jujubea

Sorry autumn. Hope you'll have your pick otherwise!

How rude

Hi! I applied to UNM too! Also a 3.8 ugpa and similar stats. Different interests though. Did you check out Boukder? They don't have an environ comm track, but they do have a few experts in that specialty.

I'll be almost 30.

Congratulations pedanticist!

The most sexist person I have ever met (in terms of frequency of sexist comments and actions: daily, really hourly), was a women's studies PhD student.

kitchen sink

Right - but that's the professor reaching out during that time-frame, not the student/applicant.

Omg I remember those posts...! And as they went on, they just got worse and worse.

Hm... It sounded to me like that was standard fare.... they invite you to check you out, just as much as you're checking them out.... And then they decide whether and what to offer you..

Knight Rifles

Ask people about whether other students or faculty have children, then whether they're remotely similar ages as yours (this tells you who to pry for better info). Find those people, and ask where their kids go to school and why. Ask where they live and why in terms of benefits for the kids (playgrounds, parks, other kids in the neighborhood, safety, community activities). Ask how the school system works - is it open district or closed? Is it hard to get into better public schools and why? How are the public schools? Private? Charter? Is there any understanding or flexibility in terms of child emergencies, picking kids up from school in the middle of the day to take them home or do other things. Don't ask this question directly of faculty because they may interpret it as you not being committed to the program. Figure it out. Talk to select existing grad students with kids. Depending on the age of your children, ask about childcare facilities on or near campus, their costs, resources, quality, etc. Depending on your housing intentions (rent a house, rent apartment/condo, buy a house, buy apartment/condo), ask how hard it is to find places with the right amount of bedrooms. Ask if people ever bring their kids to department events/parties/celebrations, or if that's frowned upon or welcomed.

Man, not much to hang hopes on there. I guess it's a good sign he was thinking about your credits transferring ... ?

Earliest... late in the first week of Feb. But more likely the second or third week of Feb, for two programs. Then early March. If no news by then, then .... probably not good news... :/ Nooooo, don't give me MORE to overanalyze! At first I was grateful, but now I think it was a bad idea that one of the grad program assistants told me the exact date the adcomm would meet. So now I know it's been a week and a half, and that they are RIGHT in the middle of deciding, AS we type this! Drives me bonkers!

blackmail

P.s. - How exciting for you to be visiting places soon! Good luck!

These are some things I learned from my visits that were extraordinarily helpful: Look into the lives of the current cohort. Hang out with them if you can and see if you'd actually enjoy working and studying with them for 5-7 years. I didn't get to do this at one school and I really regret it. See what kind of study and work space they are given. Is it controlled access? Are you given a workstation (computer) or do you bring your own? Find out what their work-life balance is like; what they do and don't like about the program. Sit in on a class or two if you can. What is the atmosphere like? Serious? Fun? Casual? Professional? How do you fit in? What is cost of living and how are students getting by? Do most students commute, bike, walk, what? Why? Are classes all over the place or right next to each other? Any issues with getting into the classes they need? Accessing the people they need to? What are their relationships like with their supervisors? What is the building like that everyone is in every day? Are there windows? Does that matter to you? Is it loud or quiet? Hard to get to? Smelly? Flare up your allergies? Talk to as many professors as you can, including non POI's. What are they like? Are they happy are they disgruntled? What about? Do they have research constraints? (Meaning, are they able and allowed to study/research what they'd like to?) How many students do they advise each semester? What are their course-loads like? Are research assistantships ever available in addition to TA-ships? (Or vice versa?). What do people do during the summer? Both faculty, staff, and students? Is there funding available? Research opportunities? Are you expected to be working? On what? Where? How? What are library hours? What unique resources are there? How far is it from your department's building? Do you care? Do the professors have any recommendations for what area to live in? And why? What is transportation like, as relevant to your situation, whether that's public, biking, walking, or private vehicle. Parking. Safety if on foot or biking. Bus routes and times. What are food options like near campus? How about grocery stores in the area? Do you need a Trader Joe's or Natural Grocers nearby? How about a farmer's market? And food facilities in the department - is there somewhere you can keep your lunch that needs to be refrigerated? Microwave available for everyone's use? Extracurricular Do they have the kind of yoga/rock climbing/martial arts/book club/game club/other hobby or interest groups at the school or in the area? What is the environment like? Weather? Terrain? Do you have access to the types of places you like to go, whether that's clubs, bookstores, cafes, music venues, sports venues, good bakeries or restaurants? Walk around the campus neighborhood, then walk around a neighborhood you might live in. How do you like the feel of each place? What's around? What are the local people like? ....if you're bringing family, I can give you a whole other list of things to ask and explore

I know, lol, why on Earth do I keep searching as though there are going to be "new" old results ...?!

sliding scale

The vent that everyone is also steaming about .... Why can't decisions come any earlier than Feb or March?!! The elation I felt after submitting the last application was WAY too quickly subsumed by the eagerness of hearing back. This is my life dream! It hangs in the balance!

The psych people must be freaking out, have you seen the results search? Psych this psych that, all over the country!

chain mail

"Congratulations, jujubea! You have successfully submitted your application!" ....yes, right, I know, you told me that when I submitted it.... SIX WEEKS AGO!

Don't worry, I'm not actually asking this. I definitely should get a PhD But I found this cool website if anyone else is wondering: http://shouldigetaphd.com/ It's a series of relevant interviews. Enjoy! (I'm not affiliated with the website or peeps in any way, just FYI!)