gubidal092

flat broke

I used this thread as a reference before moving to DC two years ago (ack! that long ago?), and was kind of dismayed at how short it is compared to the other city guides. I can only really speak to my experience as a Georgetown grad student, so take my experience/advice for what it is. The base price of anything you can rent it around $1000. For a room and a (shared) bathroom. That is not to say that you cannot find things cheaper, but if you want a room of your own anywhere feasibly commutable to GU, that's generally around what you'll pay (by commutable, I mean under an hour commute via public transport. There is no parking for grad students at GU). The average price for renting a parking spot (from someone's driveway or a parking garage) is about $150/month. You are likely better off without a car. My first year I lived in Glover Park, a neighborhood essentially equidistant from American University and Georgetown. It is a beautiful and great place to be (especially for families, I think), and I enjoyed it, but it was less expensive to be in Arlington, VA (though not much less). It is easier to find apartments with parking spaces in Arlington, I find. It is also closer to several highways). Arlington is very popular for grad students and the shuttle is convenient. (It is also close to the metro.) As far as public transport goes, DC has plenty, but for my own comfort I decided to live only in places easily walkable to my campus (no more than 40 min walk) and ideally where I also have the option of taking my university's free public transport (busses). There do not appear to be any ways of getting a discount on public transport in DC (metro or busses). Even the monthly passes are EXPENSIVE. (student passes are only for students in high school or younger). I might add more to this later, but figured I would start by posting this.

If it has not been too long after the Skype interview, you can always send a follow up thank you note if you have not already (but you did send one, right?). It is a gentle reminder to the committee that you are still interested (and still waiting) and gives them the opportunity to respond if they want (though they might not). Much more than that would be pestering, I think. But, if you have legitimate questions about the program or something else you talked with the interviewer about that you could follow up on via email, that is another way to open the communication channels and try to feel out how things might be going for your application.

employment counseling

Those small moments by myself (bus ride, waking up, etc.) tend to be when I stress the most, so I play words with friends (which I ironically play with people I do not know -- has anyone else noticed this?). I feel to guilty about wasting water to take a long shower, but I keep finding excuses to take extra ones -- maybe I'm subconsciously dealing with the stress? Baking. Bake all the things! I also annoy my boyfriend with 'what ifs' for getting into different schools (or not getting in anywhere).

Academics (and I am including myself here) tend to think we have cornered the market on "Imposter Syndrome". However, speaking with other people in other professions, this is a common feeling that pretty much everyone has (especially at the start of a new career or new position within their job). Similarly, people often feel they could never do someone else's job (even within the same office, believe me, I have consistently heard this from people), while feeling that anyone could do theirs. Grad students are some of the more neurotic people on the planet (again, I'm including myself), and we tend to forget that we are in this tiny bubble where everyone is smart and driven and experts in their field. But we are all also faking it (at least at the grad level). Don't worry; just keep faking it until you no longer feel like you're faking it. You are much more prepared than you think you are, and you are much better at your job than you feel. <3 (Another side point of this is that people tend to advance in their careers (or education) until they reach their maximum level of incompetency, rather than their maximum point of competence. But, just remember that you are constantly "leveling up" -- the bosses just keep getting harder, that's why it doesn't feel like it's getting easier, even though if you checked, you have tons more XP than the average person. Because this comment needed a video game metaphor.)

I also agree with Fuzzylogician (perhaps because being from the same field lends us similar professional understandings). Provided, of course, that you have not contacted them much before this point (i.e., you haven't emailed them to "update" other things previously). If you have a POI you have been emailing with at the school, I would email them directly about this (perhaps CC the DGS or department secretary). If you do not have a POI, I would email it straight to the DGS/secretary (whoever you think is most likely to be fielding emails to students). Though, as others have pointed out, this might not change your status if you are already on the waitlist (as you suspect), but it might move you up the waitlist. Which could ultimately be the difference between an acceptance and a rejection. Also, look at it this way; do you really want to work at a department where people get so pissy after one well-intentioned email that they blacklist you?

heart stopper

public humiliation

wind burn

I thought it would be better to send an follow-up email than to send nothing; at worst the recipient will react ambivalently; at best they will appreciate the gesture. I agree that the thank you email is better if you have a stronger connection with the interviewer, but I don't think it's necessary. I had a skype interview with some members of the admissions committee (4 people), but only had prior email contact with the DGS, so he was the one I directed my email to. I wanted to refer to all of the professors I had met with by name ("Please extend my thanks to Dr. Blah, Dr. Blah, and Dr. Blah." etc.), but due to technical issues, I could not really hear the name of several professors who were there (Skype audio didn't work so I was listening to four people talk over a cell phone's speaker phone option and watching them via Skype -- not conducive to audio clarity). I was able to match the people I met to their faculty photo, but one person I just could not pick out. So I wound up saying something to the effect of "Please extend my thanks to the rest of the Admissions Committee." I think the thank you email post-interview can only help you (unless you really cannot write an email).

rbear91, did you send a follow-up "thank you" email?

cantankerous fool

Just as long as I don't get a rejection ON my birthday again, I'll be fine...

So I'm going to the Univ. at Buffalo (SUNY) open house on Feb 13-14 (they already did interviews and let the first round(?) of unofficial acceptances in), and I still haven't heard anything from any other schools (freak out!). I'm weighing the merits of emailing the departments in Yale and CUNY to see if I could "stop by and see the department"/email some POIs directly (haven't contacted them before now, so possibly a bad idea?) asking if I could meet them, since I'll "be in the area" (Buffalo = ~5 hrs from New York/New Haven, but who's counting?). Thought I'd run it by you guys to see what you think. I know in some disciplines this is acceptable behavior to some degree (at least, that is the sense I get), but what about in Linguistics?