geographyrocks

I just have to say that this part is terrible advice. There are some departments (ex: Mine) that will barely glance at your application if you haven't contacted a professor. It does not state that it is a requirement on the website. And both of the places I was rejected last year were places where I did not reach out to a professor. So for anyone reading these in the future, a lot of this advice is program and department specific. Another example: Very few departments in my field interview whereas other fields are extremely interview heavy. Just keep that in mind...

Even if they are still trying to decide on your application, it's still not a rejection. I think it's much more likely that they want you, but they have to figure out funding. That's really common.

Dear unnamed student, If you continue to ask me questions about every SINGLE thing that you have to do for an assignment simply because you can't be bothered to READ the entire f'ing sentence before deciding it's too complicated for you to figure out, I will beat you with my stack of papers. Example: (The assignment has step-by-step instructions) Student: Why won't this work? Me: Did you do the 5 things listed above it? Student: But it's this part that won't work. Me: Did you do the 5 things listed above it? Student: I don't have a problem with those. It's this thing that won't work. Me: You HAVE to do the 5 things above it before hitting OK or it won't work. You HAVE NOT done those things because I'm looking at it right now and they ARE NOT done. Student: Oh.

You should have asked the "starting a family' question right back at him. What a jerk!

I wish my department did this or at least kept the graduate student website up-to-date. Now that I'm writing this, I think I'll suggest it to the department. Gradcafe has such useful information!

I thought the oil/gas folks might be interested in this. http://us6.campaign-archive2.com/?u=d95936b6df&id=5ec58f98e8&e=3ccdfaef63

I did this. Luckily, I made so little money last year that I qualify for financial aid loans. I didn't really need the loans, but I wanted them for a couple of reasons. I wanted a security cushion in case something expensive happened. I also wanted to erase the possibility of stressing about money during my first year. I also used the loan to pay off credit cards because the loan interest is much lower than my credit card interest. I know the average salary that I should make after I get my PhD so I am comfortable with my indebtedness (as comfortable as one can be with debt ).

Email the graduate coordinator/adviser (whoever is listed on the acceptance letter) and simply say: Thank you very much for your offer of admission. I have decided to attend another school *you can insert a reason like better matches my needs here*. Don't worry. They're used to rejection. And if you've had some pretty decent communication with your POI, you could send him a quick email as well. Although, I would add that I looked forward to working with him/her in the future. I found out the stats for my school: about 50% of people offered admission decline. I was also told that 80%-90% of people who apply for faculty positions are unqualified for the job and thus their applications go straight in the 'no' pile.

All of that goes through the graduate department (most of the time). They may or may not give departments the funds to have students visit. The easiest solution is to simply ask your POI or the graduate coordinator if they cover the cost of a visit. That's what I had to do. And they didn't act like I was a crazy person for asking.

Ditto on the yes. Our taxes are automatically deducted from our monthly "paycheck". Only your prospective school can say whether they are withheld automatically although I believe that is the most common way it is handled.

Congratulations!

One thing to note is that the biomed field and the biogeo field are two very different animals. From what I gather, biomed is very competitive and popular so choice of school really matters. The name of the school matters a lot less in geosciences. What matters is what your adviser is doing, what you will be doing, and how you will be prepared when you graduate. As for publications, they always help. However, if you are accepted into a program that you like with an adviser who is relevant in the field, I would take it over waiting a year.

As far as I know, it's standard. I was granted a provisional acceptance until I submitted my transcripts that showed that I graduated. If there are any other stipulations, they normally list them. Congratulations!

I have no idea if the free GIS projects are anything like ArcGIS which is what most classrooms use. If they are, that information would be useful. If they aren't, then the original poster will simply learn a program that won't help with his/her class.

Well, the only way to really learn a program is by using it and you aren't going to be able to find a free version of ArcGIS. If the course you're taking is even marginally well planned, it'll start with the basics and baby step into more advanced topics. I TA an Intro to GIS course and there's a guy who can barely use his computer. He's picking it up just fine. It's a pretty intuitive program. Edited to add: You can play around with Google Earth. It's grown leaps and bounds and will get you familiar with looking at maps and manipulating them.

I'm not sure why the faculty told you this. You are not too old.

I learned by teaching. That was terrifying since I had very limited knowledge going in.

No problemo. And as of last year, they were still snail-mailing the official letters. Edited add: FYI: UNM offers are being mailed out today.

My school only covers in-state tuition the first year, but I'm also considered in-state for the first year. It's weird wording which basically means full tuition is paid. The only requirement is that I establish residency before my second year. Did you check the graduate department's webpage? I think that's where I had to look to figure out that I wouldn't have to pay the balance.

I have my fingers crossed for you!

Scholarships generally list the academic requirements and require some sort of statement. So yes, this is all very normal. Just make sure that you make a good argument in your essay as to why you should receive the scholarship.

Congratulations! Let me know if you have any questions about UNM!

If by UNR you mean the University of Nevada Reno, notifications came out last year around the second or third week of February. Also, POI sway is program specific. At my current university, the profs get whatever students they want based on funding. So if the prof has their own funding, they get who they want. If not, they get to argue amongst each other for "shares" of the TA funding. I'm sure they have some way of dividing it up, but no one tells me those things.

I listened! I had my TA duties covered which I planned on doing anyway because I doubt anyone wants someone coughing and sneezing on them while answering questions. Now I just have to email my professor AGAIN because he never responded to the first email. Of course, he's a self-proclaimed email ignorer.

Oh, yeah. Buying a house is completely different. You could try zillow.com to try and compare what you could buy in each city.