iphi

How did it go?!

Just a head's up that if you've taken a TB test in the last 5 years it should still be valid... I work in schools and it has been really nice not to have to re-do it for every job!

Just heard from the program where I am waitlisted - I will not be offered a spot. But that's fine! Honestly, I think where I'm going may be even better for me. And now I have officially accepted a place somewhere! I am going to grad school!!! It feels so FREEING to have made a final decision! Thanks ladies (and dudes) for going through this all with me! Good luck to you all!

I'm off the waitlist - I got the email today that no more offers of admission will be made. But you know what? That's ok. I'm going to a great school which is offering me a kickass funding package! Good luck, all! I'm rooting for you.

Yes, you can be offered a spot. But I have been reading around here that if you accept a funded offer at another school before April 15 you need to be released from the contract before you can accept the (waitlisted) school's offer.

By sharing a living room I meant there is a 2-bedroom house with 2 people sharing the living room as a 3rd "bedroom". Very common. Shouldn't be a problem if you can afford to pay more, though. I think June 30 is fine to start looking though!

Also, expect to pay out the nose! Those nice, $600-800 rooms by campus? They are a living room you are sharing with one other person. My SO and I paid $1650 for a one bedroom in a nearby city and thought it was a good price by Berkeley standards!

The problem with Berkeley is that you may not be able to take a place blind. The housing market is ridiculous and competitive. When I moved there with my SO 4 years ago from Canada no one would even consider letting us rent without meeting us first. We recently started looking for another place in January for a March move-in date and had to extend our lease for 2 weeks because we couldn't find anything. You most likely need to go there, and you need to do it AS SOON as you can! Try contacting other grad students in your program and see if you can room with them and they can find you a place. You may also want to go into student housing (if you can - I know there is family housing if you're married, not sre about options for singles) for your first year just so you have a place.

I am a westerner who currently lives in Saudi. PM me if you want. I would suggest against a westerner getting a degree from here unless you know you want to work here/Middle East forever. The stigma of a Saudi degree in the U.S. or Europe for a westerner would be too much. They might even think it is fake.

I got in for the PhD program (and will be declining.... just in case any waitlisters are lurking!) but I think it's a good school, and they offered me good money. Unfortunately the PhD program is brand new (I think we'd be the 2nd or 3rd cohort?) and are not NASP or APA accredited! But the EdS is NASP accredited and has such a good reputation that it actually made me think very hard about accepting because I figured with the good reputation the EdS program has it was sure to get accreditation for it's PhD program! TL;DR: Good school!

It's essentially saying it's a bad post. I cancelled it for you by pressing the green arrow (you can not undo it yourself).

Yeah, wow. You can tell her she made your decision very easy for you! What kind of ridiculous scare tactics is she using? That's a red flag for sure, especially since it sounds as though you've been polite in your correspondance, and nice enough to give her updates! You have until April 15 for a reason -- that is YOUR time. Don't let anyone try to bully you out of it.

Nope, Singapore is just that beautiful! Of course, I also assume that Georgia would be major culture shock for someone coming from HK. Especially compared to Singapore.

SINGAPORE! Nicest place ever. You will regret going to Georgia when you have NUS as an option.

I'm actually in the same boat. I've "decided" (see my sig) but only because I'm 99% sure my waitlist spot won't come through. So I haven't actually committed to UWM and they email me all the time! They also tried to get me to make a decision because of people on their waitlist, but I just told them I'm very likely to come, I am just waiting to see all the offers I get first to make a fair decision. As much as it sucks for everyone that we're waiting, we DO have until April 15. Don't let them make you feel guilty because you haven't decided - you have 7 more days! Honestly I feel like everyone on the waitlist is playing a giant game of chicken! The people who haven't made decisions at your schools where you're on the waitlist may be waiting to get off the list somewhere else.... I haven't accepted UWM because I'm waiting for somewhere else (probably making waitlisted UWM students anxious....) and so on and so on! Although at this point I've emailed my waitlist school TWICE and they haven't responded to either, so I'm tempted to say 'screw it' and just officially accept the UWM offer!

What do you do with an unresponsive department? The last email they sent me was March 8 (one month ago). I have tried following up twice since then. and have heard nothing. But for goodness sake, the deadline is in a week! I should say that my waitlist is prof-specific. i.e. if her lab has a spot open, she tells/acccepts me. Should I try emailing someone else in the department since she's MIA? She's on sabbatical, but aside from the last few times has always answered emails promptly.

Political communication means living in DC will be FAR more valuable to you in terms of making connections/finding a job after. Of course, going where the funding is is always a good idea!

They are definitely going to question your motives/goals. Why ARE you thinking of doing it?

Unfortunately #7 is pretty low odds... because that means 7 people have to reject the spot for you to get it! Of course, many people may have given up and confirmed elsewhere by now, but I still think the chances are low. About U of T.... can you call and ask for your decision via phone? I did that with one school, I called to "check on my status/ask when notifications went out" (instead of asking outright) and they told me over the phone. It felt good to not sit and wait for the decision!

Also I should add that Purdue has a LARGE international student population!

Purdue has a far better reputation (generally speaking) and geographically/culturally speaking may be less of a culture shock for an international student! Anyway, the stipends are so similar - especially with West Lafayette's low cost of living - that I would say the research benefits should outweigh the money for sure! Hopefully this doesn't offend anyone, but Utah (as a state) is kind of in the middle of nowhere, and while West Lafayette isn't exactly an ideal location (it's cute, but not 'near' much) you can drive to Indianapolis in 1 hour and Chicago in under 3. So... I vote for Purdue!