Entries in "Life"
Graduate School Status
Given all the work and excitement that have gone into my graduate school applications, I feel like I really should have discussed the topic of what I'm doing after Case already, but I suppose that I've been a little too busy living and keeping my head above the water to spend a little extra time on recording them. In any case, I know that there are a few people who read this who won't have heard where I applied and all the news, so I'll share.
I find such things easiest to handle in an unordered list, so that's what you're getting. I'm serious when I say "unordered" here. This isn't some kind of list of ascending or descending preference.
- Duke University
- Status: invited to visit, visited (9-11 Feb), no formal acceptance or financial offer yet
- Thoughts: I enjoyed my visit to Duke a lot. The campus is gorgeous; the people were good; the women's basketball game was absolutely fantastic and really made me nostalgic for the U of A games I used to attend when I grew up in Arkansas. Unfortunately, the research didn't really grab me.
- University of Virginia
- Status: invited to visit, visited (23-26 Feb), formally accepted, fellowship offer on the table
- Thoughts: I wasn't considering UVa all that seriously until I visited. Not only are UVa and Charlottesville great, I fit in very well with both the department members and the other prospective students. The downside is that I still haven't spoken with the professor there who would be my advisor if I matriculate; he was out-of-town when I visited. I'm expecting a call from him this week. I've actually been offered multiple fellowships on top of the department's base graduate student stipend, which is very flattering. The irony here is that I was waitlisted when I applied to UVa as an undergraduate.
- University of Michigan
- Status: invited, upcoming visit (16-18 March), formal acceptance, no offer of financial aid yet
- Thoughts: Michigan's aerospace program is quite highly ranked. In fact, I surprised a lot of people when I turned down their undergraduate program in favor of coming to Case. At the time I felt like Case's program was better suited to what I needed. We'll see if Michigan's program is more like what I need now when I visit next week.
- Cornell University
- Status: invited, upcoming visit (9-12 Feb), formal offer of admission and of financial aid
- Thoughts: Cornell is definitely the most prestigious department to which I applied, and I was absolutely floored when I received my acceptance letter from them. There's a professor there who I'm very interesting in meeting this weekend because I feel like his lab group may be a good match for me. I haven't decided where I'm going yet, but just about everyone else has declared that I'll be going to Cornell. I'm not sure whether the thought delights or terrifies me more.
- Case Western Reserve University
- Status: accepted, no financial aid
- Thoughts: I admit it. Case was my back-up. I also, frankly, couldn't consider it too seriously because the professor I'd be interested in working with is also the one pushing me steadily out the door.
- University of Notre Dame
- Status: nothing yet
- Thoughts: I wish my mailbox weren't consistently so empty.
So that is the current state of affairs in brief. I have to say that it feels really good not only to know for certain that I'll be going to graduate school next year but to know that I have choices about where I'll be going. Spring Break is going to be resarch between a sandwich of graduate school visits, and, with some luck, I may get to squeeze in a chance to see some high school friends. I've got a friend at Cornell and several at Michigan, and, since my family doesn't live in Michigan anymore, this will be my only real chance to see them for an indefinite amount of time.
A Most Exciting Day
Today has been quite a busy and exciting day. I started out by presenting with others at the Second Year Institute this morning. Afterwards, I stuck around for the keynote address from Stephanie Tubbs-Jones, Cleveland's congressional representative. I'm very happy that I did, actually. Her address was enjoyable, and it was refreshing to hear from a politician I don't despise. (As she pointed out, it's only the politicians who misuse politics that anyone hears about in the media.) I didn't know that she was a Case alum. Next time I feel the need to write her a letter, I'll be sure to mention that I'm a Case student. Maybe that will help it get noticed, ha!
When I made it to the Quad, I found most of the biorobotics lab outside for robot filming. The last couple of days have been hectic around there because a crew from Discovery's Animal Planet has been filming between there and Dr. Ritzmann's lab. So I stopped to watch a few minutes of extraordinarily staged shots of Quinn and Ritzmann carrying Whegs II out of Bingham (a building neither works in) and talking. I won't be anywhere in the final show because I had to leave about the time the film crew showed up yesterday, but I'm still looking forward to seeing the final project. Ideally, I think I'd like to watch it with my mother. As a middle school science teacher, there might be something of interest to her there.
When I got home today, I had a couple of important tasks. I wrote a draft of my first letter of recommendation today. A professor asked me to write one for him as a part of a grant for which he's applying. That was a bit intimidating, to be honest, but I think I've got a strong start on it. I'll polish it some in the next few days.
The other important task hanging over my head is an investigation of costs and options for replacing some of the RoboMoth equipment I've been working on all summer with SOURCE. The graduate student who usually works on RoboMoth is back now, and, seeing the problems I faced all summer in person, I think he may be a little surprised at how far I got. A meeting with all of the important parties happened earlier this week, and I was charged with getting cost estimates for upgrading the system. It's a little scary for me, actually, because I know I'm going to end up being asked for a recommendation, and anything we do at this point is going to have a price tag in the 10^3 range at minimum.
And, finally, the last and possibly most exciting aspect of today is this: a friend that I've known for two-and-a-half years online is arriving this evening. Picking her up at the airport tonight will be our first real meeting, even though we've been pretty close since the end of my freshman year. This constitutes the first time that I've met one of my blogger friends that I haven't already known in "real life" as we say in the blogosphere. To say that I'm excited is an understatement. I just hope that we don't make too frightening a scene in the airport tonight!
Home Sweet Huh? Part Two
The trip to North Carolina went smoothly on Tuesday. Some would say that it was uneventful, but I don't think that's quite true. There were lots of little events that I enjoyed noting. My baggage probably experienced a few more of those than I did; it got delayed a flight in Newark.
My mother, sister, and I arrived at the house around 20:30 or so, I think. We entered through the garage, where my attention was immediately caught by a set of drawers I had when I was little. My parents had painted rainbows and hearts on them, and at another point, I'd attached some photos to one set of drawers. They're still there: Salzburg, Holland, Girl Scouts... an eclectic mosaic of my life through early high school. We left my bags in the kitchen and started by going upstairs to the bonus room. I think this was a purposeful move on my mother's part because several of my posters and my bookshelf are right outside the room. Inside sits my old bed and chest of drawers. I had to spend a few moments examining my things: favorite books, notebooks with old stories, wooden brain teasers. Each brought a smile and memories.
The tour also hit the guest bedroom, where other assorted items of mine--a Greek statue of Artemis, my music box, and a fairy-like figurine I received to celebrate the completion of my first novel--reside. (My broadsword and archery equipment are on a shelf in the closet.) A long bathroom with two separate vanities connects the guest bedroom with my sister's, and one step into the guest side elicited a huge grin from me. My mother decorated the walls with some of my paintings and my collection of sunset photos. (As always, much of the house is filled with multi-photo frames I put together with memoirs from our travels.)
Some things, of course, are not as familiar. The home theater is almost entirely new to me, though I have helped move the leather recliners before. The sound and picture are incredible. It really does feel like a miniature theater. I get the urge to yell "Widescreen Stereo" sometimes. Missing Film Society much?
Dad asked last night if I was getting used to the new house. I replied that it was sort of difficult to get used to. "It's kind of like being a houseguest, except I recognize just about everything in the house," I told him. My parents' solution, of course, is that I should spend more time here. How they expect that to happen, I don't know.