MadtownJacket

1. Location, location, location. I have lots of relatives in the area, and I figured going to graduate school in the area would make it easier for me to get a job post-graduation nearby. 2. Been my favorite school since I was 5 years old all thanks to Michael Jordan's college basketball career. 3. Climate. I live in Wisconsin right now, 'nuff said. 4. One of the top 3 schools for the overall field, also top 3 for my major.

...Hamburger from a vending machine?

I'm 25 and I still get carded. In Wisconsin.

Wait until THIS comes out in stores http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/25/ben-jerrys-core-ice-cream_n_4854680.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000063

Yes, MHA program. Got the decision two weeks ago.

Do people just stay inside? Meh, there's cross country skiing, snowboarding/skiing, ice skating, tubing, sledding, etc. But for the most part, I stayed inside. Are houses well insulated? Generally yes. Never really been a problem for me. Or are you just made of harder stuff than I am? I know people who were born and raised in the Midwest, and they hate the winter. I'm from the south, annnnd I think my second winter up here confirmed that I belong back in the south. But really winter isn't that bad up here. It's absolutely gorgeous and somewhat peaceful.

Not necessarily an acronym, but saying "Tech" in the south refers to Georgia Tech, but if you go elsewhere then it may refer to something else like Michigan Tech. Kinda frustrating considering that Georgia Tech is the first one to "brand" the name Tech.

Good gosh this winter will just never end. I'd be happy with just above-freezing temperatures for once.

Ha! I've only eaten at fast-food restaurants maybe five times in the past year. Madison is a great "foodie" town, as it's been compared to the likes of NYC for the wide variety and quality of restaurants/bars in the area. Yeah, you should be fine with that budget. Hope you have a nice visit up here! It is somewhat cold up here for the next month or so, but summers are absolutely gorgeous and they absolutely make up for the long winters.

Not really. I'm still working 60-hour weeks at my full-time job. If anything, I just don't get nearly as stressed out because I know I'm getting out in a few months.

Yes, I feel confident that you'd be able to live comfortably spending $1,500 a month. I go out to eat almost every day (bad habit of mine), spend ~$800 a month for parking/rent, and drive a gas guzzler yet I spend no more than about ~$1,300 a month. Granted, I take the bus whenever I can in the winter, ride my bike around town in the summer, and go grocery shopping at the Farmer's Market so I do try to save money when I can. Madison is great. I moved here for a great job opportunity, and I'll be sad when I leave.

OP has to keep in mind that those "best student" awards are given out every year, and possibly for every department at most schools. So yes, there are plenty of highly-qualified applicants out there in the world applying to Berkeley and the likes. Also, congrats on getting published and having your work shared? Isn't that what scientists are expected to do? I've also had my work shared on national media, yet I didn't even state that anywhere on my application nor did I bring it up in my interviews because I didn't think it was out of the ordinary. Maybe I'm just humble, but I'm just doing what I'm expected to do. If the same attitude that I sensed from OP also came across in the application, then that would seem like an automatic rejection to me.

I am also interested in this question. I may potentially have an RA/TA position during my first year of grad school, and while I'd be ecstatic to take the opportunity for financial purposes, I'd also be interested in seeing how this would affect my job prospects postgrad. If it matters, I'm attending a "professional" program, and not a traditional graduate school.

You don't really need to worry about being in a bad area when it comes to living in Madison, whether you're referring to crime or "homophobia". It's a very safe city, and probably the only one I've lived in where I feel comfortable walking around at night by myself (female). As far as being away from rambunctious undergrads, don't live in downtown Madison then. You'd probably be better suited for Middleton, Midvale/Tokay area (west side of Madison), or maybe Fitchburg. I recommend living near a bus line if you want to save gas money, as the bus system is one of the best in the country. Renting a one-bedroom in those areas is maybe ~$800 a month with parking. Renting a decent one-bedroom in downtown Madison with parking is at least ~$1000 a month, if you're lucky. Rent and parking is expensive in downtown Madison compared to a lot of other college towns because the area is already built out, so there isn't much room left to build big, new apartments. As far as cost of living in Madison-area, it's relatively cheap compared to the national average. I'm still shocked at how expensive parking/rent is in downtown, but everything else is pretty cheap. If y'all have any other questions, feel free to ask away. I can pretty much help you out with most areas except finding specific apartment complexes, as I've lived in a house for most of my time here.

I definitely know that feeling! I was in a meeting at work when I got my first acceptance after sawing the email headline pop up on my phone. It took a lot of patience to keep a straight face for the rest of the meeting, but eventually I decided to leave a bit early, run to my office, shut the door, and do my little celebratory dance. Now working 60 hours a week doesn't seem as bad knowing that I'll be leaving in a few months.

Good question. I was planning on leaving work on April 30th to spend all summer in Colorado, but my employer basically begged me to stay longer so I'm not sure what my plans are for the summer. I also may have an opportunity to get a summer research job with UNC, but that's not a guarantee. All I know is that I don't plan on working up until grad school starts. I need to relax and get bored so that I have motivation to study and whatnot.

UNC for their MHA program. Major factors were location, costs, and ranking.

0 for undergrad, and I expect between 0-5,000 for grad school. Definitely worth it.

Same here! I'm actually going from the great white north to the wild wild west for the summer, and then to the southeast in the fall for graduate school. Too many moves to make!

I love Carrboro and hope to find a place there. If not, I'll find someone closer to the UNC Hospitals, but I'd be wiling to ride a bike just to get to class. Can't wait to move to "the Southern part of Heaven"!

That happened to me as well. It took about a week before it showed up (I didn't care too much to email the department for a quicker fix). Now I can't give them my "admission decision", so I'm guessing I'll just wait another week before attempting it again.

Location definitely matters the most to me, but that isn't necessarily the case for everyone. I was just fortunate to have been accepted to two great programs, so I didn't feel bad about choosing one over the other because of location.

Meh, I dropped two courses and failed one, yet I didn't mention it anywhere on my application. If your personal statement has a low word limit, I would focus on the strong attributes of your application. If you have plenty of room though, then I guess it can't hurt to include it. I wouldn't mention loss of a close family member though, since that can make things somewhat awkward for whomever is reading the app.

I really want to reiterate this, because it's very true. In addition, this also applies to the real world, which I learned the hard way.

When I finally have good news to tell my friends on Facebook but I can't post anything about it because my coworkers (who don't know I'm leaving) may see it.