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Anyone relocating to Vegas in the fall? I've lived in New England all my life, looking forward to a change of scenery and warmer weather.

E-mailed POI at Boulder. He told me that they're in a 'holding pattern' currently. Probably a nice way of saying you're wait-listed/rejected. I'd encourage others to e-mail them if you really want to know.

I know this might be echoing many people here, but isn't it a tad unreasonable to have not sent out any notification of acceptance, rejection or "no decision"? With most schools having a decision deadline of April 15th, that would give applicants 30 days to respond to an offer. This is a huge decision, and I understand the advantage a school gains by putting a time frame on accepting a position, but at what point does this become unreasonable or wrong? We paid for the application fee, we should be entitled to a decision at least in this timeframe.

So what can I do in this situation? I'd like to see if I get offers from UMass and CU Boulder but I don't want to lose out on Vegas. Could I ask for an extension on my decision?

UNLV's decision for me is March 20th.

This is my thought as well. From what I understand from my faculty, ranging from recently granted PhDs to others close to retirement, have told me that the ranking isn't as important as it once used to be. If you have a good network of people who think highly of you, the school on your degree doesn't matter. Keep in touch with past faculty, friends you make in grad school. Collaborate. Increase the network of people who know you. I feel this is what will get me a job post grad school. A lot of schools now have the capability to perform the same quality research as the top-tier schools. This is speaking academically of course. If you go into industry, you probably need a recognizable name attached to you.

My department head got his PhD from Delaware and spoke highly of it. I understand the importance of ranking but at the end of the day I think producing quality research that gets attention and published in reputable journals is the real importance. That comes down to projects and your work. Ranking didn't really influence my applications, I applied where I thought I would fit well and had POIs that were looking for students.

I dont gamble (maybe I will if I accept at UNLV), I like your odds at CU, Penn and Stanford.

I heard from UNLV on Wednesday. I'd imagine more will start to roll out this week (hopefully).

Undergrad Institution: Small, private Major(s): Geology Minor(s): GPA in Major: 3.70 Overall GPA: 3.72 Position in Class: Near top Type of Student: Male, domestic GRE Scores (revised/old version): Q: 154 V: 157 W: 4.0 Research Experience: 1 summer of field work, poster at GSA in Vancouver, oral presentation at Northeast GSA Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Distinguished Research Fellow, Honors Program, Eagle Scout, Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Tutor Special Bonus Points: Recommender has connections at CU Boulder Applying to Where: CU Boulder, UNLV (Accepted), UMass Amherst