jlt646

I'm in your age range, and I just found a place. I used Craigslist, and responded to everything that seemed relevant to my situation (not married, but two cats!). Individual management websites were fine, but tedious after a while. Highly recommend the craigslist route, even though it's a lot to keep track of. The roommates/shares section is updated constantly.

Thanks! I found a duplex on Atherton that isn't part of a complex- the person I'm looking into moving in with has been in SC for five years, and seems awesome. The house is cute and big and the price is right. My big sacrifice is that it's not a gas stove, but I can deal with it for a little while. There's sunlight! And a yard! I hope you hear soon, @sjoh197- the waiting was the worst part, for sure. /: Keep us posted!

I just signed my GA contract and filled out a rental application so... it's happening! Oof. Overwhelmed.

Before I went back to school, I was a baker! For money! (and, for @hippyscientist, most of my baking career was gluten-free!) Now I have this problem where I try recipes all the time and don't love eating baked things as much, so the people around me get to benefit from my kitchen boredom. I'm psyched to be at PSU with folks who like to eat. (:

Hi everyone! @hippyscientist, thanks for starting this thread. Psyched to see you at PSU in the fall! I've officially committed to Penn State- I knew it was the right place as soon as I met the faculty, and I can't wait to get there and actually start. That said, my good mood has been slightly hampered by a horrible experience with another school- they accepted me erroneously and probably wouldn't have noticed, but I emailed them to ask a question and they took it back. I was able to register for the housing waitlist and view the admitted students info and everything. It was a massive bummer, even though I knew I was in love with Penn State. They handled themselves really poorly (passing me around, not responding, spelling my name incorrectly in forwarded correspondence that I probably wasn't supposed to see), and barely apologized. I know that I should be over it, because of the dream PSU admit, but it was just so frustrating to actually be treated like a number, ya know? Ack, sorry for the sidetrack. Anyway. Huzzah, Penn State, and time to celebrate for real! I keep checking my e-mail waiting for notices about how to register, and then catching myself because it is way to early for that.

I have officially committed! Whoohoo! Looking for apartments has proven to be even more frustrating than I thought it would be, because I have pets and a desire for more sunlight than a basement would provide. I thought I wanted to live alone, but maybe a roommate would be okay? If anyone is into making a home with some cuddly cats and a homebody who puts together a mean cheese plate (me!), reach out! Psyched to get to PSU and meet everyone. (: @herstory

Unless you are set on teaching in elite private schools, the ranking doesn't matter very much for secondary ed, especially for the schools you've chosen. They are all well-respected with recognizable names. Go to the school with the best fit/funding.

Since your application season was 2014, I'm inclined to think you're asking because you're doing research on the topic. If that's true, perhaps you should say so up front? The way you're framing the question seems disingenuous at best.

@COGSCI & @juilletmercredi Thank you both for your advice! Situation has changed a bit, and now I'm deciding between two PhD programs- turns out, one of the Ivies was considering me for multiple programs, and I (in my haste to read and forget the letter) didn't realize it. I was accepted to a PhD program yesterday! I'm jazzed, and now it's going to come down to location and funding. The schools are about as different as they get, and I am not sure what I'm going to be more attracted to. @juilletmercredi, can I message you about NY? I saw some of your posts in the city guide, and you have such amazing advice- I'd love to pick your brain a little, if I can.

Hi everyone! Just accepted to Columbia TC for a PhD, and (even though it's wicked early) I'm starting to look around for places to live. I'd like to stay around Inwood/Harlem/Washington Heights, for convenience, but I'm open to other neighborhoods. I'm in Philly now, and I don't have any feelings about "safety" in the city. I had dreams of living alone, but I'm slowly letting those dreams go. I do have two cats, which means that Columbia grad housing is out. /: Nice to meet you all!

Congratulations! I'm with you- I know that TC is notoriously stingy, but I'm holding out hope that it's somehow, magically enough.

So...in my haste to get to the end of what I took as a rejection letter, I didn't realize that this one was for the Education Leadership PhD, which is not the program I applied for. Turns out, I was being considered for both. Just got accepted to the PhD in Education Policy and Social Analysis! I feel completely bonkers, and I can't breathe.

A useful thing to know about Penn is that they currently have no students in the program who are concentrating in ASL linguistics, (Source: http://www.ling.upenn.edu/people/students), there are no relevant dissertations (Source: http://www.ling.upenn.edu/graduate/dissertations), and they only have one official ASL faculty member (she's awesome, but alone). The linguistics program is great, but not for your research area. They don't mention signed non-ASL languages as a research area, only ASL, and the support for that area isn't there. You absolutely have a chance of getting in, but be wary of a program says it offers signed languages but does not actually have the resources. Oh! This is not my field, but my ex is an ASL-fluent Penn Linguistics BA. They transferred from an incredible program in Maine to Penn, thinking that it would be a step up. It wasn't. Happy to answer other questions over PM.

I'm still reading, so many apologies if someone else has already addressed this. I carry a 40oz Hydro Flask- it's bigger than other water bottles I've owned, but I love it because it keeps my water cold all day. I solved the pocket problem by using a carabiner clipped to the strap, so the bottle hangs but is still mostly out of the way. Don't sacrifice a waist strap for a bottle pocket!

I applied to a number of PhD programs, all highly ranked in my field (ed. policy). One R1, three Ivy. I should have applied to more, but my options were limited by distance, as my mom is sick and I don't love the idea of going more than a few hours away. I got into the R1 PhD program, and got deferred to master's programs in the others. I'm leaning heavily toward the PhD- the fit is great, the location is what I want right now, the faculty have amazing CVs, and they publish constantly. The alum network is massive, and there is still name recognition. Is there any reason I should consider the master's programs instead?

Just got accepted to the master's in Education Policy! Applied to the Phd, so while I'm partially stoked...this is a bit of a bummer- mostly for financial reasons. Now I have three Ivy master's acceptances and one R1 PhD acceptance, and though I'm feeling a little conflicted, I feel like the PhD is the way to go. Those Ivy names really suck you in, don't they? Oof.

Nothing yet! Still have the "awaiting transcripts" notification, which is killing me. I hope it means what it has meant for you all! Eek!

@herstory I'll also be visiting next week, and looking at apartments. I'm interested in living alone, but I don't have a lot of other requirements. If you have any interest in looking together, please reach out! Apartment hunting is a weird process, and it might be nice to do it with another human. Also, totally stoked about the Wegmans.

Just checked my application status, and noticed some weird stuff happening. All of a sudden I had a second application submitted, and where the original had been complete, it is now awaiting materials. I called to check, and the person who answered said that weird changes like that mean the committee is looking at the app, and then she said, "Keep an eye on your email," as if we're all not already doing that. (: So something should happen soon! Good luck everyone!

@juilletmercredi Thank you so much for all of this info! Everything will feel a little less abstract once I visit, but for now this is helping my narrow down my research (with the aid of Google Maps, of course).

@Cat_Robutt @MarkMc Thank you so much for these responses! I'm actually far better on tiny planes than on large ones- something about the size is comforting, because the massive ones are just too big to fly. Psyched to fly in for the admitted students weekend in mid-March. Unlike @OldBat, I am restricted by bus lines and distance. I don't drive, and while I may learn this year (30th birthday goals...), I don't want to rely on a not-yet-existent car. I have a cat, so university housing is out. Now that it's March, am I totally screwed for housing? I actually don't mind the noise of undergrads, because I'm coming from a city, but I'd rather not live between frat houses. Any advice?

I hear that. Guaranteed full five year funding isn't necessarily the norm in education and related fields. After asking a current student in the program, what I'm hearing is that everyone is always encouraged to seek outside funding, and that everyone in the program gets the "we don't have a lot of funding!" emails....and then the funding always comes through eventually. It's just very stressful for the months leading up to the decisions. I was accepted to a master's instead of a PhD at one school, which would require a completely insane loan amount, and then I'm waiting on one more. I only applied to the four, which was definitely my mistake. It's my first cycle, and I found gradcafe too late in the game.

The GA is renewable contingent on performance but also on the availability of the position, so it's definitely not guaranteed. It's terrifying! I just got an email about applying for funding from outside sources because funding in the department is really limited, and I'm just getting more and more anxious.

I'm pretty sure I'll be committing to PSU! Hi everyone. Hoping to find a 1BR, but I don't have a car, so my options are limited. Hoping to find something at the visit weekend...

Thank you! It feels weird and complicated to turn down a place like Penn, but I can't wrap my head around taking on loans if I don't have to. Congrats to you, too!