School

I’ve had quite a few questions about school.  Here’s how it works, the university provides me a desk, chair and a computer in a communal office if I want to use it. I meet with my primary advisor every few weeks and am not required to be anywhere at any specific time.  There is a secondary advisor, but apparently he’s even harder to track down than my primary and I shouldn’t expect too much from him.  The loads of free time I have should be spent working on reading relevant literature, creating timelines, outlining research projects and attending sporadic training classes provided by the school that help me with presentation skill, time management and even MS Word.  So, they’ve given me enough rope to hang myself with, but there is also a tremendous amount of freedom to spend just following whatever you want.

More than I ever wanted to know....

How to get accepted to a foreign PhD program:

1. Think way too much about it before deciding to go for it
2. Research and write 2 page proposal
3. Fill out online application
4. Fight with previous school for transcripts (this took me about a month)
5. Submit all of the above and wait (waiting involves fretting to everyone you know that you're never going to get it, lots of sleepless nights, and a few bottles of vino)
6. Find out from a friend of a friend of a friend in the admission office that after 2 weeks your application is still sitting there, beg her to walk it over to your department
7. Application is returned to admissions, friend emails you to say you've been admitted
8. Try to find FAFSA code for school
9. Admission packet arrives 4 days later
10. Find out school was only JUST re-approved for FAFSA
11. Fill out FAFSA
12. Find out you need the long SAR report from FAFSA, call Dept. of Ed for report, must wait 10-14 days
13. Send SAR, lender Master Promissory Note to school
14. School sends you an email loan offer and you agree
15. Apply for visa - Need transcripts, bank statements, address in UK, pay stubs, passport photos, pretty much any paper you can send, and due to new regulations, you have to prove you have enough money to pay for school and live in the country for 1 year without working or recourse to public funds. Eeek.
16. Get biometrics (fingerprints, facial scan) for visa application
17. Pray for a 24 hr turn around on visa so you can make International Orientation in 3 weeks.

I'm only to step 11.... International orientation is Sept 18th, I think its safe to say I'm going to miss it.

However, if you ever need help with immigration law, I'm your woman!