<p>"German, Japanese, Chinese, Russian, French, Hindu"</p>
<p>haha drusba I think you meant Hindi not Hindu. Sorry that always bothers me :)</p>
<p>and it's not random. Having been through it twice, and seen the denials and acceptances, I'm impressed by how fair the system is.</p>
<p>credit for this goes to "jimbo328" on post:</p>
<p>credit for this one goes to "vecter":</p>
<p>I also like "when faced with two choices, choose both" - D consequently picking up two separate undergrad degrees, totally different majors.</p>
<p>Also important: "Know your civil rights". Many students voted in their first ever presidential election last semester year, all by absentee ballot; they should also know how to respond to a jury duty summons, what to do if ever involved in an accident, arrested, etc. I'm sure no one expects their student to end up on the wrong side of the law, but I'm also sure that mishaps can and do happen.</p>
<p>Don't ever waste your time on someone who won't waste their time on you.</p>
<p>Save String</p>
<p>My older, hunky male cousin told me this when I was a geeky 17-year old. At the time, I really needed to hear it, and it turned out to be true.</p>
<p>posed by patuxent in:</p>
<p>It's still about the work.</p>
<p>courtesy of SB Mom:</p>
<p>Pace yourself and spend your emotions and sexuality wisely, on worthy people.</p>
<p>Multiple partners can make you a harder-shelled person who is less open to love.</p>
<p>Happy Valentine's Day!</p>
<p>"Watch out for other people's opinions of the schools...let your student figure out what fits him/her best."</p>
<p>posted by kosha:</p>
<p>No college grad over 40 I have ever met has regretted not taking those highly specialized classes that look so interesting in the catalogs.</p>
<p>Every college grad over 40 I have ever met has regretted omitting those humanities basics-- I should have taken more philosophy, more history, more classics, more classic literature, more art history.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>...approximately true in the sciences.</p>
<p>
[quote]
and it's not random. Having been through it twice, and seen the denials and acceptances, I'm impressed by how fair the system is.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>But see [url=<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=6619&page=1%5Dthis.%5B/url">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=6619&page=1]this.[/url</a>]</p>
<p>Red Flag, I read your thread on your admission to PhD program at Caltech. But I agree with the originator of the quote, it is not random. What you probably did not know is that Caltech not only does not encourage its graduates to stay for graduate school, in fact it is a strike against them. Consequently you were not competing against the most qualified applicants in the first place :D (As others here know, I have an undergrad son at Caltech! Little joke.) </p>
<p>Caltech is a family and their tentacles reach far and wide--did any of the people you did research with go to Caltech, or work with anyone who went to Caltech? Do you know? I'd bet a month's salary that one of the Caltech faculty knew one of those physicists personally, and that that was all the difference.</p>
<p>You are at least somewhat right about JHU--the program is small, but also it is not exceptionally broad in terms of the subfields in research. If your experience/interests did not match a professor there who also needed and had the money to support another student, you wouldn't be chosen. I work at JHU with a prof. who has a HUGE group and so I know.</p>
<p>What is somewhat random about graduate admissions, especially in science/engineering and especially at the research universities, is the APPLICANTS! If an applicant knows what parts of the field he is willing to explore before applying, and manages to make contact with a faculty member(s) who needs good people, there is no doubt in my mind he can virtually assure his admittance even before applying. But of course that takes some research, initiative, and hard work and energy.</p>
<p>Why do applicants to graduate school (not professional schools for MD's, MBA's etc.) apply in the same way they applied to college? Beats me. It seems to me they could virtually self-select their placement with a little advance preparation.</p>
<p>from Ben Jones:
[quote]
Part of resiliency is playing the hand that is dealt to you, no matter what that hand is. Folding is NEVER a good option. Because in life, every hand can be a winner if you play it right. YOU just have to believe. It really doesn't matter who else believes.
[/quote]
<p>"Follow your Heart, Your Brain is Smart Enough to Adjust"</p>
<p>Momsdream, as someone who has often been caught by the heart/head think/feel conflict, I like that observation. In my youth, I tended very much towards as a Spockian view of things. (Mister, not Doctor, Spock.) While I will never be a Bones, I try to be a passable synthesizer (Kirk).</p>