Munashi

Congratulations on making your decision! Feels good, doesn't it?

Same here with Penn State's I/O program. I'm still baffled by the fact that this happened/is happening. I haven't found myself mentally derogating the school since receiving my acceptance, but I do find myself wondering how/why on earth they decided to admit me of all people.

It really does seem like a crap shoot sometimes. You never know how it will turn out. That's one of the things that makes applying so interesting (and agonizing).

Aww, that was you? Sorry to hear. Your statement just made me smile (because I can sympathize over the tameness of dreams)!

I relate to this. Haven't told my spouse's family yet. It's especially awkward, because they don't understand what graduate school is (which isn't their fault - they're older and also from other countries). When I tried to explain that I was applying, I was met with the "I don't understand, you already have a degree. You finished school, why are you doing it again?" response. :/ Going to be tough to explain why we're moving very far for "more school"...

Is it possible to send an inquiry to UCSD to ask when you might hear? I did this with one of my programs that I had some pretty extensive interactions with, but never heard anything final. I emailed my POI, told her I had some other offers but I didn't want to respond until I had heard from them and if she had a timeline for when decisions might be made. She told me to go ahead and accept another (unofficial rejection; she went into more details, but it's not relevant to this thread). Asking very rarely hurts if you're polite, not pushy, and not asking multiple times. You may or may not want to mention other offer. In my case, I only mentioned it because I had previously been told "please let us know if you have other offers you need to respond to". I did not say where the other offers were from. If UCSD essentially rejects you, you can have your decision right there and start focusing on getting housing in LA. If they don't reject you right away, you might at least get some idea of when you'll hear back and you can put off searching until then.

I did this and it has paid off tremendously. Not only did it set me up perfectly for grad school, but it also allowed me to test the waters and determine if I wanted to dedicate myself to researching X and/or Y. You have gotten lots of other good advice so far too!

Congrats to you too Maziana! I am sure your visit to Michigan State will help make the decision clearer. Both are amazing programs, so I sympathize with the agony of choice. It is nice to know where I am going! Now I am just hysterical about the costs/logistics of moving.

This thread has been quiet the past few days. How are all of you guys doing? Thinking of you all!

I was surprised by this too! I feel like it's something no one warns you about. Yes, getting all of your materials together and submitted on time is stressful. But I found the feeling of helplessness that accompanied waiting to be far worse because there was nothing I could do but try to be patient.

Hi Mincer, I am not sure how to answer your #1 question because food prices vary a lot in the US depending on where you live, and I have not lived in State College myself yet. I'll be moving in the fall too! EDIT: For food, I would estimate $250-$300 per month but you could certainly get by on less if you are careful. Again, this depends on the area so I'm hoping a current student at Penn State can help with this question. But for #2, it is true that you should start looking for a place to rent ASAP because things fill very quickly in State College. It is a small town, mostly occupied by students who are also trying to rent apartments.

Exactly. Sometimes faking confidence can lead to actual confidence.. I'm hoping so, personally.

Also, for your application process, etc - definitely check out this I/O blog, "NeoAcademic". http://neoacademic.com/io-grad-school-series/#.Uxo3wPmFVyU His general posts are interesting too, but his series on I/O grad school was immensely helpful to me. Especially given how few I/O-specific resources are out there, I highly recommend you read through his articles. I believe this guy is an assistant professor at Old Dominion. EDIT: I just wanted to add, one of the articles in the series is specifically about gaining relevant research experience, etc. I wish I had found this site earlier in my life!

This is so true and I am 100% sure this contributed LARGELY to my recent success this round of applications. Your GRE scores sound great, and the research experience matters a great deal. As other have said, a 3.2 GPA is not stellar but it certainly isn't poor. I think you should give it your best shot.

I saw this on a rejection post where the user was mentioning that they had dreamed of living in College Station, TX: "Even my dreams are tame."

When this was me, I contacted my POI and the DGS at my school to ensure any necessary paperwork was turned in to them and to double check that I had confirmed my space in the new cohort. Once they gave me the "all clear", I sent out emails declining the other offers I had received. This only took a day or two of extra waiting. Once you're sure, there is no reason to hold onto the other offers. If you AREN'T entirely sure yet, that's a different story.

Curious: What is the motivation (in your specific case) for getting your Master's before the PhD? Why not apply to the PhD programs in the states, take the 5 years, and do both your Master's and PhD over here? Please note, I am not trying to be snarky - I'm genuinely curious! I think you will have a hard time finding a place "offering advance standing" to someone with a Master's degree. Like joshw said, some places will but it will often not save you a full 2 years and you may have to re-do your thesis even if it does save you from re-taking some coursework. I could be wrong, but it's possible this may be especially difficult if the Master's is from outside the US (someone please correct me if I am wrong, this is only a guess on my part).

FreeRadical - Any updates? How did you handle the situation/what was the final outcome? I'm curious how things have turned out for you!

I second the advice that ginagirl has given you. You will likely have some opportunity to mention these updates during your interview and ask if they'd like updated documentation.

Unfortunately, I'm no good for finding roommates as I'll be bringing my S.O. (soon to be married) with me. I'm not sure if my department offers roommate matching or not, although I do think Penn State has some student housing available for grads. I believe those with children and/or spouses get priority for that, though. I'm not sure what the conditions there are like either! trizzleYO - A current student who I stayed with while visiting had a pretty nice apartment downtown in building that only leases to grads/and professionals. If I could remember the name of it, I'd pass it on. If I think of it, I'll let you know.

If they invited you out, that's a great sign! I would give at least 5-7 days before sending a brief email re-emphasizing that you'd very much like to visit and that you have upcoming availability and X, Y, and Z times. Don't be discouraged if it takes them some time to get back to you. Professors are an insanely busy breed, and they are likely just dealing with a few other things at the moment. Good luck!

Did your prospective supervisor invite you to visit? Or were you just making them aware that you are available to visit if they'd like to meet you? If they did not invite you explicitly, they may not have anticipated you wanting to come in person immediately and without invitation. I would also note that "over a day" to respond to an email is not an unusual amount of time. When it came to POIs, I usually gave 1-2 weeks before sending another email. The last thing you want to do is bug them. They may just be trying to sort out their schedule to determine if and when they would be able to accommodate a visit from you (especially if they did not invite you to visit in their initial email).

^This! I was blown away that my POI seemed as excited about admitting me as I was about being admitted. It's amazing, but also a little frightening because now I have all these awesome expectations to live up to... @_@

Yea, I have been given a lot of advice by current students that boils down to "do not live downtown/near undergrads". I'm looking at a few places that apparently only lease to grad students and professionals, so there are some options for that in town I think. I have heard that Bellfonte (just outside State College) is very nice, though!