KingScilla

Really hope that works out for you! I'm coordinating with my SO as well but nothing near to the extent you guys are.

This is the boat I'm in as well. Here's hoping FAFSA can help shoulder the load.

The big thing for me was doing more research and picking colleges that were a better fit and not so much based on "prestige". I also applied to more places. The biggest thing though was contacting or attempting to contact each POI ahead of time before submitting my application. About half were able to talk with me on the phone and allow me to pitch myself to them as a candidate. I've found that I can really portray myself and my interests well to overcome for any shortcomings like average GRE scores, etc.

My tips for getting a PC for grad school would be something along the lines of: -Something without a lot of "bloatware" IE: preloaded junk programs you dont need and take up space on the comp -durability. pay a little extra and get a laptop comprised of metal instead of plastic. It will double the lifetime of the pc. -portability -pricetag -specs. Usually for the type of software i've used so far in my studies even the most consuming programs tend to run on most set ups (albeit sloooooooowwwwlly) Basically I'd go with something like a Lenovo. For a decent price you can get something durable, portable, with high specs and very little bloatware. Check them out if you want. They have models from the very low end all the way to the highest specs for gaming and whatnot. unbiased by the way... i have an HP

Strudelle- I emailed my POI because of an issue with an application uploading client that a few of the schools used. Another institution told me one of my rec letters didnt arrive. Turns out it was just a computer error, so I wanted to make sure that the other schools that used the same application client didn't have the same error. Basically I wanted to make sure that my app wasn't sitting in an "incomplete" pile or something. I just mentioned the problem to him and that I was going to confirm with the department that it was all good. He then told me not to worry. he had my completed application and was going to be in touch. I just figured he couldve said that they got the application and not to worry about it.

If a POI says that they got your application and they will "be in touch" would you take that as a good sign? or just a neutral way of saying "you're application is here and you'll get a decision like everyone else"? Thoughts?

Hey, Don't Panic, in case you were wondering about UARK, I talked with my old advisor from there last week and he informed me they were going to be making decisions around the end of this week. Just thought I'd throw it out there.

Is it common for PhD programs to make decisions before MA programs?