the PROs and CONs of grad school

dear discounted easter candy,
i love you, even though you are not weight watchers approved.
sincerely,
karen

so schools. still haven't heard from umass Boston, got waitlisted at UT women's studies (thank god its not a no) and i have w&m and purdue. I've gotten many opinions, looked at housing, emailed current grad students at each program, etc. here is the pros and cons list, because it helps me a lot:

PROS

UT: where to begin! best housing, cheap moving costs, cheap living costs, get to live with LIESL YAY, all my friends there, i love the city, i have an austin cell #, internationally known school, i'd get to work with AMS people while in the WS dept., there are a lot of people who would help me do great things, i have a better chance of getting into the AMS program for a PhD. did i mention i love austin the most??

PURDUE: i find out next week if they are offering me a TA position (all tuition paid, i'd start teaching classes by 2nd semester my first year which is GREAT since i want to be a prof.), cheap living, not terribly expensive moving costs, don't have to reapply to get into the Phd, profs are nice, dept. is very accessible and emails me often and with helpful info, they seem like they really want me, grad students very helpful and nice, i have family in indianapolis (>1 hr away), friends in chicago (>2 hrs away, also amazing city)

W&M: really great program, it's the only one thats 1 year so it's less $ than purdue (unless purdue gives me a full ride...), GORGEOUS area, my fav. prof at Skidmore said go there over anywhere if you can, lots of great profs, grad students say it's a great program and the faculty are very accessible and give you their home #s on the syllabi, etc.

CONS:
UT: i want a master's in american studies (but can live with WS), i am really sick of the race/class/gender ws's trifecta, i'm annoyed that UT sucks and are really hard to reach in every dept.

PURDUE: it's indiana, the town is pretty much just the school, not as prestigious as other programs, don't know a soul at the school.

W&M: really expensive apartments, expensive moving costs, the prof i want to work with sort of blew me off, one year intensive program (you finish your thesis during the summer) so i don't know how i'd apply to a PHD program, i'd have to take out 50k in loans.

so basically: i will go to UT if i get in and Purdue doesn't offer me any $, but it's most likely that Purdue will offer me $ so i'm prob. going there. but if Purdue doesn't offer me that much $ and UT lets me in, I'll go to UT. w&m is my last resort at this point.
got it?

IN OTHER NEWS: mikey is moving to brussels for 3 years at the end of may. he and i have a wonderfully insane trip planned (may 7-20th, in nyc, boston, marshfield, cape cod, maine) that involves a lot of fun and possibly a lot of drinking (and lots of amazing friends of course). then i have a family reunion in north carolina for 2 weeks in june, one week in aspen for my cousin's wedding, and then i come home and move to either indiana or austin.

Cat videos + my amazing outfit

i noticed this video (taken around christmas time, i believe?) of my girls on their cat tree. they still act just like this, btw (and please take special note of thessie's tail wagging at the beginning)

also, here is a picture of me in my awesome outfit today:

ps- still trying to decide w&m vs purdue. i was leaning towards purdue, but now my fav prof at skidmore said go to w&m. aHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHh

American Idol tidbits

does anyone watch American Idol? i usually never do but saw it last night b/c Dancing wasn't on until 8 instead of 7, blahblah, and it's kind of like a train wreck that you can't turn away from/bad karaoke. i won't even get into the fact that i've been singing for a while and am well versed in pop singing and every single fucking season it sounds like SHITTY KARAOKE so i never watch it (and wtf america, 8 seasons?! really??). ANYWAY. i saw it last night and read this on www.televisionwithoutpity.com and DIED LAUGHING:
"But here's the thing: when Amanda sings, I feel like I'm in a bar; when David Cook sings, I feel like I'm in a club; when Brooke sings, I feel like I'm in an amphitheater; when Jason sings, I feel like I'm in my dealer's living room; but when David Archuleta sings, I feel like I'm watching a high school talent show. Every time. And it's a performing arts high school for gifted kids, absolutely. And he's clearly the best in the talent show, and he'll totally win and deservedly so. But if you're asking me to list the places I'd pay to be, I'd rather see Amanda at the bar, David Cook at the club, Brooke at the concert hall, and Jason at my dealer's house than go to David A.'s talent show."

HI-larious. that is all.

ps- Dancing is not that exciting this season b/c most of everyone sucks. :(

Dear Austin, i love you. Love, Me

hello all my faithful readers. i was just reminded that Dancing with the Stars comes back on tonight, and although they do not have any awesome celebrities this season (other than steve guttenberg, of course, because HI three men and a baby best movie ever!), i'm still excited. hooray! something to take up my mondays and tuesday nights! and top chef is on again also so that is wed. nights (although, im a little ashamed to admit, but i dont love it like i love proj. runway).
anyway. I'm really too sleepy to blog much-- had a fantastic weekend in austin, saw old friends, had lots of wine and good food, shopped a lot, got tangled up in some sxsw, dressed up and had a fancy dinner, and generally had a wonderful time. i did not, however, sleep much or well, so i'm very much looking forward to going to bed directly after Dancing is on (aka 8 30 pm).

it was also lovely to have a weekend where i didn't obsess over grad schools. i am super lucky and thankful to have options, but i keep going back and forth until i'm almost insane. i had some good chats with grad school-knowledgeable people this wkend (general consensus: purdue) so that was helpful. i am still waiting on women's studies at UT and umass Boston. UT american studies, my dream program, said no. :( i am sad. however, there are other schools that want me, so i will make it work!
bon nuit mes chous.

The College of William & Mary said YES!

holy shit ya'll. the College of William & Mary said yes to grad school! sweet god in heaven i never thought THAT would happen. they only take 33% of applicants! it's the second oldest school in the nation (founded in 1693) after Harvard! It's in Williamsburg, VA, site of Colonial Williamsburg (where they have people dress up and do blacksmithing, etc). They are offering me no funding whatsoever, which is tricky (11-12k per semester just for tuition), but i'm pretty much in the same boat at Purdue (i applied for a TA position in women's studies but i may not get it). however, let's focus on how shocking and amazing it is that i got into this school:

fun facts: w&m has a lot of secret societies and had the first ones (take that, skull and bones at yale!). thomas jefferson went there, jon stewart was class of '84, it had the first law school (and still one of the best, today), and a ton of other important people (like supreme court justices) are alumns. Phi Beta Kappa was founded there in 1776 and it has a huge greek life (but no greek life for grad students).

fun fact from wikipedia: Unofficial traditions include the Triathlon, a set of three tasks to be completed by each student prior to graduation. These include jumping the wall of the Governor's Palace in Colonial Williamsburg after hours, and if so inclined, running through the Boxwood Maze to the Palace itself, steaking through the Sunken Gardens, and swimming in the Crim Dell.

Another unofficial tradition, which the College administration attempts to quell each year, occurs on the last day of classes in the spring and is referred to by the students as "Blowout." On this day, it is customary to wake up early, begin drinking before one's classes, and show to up to class intoxicated and spend the rest of the day at the numerous keg parties which are always held. On this day, a student can win a t-shirt claiming they stayed sober on that day if they blow a .00 into a breathalizer, which is usually administered by a student group at the Sunken Gardens.

Crazy! There is also a lot of drama surrounding the recent departure of their president, and that info can be found here: http://jezebel.com/356171/state-fires-college-president-for-hosting-sex-workers-art-show (via Jezebel, my favorite blog ever)

YAY ME! i still want to go to UT, but i'm hopeful that if i got into w&m, i might get into UT? maybe?? please? i should know by this week! (also waiting on UMassBoston, but unless they offer me a full ride that's a no).

one last quote: "William and Mary can make a good case for being the most selective public college in America. Its size . . . is ideal, the envy of a good many prestigious private colleges. Its setting and its own lush campus . . . provide the stuff calendars are made of. Its academic program . . . is no nonsense, followed by impressive placement in graduate schools and jobs." Richard Moll, author of The Public Ivys: A Guide to America's Best Public Undergraduate Colleges and Universities.