attackonthedoctor

head ache

I was talking with a flight attendant friend when I got accepted into my top choice. He was trying to convince me to fly the friendly skies with him if graduate school didn't work out. I got the email and we both freaked out!

Congratulations on getting into UPitt! If you're truly sure about going to Pitt, I hope you head over to the Pittsburgh, PA thread under the City Guide section. It'll help you prepare for the transition into graduate school and the area.

Stockholm syndrome

I don't understand this either. Are they expecting us to frame their rejection letters for all to see?

I don't know about UMD, but most graduate schools will give you a funding letter sometime after acceptance, especially if you have already had an interview with them. It wouldn't hurt to email the ECE's department graduate secretary to ask for the next steps the process.

Getting to my interview weekend was an absolute pain! It was the very first time a flight was canceled on me, let alone the day of having to be at the program. I had to improvise at 5am, when I'm not a morning person, to get there. I had traveled for over twelve hours, though I really just needed to go the next state over! It would've been easier if I had a car, but I don't. To top it off, the hotel that the program has prospectives stay messed up on the rooms, so I ended up sleeping on the couch the first night. But in the end, it was worth the pain. I like the program and the official day of interviews went well. I was even able to impressed a rather stern professor that has a reputation of making prospectives cry with my knowledge, even though his area isn't a part of my interests! The point I'm trying to make is that I could've made that whole experience bitter but I turned it into a learning experience to improve upon myself. In my case, it was tolerance of the unexpected. Follow the advice of preparing well for your interviews, so you won't have any excuses other than fit. Also, when most talk of fit, they don't just mean with the lab. They also mean with the entire department style too. Good luck and I wish you well!

Pikachu Institute Of Technology Computer Science (3D Animation), PhD (F15) Accepted via E-mail on 24 Feb 2015 U 24 Feb 2015 Super Excited.. All the best to other Applicants Seriously, can we admire this beauty?

My birthday falls in the middle of the academic year, so I'll be starting at 22.

rite aid

Those CMU rejections are now trending on Facebook. Oh dear...

Air Gear

All that time, and you realized that you weren't talking with a professor. Instead, you were talking with a processor. Yeah, that's worrisome indeed.

This is true on the bus as well. The bus would be empty but then someone sits next me to me or right in front me! Just why???

I'm glad to be of help and relieve some anxiety! I do agree that we over-stress during this part of the process, some more than others. Just be your best self and everything will fall into place. At this point in the process, if you do get rejected and you did your best to be your best self, it was for the best since you may not have fitted there as well as you may think. Good luck, and most importantly, have fun!

Heya! First, congratulations for getting this far in the process. Secondly, it wouldn't hurt to ask the department secretary or your POI these questions if they haven't already addressed them. If not, I share with you my experience. 1) Is a schedule for invited candidates normally provided ahead of time? Yes. However when it is sent out differs among programs. Some give it to you weeks before, while others don't send it out until the day before. It is depends on who is making the itineraries for the prospectives and how many prospectives they have to accommodate. 2) Would it be appropriate to email the department and ask for an idea of the itinerary? Absolutely! At the very worst, they can't give you further information at this time. At the best, you could get a sample itinerary from a previous interview/recruitment weekend. You should also ask for the attire of the weekend, just to be safe. The good thing about doing this is that it reflects great on you and makes you more memorable because you're being proactive about what is going on and most programs like that in a new student. Just be respectful in your email and don't imply that you're rushing them. 3) What are some common events that I should plan on attending during the weekend (besides faculty interviews)? Everyone on this forum tells you about them "wining and dining" you, and it's completely true! You'll meet current students and probably have a few social events with them. There would probably be a dinner/some-sort-of-meal with faculty members of the department. You can also expect a tour of the facilities and maybe graduate housing. As long as you keep your wits about you and don't act like a jerk, you'll be fine at these complementary events. I hope this helps!

Sympathy points?

I saw that one while drinking tea. I nearly choked to death!

Heya! I'm a born-and-raised Pittsburgher and I can tell you that it depends on how much transportation convenience you would like. The public transit service within East Pittsburgh is pretty good, considering the 7+ colleges and universities within a 5-mile radius. Everything is pretty close by and it's not too much trouble to get all the things you would need for your everyday. There is also public transit service for the airport and major shopping centers. However, there is the added convenience of being able to shop in bulk and put your shoppings into a car. If you would want to go outside of East Pittsburgh, having a car or having access to a ride is essential. The public transit service is not so great as you get further away from the colleges and inner-city. For instance, if you were trying to travel to West Pittsburgh or the suburbs, the buses could run from every hour to every 3 hours with a last bus being around 9-10pm, depending on where exactly you wish to go. Most of the time, they don't even reach neighborhoods or boroughs due to low demand of public transit service. The public transit service is improving a bit as the city tries to move towards being more eco-friendly and more people being tired of paying extra on car maintenance for poor infrastructure. (Pittsburgh has potholes and construction EVERYWHERE!) TL;DR: You can live in Pittsburgh without a car if you have generous friends or a ZipCar-like deal to take you outside the inner-city when need be. Things are changing and improving so you may get lucky with having better public transit service than what I've described in that time frame. Good luck!

Why not ask the department secretary of what is expected? When I got an invite to my top choice's interview/recruitment weekend, I asked the department secretary of the expected attire for the weekend. However, I will echo Edge's suggestion with going for business casual.

Thor's Hammer