rainy_day

There is some stuff going on-- decent restaurants, grocery shops, a second run movie theater. But it's mostly a quiet suburban town. It would be really hard to live in Waltham without a car. There is not any public transportation around Waltham, and everything is pretty spread out. If you live in Boston (or more accurately, Somerville or Cambridge) you definitely don't need a car. If you're looking into living in the city and commuting (which about 60% of grad students do) check out these neighborhoods: Inman square, union square, porter square, teele square, Davis square. PM me if you have any questions!

Finally got my rejection letter. At least they didn't make me wait three weeks.

I think that what matters is that it is in your subfield, for the sake of your writing sample. I did not have my thesis yet, so my writing sample was from a different era and, while it was a strong paper, I think that hurt the cohesive narrative of my scholarship that you want to present in your application. I also think that it must be something that interests and is important to you--otherwise there won't be any real life in it--and that you produce a quality, nuanced paper that contributes to the field. IMO, I do not see the value of "playing it safe." To put it bluntly, if that is your attitude now, when will you stop playing it safe and how far will that reach into your scholarship? It's a dangerous path to tread.

How many people still haven't heard anything? I want to hope that I've made it on some sort of wait list, but who knows.

They issue them for $20. http://www2.cambridgema.gov/traffic/rpp.cfm

I still havent heard anything, so congrats to all waitlisters, "near the top" and unspecified!

I wrote a status inquiry email last week and got a response yesterday. I did not ask about the "did not receive" notations on the website, but they told me they had all my info anyway. Then they told me they would have a decision for me within THREE WEEKS. As in, one week before the decision deadline?? Washington was one of my first choices from the start, but they just seem like a hot mess.

Honestly, I bdrm or studio might cost you about the same, especially if you want to be very close to Harvard. (Harvard Sq is pretty pricey for rent) Try looking in the neighborhoods I mentioned above if you're willing to live a bus ride away.

All things being equal, I would make a decision based on job placement--what are their rates? What kind of support do they provide? How concerned does the dept seem with professionalization?

Same here. Very sad/anxious now.

To the person who just posted an acceptance--where did you read this info? Hopefull final decisions will go out this week!

Of the recent rejections that have gone up on the board, did you solicit a response or was it unprompted? This one is killing me.

Everything I have heard, from faculty and past waitlisters alike, indicates that we have to be really patient, and then be prepared to move rapid fire very close to April 15th.

Congrats, cquin!!! So happy for you!

When I was in high school (south of Boston) our english teacher taught us in lecture the word "vernacular." That week on a quiz every one of us spelled it "vernaculah" because of her *wicked* strong Boston accent.

Yes! You are right. My uncle lives in Amherst so I'll be in the town on Sunday, hanging out with my family and exploring a bit, and then visiting campus and faculty on the Monday. I'm still not totally sure I'll make it out there. I'm very interested in Minnesota, so if they extend an offer before my intended visit, I'll probably skip and visit with my family during a quieter time of the year.

Ah, I was thinking of visiting on the 25th! We'll just miss each other. Hope it's a nice visit for you.

I also hope someone is celebrating an acceptance in this thread every time it is bumped. Trip, when are you heading out to Amherst? I'm thinking of going out there at the end of this month, too.

Cornell has maybe the silliest school motto I've ever heard: I vote we all just show up in September and say that, according to their motto, we are any person. Dibs on underwater interpretive tap dancing for a study.

This is entirely variable dependent upon your research interests. If you look around on these forums you will see a lot of talk about "fit." That means: What program has the best resources and faculty for your specific interests. What faculty members are currently doing the research you want to do? Because you want to apply there. Also, what are the funding and job placement rates like? Therefore, the US New & World Report is not particularly helpful. I used it almost exclusively as a list to start from. I put it in a spreadsheet and then started researching program after program, adding info in columns for: faculty of interest, resources (library, archives, etc.), funding, job placement rates, courses of interest, and certificate programs/concentrations available that suited my research interests. From there I was able to come up with a list of schools that I thought were "the best" for me independent of the "official ranking."

If I can make it off Minnesota's waitlist, I'll be moving 1,500 miles away. Yikes. My younger brother (who is awesome) has already volunteered to drive me & all my junk.

I thought this was some really good advice on how to best approach the professionalization of graduate school, with an eye to that TT job at the end of the tunnel. http://theprofessorisin.com/2012/03/02/what-to-do-now-in-grad-school-special-request-post/#comments

This is untrue. A majority of the top seventy five programs provide funding to admitted students. 5-7 years of loans for tuition and and living expenses will add up frighteningly fast. If I were in your shoes, I would wait, spend the next year working on my SOP and writing sample and researching fit like crazy, and then I would reapply. You can save up money during the next year, and Purdue will remember you and likely offer you money with an acceptance the next go-around. Take a very serious look at the numbers before making this kind of a decision.

Definitely tell the wailist school about the acceptance offer, and tell them about the pressure you are recieving from them to make a decision. When they know about pressure/are worried they will lose you, sometimes a school can move things along much faster. Good luck.

But even "fishing for info" is perfectly acceptable! My mentor encouraged me to check in after a few weeks about my status on the waitlist and to inquire how quickly things are moving. It is beneficial to reiterate intersets, and you have every reason to ask about your status; that's not being presumptuous.