Sonic

I bought a house this fall, when I entered a PhD program. The area I am living in has an extremely inflated rental market, but house prices were low. It seemed like a good time to buy, because the mortgage payments would be comparable to rent. I went into it thinking that once I left the area, I could rent the house out. I don't have very much advice, but I was caught off guard by a few things. The main issue was how much time everything took. The initial process was a ton of work. Going house-hunting, writing up several offers, collecting documents, scanning/faxing/mailing tons of paperwork ate all of my free time and interfered with my work schedule. Dealing with the mortgage paperwork was a nightmare. The time crunch continued well after the purchase, with getting set up with oil delivery, insurance, the deed, etc. Initially I was weighing the pros and cons in terms of cost, but I never thought about the relative cost of my time, and that was a mistake. I'd be glad to talk more, PM me if you have any specific questions. I definitely don't regret it, though, even as I'm up to my ears in remodeling!

I was in last year's applicant pool, and I think this is right. Last year was bad, but a lot of schools didn't know how bad it was going to get. The program I'm in ended up overenrolling last year (because their usual formula of admits-to-enrollment ratio was off), and now this year they are underenrolling to make sure there will be enough money to get everybody through. A lot of schools are probably trying to funnel students into the MA programs while they try to get a handle on what the funding situation is going to look like for the next few years. Good luck to everybody, and hang in there!

Most things are not within walking distance, especially in summer heat, but the bus routes are pretty good in terms of getting you near pharmacies, grocery stores, etc. Biking is also popular and the town is peppered with bike lanes and racks. Permit parking is suspended on weekends so people can park anywhere they like. This can be a problem during the days of the height of summer tourism to Colonial Williamsburg, but isn't a problem on weekend nights. Daytime visitors would have more problems parking on or near campus for more than a few hours at a time.

Mine was something completely unhelpful: "Application not appropriate for department/program". As synthla put it, how is a history application not appropriate for the history program? Considering that I spoke with professors there who encouraged me to apply because our interests fit, I just don't buy that my application was inappropriate... I'm glad it was helpful for some, though.

Doesn't sound crazy at all to me! School C gives you a range of options and clearly values masters students, which is so important and not a guarantee at every program. I think you'll have great opportunities there. Congrats on your decision!

Congrats! As someone also on Round 2, I am very happy for you!

This might vary by program. My waiver covers tuition, but I still pay all the associated fees (student activities, health center, etc.). My waiver is good for summer courses as well. Definitely call and get the details. Congrats on the assistantship!

Congratulations! What fantastic news!

I turned down a PhD offer from the University of Maryland, and vacated a waitlist spot a week ago at Washington University in St. Louis. Field is early America/Atlantic World.

I'm attending the University of New Hampshire for Early American history. Yay for last minute decisions (and decisions more generally)!!

If there are no upper level classes in your current department, is there any kind of independent study option? Or are there summer classes? I would try to find out exactly why the Germanic studies adviser is hesitant about the English department. It might also be helpful to talk to people in the English department about your plans and get their opinion. If having the double major will strengthen your application and both majors are relevant to your plans, I don't see why there would be a problem.

What field will you be pursuing in grad school? Is another major in English relevant, or just a way to bring up your GPA? If it is financially possible for you, I would recommend taking those 400 level classes you describe, but if you're planning on applying next fall to enter in Fall 2010, the spring class grades won't be on your transcript. What kind of timeline are you thinking about?

I'm curious if anyone else thinks their decision is going to be made on April 14th (or, on April 15th!). I'm still on the line for one school that is in a strange funding bind, and they keep saying they'll know more closer to April 15th. I feel like I can't make a decision until that school's funding situation becomes at least a little clearer, but I really want this to be over with!

WOOOOOOOOO! Congrats! And as places go, Vermont will have a decent selection of second-class beer.

I had the same box checked. Shame on my application for being so inappropriate! The nerve of it, really.