Higher Education Blogs | Blog U

A new correspondent writes:

A grad school aspirant writes (edited for length):Applying for grad school is pretty different than applying for undergrad, and

At my cc, some terms simply don't get used. Some are the predictable grad school-ish buzzwords: “counterhegemonic,” say, or “problematic (used as a noun).” But others are more pedestrian: “surplus,” “abundance,” “counteroffer,” “merit raise.”We don't do counteroffers or merit raises. Salaries rise for the just and the unjust alike.

The Girl's birthday is coming up, and we're at a loss for ideas for presents, so the whole group piled into the car and headed to a nearby toy store, seeking inspiration.If you've ever taken young children to a toy store, you know that it's a participatory, hands-on experience.At one point we were in the back of the store, in the bicycle/tricycle area, checking out the wares. The Boy found the big motorized jeeps and trucks – the kind the kid actually sits in and drives – and immediately started climbing into the driver's seat of each in sequence.