Deadmeat

I got a generic rejection email at 2am... from a school in the same timezone as me.

They emailed me today. They are extending it to 3 years (from 1), with a supplemental fellowship in the 1st year. While most students there have full funding throughout the program, it's nice to know I'll have a cushion should things go haywire with my PI's grants.

Hey everyone, Anyone have past experience with getting an initial offer then having that offer increase or lengthen in the amount of time prior to accepting admission? I recently got a fully funded 1 year TA position. Was invited to an event with about 15 other prospective Ph.D.'s who were there "top picks" for admission. During the event they said our TA offer was the bare min, and in the next week would be sending out extended offers. Is this typical? The offer I got was solid, good stipend and support. Multi-year offer seems nice to have, but they said as a Ph.D. student in the program you are pretty much guaranteed an RA and adviser by the end of the 1st semester. I'm not complaining but just curious... I purposely didn't sign my offer letter, but indicated that I'm very interested in doing so. I figured they would be more convinced to boost my offer since I indicated I had a multiyear fellowship offer from another university. Though who knows, I'm fairly new to this game!

I literally spent two days going over every place... craigslist, padmapper, reddit, etc. Pretty much every retailer company in the area has bad to just downright awful ratings on apartmentratings and google reviews. Not to mention most of the apartments look like dumps. I have found 1, yes ONE apartment that might work for me, but unfortunately it would push my monthly stipend budget to the breaking point. The only newer places are all townhouses which are infested with undergrads and they also require roommates which is something as a very OCD introvert I would like to avoid and keep my privacy. I frankly don't get along with most younger students being an older student there tends to be a maturity gap. I guess the middle of nowhere and the partying undergrad population make for such a sellers market they could care less what they offer. Unlike some people I want a nice quiet place to relax after a long day, free of noise, distractions, and hopefully it is clean. I was actually all set to turn in my paperwork to accept my offer, but the housing situation is so bad I have held off. Now I'm actually getting the growing fear I'll need to attend someplace else I don't want to go just because I'll be able to find a decent apartment there. I'm willing to make sacrifices, I was going to give up my car, and live as thrifty as I can to afford my own place. I don't think I should have to give up a quiet and clean place to live though. I asked current students on reddit but most were undergrads suggesting townhouses. The few previous graduate students I know lived in dumps cause they didn't care, or in a house with 3-5 other people.

I've been looking for apartments for about ~3 weeks in State College, PA. It's already a nightmare process of finding a place. Many places are tied up for the new year, plus I suppose I have semi-strict requirements of not wanting to live in a building overrun with undergrads and I want a single. I've never lived away from home on my own, so the whole process is just blowing my mind. It doesn't help that almost everyplace seems like it's overpriced and pretty rundown. Anyone else finding similar situations? I suppose it is mostly due to being a college town in the middle of nowhere. I'm excited for the school but the housing options are bumming me out big time.

Graduate Assistantships if registered for a certain number of credits are exempt from FICA. So that's like what 6% savings in pay.

I got accepted to the Engineering Ph.D. program and I'm going to go there. Go to the Penn State sub reddit : http://www.reddit.com/r/PennStateUniversity/ I'm proud to be chanting WE ARE! for the next few years in graduate school. I got accepted to higher ranked programs, but Penn State was the perfect fit for me. If you are so worried don't go there, but I think you would be missing out and shortsighted.

What are your thoughts on the non academic side of things? CMU and Michigan are completely different types of Universities when it comes to the student population size, athletics, school events, etc. I just said this in another thread, but personally I love Big Ten programs, and you should give thought to what you want out of the University as whole outside of the program. You might find your answer that way.

I got an offer in Engineering from a Big Ten school. They are offering ~ 27,000 year (that includes summer research work) and paying 80% of the health insurance. This was as far as I can tell higher than the majority of the university but normal for the department (I.E. not a fellowship). The cost of living in the area is about average, but housing is a bit pricier than some places. It's similar to my cost of living in NJ actually, minus the insane car insurance and property tax (a non issue).

Without knowing the program, what are you looking for in a University overall? Michigan has a certain appeal for people (myself included) for being a huge campus population where cornell has about 1/2 the amount of student there. Big Ten vs Ivy League. Do you see yourself having a ton of school pride, cheering in the student section of Wolverine games? (I know hard to say without going there). What is the cost of living compared to the fellowship at each, are they both easy to find an apartment at? I would go with Michigan personally, Big Ten schools have a certain social and school spirit appeal you just can't find anywhere else.

You never heard about anyone from UMichigan, Ohio State, Penn State, UC Berkley, UCLA, UMinnessota, or UWashington being recognized for there work?!? I'm sure I missed some schools in there, but some of best programs and the best work in the country comes from state schools. Some of these schools are in the top 10 of research funding (Michigan, Penn State, Minessota come to mind). To the original poster: 30 isn't THAT old, I'm 29 and just finishing up my master's degree. If you want to be a top school and don't have the background. One suggestion would be get a Master's at a "lower ranked" school then use that a springboard into a top program. Keeping in mind you should produce papers, conference work, and have a stellar graduate GPA, but I'm sure you can do it! I went to an almost nonexistent graduate program after having a pretty bad under grad GPA (by Grad cafe standardrs) of 2.88. Though I have done very well in my Master's program and I have been offered admission with funding to 2 programs in the top 15 of my field. Just an idea to think about!

I find it hard to believe people don't get into ANY schools, but I guess if you only apply to 3-4 I could see that happening. I mean that as a compliment since it seems like everyone on these boards is super serious and hard working. My plan B isn't actually too bad. I'll get to work for my adviser's startup company for 1 year on a full Master's level engineering salary, which will give me a chance to save up and have a fun year. I'll basically be doing the same research I am doing right now for my thesis. I guess the sucky downside is that I'll have to stay in New Jersey for another year, and delay my plans even longer as I already feel a tad old... Yuck!

Thought I'd share this great TED talk while we all wait on decisions about how we make our own happiness and how in fact when given a lack of chose we often end up happier with our decision. http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_gilbert_asks_why_are_we_happy.html I actually thought back about some recent small and major decisions and honestly this talk really made lot of sense with what I ended up being happy with. Very interesting stuff!

Highly doubt you will be rejected in all 7 places! Just think positive and you will be ok. I think this whole thing isn't that stressful, it's sorta just like dating. Be yourself, give it your best shot, and if they say no to you... well then IT IS THEIR LOSS! Someone out there will want you, don't worry about it. In the meantime have a Cookie, they make everyone happy.

I know what you mean about reading more about the school. I got invited to an important recruitment event at a school, a school that was one I wasn't even going to apply to, and now is most likely my #1 pick after doing more research. Funny!

Finish my Master's research and thesis... so you know, I can actually graduate and go on to my Ph.D. program. Also, never having lived away from home, I'm sure I'll be frantically trying to get thrifty deals on furniture and packing.

They sound similar, and with a ranking that close does it even matter? Did you visit each of them in person?? Saying they have people you want to work with and ACTUALLY having someone you want to work with who you met in person, well those are very different things. If you can connect with an adviser before the deadline that might be the best option, you still have a couple months till april 15th to do that. That way you can see who is a good fit for you. Personality in person is very different than on paper, or even email. I applied to both of those as well (MechE) and I would pick Minnesota over Northwestern for the size of University and campus. Northwestern is smaller, which isn't as appealing to me, if you wanted a personal thought on the matter.

Not sure if this matters but University City in Philadelphia is a pretty fun spot. I'm from the area and it's one of the nicer and safer spots in the city. You get a huge student population, mixed with professionals from the city as well. Plus the huge restaurant and bar scene of center city Philadelphia is just a bus/train/taxi ride away. Go with the better fit, and don't worry about a "ranking". If you care that much about rankings and prestige, UPenn is Ivy league and CMU isn't. There yah go!

Just wanted to say this is well said. Basically, all the faculty I have spoken to at my current university said the same thing. Make sure you connect and get along, same working style, same expectations. I'm sure you'll find someone in the general area you want to work in that fits that. Plus, when you get soooo in depth in a topic, its hard to not be passionate about it. So I'm sure those passions will follow you regardless of what project you work on.

I only applied to huge departments 60+ faculty, etc. The reasoning was partially for the department but also for the University. Undergrad and Masters were spent at a smaller state school, everyone commuted, and I never really connected with anyone. So I want the opposite experience to make friends, meet people, socialize etc. I applied to mostly the largest state schools (Mich, Penn State, Ohio, etc). Besides the social aspects I think a big department just has so many more people working in the area you want. All your hopes don't lie on 1-2 faculty working in let's say Combustion, there are maybe 15 people doing combustion research at some schools. See how big the group you will be in is, just because the department is huge doesn't mean some groups can't still be small and have a personal feel. Just depends what you are looking for in both the department and possibly the broader campus.

Seems standard except for maybe the POI asking you directly. I got $500 and a one night stay with food for an ACCEPTED program. However, one who hasn't accepted me is paying up to $800, 2 nights, and food, to meet and see the program. The latter I'm hoping is a good sign.

As a followup: One of the POI I emailed referred to the interview weekend as "Blue Chip Recruiting Weekend". Does anyone know what that means exactly? As far as I can tell it has nothing to do with the University specifically, like a nickname or something. Wikipedia says it has something to do with athletics, but that kinda is confusing why she would say that.

I can't speak to that program, but I got a similar invitation from one of mine ($1000 on flight, hotel, meals, etc). They only invited 15 people and they graduate about 30 Ph.D.'s a year, so I'm taking it as a good sign. Try to see in the email how many people got invited, and how many they accept/graduate in the program each year. Might give you a ballpark idea of what it means. Generally from reading the forums it isn't a 100% acceptance, but you are clearly near the top of the list. I think these events you are selling yourself just as much as they are selling the program to you. Best of luck!

Good advice VBD, thank you. The 2nd school has about double the funding per faculty member according to NSF, so I'm hopeful they will offer a more complete package if accepted.

Thanks Misskira, I guess I wanted some random reassurance in my plan. It does make sense. I think I can nail the visit and interviews, and I figure with a department that has about 2x the yearly funding as the school I was accepted to, and offering to pay for an early visit... I have a much better shot at a full TA/RA.