sesostris

Hello, I am starting a PhD at MIT this fall, I'm international and the process to rent an apartment is very confusing. They ask for huge upfront payments and they say that they would return it after an "application" process. They are also concerned with the fact that I am international, they ask for co signers, proofs of income, I-20s and so on. The thing is that apartments are quickly renting (at least they say so but from what I have seen online that is in fact the case) this time of the year in Boston and of course I don't have my I-20 yet as the university just opened the applications for them and I just completed it. Has anyone gone through this or knows how this works? It would help a lot. Thanks!

For comparative, which one would you choose from the following? And why? I am having a real hard time deciding. UCSD, MIT or Vanderbilt (and UCLA, perhaps excluding this one due to poor funding). Of course the request for advice goes to current grad students or people in the job market, not prospectives as myself! I appreciate any good advice!

I am wondering: how should I reply to admissions offer? What should I say? I mean, I can't believe the admissions that I got, but I don't know what to say! I want to wait until I have replies from other programs, but of course I do not want to be rude and say something like that I have to decide later and the like. Should I reply? Is it ok to just thank them and acknowledge receipt of the admission without mentioning at all the fact that I am going to wait until I can decide? What do you think??

Ok, trying to take it with more calm. If the site would let me scrap the data I'd be asking for the descriptive statistics for each university but that wouldn't help either I believe. If you feel like it you can share how do you cope with the anxiety. In my case, I planned a long trip for February. Thank you and good luck to all of you!

Hi, I am starting to freak out seriously, I guess everyone else is, right? I applied to all top 15 programs, I'm from South America, I have good letters (two moderately known professors, both with various publications in the top journals and books in CUP, and one from the Director of my Department), I have research experience, I worked a lot on my SoP and had access to various succesful SOPs to inspire mine, I have teaching experience, my BA, and my MA almost completed, and writing sample is my revised BA thesis which all my professors have praised. But... my GRE is 166 for verbal (which I consider good been non native) and 161 for quant. That 161 is killing me... what do you think?

Editing this: I spoke with Michigan and they will accept scanned copies. If anyone is in the same situation I think you should write them but I think that's a requirement that applies to US applicants maybe.

I just got through December 1st and was moving on to the next deadlines (some universities have deadlines 6th, 8th and 9ht, they want to stand out I think!). My disgraceful story: Stanford's application system does not have a CV/Resumé field, so in my hurry (no one was chasing me but I don't know, sometimes I start an application and I can't stop until I deliver it or my mind will not rest) I sent the application. Then I went back to their FAQ and realized that the CV should be uploaded to the Additional Documents field, something I hadn't seen before. I wrote to the email of the person in the Department that according to the website is responsible for admissions attaching my CV. Do you think that they will accept my CV and attach it to my application even though I didn't upload it to the online application? In any case: if you are applying to Stanford beware, they do want a CV. It's not the only case that requires the CV in the "Additional - never specified - documents" but its the critical one for which I fell. I felt that I was a good match for Stanford given my research agenda, now I want to kill myself, why wouldn't I submit a CV (it's not an amazing CV but it's a very good one, lots of work as research assistant and jobs outside academia but in important positions in government and think tanks), they will think that I have some really dark past maybe!

I have seen a lot of threads about Interfolio, but it is still confusing. I have already sent my letters to many universities with no problem, but I am having doubts regarding universities that expressly state that they do not accept letters through Interfolio. My confusion arises from the fact that Interfolio can deliver the letters in two different ways: directly to the university or through the online application. Of course that I am sending my letters through the online application. For example, Michigan's Political Science Department says the following: " The letters of recommendation should be submitted through the online application system. Instructions for submission can be found HERE. At this time we are not able to accept letters from letter services such as Interfolio." If Interfolio is able to upload the letter to the online application system (as they manage to do with most portals), would they accept my letter? I mean, perhaps the warning from UMich is referring to the fact that they do not accept letters directly from Interfolio but they are not considering the possibility of Interfolio uploading it directly to the online application. Anyone knows? Thanks!

Thank you all for the advice! I have started to send the applications and figure that out, each one has its system, but in any case I managed to get an official statement from my university attached to the transcript with the course statistics explaining precisely what my grade meant. I wanted to hug the woman from the registrar's. Good point the one you mention AP about the Argentinean system, 4+ years of study, +job, 2 years MA... I will include it!

Hi again, I have a doubt regarding the TOEFL requirements. Most grad schools just put a global requirement and they do not mention any specifics. Most ask for a score of at least. I have 111 points (over 120), and I have 30 30 29 in the reading, listening and writing sections. My weak spot is the speaking: 22 points. In Chicago they ask for at least 26 in each section. Do you think that this requirement really holds if I have a good aggregated result? Would that 22 hurt me in other universities even if I have a 111? By the way, my verbal score from the GRE is a 166. Would that help into them ignoring the weak parts of the TOEFL? Thank you!

Hi, I´m applying this year for a doctoral program on Political Science. I have a question regarding GPA. In my country the scale is 1-10, I graduated top of my class but with 8.7, if I just convert it by cross-multiplication the grade is not that good. Should I convert the GPA or ask my university to convert the grades to a 4 point scale in order to complete my applications? Or should I just put the original grade and the admissions comittee will know how to interpret grades from my country? I really appreciate any help! Thanks!