jordy

Purdue for Social Psychology Ph.D!

Eastwick/Rholes

Long story short, I haven't withdrawn yet, but I intend to do so very soon. I wanted to know where I stood with other places and be 100% sure before I made such a drastic move, and I figure I put in the same amount of hard work, stress, and money as everyone else. I'll be withdrawing my three remaining applications with plenty of time before April 15 (not that I think I have a chance at any of them anyway).

I'm also curious about this; I haven't heard anything either.

There's a place called Raising Canes on High Street (and a few others in town) that has AMAZING sweet tea! And I think Bob Evans has grits... But my general point is that Columbus is bigger and more comprehensive than it seems. Even if the culture is different, you can pretty much find anything you need if you know where to look.

Thanks for the input. From what I've seen and been told (by those that live in both areas), I'm really leaning toward the Lafayette/downtown area, away from undergrads and in a cozier neighborhood-type area. Because if it's even a tiny bit possible, I'd like to occasionally fool myself into thinking I'm not spending my entire 20s in a college city! Of the several places I've seen (all downtown), I was really impressed with how cute AND affordable they were. And if I recall, it was only about a 5-7ish minute drive to central campus (I know I'd have to park far away and walk but I went to a humongous college with atrocious parking, so comparatively speaking, I don't think it would bother me). Also, I'm getting a kitty! Please keep the advice coming, especially those who are/were students

Congratulations!!! That is awesome. I almost applied to FSU to work with him too...great stuff there! All the best.

I don't think this is bad advice, but I would suggest proceeding with a lot of caution. I didn't see the email so I don't know the tone exactly, but if she explicitly told you she is busy (" her email clearly mentioned that she is busy") then I suggest being very brief in any future communications, if you make any at all. At this point, a long email or a hefty request stands a high chance of being ignored or coming across as pushy when it otherwise might not, and you don't want to be viewed as someone who doesn't respect boundaries or her workload. I'm inclined to think your initial contact made it pretty clear that you are interested.

Agree with the above. In my experience and understanding, short-listers are like the "finalists" from which adcoms make their first round of admits, and those not initially admitted are basically at the very top of the wait-list (unless eliminated after an interview).

Did you know they're married? Not that it's relevant or anything, but I always enjoy a fun fact. It wouldn't inform what they're doing in Cali, but it might explain why they're both in Cali.

Hey all. I just thought I'd start up the general Purdue thread (I see there's a chemistry topic but this one is for everyone). I'll be attending for social psychology starting this fall and would love to chat with other newbies about getting oriented and whatnot. To start off, does anyone have input about housing? I'm going to try to live alone (grads in my department tell me it's very doable). I've also received repeated advice to live in Lafayette rather than WL. Thoughts? Rumors? Great finds? aaaaaaand...GO!

I only realized this just now when I reviewed my last comment, but my post seems to have bumped this conversation back up to the top when it was just starting to die down (11 days prior). Sorry people. Can I rewind a couple days please?

Agree. As future educators and leaders of our respective fields, we should know better than to be having such a judgmental and pointless debate. Let's set an example of collegiality.

Yikes! Thank you for sharing that, these are the kinds of things people need to know. I wouldn't have gone back on my commitment to Purdue anyway and I already withdrew from Kansas, but it's definitely good to know that I avoided a possible disaster- plus I think we have a couple other Kansas applicants on this thread who will likely find this helpful. A solid word of warning indeed.

In addition to the content of your POI's research, I think it's important to get a sense of your POI's work style and interpersonal style. Is she hands-on, or do you have to stalk her for 5 minutes of her time? Does she want you to collaborate with other profs/grads or will you work for ONLY her? Is she the kind of person who will introduce you to colleagues in the field? Is she a generally supportive person or will you slave away and never receive a scrap of respect and recognition? I think some people underestimate the impact the advisor has on your entire work life and career, especially in research-focused Ph.D. programs when work *IS* your entire life. Grad students are great sources of this information, and in my experience, they will often tell you the truth (even if the truth is negative). P.S. Yes I am in psychology, but this doesn't just apply to interpersonally-oriented fields. (Check out www.phdcomics.com for a humorous slice of this harsh truth).

I think some of the driving times people have quoted you are inaccurate in that they are much longer, especially with traffic. Anyway, either way she is probably going to have a significant drive in store for her because most of the institutions within a reasonable distance don't have graduate programs (or if they do, it won't be in engineering). Looks like OU or something in Cincy might be her best bets. Has she checked out DeVry's Columbus campus offerings? I hope she gets into OSU! Here's something that might help your search: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_colleges_and_universities_in_Ohio

All the grad students I spoke with highly suggested living off-campus in Lafayette (Laf & West Laf are right on top of each other and basically the same city, I'm talking 5min drive from downtown Lafayette to campus). Here's a great website for finding housing: http://www.boilerapa...com/search.aspx. My sources have suggested signing a lease by May. There is a free trolley service that runs all around the area. In terms of climate, the seasons are pretty clearly marked. Cold snowy winters (highs in the 20s & 30s F), warm springs, hot summers (highs in the 80s F), and cool breezy autumns. You can find some general info about the area here: http://www.homeofpurdue.com/ Check out the Online Visitors Guide. Hope this helps! Good luck P.S. You probably know this anyway, but Purdue has a sizable international student population (for a U.S. university), largely in engineering. From my new and limited knowledge, it seems they have some decent services available with this fact in mind (though someone else should probably offer legit input on that).

Yes indeed.

Also, I see that people have been accepted, wait listed, and rejected from Kansas. Meanwhile, I haven't heard a peep from them. I'm inclined to think I am/was really low on the wait list and maybe they were deciding whether to keep me on or reject me, but I'm still curious..... EDIT: Literally 10 minutes after posting this, my mail came, and I got the same wait list letter. Weird timing! haha

While that makes sense under normal circumstances, I can't help but wonder if it's an extra risky move in this economy. With the number of applicants increasing exponentially and the shrinking size of incoming cohorts, isn't there a much greater chance that each applicant will get fewer offers than they normally might? I can't tell you how many people I know who only got into one place last year and took it. (I know that last bit is anecdotal, but it's still several real-life cases.) I'm sure they know what they're doing better than I do, but I still question it. It would suck to have a school imply, "Yeah, um, I guess we can take you but we can't fund you. We didn't think you'd actually take us up on that offer..." I don't see why they can't just put the other few at the top of the wait list.

So who got the other Purdue acceptance? And the Waterloo one too, for that matter? PM if you prefer. Congrats y'all!

Thank you! Good luck to you and everyone!

That doesn't necessarily mean it's a fake. Depending on how each program works, faculty sometimes have the authority to admit on their own and then later inform the graduate secretary to follow up with an official notice. S/he may not know that plans have been arranged yet. Sorry, I don't mean to be "that" person about it. I suppose it's definitely possible that it's a fake, given some of the recent crap that's been posted on the results search. (Did anyone see that really ignorant one from earlier? *Tsk*)

Yes to all. Also, though this goes without saying but since we're on the subject of wine, be sure to watch your alcohol intake. I'm a "nervous sipper" myself (meaning I sip whatever beverage I have in my hand with increased frequency when nervous, not that I self-medicate nervousness), so if you're anything like me be sure to pay close attention to what's in your hand!

I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the social area's first round of acceptances have already gone out. Recruitment is the first weekend in March. No idea about wait list information though. Best of luck to all of you.