aginath

Darlin' this is Texas. Not owning a grill is a violation of the state constitution. :wink: Actually, I don't know of any complexes off hand that don't allow them, and I recall the California law raising a big ruckus around here. Still, to be sure, I'm asking the good folks of http://www.myBCS.com just in case. I haven't lived in apartment in so long that it could be a new city ordinance or complex rule.

My early offer from UGA is a total of $35,360. That's $14860 (Grad PLUS), $8500 Fed Direct (Subsidized), and $12000 Fed Direct (Unsubsidized). Of course, this is only estimated. Until I get the actual offer in June, nothing is final.

I applied to three programs; UGA, NCSU, and IU. My UGA application was two-fold. I found a visitation program through Outreach & Diversity for which I was eligible to apply. They combed through 200+ applications and selected ~50 to bring out for three days to see campus, meet programs, and actively recruit. I fell in love and stayed in contact with the graduate coordinator for the program I wanted. After my IU application was complete, I received an email inviting me to visit during their recruitment weekend. There were only a dozen or so of us and this was program-specific (rather than university-wide). I never really considered the possibility of being recruited for a graduate program until I visited Indiana back in February. I saw the love given to three or four prospective students in our group that weekend and honestly felt jealous. One of the guys was actually on his second year of applying to the program (rejected last year). Other than "thank you for your application," I never heard a peep out of NCSU until the offer letter came. When I was trying to decide which offer to accept, my Master's Committee Chair gave me possibly the best advice. "My 2 cents--go for the program that focuses on the relationship with the faculty

I was accepted to NC State (no funding) and declined the offer. About two weeks later, I got an email from some coordinator elsewhere in the University inviting me to apply for funded TA positions. :roll: My Indiana offer came without funding as well, but said they would try to help me find something after I accepted. My UGA offer came with an asterisk, if you will. "We want to give you funding, but don't have our budget yet....So, it could be June before we know anything." I had to do a lot of soul searching over the decision and finally settled on UGA. I already have a preliminary financial aid offer (all loans) that is an option if I absolutely need it. I've also found a way to possibly get in-state tuition my first year if I can't get funding.

sleeping, check the current off-campus bus routes: http://transport.tamu.edu/transit/routemaps/offcampus.pdf. That should help you with determining how to get around town. There's also the Brazos Transit District (http://www.btd.org/BryanCollegeStation.htm), but it's not free. Personally, I've taken to hanging out in Downtown Bryan as I've gotten older (and more liberal). Revolution on Main St has an awesome outdoor patio area. You occasionally find someone with their dog out there and they have never minded when we bring in pizza from Mr. G's around the corner (then again, Mr. G is the owner's dad). For coffee and the like, I prefer Village Cafe on 26th. There is a large dog park at the end of West Ridge Rd towards the south side of College Station. It's one of the large fenced-in parks where you can turn your dog loose and chat with other owners while they play.

I was in fairly constant contact with the program coordinator from my program (LDT within Ed Psych). If not for that, I'd still be waiting. The online tracking system still shows that no decision has been made for me, but he gave me the thumbs up (and I received the letter in the mail about a week later). Last I had heard, the COE still hasn't completed its budget. That means that departments and programs are still in limbo with regard to funding. This is the first year that LDT has not offered an assistantship to every incoming doctoral student (yikes!). They hope to have answers by June/July, but it's made admissions decisions a nightmare. If you still haven't heard, call the program directly.

I have a friend working on his PhD in ChemE, bone. That's about all I can give ya. :wink: He can usually be found on Northgate when not hiding in his lab on campus.

I'll be there in the Fall. I've been scouring CraigsList and many of the property management company websites looking at available properties. My problem lies in having two wonderful dogs (Husky and a Husky/Malamute) that limit our options. My husband and I are headed over in mid-June so that he can interview for jobs and we can see what's left to rent by then.