chimerical

Housing assignments are out! I actually got my first choice - Rains 2 BR.

Thanks! I had seen that link but wasn't 100% sure if it was always okay or if you needed special permission. Luckily I managed to get in touch with someone at housing and got it sorted out.

Anyone know if there's flexibility regarding your move-in date? I can't make it to campus on the official 9/11/10 move in date but could do 9/12 instead.

I'm about to start a PhD in another social science department and am a bit rusty when it comes to formal math. The political science math camp was suggested as a good refresher. Anyone know if/when Stanford's polsci math camp is scheduled this year? And has anyone here taken it? Any insights into how useful it is?

I'm sorry that things didn't work out, waytooold. You've been a great contributor around here and I've enjoyed reading your posts. Best of luck with whatever you decide to do next! Good luck to you too ootg, I hope something comes through.

They will most likely discuss what they perceived to be the major weaknesses in your application and perhaps even suggest ways to improve for next year. If you're considering reapplying I would definitely take them up on it! Many schools will not give out such feedback when asked, let alone offer it up on a silver platter like that.

Any insight regarding UPenn's on-campus graduate apartments (Samson Place)? Wasn't even aware of that option before seeing it on the housing website. Are they decent?

Since most admits have until April 15th to decide it's not unusual for people to be pulled off the waitlist after that initial deadline. In the mean time there's no harm in accepting your best offer, unless NYU indicates that they might be able to give you a final decision before April 15th. Congrats btw! I'm sure that was confusing but it must have been a nice surprise.

I don't support giving people false hope but it's possible to be frank without being obnoxious or abrasive. There are plenty of people who give honest and accurate advice in these forums without accumulating so much ire.

Congrats to the MS&E masters admits! Perhaps we will see each other around.

Business casual is usually a safe bet. You may be a little more dressed up than the other students but when making a first impression it's better to be a little overdressed than underdressed. If you are female, investing in a pair of comfortable flats will make the campus tour more bearable.

Given the job market in the humanities I would be very reluctant to turn down admission to a top-ranked school with full funding in favor of a school that barely cracks the top 100. Rankings aren't everything but that large a drop will make a difference. And personally, I don't think the commute sounds bad at all, but like Slarti I live in an area notorious for bad traffic, so my perspective may be skewed somewhat.

Did you get a sense of how doable it is to not have a car? Most of the students I talked to said it's a hassle, even if you live on-campus. If I go to Stanford I'd probably live on-campus for at least the first year, but would rather cook my own food rather than eat out all the time, so I wasn't sure if I'd be able to manage groceries without a car.

Most business PhD programs are so small that there's pretty much no way to guarantee admission across the board. As a result, it's actually quite common to gain admission to some top schools and be rejected from others. For example, I've been accepted at top programs (see signature) but rejected at MIT with a 3.97 from a Top 10 university and a 760 GMAT. And I'm honestly not surprised by that. When a program is only admitting 1-3 students, numbers don't matter as much as fit and other idiosyncratic factors that are hard to capture in a stats-oriented profile.

Sounds like you're on an unofficial waitlist. Now, a post-waitlist admit is certainly just as "valid" as a first-round acceptance, and once you're in the program it's unlikely you'd be treated differently than the other students. But there is something to be said for a department displaying such clear enthusiasm for you. It sounds like they will be genuinely invested in your development as a scholar and you may have a leg-up on other students in terms of garnering early attention from faculty. Not being in your field or knowing what your long-term goals are, it's hard to advise you to go one way or the other. I will say I accepted a job from a top but not very-top consulting firm over a top three firm because the former put much more effort into recruiting me and I haven't regretted that choice at all. Try to block out all the rationalizing that's probably going on in your head (easier said than done, I know) and trust your instincts.

Wow, you have a fantastic attitude. It's refreshing. With that in hand I'm sure you're going to do great no matter which path you choose. Best of luck!

Being a graduate student almost always means living quite frugally. Without outside funding or wealth, that's pretty much inevitable, even on the most generous of stipends. Simply being used to a nicer lifestyle is not a valid reason to ask for more money and won't be viewed favorably by the program. My suggestion would be to talk to current students on the same or similar stipends to get a sense of how workable it is. Also take a close look at cost-of-living differences between the school's location and Brooklyn. My feeling is that the difference between a small town in Ohio and Brooklyn will be substantial enough that a $20k drop won't actually be a huge deal.

Again, it depends. Graduate-level econometrics taken from the economics department will be very theory-heavy and as such will require calculus (and linear algebra). A more applied econometrics course at the undergraduate level or from another department may not. This would be something to ask the departments to which you're admitted. Calculus was a pre-requisite for introductory econometrics at my undergrad but I know that's not always the case. If you're under some kind of time pressure to register for the course, then IMO it's not a bad idea to take it. You may not absolutely need it, but it doesn't hurt to make your math background a little stronger and therefore expand the set of methodological tools available to you.

Thanks! I don't have an absolute top choice right now. They're all great programs, so I'm keeping an open mind and visiting as many as I can.

Depends on the course requirements. If you have to take any kind of economics, then absolutely yes.

Wharton management is making at least some of their admissions calls today. I'm in!

I wouldn't recommend trying to "game" the admissions cycle in the hopes that another year might be less competitive. It really just comes down to whether you are happy with your admit or not. If you're unhappy with the program and can't see yourself there for the next however many years, then do yourself and the school a favor and turn them down. Spend the next year improving your application and try again when you feel ready. I also really wouldn't recommend attending in the hopes of transferring after a year. A PhD isn't like undergrad; transfers are uncommon and quite tricky.

Faculty and students at other schools can sometimes offer really good insights into the programs you're considering. Obviously you should keep potential biases in mind, but most people seem to genuinely want you to end up at the program that is best for you and will be candid in discussing how their department stacks up against others. Students can also share their impressions, especially if they have friends at other schools or were considering some of the same places when they were making their decisions. Recently-hired junior faculty seem to have a double-inside track of sorts and can offer really good advice about both the program at which they're teaching and the one from which they just graduated. So my advice is, yes, tell them where else you've been accepted! Though some schools might fear being a safety most will simply be curious or perhaps even see you in a better light.

It is not a 100% guarantee but in the vast majority of cases the departmental recommendation is enough for official admission. Congrats! I wouldn't worry about it unless you've got some kind of weakness in your profile that might not pass the graduate school's minimum requirements (GRE, GPA, etc).