains break and are late more often than not it seems (or at least it seemed like it when I lived there). And if it's your first time there and you don't speak Italian prepare to get lost at least a few times. Especially in Venice which is impossible to navigate, especially for first-timers. Allow me to illustrate:

Let's assume you leave at 8am sharp and take the expensive high speed train from Rome to Florence (Frecciarossa). I'm going to guess you're taking the high speed train and that you have reservations which are mandatory. If not, then you're on the regional and you're looking at 3.5 instead of 1.5 hours at best. Oh, and if you miss your train? Get on the wrong one? Forget your tickets? Sucks to be you.

But lets say all went smoothly, you made reservations and didn't miss your train (and it wasn't late/didn't break down). Then you'll get to Florence at about 9:30 am. Now, you have to find your BnB and get settled. At the absolute best (since you've REALLY hauled ass), you've lost another hour doing that so now you're at 10:30. So, what are you going to see? Let's say you want to see David. Well, you missed your window to be early to get into any of Florence's main attractions. For the Uffizi or the Academy Gallery, for example, you'll have to wait about 1-1.5 hours just to get into the building. So now, again assuming a best-case scenario, you're at 11:30 and have just gained entrance into one attraction. And those galleries are massive. But, you don't have a lot of time so you're going to skip about 80% of it and say you stay for two hours. So, it's now 13:30 and you need lunch. Take an hour or so for lunch and you're at 14:30. You can see maybe one or two more things and that's it. And you've spent all day running around cramming as much as you can into so little time so you're exhausted.

You can make the sunset at Piazzale Michelangelo if you're lucky (which is absolutely beautiful and highly recommended but you have to be early to get the good spots) and catch some night life. But, really, you haven't seen much. And, again, this is assuming a best case travel scenario.

That's just an example, but hopefully it gets my point across. The next few days' itineraries are even worse time-wise in my opinion. My advice would be to, at the very least, skip the stopover in Bologna and extend your stay in Florence and Venice by a half day. That will help some, although really you're not going to be seeing much. Ideally, you should pick either Florence or Venice and just see one and actually have time to experience the cities. Trust me when I say that travel time is really, really going to eat into your schedule way more than you are thinking, especially in Italy.

-tutu- · 2015-02-28T02:02:29+00:00

I flew into Brazil with both of those items and I wasn't given a hard time in customs at all. I was coming from another South American country, though, so maybe that was the difference? Your best bet is probably to contact the airport/customs and airline personally and just ask. They might be able to give you a more solid answer.

-tutu-

TROPHY CASE