Haven't made it in off the waitlist at UMD, but their DGS said he'd have a pretty good sense by the middle of March or so (before their open house). In my acceptance letter from UConn, they asked that if I'm no longer seriously considering them, that I decline their offer by March 16th, as they'd want to extend their GTA line to someone on the waitlist not much long after that. So I'd be willing to guess that mid-March is standard for many places. Slightly different for most top tier programs, which, as the results board shows, often don't get back to waitlisters until the first or second week of April.
I think the only points to consider seriously in Bernard1992's post is: yes, Montreal is very cold and I know a lot of students from warmer climates have a tough time adjusting and feeling happy there and yes, many big conferences are in the US and if you are outside of the US, then you will have a harder time getting visas to go to the conferences. However, if you are in the US then you will have to do this every time you leave the US for a conference. In my opinion, it is easier to get a visa to go to the US for a conference than it is for you to have to get a visa while in the conference country just to return to your home institution.
Yes, I think it is obvious at this point that Bernard is either a troll or crazy. Either way, no point in responding. I highly doubt this person is actually attending any type of graduate program.
Opening a bank account is something you could do on day 1. Often branches of big banks near the university or the local credit union are good options since they'll know how to deal with international students. You could ask current international students in your department where they have their bank accounts. You'll get a debit card and a few checks immediately. Order more and ask about a credit card if you're interested in building up your credit history in the US (I'd recommend it). Normally for wire transfers it shouldn't take more than 2-3 business days for the funds to show in your account. You might consider bringing some cash with you, as you feel comfortable, in order to make purchases easier until you have your US account set up. That way, you could deposit some money immediately when you open the account and you'll at least have something to start with. Having some cash is also convenient. You could always use your foreign credit card in the US, but keep in mind that there may be a fee. If you rent an apartment, it's very likely that your landlord will want a local check and not a foreign one or your bank account information (unlike in many European countries) so you could do one of three things - (a) bring some cash with you, deposit it, and use one of your beginner checks, (b ) wait for a bit before starting to search for an apartment, until your wire transfer is finalized, (c ) ask a friend to pay for you first month (but I wouldn't be surprised if many landlords wouldn't like that and would want to make sure you have a bank account and some money in it).
Finding an apartment depends on the market you'll move to. In many places it'll be very fast. Be ready to sign a lease the same day you see an apartment, so don't start looking before you are set up to pay rent. Check Craigslist or other local websites but always see an apartment in person before signing a lease! Some cities often work with realtors, so it's worth finding out about that ahead of time, in particular who is supposed to pay them (you or the landlord) and how much they usually cost. You don't need a SSN but I would suggest contacting your department's admin person and asking them to write you an endorsement letter that basically says that you are a beginning graduate student in their department, with guaranteed funding of X amount for Y years. That will help show landlords that you are financially solvent and they can trust you.
Other things to do early on -
- arrange for internet/phone/cellular service. They may want a deposit and it may take them a surprisingly long time to come install your internet, so get started as soon as you have a place. You could start arrangements for the technician's visit before you move in, and pick a date early after your move-in date. These services may ask for a deposit, since you don't have a credit history, so take that into account.
- shopping for furniture, beginning supplies. May be worth renting a car and going out of town for that, especially if there is a big discount store in the suburbs. From my own experience, often renting through a foreign website (e.g. through your home country) is cheaper than doing it locally.
- at the DMV: if the wait for taking the practical exam are long, you could get a state liquor ID while you wait for your drivers license. It's the local ID people get if they don't drive, and once you have it no one can tell you're not a local person as well. You can use it to buy alcohol but also to identify yourself at any government agency, including using it as your ID for domestic flights. I highly recommend having some kind of local ID instead of carrying your passport around.
Honestly I don't think you need 20 days for this, probably 10-14 would suffice, though this partly depends on the housing market you're moving into. Not that it would be bad to have some time to explore the city, but just FYI getting settled actually doesn't take all that long.
EnfantTerrible reacted to Ramus in Waiting to Exhale (the wait list thread)