za232

Yeah, I got my rejection in the (snail) mail yesterday. It does look like they tried to send an email too though because my letter said that I would also be receiving this letter a few days later via the postal service.

Wait. You're saying that all the 'yes' notifications were sent by email on Friday and the rest of us haven't heard yet? What a bummer.

Yup, the new law won't apply to you (as far as I understand). However, the old law (also Obama) is not that bad... the numbers are 15% of your income that is above the poverty line, 25 years of total payments or 10 if you are in public service. If you search for "Income based repayment" you can find a nifty calculator that will tell you how big your payments will be.

I really let myself believe it was going to be this week. Suck.

It's nice to hear that some of you are as neurotic and impatient as I am. I noticed that everywhere it says "notified by mail." (CSGF) Do you think we are really waiting for snail mail or are they going to email us? Not that it matters, I check both every 5 minutes anyways... just some conversation to kill time By the way, I realized when I was going through the grad admissions process that emailing was a bad idea (for me). If I want information, I need to call and NEVER leave a message. As soon as the ball is in their court my neurosis takes over and I start imagining all sorts of crazy reasons...

I looked into this some too. They are correct that Perkins does not qualify for IBR. However, if you consolidate all of your loans (including Perkins) with a federal direct consolidation loan, then your consolidation loan DOES qualify... (I think) http://www.finaid.org/loans/ibr.phtml

Agreed. Especially since SCGF makes no sense...

Nope. That's the new DOE fellowship, I'm talking about the old one. http://www2.krellinst.org/csgf/index.shtml

Anyone else going for this one? Heard anything?

I definitely did not mean that anyone besides santana was missing the point... CU was the only school that I definitely received funding at out of 6. It goes to show how unpredictable this process is. Congrats and good luck!

I really think there is a point that is being missed here. I can only speak for myself, but I suspect that I am not alone when I say that I am not working on a PhD for the money. There are plenty of careers that take less of a time investment (I am not necessarily saying easier) that make a lot more money. I am working on a PhD in math because I am absolutely, passionately in love with the subject. Of course, I would like to go to the best school possible for me because if I can get paid well to do what I love that is an obvious bonus, but the bottom line is that I am in this for intellectual curiosity. In a world where many people have to spend the bulk of their lives working jobs that they absolutely hate for 40+ hours a week just to get by, I think it would be a dream come true to do something I love and get paid $40K to do it... Just my opinion.

Yeah, I definitely want to see what they offer before making my final decision. Thanks all

Once I found out I was on the waitlist at one school I told my potential advisor that they were "unquestionably my first choice" and that I would be waiting patiently. This was true at the time, but after a couple of weeks I have decided that I may not accept the offer if I get it. In fact, it is likely that I won't. Should I feel obligated to tell this school that they may not be my first choice? If they do make an offer and I decline, it looks like I just told everybody they were my first choice which I think is unethical. Any opinions?

It seems that according to Maclean's Canadian University rankings, Ryerson is #11 among primarily undergraduate schools. I don't know much about these rankings, but this would seem to indicate more of a liberal arts college than a community college. This is similar to the status held by Harvey Mudd, Swarthmore, etc... Anyways, I am certainly not the expert in this situation and you probably know more than me about the school seeing as you are from Toronto. The point though is that your comment was insulting, whether it was meant to be or not, and really did not add anything to the discussion.

I had not heard of Ryerson, probably because of the chronic ethnocentrism that comes with being an American. After some research it seems to be a well regarded Canadian institution... Furthermore, there is quite a bit more to choosing a university other than purely rankings. Location, faculty interests, size, etc. should all play a significant role. In fact, most of us who are working on a PhD are doing so because of the intellectual stimulation and not simply as a career move. Otherwise we would just get MBA's which would be way easier and result in more money. What's with the put downs?

I have another similar question. Everybody seems to talk about rankings a lot. Even my current professors tell me that I will never get tenure at an institution "higher" than where I went to grad school. What about when the ranking of the program is way higher than the ranking of the school? Example: CU-Boulder is ranked 22nd in Applied Math and Harvard is ranked 21. Does this mean that a graduate from CU has the exact same job opportunities as a Harvard graduate? This doesn't really effect anything for me, I am just curious. (As a future CU alumni) By the way, I don't know what "rankings" everyone is talking about, but US News seems to be the most exhaustive.

It probably wouldn't hurt to contact them. The graduate coordinator is a temp right now and she was VERY helpful. Also, the professor I talked to was very apologetic that I had not heard anything yet.

Yeah, I'm the one who called. Apparently the list is separated by potential advisor so I contacted mine and found out that he has made two RAship offers and neither has been accepted or declined, but I am next on the list. So anybody who is not going to Texas please tell them now!!!!!!!!

What if nothing is missing?

I received an offer from Boulder and I would really like to reply and thank the committee, especially because I have already met the department chair and we have exchanged a number of e-mails. However, I still have not heard from my first choice and I don't know how to politely say that I am still holding out in case something better comes along. Anybody have any ideas?

Yeah, I really liked Boulder as well. I went during winter break so nobody was really around, but Dr. Curry came in to meet with me and he was really easy to talk with. He even gave me his copy of the Applied Analysis textbook because he thought I should read it. It defenitely seems like a good atmosphere for grad school. I think I will go to Texas if offered because I know the funding will be better and I already have a good shot at a research assistantship, but of course I will have to hear back first... I e-mailed the grad chair yesterday and he hasn't responded. I don't really think that is a good sign.

I got the e-mail from the department secretary late last night. Actually it is timestamped for 11pm Boulder time, I don't know if this means it is automated or they were just working late. It is for $14,466 over 9 months. This seems kind of low since I have a masters already, but I'm not complaining... Where did you get in? where are you planning on going?

Well, I received an offer letter for a TAship in legalise from UC-Boulder. No mention of whether or not I was actually accepted to the program, but I assume this is implied. Thank god... I had just started my second round of emergency last minute applications to tier-17 schools.

Has anybody heard anything from these guys? I spoke to a professor Feb 15th who said decisions would be made "shortly" I have also already spoken to the graduate secretary a couple of times and she assures me that I will be notified immediately, but it seems like things are dragging way too long! I can't help, but think offers must have been made already and I am on the waiting list. Does anybody else have any info? Thanks all