on stanford

Dear XXX (and XXX),

Thanks so much for your responses, which have been really helpful and which have made me feel pretty great about Stanford. My only anxiety (or at least one of them) is that I want to live in Berkeley with my gf and commute - looking at the reqs it seems that I'll be required to take two or three classes a term, sorry, semester, sorry, quarter, and so I'd only have to drive down a couple of days a week. It looks like I'd have borrowing rights at the Bancroft too - from your experience, do you think that a setup like this would be tenable. (And from this pov it's reassuring that I'd need a car anyway.)

As far as apps go, I'd be more than happy to share my statement and sample for what they're worth. As I was saying to Ryan earlier, when people have commented personally in emails to me they have commented on my sample, not my statement, for whatever that is or isn't worth. I confess that also, not being in the system in any sense as an international student whose recommenders knew no-one, I insidiated myself with the faculty at colleges I really liked. I'm in the incredibly lucky position of having supportive parents, and they helped me out with visiting colleges I liked and meeting up with professors I wanted to work with. I emailed them all two months in advance, give or take. I bound up copies of my Master's dissertation and distributed them liberally, which I just hated doing because self-promotion is for scummy right-wing politicians, but which I think was probably worthwhile. Certainly, I've had a better strike rate, if I can be crass about it, at schools where I met people then I have where I didn't. But I'd definitely be more than happy to offer any and all help you wanted, if I can offer it without sounding like an arse.

I'm also pumped by the awesome things you say about XXX XXX, who basically seems to be the Bomb in human form. One thing I was wondering, though – what are the possibilities for interdisciplinary study? I would love to take a couple classes in Urban Studies or in theories of space, for example – would I be able to do that, do you know? The interdisciplinarity is something that I actually preferred about Berkeley, where it is actually a requirement to have someone from another department on your doctoral committee. Also at Berk there are a couple of Stanford grad students who have cross-registered in Berk classes – is this something that's done much?

Thanks also for all the tips about where's good to go in Palo Alto – my question is also whether there are any shit-hot bookshops in PA?

I'm also at work, and also bored by it. My report on Danish sub-regional financial autonomy just isn't getting written…

xxx