Chubberubber

I did exactly what braindump did anf it seriously helped me! However, I realized that there's no need to get into anything over the "common words" on the magoosh app. The chances of encountering a word that's not on the common words list on the actual test are slim to almost non (at least based on my limited experience). Also, as annoying as it may be to your surroundings, I tried to integrate as many of new words I learned into conversations. It really helped me remember them and understand when is appropriate to use each word.

Just occured to me that you might be eligale to work for the university even as an international, depending in your type of visa. Worth checking with them about it as well...

Congratiolations! I don't know the first thing about robotics, but I do know that some programs don't interview applicants or contact them in any way prior to acceptence (that's the case for many Social Welfare programs). Maybe there's a section/ thread either on the "the bank" forum (or maybe there's a "robotics" forum in this site) where people might know more about scholraships and work-study, though I would assume it very much depends on your school and department. My advice is for you to contact UPenn's financial aid office as well as the department your were admitted to with this question. Keep in mind though, that financial aid and many scholarships are strictly for U.S citizens or legal permanent residents ("green card" holders). If you're not one of those, you might want to look for funding options in your home country as well... Best of luck!

Thanks! That clarifies a lot of things that were a bit unclear to me!

I'll try to answer straight and not give you a "poster answer" (not that biisis or rising_star did that by any means!). If you know these programs you were waiting for have already sent out interview invitations/ acceptence letters, and you didn't get one it's safe to assume that at best you've been waitlisted and in that case- if I were you I'd go ahead and commit to another program. However, I would do that only if I had a good, rational, reason to. Meaning- if your only reason for wanting to cut your losses is to avoid the mental anguish of waiting than there are other ways to put it out of your mind. On the other hand, if you need to make a decision now because there's a lot involved in it (i.e- needing to move your family/ significant other needs to find a job in the area etc.) then I definitely understand the need to make a decision now, and would probably do so.

I had a Skype interview with just one professor (as opposed to a full group of people) so it might be a bit different, but I found it almost necessary to send a personal e-mail after the interview. In that e-mail I thanked the professor for his/ her time and mentioned how much I enjoyed our conversation and that I learned a lot from it. I also adressed a couple of academic issues we talked about (something like: "I am looking forward to continue talking to you about your theory regarding ABC and it's practical implications on XYZ...") Don't know if it mattered at all, but I figured it can't hurt...

Good question. I don't know, but I would assume not, especially not for the private universities (Harvard, Yale, Stanford, WUSTL...). But, I'd imagine that departments have a certain quota of PhD students they can admit per year in general. Maybe there are reasons other than money? In any case, having external funding for PhD is GREAT!!! If you have it- awesome! If you can get it- do whatever you can to get it. I read somewhere that external funding for international students almost "levels the playing field" completely!

First- are you sure your programs actually do interviews? Seems like not all programs do... Second- one thing we must understand is that for most American universities, it costs much much more to admit international students than U.S ones. Institutions get federal funds for American students, but not for international ones. That means they have to come up with more money out of their own budget to be able to admit internationals. It's possib;e that it takes them longer to invite international students to interviews becuase they want to see if they have funding for them, and if so how many can they afford to admit. Hope you'll get some good news soon!

Thank you, I'll make sure to do that! Those are all very valuable tips! Though, in light of what was said in another thread here, I think I'll wait with the heavy family questions untill after I'm accepted (if I'll be accepted)...

I faced a somewhat similar situation and found that as long as your honest, genuine and humble (don't assume you're owed anything)- people are willing to go some length for you. Explain the situation to university A (to the person you've been in touch with the most so far), and ask if they would be willing to let you come another time or do a Skype interview. In my case, I let them know that I'd be happy to visit the campus and the department on a later date (on my own dime) either way, but that was only because I'm scheduled to be in the area anyway... However, I do think it showed them that I'm serious about the program. By keeping your interview with university B, you are also showing University A that you are a trustworthy person who doesn't go back on his/ her word (an important quality in an applicant in my mind).

jujubea, could you please elaborate on bringing family?

Yes, or even your POI if you feel comfortable enough. I asked mine, and was happily introduced (via e-mail) to a couple of grad students. We talked, and they were extremley helpful!

I agree with shana.teacher. It's quite possible they only invited 3 people to interview because they can only fund one... As long as you don't know for certain you are the only applicant still in the running- you should do your best to impress them. Trust me I know how much you need re-assurence. I'm in a somewhat similar position and just overanalize every little thing trying to explain to myself why this or that was a "sure" sign that I'm in... The best advice I got was to be very proud of myself that I made it this far, and use that as a motivation (basically what shana.teacher told you). Good luck with your interview!

If it is an interview visit, then I would suggest learning the broad research interest of the other professors, and more specifically the head of the department's work. If they're going to have anything to do with whether you'll be admitted or not, it's important to leave a good impression. By talking to them about their research you also get the chance to present yourself as broad-minded and as possesing scholarly curiousity, which I think most adcomms members would like to see. If it's not an interview but rather just a "get to know you" visit, then you obviously don't need to put as much work into this. Though, showing a bit of interest in what they do is probably still a good idea- you never know if and when you'd might need their help with something...It's also just good academic manners if there is such a thing

I compeletly understand wht you're saying, and in an ideal world I would've done the same. Unfortunately, I only applied to one program that holds interviews and though dthey did offer t pay for the domestic portion of my travel, the international flight is still over my budget. In our conversation she did mention time and again that she has no expectation that I'll attened and assured me that my chances will not be negatively affected, so that calmed me down a bit. The only thing that threw me off a little is that at the same time she made sure that I know that their invitation is genuine and that they would love it if I could come.... Even though I told her I decided not to attened the weekend, I'm planning on trying to get a feel at how important it is when I talk to a couple of grad students at the program in a few days. If they'll tell me that it is very very important, I'll try and somehow find the money to fly over there (eating every day is overrated right? )

I've been looking more into this as well, and actually didn't find anything about Social Work Ph.D interviews anywhere... Seems like it's quite common to accept based only on the application. Wierd,,,.

Thanks, this is really helpful! I am married, which probably makes a difference since my wife would like to stay at ho,e with the baby (maybe get a part time job but not full time). I'm very appreciative of your advice shadowclaw, since I would have done exactly the opposite. Where I'm from (not the U.S/ Canada) having a family is something that always comes up in interviews, and generally viewed quite favourably albeit probably more so for men than for women. I'll try to stay clear of it, even though like many young parents I often turn to talk about how *amazing* my baby is... I Guess professors don't like hearing that anymore than my friends do!

Thanks have2thinkbouit! And good luck to you too! One thing I realized is probably a good idea for people in our situation, is to ask for an opportunity to have a Skype call with a graduate student or two from the program. Apparently they have quite a bit of say in the final decision, and in any case they could provide valuable information that professors might not share/ know...

Thank you! That's really helpful! I guess what I'm worried about the most is that other applicants will have 2 days to leave an impression with program faculty and staff and I'll only have a couple of interviews to do so... But I'm probably just making myself nervous over nothing...

Sorry to revive such an old post, but I'm facing a similar situation with one major difference- I am a male (hate the fact that we live in a world where that might make a difference, but that's the world we live in...) Do you think that makes a difference or should I still try and minimize the fact that I have a young daughter (I did mentioned it briefly in my diversity statement and SOP)?

I'm an international applicant and since I've never applied to an American university before, I'm kindda vexed by the process... I got invited by my POI for a "weekend for prospective students", though she regretted that the department can't pay for my international travel and asked to schedule a Skype converation instead. We had the conversation (basically an interview) a few days ago and it went very well, but I'm still very unsure about the whole thing... My questions are: 1) What exactly is a "prospective students' weekend'? Is that an interview weekend? 2) Generally, what chances do people who were invited to such a weekendhave at being admitted? 3) Do applicants usually have a Skype/ phone interview before such a weekend? 4) most importantly- since I can't make it to this weekend, am I copletely ruining my chances? (Please keep in mind that my POI repeatedly said that she does not expect me to be there since it would mean paying out of pocket). Thanks!

I'm also wondering about SW programs. I would imagine they'd hold interviews as well, but honestly don't know for sure. Are you sure you applied for a clinical psychology program at stanford? As far as I know they don't offer one...