resDQ

Not yet, but I will!  

Last cycle I didn't contact anyone and wasn't very successful. This cycle I changed almost everything (except GRE and TOEFLS), and so far have been accepted in a top 20 and have been waitlisted in a top 40. I did contact 2 people beforehand at the program I was accepted, but one of them told me he liked my research but he was retiring soon, and the other one I think I might have offended (I told him I watched a few youtube videos of a book tour he was doing, and he told me I should maybe buy the book lol).
My take is that if you have something relevant to say, and would contact the person regarding research interests even if you weren't applying to their department (if you were writing a paper and maybe wanted the professor to take a look on the abstract, for example), I would contact them. If not, I'd do what others said (and did myself) and look faculty up on the department website, and mention them in the SoP if you're interested in working with them. Good luck!

For emails from professors,  I generally say something like:
Dear Professor X,
Thank you for your email. I was delighted to hear of my acceptance to your program and am looking forward to attending visiting days in March. I hope to speak with you then.
Then, if I have questions about the program, I will ask them. Otherwise, something along the lines of "I will be sure to come to you with any questions I have in the following weeks."
Best Wishes,

Having an acceptance lessens the blows of rejections. Doesn't mean you stop caring. 

Did you guys get a notification through the OneLink thing? Or was it through the original application portal? I never got an email from Duke regarding OneLink and I'm wondering if that would prevent me from getting a notification.

Having an acceptance lessens the blows of rejections. Doesn't mean you stop caring. 

Maybe its the only school they can spell?  My favorite was that sb posted yesterday that they got called by MIT. *facepalm*

The whole matter of rejecting offers is making me kind of sad. When I began this process I was expecting to get between 1 to 3 acceptances. And I only applied to programs I absolutely would attend regardless of financial issues, unless of course I felt their funding offers were utterly prohibitive. Now I'm about to have a hard time deciding and an even harder time rejecting schools that I was eager to attend. Of course it's a minor problem compared to get no acceptances (i.e. last cycle), but it's still sad.
That said, programs know the drill. And they at least roughly know how much other schools are offering and how they compare to that. They were all prospective students like us and had to decide as well, taking money as a variable as well.

@resDQ on further reflection, I am inclined to agree with you. Finally have a draft I'm happy with, so I should be sending that out to one or two schools next week. I know it will be a relief after, but the thought of turning down programs so early in the cycle just feels wrong. But I know they're out of the running for me and it is only fair. Hopefully it frees up some space for others, though.
@concrema of course! I'm very lucky to know some people in admin + older grad students who have drilled into me the importance of negotiation. Apparently men do it a lot more than women, which is a shame.

If it is a school that you're excited about attending, it is absolutely okay to haggle for more funding. Especially if you have an offer at another university that gives you more funding. I spoke to someone in my university who handles this sort of stuff and she said that they'll almost always give an extra $1000-3000 to someone who says that funding is preventing them from accepting.
Keep in mind that before they accepted you, you were trying to convince them. Now THEY'RE trying to recruit YOU. They've already decided that they want you, and that gives you some bargaining power. That being said, it is important to be polite about it, and it would definitely help if you visit first.

I've been signing all my emails off with 'regards'.... I did not know it has passive aggressive connotations... Though I would say 'kindest regards' so perhaps that helps. 
But while I am here: Don't fret. Reference letters always seem to have a later deadline than the actual application for most programs; however, I have seen one program who required the reference letters by the application deadlines. I think you should be fine, and your program should allow you submit the reference letter at this point in time. 

There's no way to know if it will be read. Nonetheless you should be sure to also send a reminder through the portal so the web link to submit is at the top of her inbox and she doesn't have to go searching for it. It's okay, these things happen and it's best to remain calm and do what you can to control it while not fixating on what you can't.

Just got accepted into Texas A&M. Email by the DGS including official letter and funding package.

@sociology27 and @AnUglyBoringNerd I'm still optimistic! I feel like next week will be a good week for many of us on here. All it takes is one school crazy enough to say yes, and we're golden.
 
On another note, I'm thinking mid next week for Columbia. Anyone have any inside knowledge for there? Also, did anyone else apply to Berkeley's JSP PhD program? I know this program is more interdisciplinary, but I couldn't find a current forum talking about this program.

I doubt it @polisci13542, but then I've been wrong about these things this whole cycle and will believe just about anything at this point. I'm trying to treat the weekend like the weekend: pizza and wine, and not checking my email all the damn time.

There seems to be a website that shows similar information (perhaps with poorer success): http://www.phdstipends.com/results
Northwestern is paying $31K--from what I understand this is equal among all of their incoming students.

I don't think there is one better option. It is going to depend on your own learning preferences, lifestyle, and overall research interests and goals. I'm more worried about cohort effects than size of a program. And I don't know how to discern what my cohort will be like during visitation. 

I'm oddly glad to receive the rejection email from Princeton - it's better than the radio silence from other schools! 

I also didn't apply. But when I saw it I refreshed my email as well.
There was an email from Yale.
I jumped. During a fraction of a second I could not believe. But It was from Yale Coursera.

weekends are time to relax and forget that grad admissions exist. 

you might want to remove your name. And that is a generic email. Every school does something similar. 

To echo what other have said:
You got in, congrats! Edit the original post to remove your name! 

you might want to remove your name. And that is a generic email. Every school does something similar. 

Just had a very productive conversation with a faculty member from UC Irvine. It was mostly on my interests, and potential faculty members to work with. They stated that they are very favorable with my admission, and the final decisions will be made in 2 or 3 weeks. Campus visit on March 3. 

the trolls this year are bad. Remember UT Austin (real results came out a week later)? Very elaborate.