StarvingStudentYeah

What program are you in Lara? I'm Master of Counseling, BTW. Will do a Counseling Psych PhD after completion of that - which is one of the benefits I see in ASU in that they have an APA Counseling Psych program - would save me moving again.

Wow, ~650 Verbal is certainly not "ridiculously" low. It's a relatively well known idea that the Quan has a MUCH stronger reliability and validity than the Verbal. There are a great many people who get into the truly elite PhD programs in English/Lit (Iowa and UVA MFA for instance) that have scores quite average GRE numbers. The simple fact of the matter is that GRE score has NOTHING to do with writing ability - and it's far easier to find high GRE scores than truly innovative and talented writers. The bottom line is that if you are weak in one area, you need to be superlative in another to make it up.

I'm also seriously considering ASU. The area sounds fantastic, warm, urban, NFL, NHL, MLB, Bowl Games, etc so I'm stoked about that. Unfortunately, I won't be able to visit before I make my decision. Does anyone know anyone who has lived in the grad/family housing at the Poly campus or if anyone knows anyone in the Master of Counseling program? To the last person to respond before me: I'm told it's a generally idea to live right around campus, that most of the the housing around there is very undergrad and very "you'll get an STD from the swimming pool," not to mention a decent amount of crime and noise around the Mill Ave. area. I've been told from numerous sources to shoot for 1-3 miles away, possibly to the south if you want a more young professional/grad student feel and milieu. What program are you in?

Lara - What program at ASU are you considering? Have you been to campus yet?

Haha - great thread, I'm right there with you guys. I've been accepted into one program that I'd be thrilled to attend, but have not heard from the other five yet. So, I check the email constantly hoping against hope to find that notification. A few days ago my current schools webmail wasn't working so I decided to import it through my gmail account. When I did this, it stole all the mail from my webmail account. This made me panic to see that inbox empty, would I somehow miss a notification b/c gmail was stealing some of my new mail. I momentarily regretted that decision. It's total mania really. As I say, I'd be thrilled to attend the school that has accepted me, but it's still maddening to wait on the rest of them. I cannot wait for the day when the decision is made and I mail/fax off that acceptance and class deposit - I just want it done and to start looking for housing options. On that day, I'm gonna celebrate by buying a baseball cap and T-shirt of the new school and popping some champagne! Can't wait.

I don't look that great on paper compared to their metrics. 3.5 GPA, ~1200 GRE. My strength is that I am a fantastic match with one of the faculty members, have what I consider to be an ELITE personal statement, and glowing LORs. My feeling is that if they are the type of school that passes on people who are a good fit and excellent writers with interesting backgrounds in favor of metrics people then it's not the place for me anyway. Luckily, I'm already into one program that I'd be thrilled to attend. The negative is that of the six I applied to that's the only one I've heard from. I had an interview at one of them in Feb, but have not heard from them either. It seems REAL late to still be waiting on five - but being in one already I'm considerably unstressed - especially compared to where I'd be if I were not in. At any rate, the WAITING IS KILLING ME! lol

My personal advice would be William and Mary over Purdue. West Lafayette is not the most exciting place in the world. I've not lived there, but have spent a decent amount of time in various parts of IN and can tell you that it's pretty stereotypical of the midwest. On the other hand, Williamsburg is a cool little hamlet and it's a great location close to Newport News, Hampton, Va Beach, etc. If you're a history buff and like an old European feel you're in like Flynn. If you like beaches, estuaries, marshes, and things like that you're in paradise. West Lafayette is going to be significantly colder and snowier than Williamsburg, though Williamsburg will get quite cold at times. The winter will be rough in both places, but Williamsburg is at least 1) on the water so somewhat more moderate, and 2) not in the snowbelt. Plus, while both schools are reputed William and Mary's far exceeds that of Purdue, IMO. Of course, I also always tell ppl not to choose based on school rep, but rather how well the program fits you. Both good schools, both beautiful campus. Not a bad decision to be had I think? Good luck!

I have an aunt who is a research scientist (Developmental Psych) who works for Teachers College and I can tell you that in her opinion people should avoid unfunded education at that school unless you are rich and can pay the tuition outright and without thinking it is expensive. The general reality that everyone is starting to understand is that the Ivy reputation is tarnished compared to where it once was. This is not to speak badly of those institutions, but rather to say simply that their rep does not shine as bright as it once did. Yes, those outside of academia and with little connection to academics will still be a bit starry-eyed when hearing of an Ivy education. However, how likely is it that a person with an advanced degree would be interviewing with someone without a similar educational experience? In other words, it's not very likely that the person you're eventually interviewing with would be ignorant to this new reality. For me personally, I'm doing a MA first because I choose to. I'm not in a hurry to get through school, and will find a way to be funded my 2nd MA year regardless and in my field there's a good chance I can do my PhD in a years less time if I start with a MA, so I'm only adding one year in the aggregate. All the advice I have received has been to take the program that fits YOU rather than the one with this or that reputation. Good luck!

I have to disagree with the previous two posters somewhat. Most schools have a "special circumstances" form which you can fill out as an addendum to your FAFSA and any other school internal FA application. One of the primary reasons why such an addendum can positively impact your financial aid application is by having had income that is no longer forthcoming. Generally, you'll need to back this up with proof that you are no longer receiving the income the resulted in the elevated EFC. While this will reduce your EFC in many instances, it will not reduce it to where it would have been had you not ever had that income. This situation is not at all that uncommon. I suggest speaking with a FA rep at the school in question, and then taking it from there. Good luck!

I applied to this program as well - and have not heard anything as yet either. Please let me know when you do. I'd LOVE to hear from them this week - but, I guess it's understandable since their app deadline was so late. It was my latest deadline by quite a bit.