4givn1

I don't know, I don't think anyone could pack up and get ready for starting a new school year in two weeks. Maybe if you were in the same state or already lived nearby, could fit everything in your car on one trip, or you didn't need to move or ship stuff. To wait that long without something probable means you also couldn't apply for jobs until around then or have to make decisions on them before you hear from the school. Sounds like they're stringing you along just to ensure their piggy banks are filled. I didn't think I'd get admitted anywhere this year because of the economy and competition (and it was my second year applying). Somehow I don't think the competition will get any better--probably worse. 35 spots? Wow! Both programs I got in took 5. One I was waitlisted for took only 3. One I applied to but didn't get in took only 2.

I've been looking at Amtrak prices and times because of gas prices, the economy, state of the airlines, etc. It looks like if it's an indirect trip with a transfer in Chicago you'll also be waiting at stations all day. Not timely at all.

I took subject test for my field since we had to take the subject GRE or the MFT for undergraduate comps. I chose to go for the paper version (I prefer and often preform better doing that than testing on computers). The paper version was offered twice during the Fall (one in Oct. and one in Nov., and I think once or twice during Spring, and once or twice during the Summer. I registered for it after my senior year started and I found out about the requirement, and took the exam during October (the earliest of all the dates so I could retake if necessary). I had no problem although I can't remember if it was at my first choice in location or not.

It was because of a nightmarish experience in off-campus housing previously due to noise as well, that I no longer consider off-campus housing. I don't have a car and can't ride bikes so I also need it on the bus route or within walking distance. On-campus housing I found is generally better because they have pretty strict rules (including noise ones) that are enforced by the university (who has more control, and not by cops or management who just don't care). I will happily go with a much smaller, bare-bones apartment, deal with the stricter rules, etc. just for the quiet. I don't have any pets (don't have time for them) but if I did I'd let it stay elsewhere and go without just to avoid off-campus housing. And I know all the on-campus places are accessible w/o cars or bikes. In my previous housing nightmare, I had to pay almost $2000 extra to bribe them to get out of my lease, even though it was destroying my mental and physical health, and pay rent for two additional months at two places, after being forced to play secrecy games and move all my stuff by hand down the street (in the summer heat down South) while being nosed around and harassed by the management at the place while doing so--just to get any sleep, recover some of my health and sanity back, and work on my schoolwork--because of the constant and serious vibration, noise, and thumping from all the apartments around me at one time or another. Not to mention all the doctors' and counseling bills I had to pay. The extra $100 or $200 for on campus housing for me is nothing compared to that, and so worth it. This was also during and after having dealt with live squirrels in my apartment (not just in the walls)--hissing and growling at me, and getting killed in my laundry--while the management was slow to do anything.

It really depends on how competitive your discipline is and how competitive you are. I didn't do the whole safety-regular-reach thing because there were very few schools with faculty with interest/experience in my specialization of interest. So I applied to every school I could find (eight) where the faculty member(s) could possibly take me on regardless of tier or level. They weren't the highest ranked (probably third or second tier). I don't know where my qualifications would have otherwise put me, but I did what I could. I also had pretty much no time to do well on my apps. I got on one waitlist and never got off, got directly admitted to one (which could only offer every new student half of a typical assistantship), and one off a waitlist which offered me more, and also a better fit.

There is one school I had that just didn't get back to me at all. For weeks and weeks phone calls and e-mails were ignored. I had multiple family members tell me that I should ask for my money back. I didn't bother--most likely they would have ignored that as well. I do think there should be some mechanism in place to hold the admissions committee accountable and/or protect the applicant especially if it is serious and nothing is done about the situation. Maybe someone should develop a RateMyAdcom site.

I got accepted about a month ago (UNR social) but declined it for my other option due to funding (I was told they couldn't give any new student more than half the usual 20-hour assistantship, at least by the 15th when I had to commit some way on the other), but also due to ranking and other "fit" factors. But there is (or was) at least one open spot, if they decide to take someone else and not just save or re-distribute the money. From what I know about the others in the cohort I met and/or heard about, they ranged from more probably to definitely going.

I agree about the short-term lease. Try to get one for a month or so, so that if it's unbearable you can move out with relative ease. Also ask for a copy of the lease in advance so you can evaluate it, and not just the place. You will want to make sure you can get out if for instance the place becomes detrimental to your health in the future. I had to move all my stuff across the country last year. It cost a bunch and of course took a lot of time to be settled, but I didn't get stressed out about anything except my guitar. The one I have with me (and really like) I would have to go to Japan to replace. I have to move back (more) east to my school at some point this summer. I'm still working things out and calculating costs. Concerns are my guitar still, and my television which I had to expensively replace after my previous got busted in shipping. This time I won't have to deal with furniture, though, since my school has grad housing I can get into somewhere.

I still have a Ph.D. program that is AWOL in terms of a decision. I've already accepted elsewhere

I got waitlisted at two schools, one of which ranked participants and placed me high up, and straightaway accepted at a third. I eventually got admitted off of the waitlist I was high up on and decided to go there because of higher rankings, funding (the straight admit ended up only being able to half fund everyone in the new cohort), location, housing availability, and fit factors. I withdrew from the other waitlist, although as late as I could wait with enough time to decide if necessary, because I had to decide at the other before April 15th (no extension granted). They did say it was very unlikely I would get a spot beforehand.

I couldn't visit the school I am going to. They had an open house earlier but I couldn't go at that point due to a bad injury and work. I tried as soon as possible I got in--the middle of the week before the 15th, but they absolutely wouldn't give me an extension. Nobody could take me to the airport (kind of far, no bus service there, and I don't have a car). No student could be found to put me up while I was there, and air fares were extremely expensive at that point to fly out. The end result was that it would have cost me over half my monthly salary to visit (and I'm out of school and working full time) and furthermore nobody could or would help me any in terms of the cost. I've asked extensive questions before I got admitted, seemed to get along with faculty and students that I did speak with, and other factors did make the decision somewhat easier (higher ranking, availabiltiy of housing, more certainty of full funding, a less favorable than expected impression at my other choice, etc.) but I have been very badly burned by making quick, uninformed decisions in this manner before and the decision was extremely stressful.

Have you tried looking on Craigslist? The other school I got into didn't have any grad housing at all, but some of the students there found decent rooms for rent in houses, or apartments they liked off of there. You can search for cat- or dog-acceptable. The grad student I stayed with while visiting had found a room for rent in a house off of there, and her and her house-mates had a cat.

I'll also be going there this Fall. They also have a limited amount of graduate housing there. Some of them are kind of far, but that was one thing that was a plus for me. I don't know how that compares to off-campus or in the surrounding area though. I did my Master's at a school in another Southern college town. The thing that bothered me the most was the typical Southern bureaucracy, but I've learned to cope with that.

I was really nervous about making my choice because I didn't have the time or money to go visit one of the schools that sent me an admissions offer. I would have had to pay over half my monthly salary to do so. Otherwise it was an easy choice. They were really gracious about it, though, and actually told me it was wise to choose the other school because they couldn't give anyone a full assistantship. Now I am very much at peace with my decision. I got waitlisted at a third school, and I'm really glad though I never got accepted off it. If they pulled an acceptance on me today or yesterday I would have had a nervous breakdown!

I got into the school I'm going to off the waitlist, so I still haven't got the official mail letter from them. Chances are I won't until next week at some point because I live quite far from them. But I e-mailed them and told them I was coming. At least that can act as a written record. But, call your program.

I'll be declining my others by Monday.

Another suggestion--find some way to get interested in (if you aren't already) multiple professors there you can work with, and demonstrate that. I thought one or two was good enough. At least in my field (social psych). Not so. I kept getting rejected from places, and kind of wondered why--until one grad school told me they were very impressed with my qualifications but that my research interests were too narrow--they usually looked for someone with more matches within the department--not just one or two. My primary research interest is the psychology of religion and it's like that. At that school it made the difference between being on the waitlist (which I got) and acceptance. Only then it dawned on me that all the schools--except the one I got directly into--I had demonstrated only 1 or 2 full matches. The one I got into I demonstrated five. Mostly for my personal statements I've started them in a creative fashion--usually an experience directly related to my topic of interest. For instance my research interests are in the psychology of religion, and I shared a little bit about my conversion experience as the root of my interest. I didn't go into all the details, of course, but it made it a little less dry. Most of it I spent demonstrating the matches although I also talked about how and why I decided to go into the field. I talked briefly about the setting and where I wanted to work, and a bit about me that shows I'm particularly qualified to do the work independent of the other materials I submitted. You don't want errors--with the school I got admitted to, I had one, but it was such that unless they were familiar with a vocabulary word used by advanced theologs they wouldn't notice it.

If there's any possibility you could survive doing more challenging TA work (such as, designing and leading lab sections, designing and teaching units for courses, etc.) do it. Take teaching seminars, classes, workshops, etc. as well. Even go for teaching your own courses as soon as you can. I had a really easy set of TA responsibilities as a Master's student--just grading, occasionally making tests, copying, and once or twice subbing for professors when they were out of town--with everything already made out and planned. What happened after I graduated that summer was I started a job as a full-time instructor in my field, and I was so underexperienced and unprepared. I had to do everything from scratch at almost a full time faculty workload (they did have some mercy on me) while also learning how to teach. I had to spend every last minute planning (including sleeping time, and yes that did cause a lot of problems). This caused no confidence (I'm conscientious) and that made things even worse. If you have as large an arsenal you can when you start, you'll be less stressed getting things done. For some of us that have disabilities hindering even the best time management efforts--it's even more important. Start as early as possible. Part of my problem was that I found out I had the job right as classes were starting. Watch what you give them--don't assign more work than what you can handle yourself. If you have time to do so, start seeking out course materials now, and find books and such with a lot of material already pre-made. You can design your own activities and get creative after you've had some years of experience under your belt and have time to do it. If you stick with materials with a lot of pre-designed, tried and true extensions, discussion questions, and activities things will go better, you'll be scrambling less to fill out the time, and you might even come overprepared and have less planning to do for the next day. I agree about knowing your students as well. I attended bigger universities both as an undergrad and Master's student and students were generally at a higher level of ability than the students at the school I currently teach. Since I didn't know any better, I based a lot of my classes off of personal observations at previous schools and judged the students' abilities likewise. There is also a cultural difference (it's out West, I'm from and attended schools in the East). On many accounts, I was wrong and have been having to correct my assumptions. Most of this will probably have to come from experience but extensive conversations with people there can help.

It was the graduate coordinator. The e-mails I sent were a week apart, and I've tried to call multiple times over multiple weeks as well. I'm not going there for other entirely different reasons (and wouldn't make a decision based on that anyway). I do understand that they may be at conferences, dealing with a family emergency, etc. I don't believe they're ill-intentioned. It does make me wonder about their accessibility--if they're in conferences all the time and not accessible, or if this year is just not one that they are accessible, or if they are just overwhelmed and would be too busy to be accessible. All are understandable and may be good things in and of themselves but they do have implications. I do know about graduate school and survival--I had a 4.0 when I graduated with a Master's degree a year ago. I was grateful for my committee's guidance and of course didn't think them evil for telling me to do things. Nor do I think evil about all my evals or whatever now that I'm teaching. I'm not sure what brought about your somewhat condescending reply (that was also based on a lot of assumptions) but I still also believe the best out of you.

I applied to a program where I haven't heard anything yet. I needed to find out something last week so I could make visit plans during my Spring break in a week (the only week I can), tried e-mailing twice (with no response), and tried calling, also with no response--and the lady's voicemail was full. At this point I'm not sure I'd want to go there anyway (this is how they treat their students?) But I did spend a bucket of time and money, and would like some closure.

I have one school I've heard nothing on. My spring break is in a week, and any visits before the 15th really have to be done then, so I need to make travel plans, like, the soonest. I've sent them a couple e-mails. I've tried to call them but nobody answers the phone and the voicemail box is full. Not that I particularly think I would get admitted, but I'd like to have closure to avoid the "what-ifs" if I didn't follow through.

I'd follow up with a phone call. Sometimes e-mails get buried in a huge list, they read it and think they replied but didn't, or e-mails disappear. Their servers were pretty good when I was there (I got my undergraduate degree there) but who knows. Here's some general information. The dep't will tell you more if you call. http://admissions.cua.edu/graduate/finaid/index.html

Brushing up on my sociology (as has been advised by the grad director at my most probable school) probably by finding a book and reading it, and working/volunteering at my church.

I've had a graduate assistantship when I was a Master's student and my duties included both teaching and research assistantship work. How much of each depended on the professor and program. Some of my friends had to attend classes and lead discussions, I had to substitute teach on occasion but mostly did other things. At any rate, it barely helped me at all trying to teach as a full-time faculty member a year later.

Not only are there recession problems, a lot of the money that is there (and more) is being designated for defense and the military rather than for research and the universities. Since the money and jobs are also going overseas, and people can't get jobs in their current fields so they try going back to school. And I doubt things will get better in just a year.