Tuck

I am officially going to Vandy now, and I need to plan a house-hunting trip for the summer. I'm seeking a dog-friendly house/duplex/fourplex, preferably a two-bedroom, under $1000. I plan to use a realtor for my search. Any advice on how I should time my trip? Two months before moving? Six weeks? Something else?

I finally made a decision! I'm going to Vanderbilt! I declined Northwestern last week and CU-Boulder on Friday, which I hope helps some of you.

CO (soon to be) SLP and midnight, thank you so much for writing out your impressions of the open house! I read through your comments many times and found them most helpful. It sounds like a great program. It was not an easy choice, but I've decided to go to Vanderbilt. I just now sent my paperwork in - last minute much?! On another note, I hate that I didn't get to meet y'all! Perhaps in the future at a conference or some such we can make it happen. :-) Congrats and best wishes on your graduate careers.

Was there no letterhead, no return address on the outer envelope, etc.?

The burnt orange has really grown on me after living in Austin a few years. After seeing it everywhere year in and year out, you'll grow fond of it too.

One of my good friends moved up to Waco for grad school last year. She says it's not bad at all, considering that's it reputation is tied to the Branch Davidian mess in most people's minds around here. I've been to visit her a couple of times while traveling between Austin and Dallas. The city is diverse, the Baylor campus is lovely, and there is a nice riverwalk for outdoor excercise. The cost of living is low and the people seem nice for the most part. It's also a quick trip to Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, or the Texas Hill Country from Waco, so you could do some fun day trips. If you visit, be sure to check out the beautiful courthouse.

Sorry to hear that, DShenge. This is a competitive field right now, and admissions decisions definitely aren't a referendum on your worth. Hang in there, take a little bit of time to nurture yourself and relax, then get back on the horse and start thinking about ways you can improve for next year. I have seen a lot of folks on here who have successfully reapplied!

I was rejected from the University of Utah this morning, which is the last school I was waiting to hear from. Fortunately, I have other options. Time to start making decisions.

That is pretty much my boat too. I am interested in neurogenics, and Northwestern is my first choice from that perspective because they have a tremendous amount of brain-related work going on. However, I just can't justify the cost. Vanderbilt really impressed me when I visited there, but there are also faculty doing work relevant to my interests at Utah and Colorado. Like you, I'm holding out hope for funding from somewhere.

Thank you for the info and congrats! I am going to sit tight, but it will be hard to resist the urge to call them if I still haven't heard anything by the beginning of next week. If I were to get accepted to Utah, I don't think I could commit without making a visit there, but it's going to be difficult to do that with the time between admissions decisions and April 15 dwindling. But it's probably just as well, as I would need some funding for the offer to be compelling, and I'm not holding my breath for that. emelki, I noticed you were also accepted to Vanderbilt. Are leaning toward any particular option right now? Also, what made you choose to apply to Utah?

I haven't heard anything from them, nor has my ApplyYourself status changed. What do you know about the emails they've sent out?

I know, I was excited about meeting you too! (And CO (soon to be) SLP!) Thank you in advance for sharing your impressions! Have a great trip.

I visited Nashville this past weekend and drove all around looking at neighborhoods. It seems I may be priced out of the nice areas right around Vanderbilt (Hillsboro, 12 South, Sylvan Park, etc.), especially since I won't be having roommates and my s.o. and I would really like something like a duplex rather than an apartment. However, I was really enamored by the sense of community and low-key feel of East Nashville. It has the bohemian, mixed income, up-and-coming vibe I've become accustomed to in Austin. Can anyone comment on the commute time to Vanderbilt from neighborhoods like Eastwood, Cleveland Park, and Inglewood, both during rush hour and non-rush-hour? Thanks in advance!

I am actually not going. :-( I have a big work thing going on Friday that I've been unable to weasel my way out of, as we're currently short-staffed. Please let me know how it is!

jmarti, I am so excited for you! I am really quite happy to hear this news.

I'm not going to link it here because it contains his name about 3 dozen times (in the form of, "The Firstname Lastname"), but her invective about this professor on Yahoo Answers is epic. By her own account, she called his mother years after the fact to complain about him not writing her letters of recommendation. Edit: Also, there is a wedding registry entry under both their names.

I got my official letter from the department. There was no mention of funding included, so that's probably the end of the line for me for Northwestern. I'm going to sleep on it for a night and probably let them know tomorrow that I won't be attending. I hope this helps someone on the waitlist!

jmarti, slpdream, and others - I am really cheering for you guys this week! Hang in there!

Well shoot. I have an environmental geology class and physical geology with a lab that I thought would count. Maybe I need to take an introductory physics or chemistry course at a community college this summer. One more thing to do before moving... On the biological sciences: "Acceptable courses in biological sciences should emphasize a content area related to human or animal sciences (e.g., biology, human anatomy and physiology, neuroanatomy and neurophysiology, human genetics, veterinary science)." Is that basically saying "anything but cell and molecular biology?" I took two statistics classes in undergrad, but it's been so long that I've forgotten most of the material, which really worries me since I want to go into research.

Wow, I hadn't thought of this. I've had a card holder with business cards in my purse for years, and it will be weird to not have them in grad school.

Considering the ridiculous number of things-going-wrong-at-work dreams I have, I'm surprised I haven't dreamed about applicatons more. I did have one where I accidentally called one of the graduate coordinators and couldn't say anything coherent to her.

I am certainly pleased to have so many wonderful choices! Right now the indecision is just bugging me, and the traveling will be pricey. I'm probably leaning slightly towards Vanderbilt, with Colorado as a close second. Northwestern is just too expensive. I would be happy at any of the schools to which I applied, however.

I did get the itinerary, which prompted me to finally write them about it. (I'm the one who didn't have any mention of it in my letter.) I agree that the agenda looks great - I think many of my remaining questions will be answered. My plan was to try to only visit one school, and I had hoped the choice would become obvious based on news about scholarships/assistanships. But right now I find myself having a hard time choosing, so I guess I'll be traveling a lot in the next 3 weeks! We need a plan for identifying one another at the visit! It would be good to put faces to (screen)names.

Nothing here. I wrote Amy Walker today to ask about the open house, and I also inquired about funding. I'll let you know here if I hear anything! I was waitlisted for funding from Vanderbilt today, so I'm hoping another school will come through with something.

Congrats, jaclsmit and TalkItOut - wow!