OhMySocks

senior citizen

Wow. My undergrad was in one of the smaller of the big cities, and for us off campus housing was usually half the cost of on campus housing, or less. On campus was minimum 12-14k for 9 months, and that was for the dorm rooms, the "apartment style" housing was even more expensive. In the meantime, I had a spacious studio for 450 w/utilities a block away.

student teacher

green tea

sentence structure

I'm trying to be as negative as possible without being completely depressed. I got into one of my last choices, and I still have my job for next year so not getting in anywhere else isn't the end of the world, so I just assume that I won't. Then if I don't, it won't be as much of a blow to my confidence, and if I do, its a very pleasant surprise. Of course this strategy isn't working out too well for me, as I still keep surfing the website of my top choice with my heart all aflutter.

zombie apocolypse

fighter pilot

acid reflux

center stage

bear hug

Would you mind elaborating a bit more on your organization system using Excel, including specifics on what is included?

Well, I don't see a reason to apply to a program that you don't want to do. I think you made a perfectly rational decision. I didn't know that astrobiology was a thing. How in the world did you get into it?

I know this is from nearly 2 weeks ago, but I found that this hasn't been mentioned yet: Clear your cookies, or search in your browsers "private" or "incognito" mode. The reason is that flight websites will artificially increase prices if say, you go search for a flight one day, don't buy, then come back in a few days. The idea is that if you see that the prices have gone up, you will be more likely to buy the ticket now instead of delaying (you'll be afraid that tickets will increase even more if you wait longer), and the fact that you came back means that you're more likely to buy the second time so they can probably squeeze more money off you. They know that you come back because the first time you came, they saved a cookie in your browser. If you clear your cookies or browse incognito every time then you'll get the original cheaper prices every time.

Not to mention that with Christmas, you know exactly when you'll find out: on Christmas morning. With this, you're stuck with this insanely long waiting period and you could find out at any time, so you keep obsessively checking.

clown car

From what I can tell, GPA and GRE are both down on the list of what they are actually looking for Ph.D. programs. Having research perience and a good SOP as well as good recommendations will affect your chances much more than the GRE. I don't think your GRE is prohibitively low, and if its the only weak spot in an otherwise good application, I expect that it won't make a huge difference. But since I know nothing else about your application, I can't really comment on your chances.

It's going to depend on your field and your current skills. I had job offers with just my bachelors making way more than I need. I'm sure I'd make more with my masters, and over a period of many years it might make up for the two years of lost salary, but it still doesn't seem worth it *for salary alone*.

...My parents might have the slight misconception that I'm only getting a masters, even though I'm applying to Ph.D. programs. They just think that I'm planning on leaving after a Masters. Of course, they think that even the masters is unnecessary (...which from a salary perspective is entirely true. But I prefer to think there's more to it than salary) but they are willing to indulge me. I'm letting them hold on to that misconception until I'm finishing up my first years, and then I'll just conveniently choose to stay for a Ph.D.

If you think you're beaten you are, If you think you dare not you don't If you'd like to win, but think you can't its almost a cinch you won't If you think you're losing you are, For out in the world we find success begins with a person's will Its all in the state of mind If you think you're outclassed you are You've got to think high to rise You've got to be sure of yourself Before you can ever win the price Life's battles don't always go To the stronger or faster man But sooner or later the one who wins Is the one who thinks she can

This wait really can't be healthy. My boyfriend is also applying to graduate programs and he has basically entered this very zen "whatever happens happens. Its out of our control so we might as well not even think about it" state and doesn't check the results search and doesn't constantly check his email and I'm very jealous of his lack of freaking out. I got an email the other day with the subject line "[Top Choice] CS PhD Application" and had a momentary panic attack. Opened up the email to find that it was just one of those "Thank you for your application to our school. This is why our school is so awesome and you should really get your hopes up about being admitted here because we are awesome". Why do they do that to us? I'm going to have a heart attack, I swear.

You seem like you have a classic case of Impostor Syndrome. As wikipedia puts it "Despite external evidence of their competence, those with the syndrome remain convinced that they are frauds and do not deserve the success they have achieved. Proof of success is dismissed as luck, timing, or as a result of deceiving others into thinking they are more intelligent and competent than they believe themselves to be." What is important to realize is that most people that are applying to graduate school and in grad school seem to have this to some extent. I know I certainly do.

1. What is a great area for a young 20 something female to live and be around other young professionals? And what it a reasonable amount of $$ for a 2 bedroom apt? 2. Is a car a must for St. Louis? I don't currently own one, but I'd like one. However, I'm not going to shell out money for a used car if I don't absolutely have to have a car if I attend WashU. 3. Is there a lot of fun things to do around WashU? I used to live in Chicago and Columbus and in both of those cities it's not difficult to find fun and exciting things to do. I was hoping St. Louis and the immediate area around WashU would be the same. I went to WashU as an undergrad and still live in the area a few years later so I'll try to answer. The answer to 1 and 2 are related. As mentioned UCity is not bad. Apartments on Forsyth Ave, west of WashU are pretty nice and safe, though they're a little difficult to get if you don't know people that are giving up their apartment. My roommate and I payed 950 for large 2 bedroom, Just a few minute walk to campus. If instead you look north, its not a bad area, but its fairly well populated with undergrads. Most of these apartments go around 400-600 per bedroom. Also, a short walk to campus. Central west end is a nice "hip" area, its populated largely with young 20-somethings, a lot of grad and med students and the like. The apartments there are a bit pricier (I paid 650 for a studio here) but its a fun place to live. There is a metro stop that goes directly to campus, and there is a grocery store a few blocks away so you can get by without a car (though I would recommend at least a bike). Theres a lot of restaurants and bars and coffee shops in the area and its fun. If you're willing to have a car, you can also look into the tower grove and dogtown regions. They are a bit quieter areas, though there are still a decent amount of students around. They don't have as much of the bar scene. It probably around a 10 minute drive to campus, maybe a little further out near tower grove, but not unreasonable. These apartments are a lot cheaper and often a lot bigger. I never lived there, but I know people that are living in nice, large (albeit old) apartments for 300 per bedroom. As far as recreation goes, there are a lot of things to do if you go looking, especially during the spring and summer. Forest park has been mentioned already. There are a ton of bands that come through and play various venues, there are a ton of theaters if you're into that, there are great museums. For a lot of theaters you have to go into the city and downtown to find them out. A lot of people at WashU go through all 4 years without never finding these things. Anyway, its not Chicago, certainly (I used to live in Chicago too), but I would venture to guess that it probably has a better cultural scene than Columbus. If you want a taste, look up the Riverfront Times. Its a paper which gives a very good overview of what is going on in St. Louis in terms of events.

I looked last year and there was 22 reported acceptances to their Ph.D. program. It does look like with the exception of 2 people that they sent out all of the acceptances in one batch in mid-January, so they probably have sent most of them out already.

@fall13applicant Thanks! I just got an email a few days ago, still waiting to hear from the department on funding. Was really surprsied to hear so early but I had seen one or two people on Results Search that got emails from them already, so it doesn't look like they send out admissions in batches. Its not one of my top choices but it is nice knowing that I have an option, and its a good confidence booster when the first thing I get is an admit. And I'm sure your SOP isn't banal and vapid, . you've just read it one too many times. It can be so hard to step back and judge your own application objectively when you've spent so much time on it.