jennesy

I've applied to 10 social programs, heard from 5 (all rejections - Michigan, WashU, UCLA, Princeton, UC-Boulder) and still waiting on 5 (NYU, Harvard, Rutgers, UC-Davis, UW-Seattle). Has anyone heard anything from the schools I'm still waiting on? I'm really really concerned that I haven't heard anything yet, but I know that there are others that are in my situation. The final decision has to be made by April 15, right?

gradgirl I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one in your situation! I'm at the end of my spring break and I did absolutely NOTHING but sit on the computer checking grad websites, blogs, etc., running to the mailbox, and worrying what I'm going to do if I don't get in anywhere. (Of course, I don't have a plan yet.) I have 64 papers to grade and classes to prep for (I'm a TA) and I graded about 15 and prepped for ZERO classes. I had a dream that someone from Rutgers called me and offered me admission. I can't seem to function without knowing where (or IF) I'm going. In all honesty I'm scared to go back to school next week because I don't know if I can teach and interact with people! Agh! Shouldn't they have told us by now?

Madison is a great city, it is beautiful during the warm months, but winter sucks!!! We just got 5in. of snow dumped on us...on March 16th. As far as costs go, it's not, say, New York, but things are definitely getting pricier than they were a few years ago. There are a lot of newer apartment buildings (but they are generally populated by drunk undergrads) but there are many apartment buildings off of campus (a 10-minute bus ride away) that mainly house grad students. Lots of cute neighborhoods and local shops, restaurants, etc. You can get by without a car (but it's better if you have one) and the bus is free for students. On the down side, there *are* a lot of drunk students out at night which is more annoying than anything else. It starts to feel like a small town after a year or so.

I've been in Madison for 6 years now without a car. It's manageable, lots of people bike and there are paths everywhere. The bus goes pretty much everywhere and students get a free year-round bus pass. It's definitely better to have a car, but you can get by without one here. I'd say best places to not have a car would be NYC or Boston, both cities have excellent local and regional transportation.