Sonic

I bought a house this fall, when I entered a PhD program. The area I am living in has an extremely inflated rental market, but house prices were low. It seemed like a good time to buy, because the mortgage payments would be comparable to rent. I went into it thinking that once I left the area, I could rent the house out. I don't have very much advice, but I was caught off guard by a few things. The main issue was how much time everything took. The initial process was a ton of work. Going house-hunting, writing up several offers, collecting documents, scanning/faxing/mailing tons of paperwork ate all of my free time and interfered with my work schedule. Dealing with the mortgage paperwork was a nightmare. The time crunch continued well after the purchase, with getting set up with oil delivery, insurance, the deed, etc. Initially I was weighing the pros and cons in terms of cost, but I never thought about the relative cost of my time, and that was a mistake. I'd be glad to talk more, PM me if you have any specific questions. I definitely don't regret it, though, even as I'm up to my ears in remodeling!

I was in last year's applicant pool, and I think this is right. Last year was bad, but a lot of schools didn't know how bad it was going to get. The program I'm in ended up overenrolling last year (because their usual formula of admits-to-enrollment ratio was off), and now this year they are underenrolling to make sure there will be enough money to get everybody through. A lot of schools are probably trying to funnel students into the MA programs while they try to get a handle on what the funding situation is going to look like for the next few years. Good luck to everybody, and hang in there!

Most things are not within walking distance, especially in summer heat, but the bus routes are pretty good in terms of getting you near pharmacies, grocery stores, etc. Biking is also popular and the town is peppered with bike lanes and racks. Permit parking is suspended on weekends so people can park anywhere they like. This can be a problem during the days of the height of summer tourism to Colonial Williamsburg, but isn't a problem on weekend nights. Daytime visitors would have more problems parking on or near campus for more than a few hours at a time.

Mine was something completely unhelpful: "Application not appropriate for department/program". As synthla put it, how is a history application not appropriate for the history program? Considering that I spoke with professors there who encouraged me to apply because our interests fit, I just don't buy that my application was inappropriate... I'm glad it was helpful for some, though.

Doesn't sound crazy at all to me! School C gives you a range of options and clearly values masters students, which is so important and not a guarantee at every program. I think you'll have great opportunities there. Congrats on your decision!

Congrats! As someone also on Round 2, I am very happy for you!

This might vary by program. My waiver covers tuition, but I still pay all the associated fees (student activities, health center, etc.). My waiver is good for summer courses as well. Definitely call and get the details. Congrats on the assistantship!

Congratulations! What fantastic news!

I turned down a PhD offer from the University of Maryland, and vacated a waitlist spot a week ago at Washington University in St. Louis. Field is early America/Atlantic World.

I'm attending the University of New Hampshire for Early American history. Yay for last minute decisions (and decisions more generally)!!

If there are no upper level classes in your current department, is there any kind of independent study option? Or are there summer classes? I would try to find out exactly why the Germanic studies adviser is hesitant about the English department. It might also be helpful to talk to people in the English department about your plans and get their opinion. If having the double major will strengthen your application and both majors are relevant to your plans, I don't see why there would be a problem.

What field will you be pursuing in grad school? Is another major in English relevant, or just a way to bring up your GPA? If it is financially possible for you, I would recommend taking those 400 level classes you describe, but if you're planning on applying next fall to enter in Fall 2010, the spring class grades won't be on your transcript. What kind of timeline are you thinking about?

I'm curious if anyone else thinks their decision is going to be made on April 14th (or, on April 15th!). I'm still on the line for one school that is in a strange funding bind, and they keep saying they'll know more closer to April 15th. I feel like I can't make a decision until that school's funding situation becomes at least a little clearer, but I really want this to be over with!

WOOOOOOOOO! Congrats! And as places go, Vermont will have a decent selection of second-class beer.

I had the same box checked. Shame on my application for being so inappropriate! The nerve of it, really.

Count me in when it comes to funding dilemmas. I have an unfunded offer from one school that suggested I look for graduate assistantships throughout the university in the hopes that I'd only have to pay one semester of out-of-state tuition and fund my living expenses in a pricey city. When I pressed for more information, they admitted they could not guarantee any funding or jobs for me for the entire process, meaning that even if I managed to secure one of these assistantships every year, I would get my degree and have zero experience as a TA or instructor. Considering that there is no way I can secure an assistantship before the deadline for other programs, I will have to turn that offer down. The DGS has been apologetic and nice and said he hoped my decision would be based on fit and not money, but the money makes the difference. The fact of the matter was that not having the specter of tuition payments and loans over me every semester for years will make me happier, not to mention less broke. I don't even know whether or not I would roll the dice if I only had that offer. Like gimlet says, it is a very personal choice. Good luck to everyone who is dealing with this.

I am in the exact same position that you are, and I was surprised at how understanding and helpful my "Doctor X" was. He gave me a lot of advice about departments and who might be good to work with, and told me to keep in touch and that he'd like to read my MA thesis. It was very friendly and there were no hard feelings. When asking I was honest about the funding issue. But my Doctor X wanted to know what other programs I was considering and did not have to be prompted for advice. If you know your Doctor X is cool, this shouldn't be a problem at all. In my opinion, individual profs don't hold the funding situation against prospective students. It would be a different situation if you were declining the offer for another reason, but I expect that the conversation won't be awkward and he'll give you good advice. Good luck!

I have 2 offers but I don't think I can decide until after the Visit Days. The next week will hopefully be informative!

I, too, am a Future Davis Rejectee who wishes they would just get their act together. I can't wait to see which inadequacies of mine warrant a Y in the box on that website of theirs.

I'm really banking on my mother's self-proclaimed love of road trips to save me. We'll need to drive a UHaul through DC, New York, and Boston if I end up at School A. I'm really surprised that her vote isn't in for School B, which is a convenient 2.5-hour drive away! Oh, and the cat is coming, too. The cat loves a car trip. I'm thankful for small miracles.

I'll take my rejection letters with a nitrous oxide tank, please.

Khakis scare me to death. I don't understand why khakis are better than nice, dark jeans. Nobody here is talking about wearing their acid-wash, hole-in-knee, raggedy-bottoms, patch-on-butt-pocket jeans. Though honestly, those would still look better on me than khakis.

Agreed. I spent 3 months praying I would get in somewhere, anywhere, and telling myself that I only needed one acceptance. Then the acceptance came and I was elated. Much champagne was consumed. My boyfriend's parents mailed me a tee shirt from the school. My roommate pasted a picture of the school's mascot on our fridge. Serious celebration ensued. Then the second acceptance came. It was a totally unexpected, a complete shock. I was happy! I was confused! I didn't know what to do! I drank more champagne! I think I spent so much time assuming that I was enrolling at School A, that Schools B through J flew out of my mind. Now that School B is in the picture, there's any actual choice to make. Bankers call this a "high-class problem", and this time last year I was sitting on a pile of rejections praying to get off the waitlist, so I understand how lucky I am. I know I'll feel terrible "rejecting people" but I keep telling myself that this year there is someone who is me last year. I know I was through the roof to get the spot someone else turned down; such should be the case for them, and the school will be thrilled to have that person, too.

Nope, no interview. I had heard zip from NYU from when I submitted my app (for the AmSt MA) before Thanksgiving until the acceptance phone call on April 14th. It was quite the shock! It seems that with NYU, really anything can happen.

I got some by post, but I print out the emailed ones, and then take them to my boss (I work as an editorial assistant). He marks all the grammatical and usage mistakes and typos in his signature blue pencil, then writes "FAIL" and a frown face at the top, and gives them back to me. I have 7 of those bad boys hanging up and while I never though I would chuckle at my collection of rejection letters, I do!