marsmat

IMO, when I worked in admissions I really really preferred email and I think the students that contacted me by email got the best answers. With an email you can take the time to really look into their file and their situation and give a well-thought-out answer when you have the time to do that. When a student phones you have to deal with understanding what they want (often people are nervous on the phone and mix their questions up), people knocking on your door or coming into your office while you're talking, trying to look up the students details in the database etc. all at once. It stressed me out.

http://www.critical-theory.com/march-madness-the-overrated-philosophers-bracket/ Seen this?

Please be my new friend! I have been racking up an impressive selection of voting rights that I would be happy to share with you.

Really good answer from Etownenviro. I would add that getting active and applying for all kinds of external funding can really help with the debt. Its a lot of time and paperwork, but if you DO get grants, scholarships etc. the benefit far outweighs the hassle. There are loads out there!

Yes, they sent out financial aid info on Friday, if you were thinking about Yale. Duke sent it with the acceptance letters. Got 12 000 from both.

Stupid question this, but what do I wear to an open day? The same things I would wear to work or in the weekend or what?

Big congrats! I got in too, super super happy.

Ok, its this week! I am majorly counting down to Friday.

Tis indeed!

Going to visit Duke first week of April and will attend Yale admitted students day if they let me in. Crossing fingers. Maybe even see some of you there?

I think it is key to remember that a self-respecting university would probably manage to contain their excitement to max one exclamation mark.

For me, cream and jam is Norwegian and marzipan is Swedish. Not sure if this is something I made up but marzipan is best for sure! Also, isnt it a lent thing, which explains the February arrival date and easter connection?

Can anyone here give me Courtauld MA Art History news? Not for me but for my roomie who is going totally insane from the waiting. This is your chance to do my whole household a massive favour and let us know something, anything!

In Scandinavia they have a food around easter that my Iranian friend calls "that massive cream hamburger". No meat, just loads of cream in a cardamom bun, with marzipan if you're in Sweden. It is sort of interactive because you can scoop cream on big bits of bun and dig into the marzipan core and it is PERFECT for stress because it is delicious and a time-wasting opportunity all at once.

Yay, so exciting, I absolutely love cheese and beer! They are my staple foods.

Happy to hear it is going to well for you! You seem to have done a lot of exciting stuff too. So, this is me... Program Applied To: Two MEM and one agroecology programme Schools Applied To: Yale, Duke, UWisc-Madison Schools Accepted To: Duke($), Madison Undergraduate Institution: Big European university Undergraduate Major: Political Science/ Econ. Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 2 Years of Work Experience: 4-5 Describe Relevant Work Experience: Policy analyst internship at think-tank (6 months), freelance science journalist/ environmental educator/ FIAN right-to-food writer/ political commentary (all sorts of stuff, basically writing for extra cash for the last few years). Currently project manager researching + advocating gender equality in sustainable ag. I literally had no idea about how this would go but I decided to have a shot and see what happened. Things sort of just rolled along after I applied to Fulbright and then some schools and... well, now Im just waiting for Yale. Im really excited about Madison, I have to say. The progamme seems a perfect fit, there are two fantastic advisors I can work with. Their research is almost uncannily aligned with my interests and they are really lovely people. Also, my husband likes the idea of Madison and he needs to be happy with whatever choice I make too. But we will see!

Reading the thread you linked to with all the applicant profiles makes me wonder what kind of background you guys on this thread have. Anyone want to share? Would be interesting to see what sort of mix of undergrad degrees, work experience etc we can expect to meet when we all get accepted to our dream programmes.

Im not sure about the generosity of Yale specifically re Fulbright candidates, but I know it is considered a particularly generous school in general for international applicants. Shocked that Fulbright wont let you choose your school! Can I ask which country you are applying from? Fulbright in Norway seems so so laid-back compared to pretty much everywhere else. I get on with applying and they give me cash, seems to be the deal.

Backpacking three months in the US and Mex. Then huge midsummer party in the Swedish forest (parents-in-law dont know yet and we are trying to find a way to tell them they will have to go away for midsummer) and a few weeks of slacking/ trying to hire someone to take over my job. Im guessing this summer will be at least a good second place in the scale of summer experiences after those epic last few months before undergrad.

Im more than 99% sure that I will end up turning Duke down but want to visit just in case I can prove myself wrong, so Im holding on to the place right now. Is this a really rotten thing to do, considering people may be waitlisted for the program? I have been checking the results list to see if there are any waitlists but so far haven't seen any.

Wow, thanks, great response. It seems I will have to ditch the Doc Martens, get some serious boots and toughen up!

I am happily and rapidly getting fat in this waiting period which I think is fair and perfectly natural. Soon, I will be a student and extravagant substances like meat, alcohol, cigarettes, cakes etc will again be out of reach for economic reasons. Let the last few months of hedonism commence!

So, Im thinking of moving to Madison but I have a question. How do people deal with the cold? I mean, I live in Scandinavia and have done for most of my life but I barely cope here and Wisconsin seems to be on a whole new Siberian level of seriously freezing. Do people just stay inside? Are houses well insulated? Or are you just made of harder stuff than I am?

Just got news from Duke! Its a yes, some prereqs and 12k scholarship. Not at all bad. Congrats again memma!

Im also Fulbright and still waiting so dont think this is necessarily the reason! However, they didnt realise until yesterday that I am applying through the Fulbright programme, so maybe they did notify others earlier.