TheGirlWhoLived

I will be going in fall. Any other females looking for a roommate? I want to use UMD's roommate finder, but I don't have a university ID to sign in yet. Sigh.

I think it just depends on the program how they do things. With the school I ended up accepting, I got the acceptance letter plus information about the open house. After I accepted, that was it. No deposit, no further information. I sent an email inquiring further but I haven't received an answer yet. I assume they are busy this week with April 15th. I'm not worried though. I've been in contact with the professor I will be working with in fall. I will probably contact them again next week. You can send them a polite email asking any questions you have or inquiring about a next step.

Just explain to them what you said on here (minus the part of less qualified people getting in). Say that you would like to apply again next year and would really like to know how to improve your application. Politely ask for feedback.

I would have to agree with TakeruK on the idea that if you want to work in the US, it might be the best place to get your degree. You really need to be networked in the place you want to work. A professor I know did her post doc in Australia. She said it made things harder, but obviously she is doing really well. I imagine the same probably goes for where you get your PhD. So, it is possible. I would think it makes things more difficult, but not impossible. Also, it might not matter as your adviser is well known and must have a lot of contacts. Plus you said your adviser has contacts in the US already.. You will still have that opportunity to network. I would be aware that it might be more difficult for you and just weigh that with your other options. If you have good opportunities where you are and you are happy there, you can make it work.

As far as preference of cities goes, I would choose Boston or NYC. I loved when I visited Boston because it is a major city, but you can walk around the whole city in a short period of time. I'm from Florida, and I personally would not want to live in Miami. I think everyone in Florida basically thinks of Miami as it's own country. I would say it would help if you speak Spanish too (not that you couldn't get by without it). Then again, I'm sure there are people who would kill to live there.

I personally would strongly advise against accepting both...

I would think it is a mass email. Typically you send your FAFSA to all the schools you are applying/considering.

I think most people feel this guilt. But the great thing is, they are also super friendly when your turn them down. People understand that you have a tough decision to make and are understanding. Plus, the sooner you turn them down, the sooner they can start recruiting others for their program.

I personally wouldn't take an unfunded offer, but if you still want to go to that program, I would ask around. From what I've seen, some schools only can give out very little funding when accepting students but are very good about getting them funding once the program has started. You also don't want to be stuck taking out loans for the next 5 or so years. Ask other students in the program about their experience with funding. I'm sure you aren't the first person this has happened to in the department.

Call them and ask. When I didn't received my official letter through snail mail in a timely fashion, my school happily e-mailed me one. A lot of schools also have you accept online. Ask them what the procedure is after you explain your situation.

I would search for this topic. A lot of people have posted about it. You can but there is an argument over whether this is good form. If you take back your decision after April 15th, the school will most likely lose the funding so someone else will get screwed out of it. Some people say this isn't your responsibility. You can decide. You might not make the school/department very happy though.

I would say it counts if you are a TA or RA. I mean, you are working for the school.. Some people choose to teach classes as well, which I would definitely think counts.

You need to have so many credits to graduate. A class will be worth so many credits (typically 3), and you will usually take somewhere around 3 classes a semester. So you would probably have something like 9 credit hours a semester. I'm not sure what you mean by fee status though.

I agree with bsharpe269, I personally wouldn't consider the debt. Can you still get into the PhD program in 2015 without the masters? It might depend on the field, but I know a lot of programs accept (or even prefer) you straight from undergrad. Is there something else you could do in a year that could help you become more competitive for PhD programs that wouldn't give you the same kind of financial burden? I worked with a professor at my alma mater for a year, which really help applying for programs.

Are you talking about dropping out of the program or not finishing a dissertation? A lot of people go on the job market before they finish their dissertation, and this sometimes causes problems because they get so busy with work that they don't finish their dissertation. I haven't heard of someone attending a PhD program just until they can land a job. I don't think that is fair to other students, but I think it also could hurt you in the long run, like TakeruK said.

It's definitely not a big city, but I like Gainesville. As DarwinGirl mentioned, the school basically revolves around football (the whole town shuts down for homecoming). So, you can tailgate and go to games. There is also a small professional theatre which is really good. You can go hiking in Paynes Prairie and hangout with the alligators there. There are some decent bars.

I feel like this. I have stared at potential apartments for hours on end 0_0

You might want to put this in the meet and greet

Yes

That sounds really weird to me. From the schools I went to, it sounded like it would be more like $1200 a year in fees. I would ask them about this.

I don't think you can claim dependent when you are in grad school anyway.

I don't think the masters programs have any way of knowing if you accept somewhere else unless you tell them.. I would wait as long as you can to accept if you want to wait for other offers. I don't think it is good form to accept an offer and then change your mind. Especially after April 15th.