123hardasABC

Well put! I think you deserve a taco. Or 5.

I'll be attending Icahn if Berkeley doesn't accept me. The top programs that have accepted me don't interest me because of the class size. I prefer a smaller program (and HOLY CRAP CHANCE TO LIVE IN NYC?!). My reasoning for Berkeley is that it's my alma mater so I'm familiar with the area.

If you'd like, feel free to PM your SOP and I can give it a read over. Good luck! I was lucky to stumble across this site when I was having application anxieties. But now, I'm basically done with them so I'm just happy to help!

Keep your head up Colby! You'll find the right school for you I'm kinda hoping you'll join me at Icahn actually. I want a GradCafe group of buddies, haha.

I'm jealous. NYU is where I wanted to go. My stats are similar to yours but I only have a year of experience (even less at the the of applying). I'm guessing that's where I went wrong (((

I still haven't heard back from my beloved alma mater yet ((( Have fun at Berkeley though! I'm so jealous...

I just got accepted to Rutgers....even though I finished the application....and kinda withdrew....... (shrugs)

Thanks! It hasn't been without rejections though....but the key is to not let those get to you! I hope you report back with good news.

I went to Berkeley as an undergrad, and I'll tell you that it's pretty expensive. Most of the graduate students I know don't have part-time jobs; I don't think there's really time for it. So yeah...a small loan may be necessary depending on how much of your own money you're willing to contribute towards normal cost-of-living. Eating out is expensive, BART tickets will add up, and the sales tax is horrendous. I found university housing to be overpriced but it is the easiest option, close to campus, and safe. Co-ops are often competitive (for undergrads anyway) but if you can get in one, it'll definitely be the cheapest option. The best option in my opinion is to find your own apartment. Roommates are easy to find. It's a large university and in a very popular area; there are always people looking for a place to live. Just look around on Craigslist, ask around on reddit.com/r/berkeley, or even advertise yourself around campus. All-in-all. Berkeley is expensive. Most things in the Bay Area are expensive. But it's so worth it. Good luck and have fun!

I might go to BU's in March. But I'm really only using it as an excuse for a mini-vacation...... Shhh, don't tell faculty that though! But if you do plan on going to that date, PM me, I don't know anyone going to it. We can form our own awkward Internet group. Berkeley is amaze-balls. I did my undergraduate there. Feel free to shoot me questions if you have any regarding Cal! (I'm feeling heavily nostalgic for it right now)

Seeing as there are no other responses, I figure should chime in and lend the biggest helping hand I can (which isn't much). I went to the rival school on the other side of the Bay (Cal), but it's in the same general area, so I'll tell you what I learned from my experience in the Bay Area. I don't know what level of cost-of-living you're used to but I can tell you it's more expensive than LA, but cheaper than NYC. I also don't know if Stanford offers any student housing opportunities for graduate students or not, because otherwise, housing is really variable depending on your preference. If you share a room and are willing to commute, then it can be affordable. Otherwise......good luck, because even for the cheapest accommodations, you'll still be overpaying. In terms of food and entertainment, it's more expensive compared to most places in the US. You'll struggle to find cheap fresh fruit and produce. Eating out will be expensive unless you're willing to go down a few notches in the health safety scale (but! if you are, that's where all the best food is!!). Utilities, you'll find that certain companies will have a monopoly in your area so you'll be forced to pay their exorbitant rates. For me it was PGE and Comcast. But, despite all these faults, the Bay Area has been my favorite place to live. I miss it every day. I can also tell you that I also did a long distance relationship at my time at Berkeley, but I was unable to save the money for flights. Because in the end, I wanted to enjoy myself in the SF/Bay Area and go out, shop, and eat out. BUT, if you're willing to trim down these spendings, it should be possible to save the money. So on that bombshell, yes, if you're willing to sacrifice some luxuries and can find the time in your graduate studies, you can fly out every other month-ish to see your SO. Because in graduate school, it's not so much whether or not you can afford the money, it's if you can afford the time. And please don't kill my alma mater at the next Big Game. Hopefully my drunken ramblings can provide some insight.

Rejected at Columbia. Kinda stings even though I've made my decisions already. Only waiting on UPenn and Cal now.

Icahn. Epidemiology. Small program, big city, and home of the PhD program I'm most interested in. I've been looking for smaller programs because I went to a major university for my undergraduate and didn't enjoy being one out of GodKnowsHowMany students. It's New York because I've always been a big city type of person. I'm from Los Angeles, did my undergrad in the SF-Bay Area, so it felt like the "right" transition to go from LA to SF to NY. Their lower tuition also makes living in a big city doable (unlike BU, wtf?!). I know it's not a top ranked program, but it has what I'm looking for and it feels right. I don't know. And yourself?

I just jinxed myself and got my first rejection by starting this thread, haha... :X

Boo. Just got my first rejection -- NYU. Oh well!

I keep looking at these results in the Results Search and thinking..."damn, what did I do right??" or "what has adcom been smoking!?" because my scores are significantly lower than a lot of what has been reported on this site.

I heard back from Icahn almost immediately. I applied October 22nd and was admitted in November 7th. I was contacted via email.

I'm one of those non-believers when it comes to ranking, so for me, location matters a lot. School is going to be stressful whether or not you go to a top ranked program. You don't need your environment and living situation to add any more stress to it. My recommendation is to visit the campus, speak with faculty, and visit the neighboring cities. Basically familiarize with the area and see how you like it. It's gonna be your life for the next few years, you gotta make sure you're comfortable with adapting to your new environment.

Emory's admit package is a leather-bound notepad. I almost feel bad for turning them down.

I applied back in October, and was admitted two weeks ago....so a really long time. Although, according to the correspondent at admissions I've been email, they didn't start reviews until the end of December....so it was more like a month.

How is that funny?

Is the deadline to make a decision upcoming? If so, yeah. Tell them you're waiting for other responses before you make your final decision. Or is it some time in the future? If so, you can email them out of professional courtesy but it's not necessary.

If you want to wait, then wait? So long as your acceptances don't have pressing deadlines for you to accept, then why not wait?

So sorry to hear that You heard back from UPenn already? I barely just got an email saying they've received my app last week..... Now you're making me nervous.