bvang

same boat as well. rejected from 3 (1 after an interview - even worse!) out of 4 schools... waiting to hear back from the last one (already interviewed). I just don't understand these processes and apparently my intuition is completely screwed up because I actually thought my interviews went really well. I applied to top tiered schools only and probably shouldn't have been so confident. Now I'm kicking myself for it and trying to figure out what to do. Doesn't help that I'm older than most of the candidates out there either =\ (I'm 30). I'd hate to wait another year... best of luck to all of you in the same boat. Let's cross our fingers for the last few schools...

I thought about doing the same thing -- either a POD or renting a truck. But then I realized, wouldn't it be cheaper to just sell everything and rebuy once you get there? The thing is, my furniture is decent (imo) but the total value is probably not more than $2000. I guess it just didn't make sense for me to pay that much to move it there. Maybe my logic is off here? My plan is to sell everything here, and rebuy everything (used) when I get to NY. I plan on driving my car out there, so that will be filled up with things I can't sell. Everything else will be shipped Fedex (their ground rates are quite good) or USPS Media mail.

Hmm...odd question but... I signed a lease on a place that I absolutely love but it doesn't have laundry facilities. There's no turning back now, so I'm trying to figure out... where are the main laundromats? I can't find anything online that's anywhere near me. (I'll be in Belle Sherman area). My landlord mentioned there is a place in collegetown... which isn't TOO far but 1) it's too far to walk with loads of laundry and 2) parking will probably be horrible if I drive. If people are familiar with this area and have suggestions, that'd be great! Otherwise... I guess I'll just drive around when I get there Thanks!

red_crayons: wow thanks!! your posts are SO HELPFUL!! choijae: i got mine the week after I accepted

I realize that most grad students live near the Commons... and that area does sound pretty cool. But I'm curious, is it really realistic to take the bus every day? I heard from some current students in my program that the bus is really unreliable. But it sounds like it comes every 10-15 mins... which is quite often in my opinion. But from checking out the TCAT website it might take me 30-40 mins to get from the Commons to the Ag quad. I guess I'm curious, how many grad students actually do this commute (or plan to)? I think I've convinced myself that having a car in Ithaca will be a GOOD thing... but I just don't know how realistic it is to be driving to campus every single day. I would of course prefer taking the bus, walking, or biking but the latter two seem formidable with that giant hill everyone keeps warning me about (on stewart?).

Congrats that you got waitlisted! Hey, that's much better than getting rejected right? I just wanted to add... I know you're international... but if there's ANY way you can visit the campus and meet with the professors... I feel like you should really consider it. I know it's late in the game, but a lot of them are still getting funding throughout the year... and granted Davis doesn't force you to obtain funding prior to joining... if you can have someone vouch for you, that will do wonders. Have you heard back from any of the others? Good Luck!

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts. These are actually pretty convincing reasons. I'm curious though, with the snow there... I'd guess it'd be pointless to have anything that isn't a 4-wheel drive?

I've scoured this forum for answers to this and found a few, but I wanted to ask again and get some fresh opinions. If I plan on living in the Fall Creek area... (close enough to the main bus stops), do you think it's necessary to have a car? I can't imagine why I would need one with the bus system there. But I have a friend who attended Cornell as an undergrad and said it's definitely a very good nice-to-have. I just don't want to deal with the hassle of bringing my car if it's just going to sit there most of the time. If the bus can get me to Wegman's, campus, and the farmer's market... honestly what else do I need? Also if I ever need to go to NYC, I'd rather take the bus instead of drive anyway. If any of you can think of compelling reasons why I'd need a car... please do share. Much appreciated.

Hi Kobie, I've heard from everyone already. I think the last one I heard from was Rutgers... and that was the last week of March. Have you tried calling them and asking specifically? Maybe you'll be able to get some answers. (i.e. I had to call Rutgers myself) good luck - sorry you're kept waiting so long. I would've pulled my hair out by this time.

Thanks for the link! That site had a wealth of information. Update: So I actually ended up visiting my 2nd choice school between now and my last post. I thought I had my heart set on going to school #1 (even with the intimidating advisor) but I was pretty wrong. Turns out that I had an amazing connection with the professors at school #2 ... and I just felt so "at home" there. I blame it on a east vs. west coast culture difference. So for the past few days I've been stressing myself out trying to decide whether I should give school #2 a real chance since i clicked so well with the professors there. Ultimately, the only thing that has continued to bug me about school #1 was this advisor. SO... I ended up calling him up this weekend and having a long chat with him about my concerns. We were both very blunt about our expectations of each other, and he went through a list of "common complaints" students have of his lab... as well as things that ticked him off. All good things for me to know... and none of them actually really deterred me from joining his lab. At the end of the day, I think he just wants to challenge his students--in ways which some students might not be ready for. So in conclusion, I think I've decided to stick with school #1. The phone convo really sealed the deal, and I've realized that I will learn and grow a lot more at this institution than at my #2 choice. Despite his Type A exterior, I think this advisor will push me the most... and if I stay open-minded enough, may allow me to even learn/adapt to his personality. Thanks again everyone!

Wow thanks everyone for all your insights! StrangeLight - Your Advisor Z example pretty much nailed it on the head. I definitely think he falls into this category... yet probably not as extreme. Meaning, I don't think he would not help me if I'm drowning--that said, I dont think he would be very happy about having to help me. Since I was offered acceptance, he's definitely reached out to me a few times and have made himself available - so I feel comfy about bugging him with questions. I guess this is one good sign? Regarding why I'm really intimidated: I think it's more his personality than anything. For instance, he's definitely made it clear that my happiness is his priority (he's the head of grad studies so I think every student's happiness is top of mind), and he's definitely been really open to questions/concerns, but I feel like the way he comes off kinda negates what he's trying to say (i.e. he'll sound really impatient). Does that make any sense? Oddly enough, I find that communication via email with him goes much more smoothly (and makes me much more comfy). So maybe I really just have to get used to him and his style. I'm planning on talking with the rest of his students this weekend. I was a bit afraid they wouldnt be too honest with me - but I'll try to make it clear that none of this will go back to him. It's difficult to get a hold of past students because that information isn't really available. Thanks again everyone for all the suggestions. It's really helped me iron out what really bugs me about him - and maybe it's just his style that I'm not 100% used to yet. I'll make a final decision after talking to the rest of the students. I've just heard way too many horror stories about bad advisors and didn't wanna fall into that. Thanks again for all your advice!!

Wow I totally hear you on the anticlimactic part. I felt like i was being pulled 10 different ways up until this point... trying to imagine where i'd be based on the emails that started to roll in. I was SO stressed out during the entire month of March... and emotionally drained. And now that things have finally settled and my #1 choice has actually offered me a great package... I find myself not as excited as I thought I'd be. It's as if I have no emotion left... crazy. Anyway I think the next step is to start mulling over housing options... and hey, if you have time, travel before school starts! Always fun to plan trips

Oh and i forgot to mention I havent officially accepted the offer yet -- so technically I have my 2nd choice school to fall back on too....

So... I somehow managed to get into my #1 choice with a very generous funding package. It was sort of out of pure luck that this professor decided to fund me... and I'm totally grateful for it. But the problem is... He's really intense and intimidating. Even just spending an hour with him, I felt like he was totally grilling me and putting me on the spot already. Maybe this is normal for all advisors to do this?? I can tell that he's going to milk me for everything he can get out of me (other students of his have agreed that he definitely works a lot so he expects the same from his students - but at the same time they didnt have anything negative to say about him per se). I'm pretty timid... so I'm sort of afraid that I'm signing up for something I won't be able to handle. My gut is really nervous about going there because I'll be totally overworked -- and it seems there are exceedingly high expectations of me that I'm afraid I won't meet -- but are all these feelings normal??? Sigh. Just confused that I'm not more excited when this was my #1 choice all along. Does everyone feel this nervous about their advisors?? =\

Hey Kobie, Thanks for giving me your honest opinion - and for being really thorough - that means a lot. You're both right about the fact that 2 yrs isn't really that long... so maybe location isn't that big of a deal. I think at this point, I'm going to stop stressing about picking a school until after I've visited both schools. I think visits make a very big difference on decision making... and with two top choices, I probably won't be THAT unhappy regardless of which one I pick right? Thanks again for the advice/support. Good luck to both of you! pjv

Thanks La Voz. I guess I just wasn't sure if funding for grad study was generally based on EFCs... but I suppose that would make sense if it was. The unfortunate thing is that some schools' "special circumstance" forms state that quitting a job isn't considered a special circumstance (unless I got laid off). Oh well -- thanks again...

Hey racapieri, I posted this a while back .... but I actually did my undergrad in a completely unrelated field (computer science) - and on top of that I also have an MS in computer science as well. So, a big change of careers. I went to a small engineering college in CO so i bet the name is probably irrelevant Actually I have a funny story to tell: I contacted professors way back in September when I was looking around. I looked into their research and emailed the ones who sounded interesting - simply just a few sentences about their research along with my resume. I didn't hear from any of them. It wasnt until Jan '10 that I realized that I had put this stupid filter on my inbox that automatically deleted all emails from *.edu addresses (dont even ask my why, long story). Yea talk about feeling stupid! Anyway, i resent ALL my emails to all those profs... and got some responses. But you can imagine not many professors responding in January. I guess I'll never know if they responded in Sept! So yea this has definitely been a learning experience - lots of stupid mistakes ... but making some progress finally Btw, thanks for your 2 cents about Davis. I need to take a drive up there and just pay it a visit. Good luck!! pjv

Hello all, I plan on quitting my current job in order to start grad school in the Fall. I've gotten a bunch of acceptance emails but unfortunately a lot of them don't offer funding. So I have two questions: 1) Do schools look at your FAFSA info before offering you funding? If they see that my last year's salary was pretty decent, I wonder if they'll weigh this into whether or not they give me funding. 2) When should I talk to the financial aid offices regarding the fact that I'm planning on quitting? I've already received my FAFSA results with my EFC (much higher than I will be able to afford, especially after quitting). I've read elsewhere that people who expect to have drastically different incomes in 2010 should work directly with the schools' finaid offices... but it just didnt make sense to contact them BEFORE i even got accepted. I guess I should talk to them about it after?? (But then this falls into the category of asking for support when they never offered it in the first place) I'm confused and unsure of what to do. Any help would be appreciated!!!

Thanks guys I could really use your help in deciding what to do now though... Cornell Pros: NY area (change of scenery, close to bf), prestigious school with great FS program, the only FS program with my desired "International Food Sci" specialty Cons: No funding AND expensive, no research with an MPS ("professional MS") Davis Pros: Funded and affordable (in-state), great FS program (I was most impressed by their research when compared to other schools), easy move for me (in bay area now) Cons: i really dislike the central valley (although I hear Davis itself is nice...), will be far from the bf, less prestigious school I guess ultimately, I wonder ... how important is it in the world of Food Science to go to a "prestigious" school? I assumed it wouldnt matter that much because every program specializes in different things with different strengths. The admissions lady at Cornell told me there's potential I can switch to a funded MS my 2nd year (or find an outside fellowship)... but I dont know if this is even likely. I'm still waiting for Rutgers to respond, so there might be one more option to consider too. although I'm not very optimistic because I was never able to get a hold of any professors from there (highly doubt they'll offer me funding). I'd love to hear your thoughts. (Sorry, I should probably post this in the "Decisions, Decisions" forum... but i'd rather get other FS perspectives )

i just got a notification email from Davis today!! As Chair of the UC Davis Food Science Graduate Group Admissions Committee, I am pleased to notify you of your acceptance into our MS program beginning in Fall 2010. You will soon receive official notification of your admittance along with more information about our program and a support offer. In the meantime, if you have any questions about the program, please don't hesitate to contact me. I'm guessing this means I'm getting some kind of support package... wow I am really just blown away right now. I hope you guys have good news to report too

so exciting that we have other food science applicants on the thread now Racapieri: Wow I didn't know SJSU had a FoodScience Program! I'm also in the bay area ... I might consider taking summer classes there in preparation. Are you doing an MS there? [i'm surprised because I didn't see them listed on IFT's website when I did my initial search...] kobie: sorry about cornell I just got my Cornell email today too - theyre admitting me to their MPS (unfunded) program instead of their MS (funded). I'm not sure if it's a great idea to go unfunded ... but it's not terminal so I could possibly convert later. I'm waiting to hear back from Davis as well -- but like all of you have said, the UCs are pretty questionable at this point. good luck everyone. glad to have this small group here as support

Hi Kobie! Actually I applied to a bunch of Food Science MS programs And yes I agree with you, it's such a specialized major that it's difficult to find other applicants. Btw, i have a really non-traditional background. I have my BS and MS in Computer Science, and after having worked for 5+ years in industry... I've decided to switch careers! Crazy I know. I don't have the background for Food Science... and I would love to specialize in food chemistry, but with my background i have applied for areas of specialization in Food Engineering instead. Here are my school stats so far: Univ Illinois: Partially in (I got the OK from the admissions committee but now just waiting to see if any faculty will fund me. Not looking too good...) Purdue: Same as above Still waiting to hear from: UC Davis, Cornell, Rutgers I really hate that most FS programs require faculty to fund you - even for MS degrees. Basically if none of the faculty chooses me ... it's equivalent to be rejected Where have you applied and what's your background like?