rising_star

Think of it this way: If you haven't heard directly from the program that you've been rejected, then your application is still under consideration. So in that sense, not hearing anything is good news.

You're asking questions that no one here is going to be able to answer without knowing the specific university you're talking about. Your best bet is to call the graduate school office (not the department you applied to!) and ask them what that status means.

I think it depends on two things: the amount of loans you'd have to take out and whether or not doing the MA will strengthen your profile enough to get you into the PhD programs you want. The latter is hard to predict because there are so many variables with admissions. I personally wouldn't do it but I'm also incredibly debt-averse.

Don't do it. If the POI is on the admissions committee, they probably can't tell you anything about the status of your application until the entire committee has made their decisions and decided to notify everyone. If they're not on the admissions committee, they probably don't know anything about the status of your application. Either way, it's unlikely the POI can actually tell you anything. It's still really early in the application season so try to be patient.

Did the university you've been admitted to provide any information about a deadline to accept or decline their offer in the letter? There's usually a provided deadline. That said, as long as you reply by the deadline, then it's fine. It's preferred that you reject an acceptance once you know you will not go there but, it's also not required that you do so.

I would recommend that you not buy all the books, only the ones you'll definitely need for your comps or dissertation. But, that's not what you asked. The major pre-diss fellowships in the social sciences are NSF GRFP and the Ford Foundation Pre-doctoral fellowship. If you were interested in health, I'd add NIH.

I would be more concerned with who your advisor would be, if they'll be there throughout your PhD, and the funding situation at each institution. Fit is hard to determine or help someone else figure out, especially with the limited information you've provided.

If they had anything to tell you, they would've already told you. I don't see what good calling would do.

I want to link to this excellent post because I think we all need to reminded when we lose perspective and confidence in ourselves that this is a time that will pass. I've never heard it phrased this way before but, the sentiment is excellent. Hopefully, it'll help the community out!

See, even when I worked outside of academia, I was never asked to share a room with a manager/boss during travel. I only ever shared with coworkers at more or less my same level.

Don't keep emailing. You'll see her at the first class and, at that point, you can schedule a meeting to go over the expectations for you as a TA. It's really not as big of a deal as you're making it seem, promise.

I would visit both schools, if possible, before making your decision, @rabbitfeet. That will help ensure that you know school A is the right one for you. I assume you've already gotten your funding package at each place?

Fit. It's quite possible your fit was better at your reach schools. There are really no safety schools when it comes to grad school applications.

Honestly, this is a really personal question and not one that anyone here could answer without knowledge of your CV, your goals, and your field. That said, I decided before I went on the market for the first time what my cap for years on the market would be. I think I said I'd do it twice (or maybe it was three times) before shifting my attention to another direction. And that meant finding full-time, renewable employment (so NTT lecturer could work or VAP or TT). I'm lucky in that it happened and before my self-imposed timeframe. For me, it was more about the fact that there are other things I could see myself doing combined with a desire to really choose the place in which I live in a way that being in academia doesn't allow. You may want to check out VersatilePhD.com, where there are lots of people either outside of academia or considering leaving academia.

Yea, I'm like TakeruK in that I had plenty of informal socialization with faculty during my PhD, including dogsitting for a prof who was out of town for a month (and living in said prof's house), subletting my advisor's house for a semester, and frequently (almost weekly) going to happy hour and dinner with faculty in the department. I even know where the spare keys are hidden at several of their houses, for various reasons. Even so, there's no way I'd want to share a room at a conference with any of them, whether or not they are my gender. I would much rather share with other grad students.

Honestly, a succinct one page essay is better than a sprawling or babbling two page essay. Are you talking about single spaced or double spaced, btw?

Honestly, I put less value in the school's ranking than I did in the track record of the person I'd be working with. You like the professors equally but, which has a better track record of getting their students the grants, fellowships, and postdoc positions that you want to have? To me, that's more important than money or ranking. FWIW, I went with the best overall PI (in terms of track record with PhD students) over the school that offered me more money and one that, on paper, had a higher ranking.

You weren't being disrespectful, you were being honest.

If they didn't say that you're accepted, then you haven't been accepted. This sounds like an interview weekend where they're interviewing folks to determine who they want to offer admission to.

Don't submit a revised SOP. It's one small typo which most are likely to overlook.

Honestly, I didn't have to do a background check for at least one of my graduate assistantships. Before contacting anyone, I would verify that they will indeed do a background check on you. Many schools don't because of the sheer number of incoming funded graduate students and the cost (it costs the employer anywhere from $20 to $100 per person, depending on the extent of the check) of doing them.

I wouldn't bring it up. There's nothing you can say that won't sound like you're just making excuses for yourself. If the prof really wants you, they may fight for you in spite of your GPA. See also the thread here from the folks with sub-3.0 GPAs, which has helpful advice about navigating grad school admissions with a lower undergrad GPA.

The circumstances are different. You've said that you don't want to go to the other school, which to me sounded like you are saying that you wouldn't go there even if it were your only option. If that isn't the case, then yes, you should still visit. But, if you already have your admission and funding offer, then there's no sense in wasting people's time by visiting the second university.

Very true. I don't work at a R1 but I can also definitely tell a cover letter that is targeted toward one. And those get dinged on review since it shows they didn't care at all about what type of school we are and what we value. That said, I also overlook small typos since everyone makes those.

No one here can answer that for you since you'll be compared against the applicants for this year, whose qualifications we cannot know.