CoffeeFueledAnxiety

I think it is okay to ask your PI questions regarding his research and also to discuss your research proposal with him. I don't think you have to start the conversation asking his permission to ask him more questions. Just say that you have few questions that you hope he could help you with or something like that. Also, it would be better to ask him few questions first and then ask more naturally as the conversation continues. Also, you can avoid bombarding the PI with all questions by dividing them into few categories and ask some of them to some other people. The DGS might be a better person to answer those questions regarding the program's structure, policies, etc. You can also ask them to connect you with a current student so that you can ask them some of those questions that they could answer. Oh, and congratulations for the acceptance!

Accepted to University at Buffalo Biological Science. This is my first acceptance and it feels so surreal

Impromptu trip ~ doing it right now!

I think it is fair to ask about the timeline during interview. They understand that the waiting process is stressful for the applicants. I also asked in mine. Though like TakeruK said, I did not make it my only (nor my first) question to them. I asked them casually about it at the end of the interview after we had some nice discussion based on my questions regarding the program and department.

Any of your past working or research experience will (almost) surely be a topic of discussion. Another thing is that I think you should be aware that how you answers each questions would steer where your next question would go. In my last interview I tried to answer most question quite casually (but still covering the answers that they want) and the conversation ended to be very relaxed and laid back. We even had quite a bit of a laugh. I agree with charmquarkz that you need to prepare your own questions for them. Make sure that the answers to your questions are not something that could be found easily in the program's or your mentor's website so that you don't appear to be quite uninformed about them. Good luck!

I agree with TakeruK that three emails in one day is too much unless it is a continuing two-way conversation. I also did an interview through Skype two weeks ago in which my interviewers told me that they would 'probably' make the decision in 2-3 weeks since they still has to interview more students and still have to go through committee meetings, etc. I emailed each of them a personalized thank you note afterwards by email and one of them reassured me in their reply that they'll get back to me in 2-3 weeks. I only sent one of them another email a few days ago because I have an update regarding my publication status. I think I will wait at least another two weeks (a week later than they promised me) to make another contact. Hopefully they would inform me sometimes in the next week, though..

One year a long time ago, there were penguins who didn't wear hats when swimming. This made their mothers livid. "Unacceptable!" Frightened, they screamed, "Bears!" Nobody seemed convinced so instead of going swimming they tried juggling. Their mothers tried everything they thought would teach her a skill. However, she couldn't even make oatmeal without disastrous results. So, the penguins gathered money (obviously) trying to purchase a bear. Towering over them, a grizzly beast danced, devouring all bears with such ferocity that even God enjoyed it. Afterwards, God congratulated the penguins and applauded them. "You did it!" Suddenly, the grizzly beast started dancing vigorously. There was an acromantula nearby. It challenged the

One year a long time ago, there were penguins who didn't wear hats when swimming. This made their mothers livid. "Unacceptable!" Frightened, they screamed, "Bears!" Nobody seemed convinced so instead of going swimming they tried juggling. Their mothers tried everything they thought would teach her a skill. However, she couldn't even make oatmeal without disastrous results. So, the penguins gathered money (obviously) trying to purchase a bear. Towering over them, a grizzly beast danced, devouring all bears with such ferocity that even God enjoyed it. Afterwards, God congratulated the penguins and applauded them. "You did it!" Suddenly, the grizzly beast started dancing vigorously. There was an acromantula nearby. It

Waste away

Lucky number

Dreadful weather - currently in the middle of a big rainstorm, so this fits the mood perfectly.

I know how you feel and I also can't handle much more of this anxiety. If you just want to know if the process timeline really changed or not and don't want to seem impatient I guess you could also try calling the contact number of the ad-com and just try to casually ask about it. I guess asking about whether or not they have started sending out invites or when will they expect to have the interview weekend etc without mentioning your name would be just fine. At least there's more chance of anonymity than through email.

If I don't get in anywhere by the end of February I am going to send out applications to a few late deadline MS programs in Germany or France. Also sending out a lot of job applications because the pay at my current one isn't enough if I want to survive the next year..

Grizzly attack

Grizzly bear

One year a long time ago, there were penguins who didn't wear hats when swimming. This made their mothers livid. "Unacceptable!" Frightened, they screamed, "Bears!" Nobody seemed convinced so instead of going swimming they tried juggling. Their mothers tried everything they thought would teach her a skill. However, she couldn't even make oatmeal without disastrous results. So, the penguins gathered money (obviously) trying to purchase a bear. Towering over them, a grizzly beast danced, devouring all bears with such ferocity that

Honey bee

One year a long time ago, there were penguins who didn't wear hats when swimming. This made their mothers livid. "Unacceptable!" Frightened, they screamed, "Bears!" Nobody seemed convinced so instead of going swimming they tried juggling. Their mothers tried everything they thought would teach her a skill. However, she couldn't even make oatmeal without disastrous results. So, the penguins gathered money (obviously) trying to purchase a bear. Towering over them, a grizzly beast danced, devouring all bears with such

High tension

@fuzzylogician Will do that, thanks a lot

@GreenEyedTrombonist Oh no! I don't think my heart can take that kind of false alarm, lol. Kudos to you for managing to keep your heart right where it should be

@GreenEyedTrombonist Haha same here! Northwestern apparently thinks that I would be very interested in pursuing either a counseling or a law degree. They have been sending me emails at least once a week in the last two months or so. USC on the other hand, told me a few times that I have "a calling to be a social worker."

@fuzzylogicianThanks! So, do I just email the contact person of the program and mention the details (journal name, authors, etc) or should I also attach the current version of the paper? Sorry, I am always quite unsure how to act when it comes to admission committee haha

Stress management (Something I really need to learn quickly right now)