nevermind

Very cool! I'm also doing history of tech, but mostly built environment (water systems in Israel / Palestine). I have a B.A. from a low-ranking liberal arts school, an M.A. in Jewish Studies (from Hebrew College), and a Master's degree in International Agriculture and Rural Development (from Cornell University). I have the requisite language prep work (years of Hebrew and 2 years of Arabic), 1 publication, 1 presentation and 1 poster presentation. I've taught as an adjunct for 5 classes (4 lower division English, 1 upper division religion), and was a TA in the Near Eastern Studies department at Cornell for 2 classes and a TA in the Biological and Environmental Engineering department for 1 class. 2 international fieldwork projects, etc. etc. etc. Hopefully, these experiences make up for my completely lackluster quant. GRE. I don't really know how it works at UCSD in terms of Science Studies admits (whether they admit people in the Science program or through the home department)...My POI there (in history, not Comm.) told me this past Saturday (2nd Skype discussion) that they haven't started the adcom discussions yet, so I think we have a little longer to wait on UCSD.

Hey @anthrostudentcyn - Don't be too hard on yourself yet! With programs that we've applied to, a lot don't do interviews. It's easy to feel pretty bummed when you see people with three or four acceptances and you're still waiting for positive news. Then, you start thinking..."I'm probably out of the running...here's A, B, C reasons why I'm not going to get in..." It's a downward spiral...but just think that we all didn't apply to the same programs (or even the same sub-fields!) and notifications are different for everyone. Hold tight...I'm sure good news is coming your way!

Congrats to the Madison (MA) and Austin (MA)! We should all be hearing news soon!

Have you looked up these programs on the results page? http://www.thegradcafe.com/survey/ That might give you a little bit more context about when you should/shouldn't freak out.

Not a ton of commuter parking, especially not a lot near the Physics building. It's MUCH easier to commute using the TCAT, which you get your first year TCAT pass free as a student (I think you have to buy it subsequent years). I didn't even have a car when I lived in Ithaca. I used the TCAT to get around campus/downtown, walked a lot (I picked up running while I was there...the plantations are great to run in!), and used the Ithaca Carshare if I needed a car for any other reason (specialist doctor's appts that couldn't be treated at Gannett on-campus...etc.), which was way easier/cheaper than having to pay for monthly car insurance.

It's not cheap, but a lot of my fellow grad student friends were able to afford a 1 bedroom apartment relatively near campus (read: NO ROOMMATES!!!). I'd advise living off campus (not collegetown....somewhere downtown if possible). I lived in Hasbrouck when I was there, thinking "grad student housing will be a place to meet fellow grad students!" but really...it was mostly families and wasn't social at all. :-/ (Though the location couldn't be beat, IMO.)

Congrats on the UPenn interview! I can't say I'm not jealous, but hopefully I stand a better shot at other programs! Do you mind sharing your interests / background?

Yayyyyyy! You'll LOVE Ithaca! PM me if you want any info about the school, Ithaca life, places to live, or anything. Wegman's FTW!!!

Unfortunately, it sounds like you weren't chosen to move forward in the process. Their first-round candidates seem like they've already been chosen and informed. It is likely they'll extend offers only from that group. There is a slight possibility that this isn't the case, but I would just count it as a rejection and being pleasantly surprised if it's not.

I think it's pretty much whenever they get around to it. We have to remember they have their own research / students / classes / (sometimes life outside academia) / etc. to attend to...which means, you could get a call/email from your POI later at night or an email early in the morning from a departmental secretary. It's going to be a surprise either way.

"looks better" is a little bit difficult to assess, as there can be superstar undergrads who are set for graduate school vs. a previously mediocre student taking time off to reassess their ambitions. What experiences like these *can* do is help illustrate your interest of the subject and perhaps give you a more nuanced way of looking at the world...providing you with extra stuff to talk about in your personal statement (and helping to differentiate yourself from the rest), and basically contribute to making a case for your "maturity" as a student and colleague.

I assumed as much. I was pretty much prepared for it (though obviously, would've loved to be pleasantly surprised)...It wasn't my strongest fit and last year, they only accepted 3 people. I'm also not counting on Yale either (not sure if HSHM does interviews), since the people I was interested in working with aren't tenured and the dept. skews more "medicine" than my interests anyway. Those were my two "reaches" in terms of fit...I have much higher hopes for everywhere else.

I'm a little confused what this is for...high school? College? Built environment generally refers to man-made structures for human activity. My research involves built environment, in the sense that it looks at water technology (irrigation, desalination, water purification/reclamation systems and so on...) and its effect on a certain geographical area. Not entirely sure if this is what's meant by "social environment" (because I feel like that term is pretty abstract and open for interpretation), but you might be interested in Yi Fu Tuan's idea of Topophilia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topophilia) and how perceptions of environment change based on social perception and cultural identity.

Right? Everyone else is getting acceptances and I'm just...

That's pretty amazing. I would laugh so hard I cried. And then cry for real. :-) Cornell is a great place to be (except when there is snow...). I miss Gimme! Coffee something fierce.

There's really no way to tell, just based on quantitative factors. It seems like you'll clear the GPA condition with ease, but I'd be a little worried about the GRE score and encourage you to try taking it again if possible. If your recommendations are strong and you have a good letter of interest, you may get in. I'm assuming that you're applying for a Master's degree, rather than a Ph.D., which Master's degrees are usually self-funded and less competitive than funded Ph.D. slots.

I applied. I haven't heard a word. It's not a great research fit for me (although someone recently graduated with research that overlaps significantly with mine, which is why I applied). I'm assuming rejection at this point, because it seems like interview notifications are sent out about a week after applications are submitted (at least in previous years).

ha! I get SPAM emails saying, "It's not too late to go to graduate school!" Me: "Duh, but it's not up to me to decide now."

Congrats @June_cosmo and @DA1797!

Me either. I've had contact with one POI (informal interview) and silly me... I thought, "This is great! I bet I'll get more interest (via my academia.edu page, emails/phone calls, smoke signals, carrier pigeons, etc.) now!!!" Nope. Nothing but crickets over here. I really wasn't expecting to know anything (good or bad) until the second week of February (rejections just in time for Valentine's Day!)...but having talked to one POI has made me even more anxious/nervous to hear from more. LET ME INTO THAT IVORY TOWER....before I completely lose it.

Fantastic news! I would be cautiously optimistic about that, but it sounds promising! Congrats!

I wore a nice blouse, blazer, and suit pants. My interviewer wore a t-shirt and shorts. Sometimes life isn't fair.

It's a good answer. There are so many variables (funding, etc.) that it's impossible to tell which program you're attending without the requisite information. You might've just reiterated interest in attending their program after discussing that, but it's really unfair of them to ask you anyway.

I wouldn't say that you got in. It might just be suggesting you apply for alternate funding sources in case you do get in.

Good luck @geographyumd and everybody else!