rising_star

If you're going to accept your top choice's offer before even visiting the other university, then why would you even still go on the visit? Your reasoning here doesn't make sense. If there's even a small chance that you'd go to the second university, then yes, you should follow through on the visit.

This really depends on your field and what degree you're going for. In most of the social sciences, PhD programs are fully funded (that is, PhD students receive a tuition waiver and a stipend to cover their living expenses in exchange for working as a teaching or research assistant). In that case, the amount of loans you'd take it would probably be pretty minimal. If you're doing a MBA, by comparison, it's likely that you'll be responsible for funding your entire education + living expenses yourself.

I would do the one that's 1/3 the cost.

Honestly, for a letter due March 1, I wouldn't even start worrying until after President's Day (so after Feb 15).

Wait for him to reply.

If it helps, my mentors never gave me feedback on any of my SOPs. If they had, they could've saved me from potentially making a few embarrassing mistakes. But, even with those mistakes, I got admitted with funding to my top choices. So, just submit it.

There's always too much material to cover. One good rule of thumb is to plan out the semester then cut out about 25% of it since you won't have time to get to it all. As for snow days, there are several options: you could record your lecture, put the slides up, and make them responsible for reviewing both. You could find another video or activity for them to do primarily online which will help them get the same material. Or, you can try to cover two classes worth of material on one day, recognizing that you'll cover both in less depth and potentially in a poorer way than you might otherwise. I'm lucky in that, even when I've lived and taught in places with snow, it's always been at places where there hasn't been a snow day in 15+ years.

It's highly unlikely that a school would rescind your acceptance. For that to happen, they would probably have to find some type of fraud in your application (so, falsified transcripts, you don't actually graduate before starting, you faked your rec letters, etc.). But, what I have seen happen is that a school's or department's funding situation changes and they're no longer able to fully fund everyone who they thought they could (or more people decide to accept their offer than predicted, putting a strain on the finances). That said, if I were in your shoes, I would go visit school B, just to make sure that School A is the right one for you. It's better than potentially wondering what could've been if things take a turn after you enroll at School A.

For the theoretical articles, I would try skimming articles which cite and use that theory to get a better sense of how it fits in the scholarly discourse. It would help if you said more about what you're struggling with for the empirical research articles though, since those are usually a bit more straightforward, especially if you understand the methodologies used. In general though, the more you read in a particular area, the more other things in that area will make sense to you. Keep plugging away!

Far more people apply without an undergraduate thesis than you would guess based on the people who post here. If you can't do one at your school, then you just can't. Try to get one of your professors to include a brief line about this in their letter of recommendation, if at all possible.

Agreed with @lewin. Just ask if they have any funding to support travel for an in-person interview. I can't even fathom paying for 3 interviews out of pocket unless I was going to be reimbursed >75% of my expenses.

I highly doubt that applying for funding constitutes an acceptance. In fact, at most places, you apply for funding at the same time as you apply for admissions.

If you don't have any questions, then don't waste anyone's time by setting up additional Skype interviews. But, I'm honestly surprised that you've found a website which answers all the questions one could have about the program and specific labs. Typically, there's a lot of hidden information about how a problem actually works, how difficult coursework is, which supervisors are most demanding, etc.

Personally, I wouldn't list this on my CV. I only list grants for which I applied (either solo or with others) and received funding for. And yes, there is a difference between a Co-PI and a co-investigator, at least in my area. On large NSF grants, the writing is typically done by the PI and co-PIs (writing the grant, that is) while the co-investigators are listed for their expertise in particular areas but do not actually contribute until after the project is funded. And, even then, the contributions of co-investigators are typically far less substantial.

Have you tried reading book reviews or scholarly criticism of the work that you're assigned?

@highborn, it hasn't been a week yet. No need to send another email.

Honestly, it's awesome, at least in my book. My field basically only does recruitment visits so I have no way to compare interview vs recruitment trips. Make sure you ask the graduate students and your POIs loads of specific questions so you can get a sense of the atmosphere of the department, whether and how you'd fit in with the existing grad students, if the POI's mentoring/advising style fits what you're looking for, how much freedom you'll have in forming your committee, the timeline and time to degree of students (in general and of your POI specifically), housing costs, how far the stipend goes, what people do in the summer, etc. Basically, get down to the brass tacks of what your life will be like a year from now if you're a student in the program, rather than a prospective student. People will understand why you're asking and be honest with you, at least in my experience. Have fun!

You could reply by thanking the DGS and saying that you're looking forward to speaking with the professors soon.

I know a lot of people who just teach in their winter boots, especially if it's just a 50 minute class. Obviously, this depends on the styling of your boots but it's definitely possible to plan your outfits either around or to coordinate with your boots. I'm thinking of, for example, snow boots like these from Columbia, which could be worn with pants tucked inside for the walk and then untucked for class without looking much different than your normal footwear. But if that won't work for you or you aren't interested in it, you could definitely just bring a second pair of shoes (if female, perhaps ballet flats since those won't take up much space) and just quickly change into those when you arrive. I don't know that I'd change shoes in a bathroom but, if you got there right as the previous class is leaving, you could probably swap shoes pretty easily as part of your class set up.

No one is really responsible for having regard for your feelings/nerves other than you, especially someone you don't even know. I realize that's harsh but it's also true. If you advisor has to constantly worry about your feelings and nerves, they may not give your work serious critiques out of fear that it would upset you. Ultimately, that would be doing you a disservice.

I'm not in your field, sjb, so you may want to take all of this with a grain of salt. My MA advisor was awesome, always read everything I gave them, and turned things around quickly (as in, read the full first draft of my MA thesis having not read any chapters and got me detailed comments in under two weeks). We worked well together and were pretty open in our communication about needs and expectations. It was my advisor's idea for me to submit the entire document at once, rather than in chapters, and I agreed because I'd already decided on a slightly atypical (at least for my field) structure. Was it always sunshine and roses? Of course not but, it worked for me at the time. My PhD advisor sounds a bit like yours in some ways (well-renowned scholar, not exactly in my area but close, etc.). My PhD advisor has a habit of not reading things until the last minute or when you tell him you need them. It's the way he works with all of his students. The more senior students told me this early on so I never took it personally or as a sign he didn't care about me or my research. Typically, he and I would meet maybe twice (sometimes only once) a semester to discuss my research, in addition to a couple of meetings a semester as a lab (so with all of his students present). But, I never doubted that I was working with the right person. Why? Because I knew that, when push came to shove, he would go to bat for me and help me finish. If that meant heading off finicky committee members, he did it. If it meant reading my entire dissertation while on an international flight, he did it. If it meant writing me dozens of recommendation letters, he did it. Early on, like you, I worried about whether those letters might be lukewarm since he didn't really know my work, what I wanted to do, etc. But, you know what? Those letters from my first year on have helped me get grants, fellowships, and jobs. I don't know what they say (I've always waived my right) but, as a grad student, I reviewed a travel grant app that my advisor had written the rec letter for. And that rec letter was absolutely glowing and, because I know both of them, I also know that grad student was not one of his pet students or favorites by any means. My advice to you is to not even think about changing advisors or topics at this stage. It has been a semester, one of about 10 you're going to have in your program. If you're passionate about your topic, then that's the most important thing. Instead, you really should take some time to think about what it is you want to study and why, why you picked this advisor, and whether this advising relationship is salvageable. It could be that you and your advisor need to get on the same page about expectations (what you can expect from them, what they're expecting from you). You should also consider forming a working group with other graduate students where you could get insights about your argument and bounce research ideas off one another. Don't make any rash decisions. Instead, figure out what you need, then communicate this clearly to your advisor. Once you have their response (that is, are they willing to give you what you need or meet you in the middle?), then you can decide on next steps. Keep us posted!

You definitely need a letter from your MS program. You might try talking to your MS advisor about what he thinks the best LOR strategy for you is.

All they really care about is when you receive your diploma. So, if you apply for summer graduation, decide to continue on, and then graduate later, they'll only know when you graduated.* *Caveat: Unless, for some weird reason, your school lists when you originally applied to graduate on your transcript. It is unlikely this happens but check with your registrar's office just to be sure.

The only way to know if you're going to be screwed is to contact the departments themselves and ask. But, it's not uncommon for LORs to be submitted at the last minute.

mm1928, I'm not sure about your school but, at many institutions, the spring semester hasn't begun yet so it would be a lot more difficult to find a faculty member in their office if you drop by or call. Also, while it's stressful for applicants, remember that many faculty do things at the last minute (just like many applicants submit everything at the last minute). That doesn't mean it won't happen though!