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lypiphera

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Everything posted by lypiphera

  1. I just did one of these. I think your questions are good, and I would just be prepared with as many questions as you can. I'm sure like any interview he/she will be interested in what you plan to do, etc., but since they've alreayd accepted you, they feel they know what they need to know already. They will want to tell you all about their program and have you ask a lot of questions. In my visit, the professor was talkative so I didn't need to bombard him with questions, but it was definitely more him telling me about the program and about his line of work than it was about him getting to know me. Some other good questions to ask: 1. What are the TA responsibilities like? 2. How soon do graduate students start on their own project (usually 1st or 2nd year)? 3. What kinds of projects do you have ongoing or underway? 4. How often do you meet with your graduate students (e.g. once a week, once a month, as needed)? 5. How encouraged is collaboration between faculty? 6. How long do graduate students usually take to finish? 7. What kinds of jobs do students end up in after graduating? And many others, anything you would ask in an interview. Good luck!
  2. That's a great question - the cost of living is very similar, so the stipend amount can be directly compared. You're first point is absolutely correct in this situation. At the first school, your stiped comes direction from TAing, so it is a constant requirement. The second school has that for a few years, but also has 2 years of funding with no requirement. I completely agree about some TAing being important, but that I'd rather have more time to publish more than teach more. I HOPEFULLY wouldn't have to go into debt at either place. I will be moving with my husband who will be getting a "real-world" job, and then we would be making less money at the first school but likely wouldn't need to go into debt. Who knows how long it will take for him to find a job or how much he will make though. So in all likelihood the answer is "no debt", but basically there's no chance of debt at the second school. I think I will end up going with what you've said here, because even ignoring the prestige, the research fit is much better. I'm definitely not in it for the money, but I do worry how it will affect my ability to do research. I'm hoping that the extra work and less pay will pay off down the road, like you say, by giving me more job opportunities down the road!
  3. I'm looking for some feedback on my dilemma, but I'm hoping it's general enough to be helpful to other people with similar decisions. I've been accepted to one school where I felt a great research and personality fit there, and it's a nice place to live. One of the professors I would work for is a very well-known in psychology, and a great mentor as well (according to students). At another school, I don't have quite as good of a research fit (the personality fit is still good) with the POI, but they have offered me roughly twice as much money, more guaranteed years of funding and and about half as much TAing required (whereas the first school requires TAing every semester). I feel like the "right" choice in the long run is to go for the school that I have a stronger research fit with and that has an extremely prestigious faculty (in terms of finding jobs later), but I worry that the lack of money, resources, and time not TAing compared to the other school will make graduating on time and without debt harder to do. Any thoughts on this? Am I being spoiled by giving too much weight to money/resources or by giving too much weight to the prestige of my POI?
  4. lypiphera

    Houston, TX

    I PMed you this, but realized other people might want to know as well. There are a lot of good places close to the med center, so I will just mention 3 (in no particular order) that I have had friends live at and like. 1. Fannin Street Station (previously known as Archstone). It's somewhat close to the medical center, and more importantly, it is very close to a lightrail stop (which has multiple stops in the med center). The lightrail is just one straight line, so it's not great for getting everywhere, but if where you are going happens to be on the rail (e.g. the med center or your apartment), it is very convenient. http://www.apartmentsearch.com/apartments/texas/houston/fannin-street-station-apartments.html 2. The Boulevard Apartments. It is not on the lightrail, but it is only about 2 miles from the med center. It's a little more expensive, but also a bit nicer, so it depends on what you are looking for. http://www.apartmentratings.com/rate/TX-Houston-Boulevard-Apartments.html#axzz2LqOpUqhh 3. Berkshires on Bromptom. Again, it's not on the light rail, but it's even closer to the med center, <1 mile I think. http://www.apartmentratings.com/rate/TX-Houston-Berkshires-on-Brompton-formerly-Waters-On-Brompton-Map.html#axzz2LqOpUqhh Let me know if you have any other questions or if you want an opinion on a complex I haven't mentioned. I may know something about it or I may at least be able to tell you about the area. Good luck!
  5. Based on my post-interview experiences at two school, they definitely do accept in waves. At one school, I got a call letting me know that I was admitted , and politely requesting that I let them know as soon as I decide one way or the other so they can move on to the people they put on the waitlist. So the first round was invites, and the second round will be invites based on the number of people that decline from the first round. At the other school, I received an email from my POI letting me know that I did not make the first round of acceptances, but that there was a chance I would get admitted on the second round. I don't know if I would have found out if I hadn't emailed him about something unrelated. So it's really good to be in the first round. However, many places will make calls to applicants and let them know they were accepted, which takes longer than mailing letters to everyone. If they are making calls, or even have the professors accepting people independently, it's possible they are still working through the first round of invites.
  6. lypiphera

    Los Angeles, CA

    I was wondering if people would comment with suggestions on where to live between Irvine and Los Angeles. I am considering an offer from UCI, and would like to like close, but my husband's job prospects are mostly in the LA area (most likely in Venice Beach but some other places as well). I know the commute between them is not great, but we were hoping to live somewhere that's bearable to get to both cities. Affordable is important, but more important to me is safety. Although LA has a lot more culture and fun shops and activities that Irvine, I would rather live in a quiet place Irvine and drive to the fun stuff when I wanted to go out. Any ideas? I can see on a map all the cities that live between them (e.g. Santa Ana, Long Beach, Fullerton, Anaheim, etc.), but I have no idea what each city is like and what it would be like to commute to Irvine and LA.
  7. lypiphera

    Los Angeles, CA

    I was wondering if people would comment with suggestions on where to live between Irvine and Los Angeles. I am considering an offer from UCI, and would like to like close, but my husband's job prospects are mostly in the LA area (most likely in Venice Beach but some other places as well). I know the commute between them is not great, but we were hoping to live somewhere that's bearable to get to both cities. Affordable is important, but more important to me is safety. Although LA has a lot more culture and fun shops and activities that Irvine, I would rather live in a quiet place Irvine and drive to the fun stuff when I wanted to go out. Any ideas? I can see on a map all the cities that live between them (e.g. Santa Ana, Long Beach, Fullerton, Anaheim, etc.), but I have no idea what each city is like and what it would be like to commute to Irvine and LA.
  8. I was wondering if people would comment with suggestions on where to live between Irvine and Los Angeles. I am considering an offer from UCI, and would like to like close, but my husband's job prospects are mostly in the LA area (most likely in Venice Beach but some other places as well). I know the commute between them is not great, but we were hoping to live somewhere that's bearable to get to both cities. Affordable is important, but more important to me is safety. Although many people don't like the like of fun activities and shops in Irvine compared to LA, I would much rather live in Irvine (or similar) and drive to the fun stuff when I wanted to go out. Any ideas? I can see on a map all the cities that live between them (e.g. Santa Ana, Long Beach, Fullerton, Anaheim, etc.), but I have no idea what each city is like and what it would be like to commute to Irvine and LA.
  9. That is common. Professors are very busy people and likely he really just got bogged down. I would give it another day and then send a polite email asking what times would work for him - give him some options that you are available if possible, or let him know you can do almost any time.
  10. I emailed the graduate coordinator to ask them to withdraw my application. I never heard anything back, so I can't be sure that it went through, but that seemed appropriate to me. Alternatively, as stated above, let them know ASAP if you get accepted so that they can make the offer to someone else.
  11. I saw on the results search that someone receive an email acceptance to UC San Diego in experimental psychology. I am anxiously awaiting hearing from them, and did not expect for us to hear so quickly after the interview last weekend! Whoever posted that, would you mind PMing me your POI and whether it seemed like a mass email or a personal one?
  12. I want to bump this thread because I'm curious about people's research proposals submitted to NDSEG. Basically, I'm curious about how much research needs to relate (directly or indirectly) to national defense. I am in psychology, which would fall under Cognitive, Neural, and Behavioral Sciences, and I'm unsure if my research needs to be related to defense/security somehow, or if it just needs to be in the discipline and doesn't need to have a direct application to national security/defense. What are your thoughts on this?
  13. I have this as well. I received an unofficial admittance, but official acceptance and funding details will come "later." I am sure they know that a person would not accept an offer without seeing the official details.
  14. There was one school that was relatively low on my list until I visited, and it shot right up to the top. Even after visiting other schools, it is at the top of my list. There are a lot of other factors to consider that you can't know well untli visiting (e.g. personality fit with faculty, how happy the students are, etc.), that I wouldn't rule a place out before visiting. In addition, in terms of not burning future bridges, I wouldn't like the idea of cancelling a commitment. However, if after visiting other schools and theirs, you are sure that you don't want to go there, it is definitely okay (even a good thing) to let them know as soon as possible that you will be attending somewhere else. If they offer you admission after the interview, be sure to respond ASAP so that they can offer someone else the spot.
  15. I wore comfortable walking shoes that look likesolid black gym shoes. I was comfortable and able to walk around, and I was very glad I wasn't wearing heels, given how much we were on our feet and how cold it was. I don't think wearing practical, decent looking shoes would hurt your chances.
  16. I was at the UCI interview weekend for a different area. They mentioned that the psychopathology program is a bit in flux right now - that does NOT mean that the profs in that area aren't accepting students, but currently entering students cannot choose it as a major. I got the feeling it was a very small area, and I don't know how many people that plan to take there. In total there were 24 of us at the interview, and they plan to take on 10 new students (though they may accept more, assuming not everyone will enroll). This was for the Social Ecology program, not the cognitive sciences (or whatever the other area is called).
  17. "DON'T DO IT!" This is the response I got when I asked a grad student friend of mine if he had any advice about going to graduate school.
  18. I want to bump this topic up and get other opinions. I am in a similar situation EXCEPT that I do not think the waitlist is short or likely to be exhausted. I have been accepted from 1 school and have good hopes for 3 others I interviewed at, but I was not invited to an interview (nor was I rejected) by my 2 top choice schools. I don't want to wait until April 15th to tell the school that I decide to go to, but I also would really like to go to the school I've been waitlisted at if I did get in. Given that they have indicated it is very unlikely that I will be accepted, do you guys think it's okay to wait until the last minute, hoping to hear from the super unlikely top choices? Or should I just assume that since I didn't even get an interview, I'm unlikely to be accepted, and I should just accept an offer from one of the schools I do get into?
  19. I don't think it's a problem at all, BUT, I would think very carefully about what you write in your statement of purpose about why you are leaving. You definitely want to mention it, since they will want to know why, and you want to be as diplomatic as possible. Be sure you don't say overly negative things about the school, since that will come off the wrong way. It's fine to say that you don't feel that you fit there, but avoid sounding like the school isn't good enough for you or that the program was terrible (not saying you would do that, just think about your words carefully). Will you be able to get letters of recommendation from your current advisors/professors? I think that will be an important factor. If they write you a letter, it will be clear that you weren't leaving because you are a bad student or don't get along well with people or couldn't handle the program - instead it will be clear it just wasn't the right school for you after all. If, however, your professors will not be writing letters of recommendation, it will be more important to talk about what made you leave, since it will look like you are not leaving on good terms with them.
  20. I wouldn't worry about that at all. Visiting the school gives them a chance to "woo" you and to see if it would be a good fit for you. Be careful in your conversations not to imply that you will go there, but attending the visiting day does not at all indicate acceptance of their offer. It does mean you are seriously considering it. I am attending one school's visiting day that I have been informally accepted to. Until I hear from other schools and complete my visits/interviews (will have done 3 others before this visiting day), I am not going to make up my mind about where to go. The professors will understand that, because it is the default/expected situation.
  21. At the two interviews I've been two so far, I wore dress pants an a nice top (either sweater-shirt or blouse). Both times I had a black sweater for if it was cold - no blazer. At both interviews, there were some people in attire like mine and some in more formal suits and blazers and skirts, and I don't think either style was a problem. One professor I talked to (and I wouldn't talk this advice as a whole, just thought it was interesting) said "I don't understand the people who get dressed way up for these interviews. Don't they know what graduate school attire is like?" Again, I wouldn't take that as advice, since you don't want to wear actual grad student attire (since that would be way too casual and look like you don't care), but I don't think the professors will put nearly as much thought into attire as we all do. Look nice, presentable, and at least business casual (unless they specify otherwise), and you should be fine.
  22. I have heard from many people that it is OK to leverage offers from other schools in order to bargain for a higher PhD stipend. I am considering 2 schools, and one has offered a significantly higher amount of money (along with less time spent TAing to get said money). I haven't decided on which school is my top choice, but if I end up deciding on the one that offers much less funding, I don't want money to be the reason I turn them down (but I also don't want to go into debt). I know people have done this in the past, and I was just looking for some tips on it. There are a couple of very old threads on the topic, but I thought I would start a new one with some specific questions that I think many people would be interested in: -Who did you first ask? E.g. POI, graduate coordinator, financial aid, department head? -At what point in the process did you bring it up? E.g. During interview, after interview, after acceptance, after enrollment -Did you give specific names and amounts when leveraging other offers? Did anyone ask for proof? -Is there a downside to asking, i.e., any potential harm to your application? -How did the funding offer change? E.g., you were given more TA hours or your TA hours were worth more. If you have bargained for more funding (or attempted to, or know someone that did), please share your experience!
  23. It is definitely possible for graduate students in the same program with the same qualifications to get different stipends. I have interviewed at 2 schools and both have this situation, to a different extent. One school has 2 different funding packages, depending on whether you get one of the competitive fellowships. The "normal" package and the fellowship package is close to the same amount, but still some students make more than others. At the other school, it's even more variable, because it depends on your professor, whether you TA or RA, whether you have a masters, etc. I also heard that some students bargained/leveraged other offers in order to get more funding, so the students that didn't do that make less. In addition, some students apply for and/or receive external funding, like an NSF fellowship, which will again change the amount. These situations are both a bit different from the OP's experience, but just thought I would share my experience in how students can make different amounts of money.
  24. Hey everyone who's asked about UCLA - I got an email about a week ago saying a decision had been made, and the website notified me I had been rejected. I saw on the results page that a bunch of people go the same email on the same day with rejection notifications. So, if you haven't heard anything, that's probably good news. I'm on the same page with Berkeley, where I haven't heard anything and many people have been invited to interviews or rejected. I am assuming that I am on a low-level waitlist - they haven't outright rejected me, but I probably won't hear anything unless a bunch of people don't accept. It may be the same with you guys for UCLA, but I wish you the best!
  25. I certainly will. And if I do decide that Penn is not my top choice and I do get an interview request or anything, I'll be sure to let them know as soon as possible so they can recruit other candidates.
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