newms

Those are two really good options - congratulations! Is it possible that you could talk with profs or students at Maryland before April 15 so you have more information to make your decision? UMass is well known for its strength in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (it's a top 10 school in AI), and UMD isn't far behind. Which school do you think is a better fit for your interests? Did you think that you'd be a good fit at UMass when you visited and spoke with the profs there? If so, then that may be your better option. Good luck with the decision!

It definitely is not wise to take an unfunded PhD offer. If you can use the coming year to improve your application, such as get a paper published, or re-do and improve your SoP, or find schools that are good fits for you to apply to or even to apply to more schools to increase your odds, then it may be better for you to spend the next few months improving your application and re-applying for next year. Good luck with your decision.

It's probably true that due to the economy that the number of applications this year was higher than last. I know in my field that was the case for a number of schools. I wouldn't necessarily count on the number of applications to fall in the future though - they may fall a little in as the economy improves, but I'd imagine that admissions would still be pretty competitive in the future. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

We really need a glossary of commonly used terms and acronyms on here. POI = Professor (or Person) of Interest. See this thread: PS. You're not stupid

I don't own an iPad but there's an interesting and related discussion in this thread: It seems that the iPad would work well for your needs.

Generally, if there are departments that do similar research with similar profs, why not stay in your department and focus your research on the areas that overlap between the two departments? So for example, a statistics person could do research in machine learning since there is significant overlap between the fields without having to switch departments (assuming the supervisor would be ok with it). Specifically for your question, it would depend on your school. I would guess that most places may require you to apply again to the department you wanted to switch to. You could ask general questions about this at the department you wanted to switch to (I wouldn't ask the department you got admitted to since they may not appreciate you wanting to leave before you even got there). Good luck.

A word of caution in telling the letter writer that the deadline is earlier than it actually is. They may get an email from the application website with the actual date, or they may have other requests for letters to the same school from other students who tell them the actual date. Perhaps you can let them know that you would appreciate it if they could get in the application by the earlier date without making it seem that your earlier date is the actual deadline. To the OP, you can ask by email, in person or by phone (I felt more comfortable asking by email) but make sure to be able to summarize what it is you want to study in grad school, so that the letter writer will know what your plans are. Good luck!

She Devil

Headed to UMich for PhD. To the OP - UMD would be your best bet and it's a top 20 school so congratulations!

sexually repressed

Hi xrsng, From what I've seen, the only on-campus housing for graduate students is at Northwood apartments which tend to be more expensive than off-campus housing. Have you seen UMich's offcampus housing website here: http://www.offcampus...du/lt/index.cfm ? I'm guessing that you're going to be on North Campus? If so you might be interested in housing near North Campus. I have a list of apartment complexes near North Campus that I got at visit weekend that I could send you. Alternatively you could find somewhere else that may not be close to North Campus, but is located in a bus line. UMich students can ride the bus for free and if you find a place near a U-M bus line, then it could take you straight to campus.

Sweet. I thought my potential adviser getting back to me after I accepted in 1.5 hours on a Sunday morning was impressive.

Congrats again on your admits! Your problem is a pretty nice problem to have since you have 3 really good choices. If I were in your place, I would consider the following questions: Which of those places would give you the best chance of succeeding in grad school? Which of them gives you the best chance to be successful after grad school? i.e. Where do their graduates tend to go? At which school do you think you'd have the best relationship with your adviser(s)? Are there other profs at each school that you could conceivably work with if your POI were to leave? How easy or hard is it to change advisers when you're there? Are the current grad students that you talk to happy about the program? Could you enjoy living at this place for the next 5 years? Or at least enjoy it enough to do productive research? It's a tough choice, with 3 very good options. Personally, I'd be wary of going to a place that had only one prof I could work with. I agree with timuralp about Wisconsin - it's not a bad deal that you don't have an adviser assigned right away - you'd just have to make sure to find one in your first year. Good luck on your decision!

Are you sure you can't get your school ID yet? I have my school ID and email already.

I'm sure the school would still be willing to help you. Does the school have a website where approved landlords can post available housing? You can also consider asking current grad students about places they recommend -that's been helpful for me so far.

I accepted on the website and sent the department secretary and my PoIs a brief email saying that I was happy to accept their offer and looked forward to attending in the Fall.

worker bee

Congrats xrsng! There are quite a few people that have been admitted to UMich and we have a thread here that's been buried since it hasn't been updated in a while: If you posted your questions there, more UMich people will see it.

From your post I'm guessing that you want to go to CMU. If that's the case then you certainly don't need our permission, or seal of approval - CMU is a great school and is a fantastic option for you. It is true that the relationship and fit with your adviser is one of the most important things for success in grad school (at least in CS), but are there profs at CMU that you could see yourself working with and be happy working with? Perhaps you could spend a day imagining that you decided to go to UMich, then spend the next day imagining yourself at CMU. Which option would you be happier with? Which school would you more regret not going to? Congrats on the admits!

silver lining

I hoping to sign a lease soon - I'm looking at apartments in complexes that my school suggested. I figure I'll just get some place that's livable and close to campus for the first year and then I can move to somewhere better if I want, once I get used to the city.

personal space

Just to add to what everyone is saying, it really is perfectly ok to not have alcohol on outings. At a visiting weekend I went to, the grad students took out the prospective students to a pub and when a couple students said they didn't drink alcohol, they were offered water or soda by the grad students. Nobody thought anything of it.

empty threats