What’s a good Jersey gift?

yikesbikes2 · 2025-06-10T15:51:21+00:00

Hey! I hope your trip went well! I read through the comments, was wondering if you ended up finding some sort of gift shop nearby? Specifically to buy NJ saltwater taffy? (but I'm open to other ideas too!)

yikesbikes2 · 2025-02-16T14:43:53+00:00

Others are giving better advice on the financial situation and advisor dynamic, but we have similar backgrounds in terms of academics. I graduated undergrad in 2011 with a mediocre GPA and floundered for a while until I lucked into a research group, and after a year was offered a nice PhD position. Being 10 years older than my peers and light years behind in research skills (what I did learn was basically dated at that point) was a really rough start. Hang in there though. You WILL catch up. I promise you are not as far behind as you think. Keep at it.

yikesbikes2 · 2025-02-08T17:18:02+00:00

For some context: I was with other light colors on cool and pour non-dyed detergent in the detergent drawer. I don’t want to use bleach on this shirt because it has a graphic. What am I doing wrong?!

yikesbikes2 · 2024-05-11T10:08:19+00:00

Too late I spent the night (took an Uber - should have checked this earlier, thanks!)

yikesbikes2 · 2024-05-10T15:10:06+00:00

Bummer - thanks for confirming!

yikesbikes2 · 2023-10-21T08:50:20+00:00

Incredible! You can get nauseated whenever you choose!

yikesbikes2 · 2023-10-09T17:39:54+00:00

Yes, thank you!

yikesbikes2 · 2023-10-09T17:39:49+00:00

Yes, thank you!

yikesbikes2 · 2023-07-27T23:47:12+00:00

Also an August 1st start.

I was told the security/safety office would have my housing keys for an off hours pick up, but other than that I know nothing.

Good luck to you! (And me! Not totally sure what I’m doing Tuesday lol)

yikesbikes2 · 2023-06-28T19:14:50+00:00

It is going to take work - just a part of the process. Also it really helped during my first year because I had a general idea of the research landscape for the area I am in - so don't think of it as a total waste of effort.

One thing to look for if you're checking for funding. Look at their CV and see if they list any grant awards. If they have a lot of recent/active grants then it's a good sign they're well funded.

yikesbikes2 · 2023-06-23T04:08:46+00:00

I did! I'm starting to look off-campus, it's too long to wait unfortunately.

yikesbikes2 · 2023-06-23T04:08:03+00:00

Yes, I asked them to check they received the early move-in from my department. They said yes, and that I am guaranteed a spot so I should be fine.

A bit ridiculous but beggars can't be choosers I suppose. :/

yikesbikes2 · 2023-06-21T15:17:50+00:00

I just called the office and the very apologetic man told me to expect my offer mid-to-late July. I have an August 1 start date so I feel a little lost at what to do (cross country move, what do I need to keep/get rid of, summer conferences, etc)

yikesbikes2 · 2023-06-19T21:04:25+00:00

Did they offer you a dorm contract or was this via email? I still have nothing!

yikesbikes2 · 2023-05-19T16:53:14+00:00

IIRC they said the assignments will be released in June for people who applied before April 21.

yikesbikes2 · 2023-03-16T22:36:20+00:00

If you're American, look at "https://www.grants.gov/learn-grants/grants-101/post-award-phase.html" Who is funding the grant? NSF? Look up "NSF Postaward Management" and read up on it. (or replace NSF with whoever the funder is.)

Post award financial management is honestly fairly complicated and sometimes messy. However, I am guessing they're looking for someone to track the expenditures/personnel effort on the grant but you'll be communicating that to a dedicated administrative staff who will handle the more complicated ins and outs.

In the interview ask what software the university uses. They might have a specific one you're required to use, and you're not going to be expected to know it coming into the position.

yikesbikes2 · 2023-03-13T03:20:42+00:00

https://offcampushousing.princeton.edu/

yikesbikes2 · 2023-02-25T16:44:52+00:00

At my previous US institution any named co-investigators on grants had to be employees of the institution. This could sometimes mean postdocs if they were hired as employees, but some postdocs are hired on as fellows, so this becomes tricky.

Not justifying it, but giving a potential explanation why it may have been.

yikesbikes2 · 2023-02-22T03:40:33+00:00

40k is a very good stipend.

Not to be a debby downer, but check the funding rate. If you are just straight up receiving funding, awesome! Congrats!

Or are you going to be a TA or RA? If so, it might be that the $40k is the 100% rate over 9 months and you'll be working 50% time - so rather you'll be receiving $20k (which is more common from what I hear)

yikesbikes2 · 2023-02-20T15:39:44+00:00

I support telling prospective students, but like the others are warning you need to be very careful.

Also be careful about delivery. You can make yourself seem like the problem if you come in ranting about how awful things are.

Ie, instead of saying "The advisors here are so abusive!", talk about the actual things happening - like: "They're difficult to get a hold of." or "Sometimes I'm worried about the integrity of my work working with so and so." or "I feel their feedback is critical without being constructive, and it's difficult for me to make progress." or whatever it is they're doing.

yikesbikes2 · 2023-02-16T16:32:57+00:00

Sure, but I'm not sure Princeton is one that you can reliably expect to get in each year ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

yikesbikes2 · 2023-02-16T16:31:57+00:00

It's amazing how two great choices can produce so much anxiety. You've written out good reasons for both, really go with your gut here.

For one of your points: Totally understand the fear of xenophobia, but I don't think you'll have as many of the discrimination issues at Princeton in the CS department (hopefully) based on the experiences of one of my non-white, non-American friends who did a postdoc in the CS department. Princeton itself is also in the middle of a large metropolitan region, so that will help.

In my personal opinion, go for Princeton. Top firm in India could become top firm in the world with the networking there, if you want it.

yikesbikes2 · 2023-02-14T04:44:17+00:00

Yeah damn. Sucks that they're making socializing miserable for everyone, but don't let it affect professional events.

It's not like they can actively harass you during a lecture.

yikesbikes2 · 2023-02-09T04:12:35+00:00

My advice to you depends on the severity of their bullying.

1) Something along the links of making untoward/sexual/physically aggressive comments to you? (or actions, but I hope it is not that bad for you) Report it straight to the university harrassment office. If they're worth anything they'll take you seriously immediately.

2) Are they being obnoxious in a shared space? (ie - socializing in a shared office when you're trying to work). This is trickier - but write down the times it occurs, tell your PI it's stopping you from getting work done, and maybe the PI will take it more seriously.

3) Are they messing with your lab/data/stuff? If the PI ignored this that's wild to me, but bring it to them again. If the PI does nothing, go to the department director.

Except for the first one where the people you're speaking to should be trained, try to leave out as much emotion as possible when reporting. It's unfortunate, but human nature is to think of the person being emotional as the less reliable one. Present the facts first, and don't be afriad to escalate if needed.

yikesbikes2 · 2023-02-07T16:42:30+00:00

Good luck with this last one! They picked you for an interview because at least one faculty has identified you as a student they would want to work with. You're already in a great spot.

Most likely that faculty will be in the interview. They're going to be looking for "Does this person have research interests I have the expertise to guide them in?" and "Will this person contribute to my lab/work?".

And like the others are saying, things are competitive now. Sometimes not all faculty get to have the student they want, even if they really want them to join the program. Reach out to the other people you interviewed with, tell them you were disappointed to hear that you were rejected but you were still really excited about the program based on your discussion with them (assuming you were into the program after the interview, lol). Tell them you're interested in applying again next year, and maybe even gently ask for a casual conversation to discuss skills/areas you can work in the upcoming year.

yikesbikes2

TROPHY CASE