meg

So I'm 99% sure I'm headed to Cornell this fall. I'm really excited about the program, and the department's made me an offer that it would be very difficult for me to refuse. Plus, I just love the idea of living in Ithaca, a community that, as I understand it, is relatively interested in sustainability--not to mention surrounded by hiking paths and wine country. All in all, it seems like kind of dream opportunity for me, but I'm waiting until next Tuesday, when I visit, before finalizing my decision. I just about purchasing a home in Ithaca under the City Guide - Ithaca thread. I thought maybe this would be an appropriate place to bring it up, too. Is anyone else considering buying instead of renting? Any thoughts/advice?

Can anybody comment on the housing market in Ithaca? I'm fairly certain I'll be attending Cornell in the fall, and I'd really like to consider buying property instead of renting. Are there neighborhoods that are more desirable or up-and-coming for buyers? One of my main concerns is that, since I'm going to Ithaca to attend a graduate program, I may have to sell my house in about 4-6 years with little option to stay. Also, I've been scouring the usual places for listings: Craigslist, Zillow, Trulia. But are their any local resources I should know about? Like popular realtors? Can anyone recommend a specific realtor in Ithaca with whom I might want to get in touch? I'm really excited by the prospect of owning my own home, and I think, in my case, it might be a better option financially--as long as I can sell when I want to leave! But I am pretty much a total newbie at this. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

This may well not apply across the board, but I know in my experience applying to the Fletcher School at Tufts University that the timelines for acceptances and for financial aid are not entirely the same. I was accepted to Fletcher during their early notification process in December, but their website warns that notification of scholarship awards will not be made until late March. I expect this may be because the school wants a more complete picture of its accepted applicant pool before they dole out awards, and it also gives applicants a chance to complete their tax returns and submit their FAFSAs before award decisions are made. At least at Fletcher, this is critical since all award packages take both merit *and* need into consideration.

Here's another comment from the blog: "One year I literally chose a student at random (I put all the names of people applying to work with me in a hat). This student did really well and I saved so much time not looking over 10's of applicants files. "I am a statistics prof and over years of research I discovered that the success of a student is independent of their portfolio. A random choice (to someone smart enough to get to the level of applying to work with me at my university) is just as good as pouring over every detail in someones application and choosing the "best" student." Um, wow. Seriously? I guess the silver lining is that, had I been rejected by this professor and realized why, I may also have realized that I'd kind of lucked out. Nevertheless, I'd welcome feedback to buttress the spirit through this grueling process. Feel free to ridicule the author's use of the spelling "pouring".

My husband and I are in our mid-20s and have been married for almost five years. Currently, my husband is finishing his PhD and I'm working, but in the next year we hope to pull off the switch: I'm applying to master's and PhD programs for the coming fall, and he's applying to jobs. Like many who've posted to this thread, we're mostly adhering to a vague plan of applying to opportunities in the same cities and hoping for the best. However, if it doesn't work out--if we're fortunate or unfortunate enough to be offered unparalleled opportunities in two different places--I think we're both committed at this point to doing whatever is best for our professional development. We're ambitious, we don't have kids yet, and we trust each other enough to make it work. What better time will we have to pursue these goals? I should add that my husband and I have already had the experience of living apart. After I graduated from my bachelor's program, I took a job in another city (I had a service obligation to the US govt) while my husband started his PhD. We saw each other 1-2 times a month, flying between cities on cheap Southwest tickets. The whole situation lasted just over a year. Once I finished my service obligation, I decided that I needed to increase either my professional or my personal level of fulfillment (I wasn't in love with my job). I moved back and found a job in my husband's city. But it was pretty smooth sailing for us the whole time. That is, it wasn't a delight to live apart, but it certainly didn't damage our relationship--in fact, I'm sure it made it stronger--and we'd be willing to do it again if necessary. That said, the possibility that I could get into a PhD program on one coast while he gets a tenure-track position on the other does frighten me. Committing to a year or two apart is one thing. Committing to five+ years is another. At this point, though, there's not much we can do except sit back and wait for responses. Maybe it'll all work out, and things will be just dandy. If it doesn't and we have a tough decision to make, at least we can make that decision around facts instead of hypotheticals (she says, as if under the impression that this will be a totally level-headed decision-making process...). Good luck to you all!

I also received immediate email notifications that my recommendations had been submitted. That said, it took my Tufts account quite a while to reflect that the recommendations had been received (I don't remember exactly how long, but it was solidly within the 5-10 business day range). I expect that as long as they're submitted in time, that's what counts, but just be aware that the status in your online account might lag.

Not sure how meaningful these stats are since they aren't the whole picture, but I also know that I can't help using others' to get a better idea of my own chances. So, for whatever it's worth: GRE: 800V 780Q Undergrad: summa cum laude, B.S. Economics, B.A. Political Science & History Work Exp: ~2 years with the fed govt and with a U.S-based int'l nonprofit (jobs only peripherally related to academic & career goals) Int'l Exp: 15+ months in developing countries SOP: clear and focused academic interest, clear but less specific career path To 2010 Applicant: My Tufts account stills reads undecided, like yours. Maybe they'll update it after the weekend? To Lusaker: According to Fletcher's website, "notification of scholarship awards will be made in late March" ((http://fletcher.tufts.edu/admissions/deadlines.shtml). The waiting continues...

Just got my acceptance about ten minutes ago. Thanks to all who are posting. It's helpful, while I wait for responses from schools, to know that others are experiencing the same anxiety as I. Good luck to everyone!