Hey, has anyone else applied to start graduate school in the fall?
I applied to the physics PhD program of a bunch of places.
I have only heard back from Columbia, Indiana University and Caltech. They have all accepted me.
I am really excited about it, anyone else share the joy?
Comments
enjoy the hell you have embarked upon, I know I have.
That's great that you've already got some acceptances. Congrats! Now you can soak 'em for the best financial arrangements you can get. Tuition, stipend, new car, prostitutes on Wednesdays, the usual.
That's what I was gonna say.
I'm going to law school in September 2008
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
Hahaha
I live in Scotland... the law is a bit different here than in the US. Why is it that most people think lawyers are evil?
Hahaha
I live in Scotland... the law is a bit different here than in the US. Why is it that most people think lawyers are evil?
Because they are.
More seriously, there are a fair amount of lawyers who are adept at generating more work for themselves by relatively synthetic (read: dishonest) means. Lawyers and judges, in all reality, probably have a bit too much pull on the application of US civil policy. The proliferation of frivolous lawsuits and the general ineptitude of the contemporary jury system are two examples. But with that said, there are plenty of lawyers who are far from evil.
Why is it that most people think lawyers are evil?
On account of that scoundrel lawyer Mr. Wakem!
"Well," said Mr. Tulliver, speaking all the more cheerfully, that Mrs.
Glegg might see he didn't mind her, "if Wakem thinks o' sending his
son to a clergyman, depend on it I shall make no mistake i' sending
Tom to one. Wakem's as big a scoundrel as Old Harry ever made, but he
knows the length of every man's foot he's got to deal with. Ay, ay,
tell me who's Wakem's butcher, and I'll tell you where to get your
meat."
"But lawyer Wakem's son's got a hump-back," said Mrs. Pullet, who felt
as if the whole business had a funereal aspect; "it's more nat'ral to
send him to a clergyman."
"Yes," said Mr. Glegg, interpreting Mrs. Pullet's observation with
erroneous plausibility, "you must consider that, neighbor Tulliver;
Wakem's son isn't likely to follow any business. Wakem 'ull make a
gentleman of him, poor fellow."
"Mr. Glegg," said Mrs. G., in a tone which implied that her
indignation would fizz and ooze a little, though she was determined to
keep it corked up, "you'd far better hold your tongue. Mr. Tulliver
doesn't want to know your opinion nor mine either. There's folks in
the world as know better than everybody else."
"Why, I should think that's you, if we're to trust your own tale,"
said Mr. Tulliver, beginning to boil up again.
"Oh, _I_ say nothing," said Mrs. Glegg, sarcastically. "My advice has
never been asked, and I don't give it."
"It'll be the first time, then," said Mr. Tulliver. "It's the only
thing you're over-ready at giving."
Hey Shawn, what's your emphasis? Or do you even have one?
I don't get to pick courses until next year. So for right now my specialty is 12 hour days in the library reading, outlining, and case-briefing the standard first year law curriculum. But I think I like human rights, civil rights, and international law. My kinda subject matter, but you'd be surprised how much just that standard first year curriculum broadens your concept of justice. I never even *thought* about fair dealings in contracts, fair exercises of court jurisdiction in civil procedure, and the tons of specific public policy concerns that pop up in the hundreds and hundreds (and i mean hundreds and hundreds) of cases you'll read. The whole experience is slightly overwhelming (but still manageable)-- so if you don't have the fear of God in your eyes when you're there, look out. Oh boy will you be busy next year at McGeorge.
Yeah, lookin' forward to being hopped up on Adderall and locking myself in my den for a whole year...
I do hear, however, after that first year it gets quite a bit better.
Everyone has said the first year is the hardest.
Yeah, lookin' forward to being hopped up on Adderall and locking myself in my den for a whole year...
I do hear, however, after that first year it gets quite a bit better.
It's the hardest because of the adjustments you have to make and the learning curve you have to deal with. Yes, you say "lock yourself in the den all year" but that's literally what you have to do from day 1. Get yourself a schedule and keep to it, and understand that if you're not working 12 hour days (9-9), you're not going to do well unless you're really really smart. It's dreary when I put it like that, but there are definite high moments. Like spending hours doing your work, getting called on in class, and knocking it out of the park! Those moments keep you going.
My buddy was drunk for a whole week when he came home from Berkeley for the holidays.
your tolerance goes way down.
By the way, I also heard from Yale and U. Wisconsin today. I got accepted.
Next year is going to be fun.
My top three candidates right now are Yale, Columbia and Caltech.
I have yet to hear from a few others. But right now it's all good. La creme de la creme, as they say.
If you don't mind me asking, if you're shooting for the top physics schools, did you apply to Cambridge and Oxford, too?
Dude, I am sure law school is a walk in the park compared to Physics grad school.
Congrats on all your acceptances!
But even someone who has the training and the know-how in physics would still find law school a really challenging experience. Professional school isn't by any means a walk in the park-- unless you regularly go for 12 hour walks every day. It's a huge investment of time and energy, and if it doesn't require 100% of your faculties, then you're either falling behind or a genius (most likely a physicist
Congrats on all your acceptances!
But even someone who has the training and the know-how in physics would still find law school a really challenging experience. Professional school isn't by any means a walk in the park-- unless you regularly go for 12 hour walks every day. It's a huge investment of time and energy, and if it doesn't require 100% of your faculties, then you're either falling behind or a genius (most likely a physicist
Agreed. Sorry, I put it that way.
I just wanted to drag the attention back to myself and away from law school
Any discipline can become really challenging. It all depends how far you take it.
Very impressive. Congratulations. Now go where you can get the best deal.
If you don't mind me asking, if you're shooting for the top physics schools, did you apply to Cambridge and Oxford, too?
I find it interesting that you ask that. I had half-done my application to Cambridge but never finished it. I asked around the Physics Dept. here at Duke to see if it was worth applying to anywhere outside the US and they said "no".
Being an international student (from Costa Rica), I really had no preference on which country to go to for graduate school but I never found a reason to apply to anywhere but universities in the US.
The best schools I applied to are Caltech (which accepted me), MIT and Princeton (which I have yet to hear from). I personally have never expected to get into Princeton (it has the most selective program in the US) but I still gave it a shot.
There are also some other really good schools that I did not apply to (like Stanford and Harvard). They just did not catch my attention.