Veet Voojagig

Had an interview 2/20-2/21 and still haven't heard anything back. I get the impression they might be trying to hold out for NSF GRFP results before sending out their last round of offers/rejections. Glad I already accepted a fully funded offer elsewhere, otherwise I'd be a wreck.

I'm in cognitive psych too, and my PI specifically mentioned he would not have me TA the first year. He doesn't have millions, but he is funding me through his grants as an RA. The department itself guarantees five years of funding, but there's obviously many different pathways to doling it out. I think it's pretty common for PI's to fund students as RA's rather than TA's if their funding situation permits it. This is at an R1 state school, btw.

One word of caution: don't judge the city too harshly based on this visit alone. February/March is probably the ugliest time of year; most of the snow melts and what is left is not at all scenic, and nothing has started to turn green yet. This winter has been particularly cold (I was lucky enough to be abroad though) It's a wonder to me that the school manages to recruit such good talent when all the interviews/visits are in February/March. I guess that might speak to the quality of the programs and reputation and so on. I'm sure you'll be happy wherever you end up - cognitive dissonance, spreading of alternatives and all that.

Madison is an extremely liveable city. It's not big, but it's also not the country. There are plenty of restaurants (lots of different ethnic foods), lots of lakes and trails and outdoor activities. For a city its size, it even has a decent amount of museums, theatres, music venues, etc.The winters are brutal, but the summers are hot and fall is absolutely beautiful. Most people really like it. There's a discussion thread here: San Diego would for sure win in the weather category though. Cost of living is something else to factor in. San Diego is one of the most expensive places to live in the country, whereas Madison is pretty cheap. Even if the stipend at UCSD will be higher in subsequent years, it may not go as far as the same or a smaller amount would in Wisconsin. Good luck with your decision!

Yes, they did interviews 2/27-3/1. Based on the results page, it looks like they sent out at least a few rejections. I don't think they've sent out any official acceptances yet though..

I think as long as it's within a week, you're fine.

I think sending a brief thank-you is a common courtesy that is often overlooked. It should simply thank them for their time, maybe a sentence or two about something you discussed, and reaffirm your interest in the program. No more than a paragraph or so.

I had a couple different people edit my statement, some edits I went with, some I decided not to. However, there is one edit which I didn't spot at all and that made it into the final submission... [was discussing experiences learning the scientific method] "...how hypotheses are formulated and tested..." (this by the way would be an edit I would not have went with) So, as long as the National SCIENCE Foundation is cool with not testing hypotheses, I should be golden.