BiochemMom

Your MS would not be viewed the same way as a terminal MS. It would be a consolation prize in the eyes of admissions committees. If you want to go that route, apply to terminal MS programs and then apply again.

For a rejection from your top choice that you desperately wish would reconsider: Unbreak my heart...say that you'll love me again. Undo this hurt that you caused when you walked out the door and out of my life. Uncry these tears, I've cried so many nights. Unbreak my heart.

Pick the school. Relationships can be tenuous and no one knows what you'll be doing. I've been married for ten years, and separated for military duty and work for six (non consecutively) of those ten. Try to think of it this way. If you go to your dream school, and you maintain your relationship, he can join you when he finishes. If your relationship will last through marriage and the rest of your life, it can handle a short term separation (because in the grand scheme of things, 5 years is nothing even if it seems like forever at the time--it'll be gone in a blink) If you go to your lesser choice school, and it works out--you'll be happy you're with your partner, and hopefully you won't resent him as you realize where you could be. It's very easy to build that resentment and hold the sacrifice over your partner's head even unknowingly (that you gave up your dream school for him so why can't he choose a certain post doc for you--or whatever). If it doesn't work out, you'll be at a school you don't love with research you don't love in a town with someone you're no longer with, wishing you had chosen thre other school. Sometimes for a relationship to be healthy you have to invest in yourself, and be willing to also concurrently invest in your partner. In 20 years, which would make you happier--a degree and all that comes with it from where you want to be or a degree from a lesser choice with lesser fit that might lead to lesser job choices/research post school? The relationship will work or not either way. It's totally doable to maintain through physical separation if you're both in it together. If my daughter had to make the choice, I would tell her to choose her education and career first--but not to confuse that with what's the most important. Right now, my education takes time priority, but my family is still the most important thing for me. And my career will directly impact the quality of life I can offer my daughter, so getting the best choice for my education for me is the most important decision right now. Good luck with your decision!

How long has it been? It took 16 days for me to get an official notice from the grad school themselves at UGA and it came via postal mail.

ahh I'm sorry my fat finger hit down vote on my phone trying to up vote.

seriously--it's like they know. I secretly suspect the real reason for asking for other schools you applied at is to know how hard they have to fight for you! My mom would be ecstatic. I'm from the Athens area (though moved out of state 12 years ago) and she still lives in the same house where I grew up. My husband's family lives in chapel hill area. I geographically confined myself because we want more children and between his brain injury and grad school, I want family around for the next one. But now I'm starting to feel guilt tripped by each family--if I pick one school over another they're acting like we chose one family over another and now I'm slightly regretting my decision for where I applied (though love all the schools I chose)

I keep forgetting to ask, haha. They actually called me today and offered to nominate me for a summer stipend to start early if I wanted it (and accepting the nomination doesn't guarantee it bc the overall graduate school gives it to a handful of people regardless of major--I can also still turn down the acceptance even with the nomination). My husband works and is a disabled veteran (ied blast in Afghanistan 2010) so we get enough from both his sources of income that mine just goes to my daughters private school tuition--my current stipend is 14k for my ms so anything will be a raise! (However chapel hill is not in anyway affordable for a house rental instead of an apartment rental and we own our home here so we can't buy until this one is out of our responsibility so I'd have to commute there) Pretty much as long as UGA pays enough to cover her schooling I'd be okay with it. And they were my last ditch back up school--I put in an app after rejection from Emory, on the deadline date. They've been wooing me pretty hard and with the new incoming POI, I might just be accepting their offer this weekend when I go visit. Ahhh.

. UGA is chemistry. the rest are biochem programs. Considering ga tech and cost of living I'm expecting it to between 22k and 26k so it's good to know one dept is in that range! And ga is LCOL more so than nc.

Some schools don't release it. For example I've gotten my official acceptance in the mail and everything for UGA but they haven't told me the stipend yet and it's not on their website. Other schools, like UNC CH at $29,000, publish the info on their website. If UGA were to offer a super low stipend, it would be a heavy decision factor for me.

March!! Now I can actually start checking for Ga Tech decisions in addition to UNC CH post interview decision.

Fighting Temptations was filmed in my hometown and in high school I waited tables at the only restaurant. The cast came in several times. I have a menu with autographs from Cuba Gooding Jr., Beyoncé, and Rue McLanahan from one night I was their waitress. I randomly met Andy Dick in a mall. My brother in law details Usher's car and I met him several times as a kid--he was such a sweet person. That's all I've got.

its not even late enough in the application season to be waitlisted. Either you're a strong enough applicant that you'll get in, you're strong and you'll get waitlisted, or you don't match what the program wants and you'll get rejected. Until it comes down to waitlist time, other people's decisions aren't having an effect on you. It's only March 1. Several programs haven't even finished interviews yet. I wouldn't expect anyone to make a decision until ALL offers were on the table. People don't just apply to crappy back up no name state schools--they apply to back up schools that are still highly ranked just not quite as high as the schools they're competing for. And not only that, they wouldn't spend the time and effort if they weren't interested in the research and frankly people change their minds about which school is top choice when they visit and have the info. So PSA: let people make their decisions in their own time and focus on your own applications. Other applicants aren't whats holding you back and you don't need to be a jerk across the board to people because youre upset.

What are your research interests?

I also echo the why not ask the PI directly? I emailed the person I wanted to work for at UGA who retired after I submitted my app and he replied very promptly to let me know he still has research privilege and can act as a joint PI and has grant funding for 8 more years so he's still accepting incoming students--and he suggested people he think I'd like as co-mentors to be able to work for him.

I would suggest trying for a post-grad one year internship. Usajobs.gov has several available for military base r&d after master's degree completion. You can also try nonprofit R&D companies--I'm doing a summer internship at RTI Global in between MS and PhD and they offer one year ones as well. Or try for profit R&Ds--big pharma or cosmetic companies. Think outside the box. Also lab/research tech positions in academia labs--my secondary PI is at a medical school and his lab tech is allowed to and encouraged to publish frequently. Edit to add: several of these places will keep your visa going as far as I know. Not sure about the military but the PI I mentioned above has two international lab techs trying to get into PhD programs and they're here on visas that got renewed for their work after graduation

Same thing for both interview notification and acceptance--not a shocker for me what I was doing. Driving to school and saw then when I arrived--both times I did an insane fist pumping screaming dance in my car in the parking lot while freshman walked past from their dorms staring at me like I was a lunatic.

This is me. "A ding!? Check it now!!! Ugh it's just (seminar info, email from student, email about graduation, email from PI) this isn't important!!!" (It's totally important just not what I care to get in my email inbox right now)

Still waiting on Chapel Hill but I'm unexpectedly going down to UGA for a day next week because the PI coming from another university that UGA wooed wants me in his lab and wants me to meet him when he's in town ordering equipment for his lab. My current PI and our graduate director told me they didn't care how much better ranked and thought of the program and general faculty were at UNC relative to UGA (though UGA is still a "public ivy" and top 50) I'd be a fool not to work for this guy. So if it works out...my last application back up school is looking pretty sweet to be my top choice. They sent me an acceptance six business days after I applied and have been wooing me like crazy haha. If UNC wants me they need to tell me before I go down there cause you'd better believe if the PI wants me I want it on record before I take the offer over UNC.

but then our rejections would be public viewing fodder! I laughed so hard at this post.

I don't mind the where else have you applied question. It's the "where else have you been accepted" part as though I've already been accepted to the program she works for. Ahhhhh Edit: you can't use html coding on this forum?

This except step 7 is: force myself to grade students work. Add another step: step 8 fiddle with PowerPoint to redo my defense seminar for the trillionth time. Obsessively check email for rough draft notes from my PI instead of for admissions. Return to list: step 9, panic.

Best: UGA--extremely communicative with no fake out subject lines. Fast turn around on application. Fast itinerary schedule for visit. Easy to reach by phone or email. Almost tied for best: UNC--also communicative and easy to reach but didn't provide updates like UGA does on their own accord. Worst: Duke. Radio silence the whole time. I feel like it's a take my money and don't give a crap. Doesn't bother notify rejections until all acceptances are taken even for people not selected for interviews. Ga Tech has been pretty silent too except the POI and one email confirming they got all my stuff. Impossible to reach grad office by phone, grad office turn around on emails is almost a week. Emory was really good too but not above and beyond good. I do appreciate the immediate notification after interviews scheduled that I was waitlisted then fast notification everyone accepted interviews and I was rejected.

Okay we interviewed same weekend. They don't have enough people interested in biophysics to have our own weekend so we interviewed randomly and that was my weekend. Ahhh I really want to get in!

neuro? I saw some acceptances from that track. I'm pursuing the biochemistry and biophysics track. What weekend did you interview?

Sooo a really amazing professor famous in biophysics from UFL is moving to UGA and is actively recruiting me. Ahhh maybe UGA isn't my back up school now. And my top POI at UNC emailed me to find out if I'd heard from the adcom yet and to make sure I still wanted to work with him. AND my poi at Ga Tech did the same thing (and I hadn't emailed her just named her in my app and I haven't heard from them yet) Why is this so dang hard!? It was so clear cut when I first applied everywhere!