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I haven't heard anything from Rutgers or UVA, and I think I was sort of accepted at Indiana, but funding is still up in the air. I've already accepted an amazing, fully-funded offer somewhere else, so it doesn't technically matter. It would be really nice to have closure from these remaining ones, though.

Waiting on both UMD and Rutgers...

I'm still waiting on 6 schools, and one of them is Maryland. The wait is killing me. Do things ever typically happen over the weekends? I've come to assume end of East Coast business day on Fridays is the end until the following Monday.

I definitely think you are still in the game - hang in there! I'm still waiting to hear from 7 of the 10 schools to which I applied. What I can say is that I've had one acceptance and two rejections and the one acceptance came from the school where the POI and I spoke on multiple occasions, both about our respective research, the program, and just general chit chat. I like to think that played a role in the POI's interest in rallying for me among a pool of applicants. But the wait continues!

I would definitely wait until you receive official rejections. You never know - you could be waitlisted and still in the running! I don't know any reason not to inquire, as long as you remain polite and simply inquisitive, rather than show hurt feelings or anything like that. My advice would be to ask if they are willing to share with you what they thought to be the strengths and weaknesses of your application. This can let you know what to promote about yourself more next time, as well as what needs improved. Good luck!

These are great suggestions, everyone - thanks! One program I'm looking at has a young/new POI as well, so these are good thoughts for later interactions with that program, if I get the opportunity...

Hi all! I have a question to hopefully ease my nerves... I've been accepted to my first program, and they've invited me to visit this week to meet the faculty and students to encourage me to accept their offer. I'm still waiting to hear from other programs, but I really like this program so it will not take much convincing. My problem is that I have spent so much time researching this school and talking to my POI that I feel fairly well-informed about the program. I know when I go to visit, though, that many of the people I meet with will ask me if I have any questions. I want to prepare ahead of time so I don't run out of things to ask or keep asking the same questions, so... What questions would you want answered from a program before you accepted their offer? Anyone already in a PhD program - what are you glad you asked or what do you wish you had asked? I know this can vary across disciplines, but I'm sure there are some general types of questions too. I just want to go in with some ideas without looking like I have no questions or worse, that I don't care. If this is already addressed in another thread that I couldn't find, I'd be happy to have a link to it instead!

I would definitely go for a tour. Things that interest me on my campus visits are the library, especially if there is a department specific one, any spaces/offices/areas allocated for grad student use, and if there are any comfortable places to go/relax/work on things between classes or during downtime. I also care about nearby and campus museums, but that's field specific. The bookstore can be interesting too, just for the fun of it; though I've never actually used campus bookstores for textbooks, just merchandise. And possibly where department classes are taught - I've seen instances where classes either attended by grad students or taught by grad TAs are far away from the department itself and grad offices. Just something worth knowing!

I'm feeling the same way about February! I've had one rejection and one acceptance, but I'm waiting to hear from 8 more... It also makes not just jumping at that one acceptance really difficult! It would be such a relief to just know what I'm doing/where I'm moving/etc. and stop worrying/waiting/wondering.