sys88

Are you in school for a master's or a phd? This can greatly change the decision. On a side note, really look into rent costs. I'm from the east valley (Gilbert/Chandler/Tempe) and LA rent is about double.

Thank you! I've heard MANY people tell their story of needing to jump on houses and be at the house, like, immediately. This kind of sucks because I live in Seattle so the fastest I could be there would be 3 hours:( Do you have any suggestions on getting a good deal without being in the immediate area? Sorry for all the similar questions but I've heard just such bad things about the vacancy rate in Portland and I don't want to be homeless or end up in a shitty place for a year before I can move again.

Whoa, rvict, where are you buying your cat food from? My cat has to get prescription food (ie $$$) and it doesn't come anywhere close to even half that amount. Vet bills are a real risk, though. I'm of the belief that when you choose to be a pet owner then it is your responsibility *for the life of the pet* to assure it adequate care. To me this would mean getting the apt that allows cats. Roommates can help. I understand your pain - I have a cat myself and the supply of cat-friendly apts is a small fraction of all apts. Doesn't matter, the cat is just another requirement on my list for an apt (along with things like price, size, and location). If you honestly feel that keeping the cats would be too much of a strain then it is your responsibility to find them a good home. Please do not just take them to the shelter; put the work into finding them a suitable home. Finally, if it comes to that, think long and hard the next time you're considering a pet. Think about your future plans and be sure that a pet can fit into them. I know you can't always plan 100% but please do your best. A pet doesn't deserve to be shuffled around or killed because the owner had "things come up". If you can't reasonably assure that you can care for the pet for its life then please reconsider getting the pet.

Thank you, garlica:) Do you have any suggestions to find housing aside from padmapper and craigslist? If we wanted to rent a house would it be worth getting a realtor?

I didn't have to pay a deposit for OHSU and was surprised about that. From my understanding paying a deposit is quite common.

Most chicken you're going to find in the supermarket is injected with a saline solution. It's supposed to be for "juiciness" or whatever but really it's for weight.

It's rare, but I've heard of departments recommending an applicant for admission to the school but then the school rejecting the applicant:/ I sincerely hope this isn't the case and hope it's just an error in the system. Best of luck!

I actually liked the program and students better at UC Denver, but the connection I formed to the faculty and research at OHSU during the interviews was magical. I also felt that OHSU had better resources. A smaller, but still important piece is that my husband and I like Portland more, and he would not be able to remote from his current job in Colorado, whereas he can in Oregon. It was a super-difficult decision (especially with CU's fellowship offer) but i nthe end I went with my instinct and I'm pretty happy so far with my decision haha

toxicgirl, you may have better luck in the City Guide forum.

I just accepted a spot at OHSU for this fall. I would like to take public transit to campus (hopefully no more than 20-30 minutes). My husband may need to commute to Vancouver for work, but is willing to drive. We like to like close to an urban center/downtown but not in it. Walkability is a must. Budget isn't a huge issue. Any neighborhood suggestions? Thanks!

I had that same feeling, elanorci.

That happened to me, too! OHSU was probably my least "exciting" school but I was blown away by the connection I felt to the faculty after visiting.

Rejected from Cedars-Sinai post-interview, which is fine because as I said before I really didn't feel it was a good fit. Still stings a bit, though! I have decided I'll be attending OHSU in the fall. Now to send off emails!

Just got back from Cedars. I feel like on paper it's the best program for my career, but I feel like I didn't fit/belong. It's just awful, because the logical side of my brain says that it would be a great opportunity but my heart says absolutely not. I think I need to follow that gut feeling and look at my other options.

You are definitely not alone! Ah, then I can't help you there, sorry.

Where is this? And which school/program?

Thanks for calling and updating us!

I am so unimpressed with Cedars right now. The interview is this Sat-Tues. First, they didn't get to us with interview offers until 3 weeks before the interview. Sure, they had a late deadline (Jan 15th originally, then pushed to Jan 31) but still! Second, they can't accommodate my dietary restrictions (vegan... LA is very vegan-friendly). Not a big deal as I can provide my own food, but very unimpressive. The other places didn't have an issue at all. Third, they originally had two 3-hr interview blocks scheduled - one for Monday and one for Tuesday. They never requested a faculty list from me. Today I got the updated itinerary and it's such bs. That 3-hr block is now a 30min interview and a 2.5hr "break." In addition, for that 30-minute interview I'm meeting with TWO faculty members at the same time, ones that I totally did not choose and are not in line with my interests. Icing on the cake? One of the interviewers is my PI's boss, a guy I've worked very closely with for years and he was even a letter writer for me. I emailed him and he has no idea what's going on and thinks it's pretty bs as well. At the very least he said he's going to talk to the coordinator about getting me in with someone else. He also said he can hook me up with some researchers I'm actually interested in during my "breaks." This is ridiculous. Maybe I should have stuck with traditional academic institutions rather than trying out a research hospital!

I interviews at UNC the first weekend of Feb and haven't heard back. Tbh I don't think I'll go there even if I am accepted.

Still waiting on UNC. Their final weekend was just this past weekend. Considering the size of the program, I'm expecting admission offers (aside from the couple of top candidates) to start rolling in in by next week.

They're probably a top candidate from a recent weekend. I don't think most of the offers are going out until after all the weekends are done.

I was there for the third weekend. I think they're waiting to send out most of the notifications until after their last weekend. There's actually one more this weekend. Originally there were only six but they had to add a seventh because of the east coast snow storms.

Second the question about biking! I see that Santa Monica Blvd has decent looking bike lanes, but will you get run over by a car if you use them?

Maybe I'm daft but I've searched around and can't find an answer to my question. I know the "big" fellowships obviously look great on a resume, but what about recruitment fellowships? Do they have much weight? Thanks, guys:)

Yup! Which program were you interviewing for?