MadScience

You can try Uship.com - my Uncle has used them to ship a car with no problems. It's basically a site where thousands of movers bid on different shipments listed by different people. The shipping companies will bid on your shipment and keep bidding lower until the time runs out.

You can try Uship.com - my Uncle has used them to ship a car with no problems. It's basically a site where thousands of movers bid on different shipments listed by different people. The shipping companies will bid on your shipment and keep bidding lower until the time runs out.

I think you're in a situation that quite a few people are in now, a situation that I might be in now under different circumstances, so I certainly understand where you're coming from. I'm currently waitlisted at (what was) my top choice. Thankfully, after a visit to my second choice I found a lab that was a better fit for me than any lab at my "top" choice, and so goes the story of how my second choice became my absolute #1. My point is, before I realized this, I was faced with the very real dilemma of "what if my #1 school accepts me after April 15th! I'll have already accepted an offer by then, what can I do??"
 
I know you mentioned not wanting an answer, but this is important so I'm going to offer my advice anyway. Follow your heart! This is your life and no one else's, you have to do what is best for you. If you join program X but your heart lies with Y, you'll always wonder what could have been and may not give your all to program X as a result. It's absolutely a tough decision, because I understand you don't want to step on any toes, but if you decide on school Y and send a very polite and very apologetic email to program X and explain your situation, they will most likely understand and release you from the contract. I can't imagine that they would force a student to stay in their program if s/he didn't want to be there. After all, 5 years is a long time to spend in the wrong place.
 
If you feel you could be happy at X though, and you are just feeling swept away by the prestige factor of Y, this may be something to consider as well. Have you had the chance to visit both programs? You may find that Y isn't all you are hoping for, and X is a better fit. Or you may find that you are right and Y is where you belong.

I am doing this right now actually - choosing my school based off of one lab. It is risky, and I don't like risky, so here's what I did. After the visiting weekend I emailed my POI and several members of his lab that I spoke with.
 
In the email to the students, I sent a simple "thanks for talking to me" and then brought up some of the topics we discussed that I found interesting. I also mentioned to them that I would love to join their group in the fall.
 
In the email to the POI, I also thanked him for talking to me and then brought up some of the topics we discussed. I made sure my excitement about his work was conveyed in my email and told him it was precisely where I needed to be. I told him also that I enjoyed talking to his students to further show my interest in his group and brought up some topics I discussed with them. I then mentioned that if I could know for certain that I could join his lab, that I would accept the school's acceptance offer immediately. It was my ultimate dream lab - after speaking with him and his group, I knew I would never be happy in any other lab at any other school - so I laid it all on the line. And it worked! I have a guarantee from him that I will be in his lab for my graduate studies. POIs want to find students that are excited and passionate about their work so make sure they know that you are. I read somewhere once that often times students won't get in their top choice lab because they came off too casual about joining the lab and so the POI didn't think they were sincere. If you want it, let them know!

I am doing this right now actually - choosing my school based off of one lab. It is risky, and I don't like risky, so here's what I did. After the visiting weekend I emailed my POI and several members of his lab that I spoke with.
 
In the email to the students, I sent a simple "thanks for talking to me" and then brought up some of the topics we discussed that I found interesting. I also mentioned to them that I would love to join their group in the fall.
 
In the email to the POI, I also thanked him for talking to me and then brought up some of the topics we discussed. I made sure my excitement about his work was conveyed in my email and told him it was precisely where I needed to be. I told him also that I enjoyed talking to his students to further show my interest in his group and brought up some topics I discussed with them. I then mentioned that if I could know for certain that I could join his lab, that I would accept the school's acceptance offer immediately. It was my ultimate dream lab - after speaking with him and his group, I knew I would never be happy in any other lab at any other school - so I laid it all on the line. And it worked! I have a guarantee from him that I will be in his lab for my graduate studies. POIs want to find students that are excited and passionate about their work so make sure they know that you are. I read somewhere once that often times students won't get in their top choice lab because they came off too casual about joining the lab and so the POI didn't think they were sincere. If you want it, let them know!

Oh my gosh, I am choking on the irony of her post. This is so damaging to the feminist movement it's unbelievable.

Oh my gosh, I am choking on the irony of her post. This is so damaging to the feminist movement it's unbelievable.

You can try Uship.com - my Uncle has used them to ship a car with no problems. It's basically a site where thousands of movers bid on different shipments listed by different people. The shipping companies will bid on your shipment and keep bidding lower until the time runs out.

Oh my gosh, I am choking on the irony of her post. This is so damaging to the feminist movement it's unbelievable.

Oh my gosh, I am choking on the irony of her post. This is so damaging to the feminist movement it's unbelievable.

Oh my gosh, I am choking on the irony of her post. This is so damaging to the feminist movement it's unbelievable.

Of course, only you know what is best for you, but here is my advice
 
If you are in your undergrad now, it might be a good idea to take the summer off and have some fun & relax before diving into the long haul of grad school - I probably would do this. You won't have another chance to travel/be lazy/etc for several years and I think taking the summer off would be a great way to "recharge" so you can avoid burnout. If this isn't a factor for you, a big positive of starting early is getting a head start on your research so that you might be able to graduate a little early. Personally, I'm just itching to get started so will be starting in June (I would start yesterday if I could! ). But I'm probably in a much different situation than you since I'll be leaving my much loathed job for grad school, and not just graduating from undergrad.
 
What is your personal situation and are you leaning one way or the other?

Maybe you didn't read my post. I said I know people who are for one liberal thing and for one conservative thing. I wasn't saying that was my opinion. I'm for abortion all the way. And I meant to say "who accidentally get pregnant." Which still wasnt my opinion. I've convinced enough girls to get abortions in my life. Recently too. I guess people on here dont care about context. Next time try reading the whole post before you call someone a r-tard. And be a man next time and don't hyphenate it. I was responding to a poster who said he hated the two-party system. I was agreeing with him. I was saying that being for or against one issue (like gay marriage) was no indication for how you should feel about another issue (like abortion). The point was that we are forced to be right or left on 12 arbitrary key issues when there is no real direct correlation between them.

DStory, I started off with an agent actually and had it listed for about 40 days with no action. My realtor was TERRIBLE. She took a week to respond to my emails, she only listed my property on MLS and not on the other sites (realtor.com, trulia, etc), and she told me my home had dozens of inquires and yet never showed my place once in 40 days. Her reason? "Oh, I know you work a lot so we don't want to bother you.."....um..what??? So I got rid of them and listed on my own. I found a realtor that charges a flat rate of about $300 and for that they list you on MLS and >20 other real estate websites, send you a For Sale sign and a lock box, and you become your own realtor...they don't get any commission from you, just the $300 to list and send you supplies. I would HIGHLY recommend doing this because it gets your property out there and once it's on the MLS, all relevant realtors will get a notification of your property's listing once it's up. I had my offer within 48 hours. You can also list it yourself on craigslist for extra exposure (I got several hits this way too).
 
I didn't ask for the huge deposit they put down, they just offered it. The offer came from an investor company that buys out properties all across the state and rents them so they seem pretty professional and that's probably why the deposit was so good. They are also purchasing with cash, which is even better. From my personal experience, I would never sell with a realtor again. I am a total control freak and it was amazing to be able to get it done myself, promote it myself, and know that something was being done to sell it, rather than my realtor sitting around waiting for the buyer's realtor to sell it so they can make their 3% commission for doing nothing.
 
TakeruK has a great point - that is exactly what I did. Most schools will let you start in the summer and pay you (as long as there is funding) so this is a good option to look into.
 
Don't worry, this whole process is certainly maddening but 6 months from now it'll all be a distant memory

I was/am in a similar situation. Got my MS and a good job so decided buying a house was the way to go, thinking I was done with school for good. Then decided I really didn't like my job and needed a PhD in order to do what I really want, which means moving out of state and selling my house. Very scary when you're on a time crunch and also when you have little to no wiggle room on the price without going underwater! You have a few options:
 
1. Find a buyer and get them to agree to wait until you move. This can be a little risky because they can back out (of course losing their escrow deposit) which leaves you at square one. I am doing this, but only have to make them wait 2 months for my move since I'm starting in the summer (they wanted to close in 10 days, not possible!!). And they put a very impressive deposit down, enough to pay my mortgage for 4 years if they do back out.
2. Find a buyer, sell it to them now, and make an arrangement to "rent back" your home from them until you move. This decreases risk because it has been sold immediately so there are no worries on that end, and you get to stay there until you're ready to move.
3. Find an apartment with a month-to-month lease, 3 month, or 5/6 month lease to stay until you move. Since you have 3 dogs, this may be difficult and may leave you with only some very bad options in run down areas. This was at least what I found when I was looking into this option a few months ago - all of the short leases that allow pets were in roach infested apartments in high crime areas. You may have much better luck around where you live though.
 
Have you already listed it for sale? You may find in this messy economy that you won't receive your ideal offers until closer to your move date, which makes things a lot easier. Also, if they are financing, they likely won't be able to close immediately and this will give you some more time. If your move is 3 months or less away at that point, I'd say you'll have a better chance of getting them to let you stay until your move. Of course, anything is possible, you just have to talk to the buyer about your situation and see if they can accomodate it. If they really want your home, waiting may not be an issue at all for them!

I'm currently at Purdue so I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have about the area via PM.
 
I really like the area, but there's not a ton of things to do. Although this hasn't been much of an issue for me as I generally stay very busy. It's a really good town if you like outdoor activities, as there's practically unlimited space. All in all, it's a very chill place and good for relaxing in down time.
 
There should be loads of places to camp...I know Turkey Run is fairly popular and I'm sure there are other places even closer. As I said, there's plenty of space for outdoor activities. Decent bike paths, lots of golf courses, huge open fields for sports...etc.
 
As far as restaurants: Triple XXX (burgers/fries), Von's Dough Shack (calzones), Mad Mushroom (best/greasiest cheese sticks ever)
There are others, but these are my go to's for comfort food.
 
Weather is fairly unpredictable. Within the past week is has gone from about 20-60F. You will definitely be experiencing all four seasons. The key thing in the winter is the wind. Make sure you have clothes to break the wind. We do have quite a bit of snow, but skiing isn't fantastic due to the terrain. There is a place called Perfect North that students make trips to, but if you're from a skiing area it won't be what you're used to.
 
Overall, I like the area. It's very chill and relaxed, which is good when you're trying to focus on school. But it's very easy to get away to Indy or Chicago for a day for shopping or as a cheap getaway.

I vote 2 weeks, it is what I plan on doing. Some places won't even let you take the 2 weeks, and so you're out those 2 weeks of extra pay. For me, giving one month notice would be way too risky.
 
Of course, it is ideal to provide as much notice as possible but I would recommend looking out for yourself in this situation just to be safe. Many of us will be taking substantial pay cuts going from jobs to grad school so it's important to save as much as possible beforehand.

I am doing this right now actually - choosing my school based off of one lab. It is risky, and I don't like risky, so here's what I did. After the visiting weekend I emailed my POI and several members of his lab that I spoke with.
 
In the email to the students, I sent a simple "thanks for talking to me" and then brought up some of the topics we discussed that I found interesting. I also mentioned to them that I would love to join their group in the fall.
 
In the email to the POI, I also thanked him for talking to me and then brought up some of the topics we discussed. I made sure my excitement about his work was conveyed in my email and told him it was precisely where I needed to be. I told him also that I enjoyed talking to his students to further show my interest in his group and brought up some topics I discussed with them. I then mentioned that if I could know for certain that I could join his lab, that I would accept the school's acceptance offer immediately. It was my ultimate dream lab - after speaking with him and his group, I knew I would never be happy in any other lab at any other school - so I laid it all on the line. And it worked! I have a guarantee from him that I will be in his lab for my graduate studies. POIs want to find students that are excited and passionate about their work so make sure they know that you are. I read somewhere once that often times students won't get in their top choice lab because they came off too casual about joining the lab and so the POI didn't think they were sincere. If you want it, let them know!

Waitlisted today to my top choice...oh, the agony!! But, at least grumpy cat is also feeling the pain.
 

 
Hang in there everyone!

If you want in and nothing will change your mind, I'd go ahead and accept. The fact is that they accepted you because they want you. If you accept right away, I'm sure they'd be really happy to hear it and they certainly won't judge you or think less of you for it.
 
 
Congratulations!!!

Waitlisted today to my top choice...oh, the agony!! But, at least grumpy cat is also feeling the pain.
 

 
Hang in there everyone!

Haha! Love it! I totally should. My excellent sense of cat related humor should result in immediate acceptance, right?

Waitlisted today to my top choice...oh, the agony!! But, at least grumpy cat is also feeling the pain.
 

 
Hang in there everyone!

Usually $10-12 gets me about 3 meals if I'm making anything with fish. I pay about $8-10 for 3 meals with chicken/pork/beef. I only buy meats/veggies when they're on sale though and try to make it to the farmer's market when possible.

What is the difference in prestige of the schools for your program? For instance, if one is ranked #5 and the other is #15, it's not so significant IMO but if one is ranked #5 and the other is #50 then I think choosing the higher ranked program is necessary.
 
As much as many of us (myself included) don't like to admit it, prestige plays a very important role at the end of the day in getting a job. One of my top choices isn't ranked nearly as high as some of the others I've been accepted to but I'm in this dilemma of finding the best option in the long run. While it may seem exciting to have a few extra thousand dollars a year at the lesser known school, if you can't get a job (or can only land a lower paying job) than those few extra thousand didn't really mean much. But, like I said, this depends too on how severe the difference in rank is between the two programs.