PhDerp

New forum mini-game: guess the schools

Another big advantage is new contacts. You are comfortable at UVA, you know people, and that's great! But you'll get to know a lot more new people if you go to Pitt, especially if the lab is way bigger and they get more grads per year.

Your experience sounds very relevant to the topic still!

Also, do you like the professors? Have you spoken to them yet? School visit days aim to make decisions like this easier!

I took on an extra job to save up for this summer, and... I'm going to Europe!! And my SO gets to come with me because he just happens to have a weird schedule where he can take ~2 weeks off by only calling out for 3 days of work. I kind of love his job. (I've been overseas once to London for a few days to visit my sister, but she just took me to bars and wouldn't let me hang out with anyone my age, when none of her friends wanted to talk to me... Not to be a brat, but I didn't appreciate the visit so much. And my dad was hospitalized while we were there. Not a phenomenal trip. ...So I'm not counting that trip, and calling this my first time traveling overseas instead! ) When I get back, I'm either gonna to a 2-mo internship in the Boston area (I want to see it more before I leave MA), and if I don't find any I like, I'll just keep working at my research lab. Then in August, either just chilling and getting things together, or if possible, making a cross-country road trip to get to my school. I have worked my butt off for years... Either full-time summer work, or multiple jobs while being a full-time student. I want to put some vacation in my summer this year!

I heard stories of people getting in despite this. But they might just be rumors. Good luck!

At this point I better get rejected so I don't have to ever think about it. I already told people I was.

I made a three-step plan to graduate with minimal work this semester. >_> How are you staying motivated? Or are you not?

Has anyone else gotten problematically lazy since being accepted? I made a three-step plan to graduate with minimal work this semester. >_> edit: decided to post this as a topic

I've always been fond of the future.

The math GRE covers a lot more than just probability though, right? Maybe a coursera course would help. You can document those if you make them "official" (you have to prove you've taken n number of quizzes, etc.) Sometimes there are more than one prob&stat courses on campus. You could check out other departments. For example, UMass has them in Statistics, Computer Science, Resource Economics, and more! If you've had prob&stat used in other courses, maybe you can give a nod to that in your SOP. I learned a lot of my prob knowledge through natural language processing, and I'm only just taking stats now! If nothing else, the exam you suggested couldn't hurt your chances if you did well. It would probably be better than nothing!

I loled. But seriously, the_sheath's advice. It could be helpful to meet with your advisor to discuss options (if you're still in school). My advisor helped me immensely with my application process!

I DIDN'T KNOW THERE WAS AN MFA FOR ACTING THAT IS SO COOL O___O +erhem+ Seriously, this forum has taught me so much about other programs! That's a wicked cool field! Good luck to both of you!

This is great IMO because you can only really accept one offer, so there are more seats that are being "reserved" at n-1 schools! ;D

I'm not sure about monthly costs, because that's a very personal thing... There are shelters where you can get free food in the mornings if you really need to, buses to avoid racking up gas prices... All sorts of ways to cut costs! But for housing, I have a lot of info. Here's a brief overview, because I have lived everywhere, lol: First of all, the whole area is pretty liberal. The only problems I run into with people come from undergrads. They're pretty easy to avoid, though. Northampton is a wonderful town! It has an awesome scene, lots of bars, independent stores, coffee shops, music halls with lots of performances... And it's where Questionable Content (the webcomic) takes place! And I personally like Diva's, which is a gay club that a lot of students and locals go to. Lots of fun! Because of the area, it's pretty accessible to meet people of the same sex (not sure if you're looking or not)... The people are generally awesome! But since NoHo is a bit far, and can be a pain to commute to / from, you might want to consider the Hadley area, somewhere between UMass and Northampton. (Plus, Hadley is a bit cheaper!) If you lived in Hadley, you'd be near all the stores you'd need. The bus to UMass from there isn't as regular as some others (some come every 15 minutes and since places might be on a route with two buses, it's like every 8 minutes; Hadley's bus is every 20 minutes during normal hours). As for costs: if you're willing to, say, take a private room in a house (spots which the locals usually give preference to grad students), it's usually between $350-500, depending on location. Regular 1br apartments can be $700-900. That being said, there are a lot of places where you can split 2br apartments for prices like $300-500, depending how nice a place you want. There are reliable apartment complexes in the area, so you can expect similar rates around. Sunderland is another town nearby with a bunch of housing and apartments, but it's also a longer trip to things like the grocery store at that point. That being said, it's freakin' beautiful around there; farms, mountains,... It's only like 15 minutes from campus, but more like 20 to the stores. It's quieter, there aren't as many party-hardy undergrads out there; in my experience, it's more seniors who are ready to graduate, and non-students. [bUT HOLY CRAP DON'T GO TO SUGARLOAF ESTATES. They look nice. They're a nightmare. If you seriously consider them, please message me first. I have warnings to give.] North Amherst is awesome if you go far enough. It's close enough to regular buses, but still just out of ugrad party distance. But the string of apartments just north of campus is an undergrad party zone. By your description, you do not want to live there. If you're interested in North Amherst, make sure it's at the border of or beyond Pine Street. Are you bringing a car? A pet? A roommate? And here's the UMass housing resource, if you're interested (I've never used it): http://www.umocss.org/

Also an advantage!

"writ"? Man, I love all you MFAs, teaching me every day!

Are you sure the letter said you'd be working with the unexpected professor? Sometimes you're paid using someone else's money technically, even if you're not working with them. I am paid under someone who isn't even remotely related to my undergraduate research. Also, maybe the contact is unrelated to your research and pay entirely! I thought I got into a robotics lab somehow and was just gonna roll with it when I found out that's just how I was notified about this department, because the department head just happened to work in robotics. He actually had nothing to do with my offer. edit: reordered, plus another point/story! A researcher who's in the area and not normally listed under the department still might be affiliated with the department. How many e-mails have you gotten? Is it just the one, or multiple? Are they interested in setting up some kind of meeting?

It doesn't hurt to apply twice, to my knowledge! I don't think any program is useless, especially if you want the chance to improve your GPA. And as a student, you will have more opportunities to apply to external research opportunities during the summer, including potentially one at your dream school.

There's technically a chance I might not accept this offer... But I doubt it! Anyone already decide to go to USC next year? What kind of program? How far will you be traveling? What are you excited for? I plan on living at visiting this place when I get to LA: http://www.thrillist.com/eat/los-angeles/west-hollywood/this-is-about-to-become-the-most-popular-donut-shop-in-la-thrillist-los-angeles