bobafett

@jujubea Thanks so much for your answer, I really appreciate it! The lack of marriage equality is definitely more of a legal technicality where I'm from and not a major social issue, like you said, plus my partner is already in the US, so I suppose that's a bit more reassuring. That said, I'm now starting to think that her separately applying for OPT and then another F1 to go to grad school would be less troublesome than applying for a J2 in our situation.

Hi @jujubea, First of all, thank you so much for starting this thread and taking the time to answer our inquiries. You are a treasure! Now, onto my questions. I received a fully funded offer and am thinking of applying for a J1 visa. I have a same-sex partner whose country of origin is different from mine, and we're planning to get married in the US (same-sex marriage isn't recognized in either of our countries). Will she be able to apply for a J2 visa if our marriage is only legal in the US? If yes, can she apply in the US while doing her OPT and change her visa status from F1 to J2 without going back to her home country? Thank you in advance!

I'm hoping to get a joint JD/PhD as well. Originally thought I'd be applying to both at the same time, but eventually changed my mind and applied to the PhD first, since it's higher priority to me, plus I have until my 3rd year to apply to the law school. This way, I only have to apply to one law school and can therefore save some money. The only problem I have right now is that, while I've been offered admission to some great schools, my current top choice for the PhD doesn't have a law school haha! It's quite ironic, really. Wishing you the best of luck!!

Congrats to everyone who got good news today!

Claiming another Columbia acceptance. Jumping for joy!!

Gotcha! Thanks for all the help so far

I did not contact any POIs prior to submitting my applications. My take on it is that professors at top schools probably receive a ton of emails during admission seasons, and they can't possibly learn about my research agenda in a meaningful way within the confines of short emails. Like mstama123, I used the program's website and read up on faculty members' research interests, publications, etc. to identify potential people I'd want to work it, wrote extensively about that in my SoP, and selected a writing sample that clearly demonstrated my interest. So far, I've been accepted at a top program, and every single professor I named in my SoP, as well as a few others whose research interests are close to mine, have sent me personal emails to discuss those overlapping interests. On the other hand, I've also been rejected by a lower-ranked program. I'd say you shouldn't give up hope yet! The season is far from over, and you might hear some good news soon. Good luck!!

That's a good option to keep in mind. Thanks again for the helpful suggestion! If I end up unable to afford the trip, do you think it'll be worth it to visit after making a decision, and asking the school if I can still use the travel allowance for my flight to the US to attend the program? F1 visas allow students to arrive 1 month before the program's start date, so I'm thinking I could take advantage of that, arrive early, and familiarise myself with the town, the campus, and hopefully the department.

@TakeruK Thanks so much for the response! That was quite helpful I'm planning to combine money from different sources, if possible, but I don't think I'll hear from other programs anytime soon, and there's not much time left to sign up for this visit. Ah well. Maybe a miracle will happen and I'll get a couple more acceptance letters and $$$ very soon... If not, I just hope I won't arrive at my new school and start to regret my decision! I'm from a country where getting a visa to go anywhere takes forever and costs a kidney, unless you own lots of property and have your passport covered in foreign stamps. Part of the reason why I wanna study borders, ha! But an acceptance letter and an invite will probably help with the paperwork, if not with the cost.

bumping this thread for 2017-2018 Does anyone know how LGBTQ-friendly the area is? Also, I'm international and was wondering which airport would be the most convenient to fly into & how do I get to Princeton from there, given that I have a couple of large suitcases.

I've been accepted at one of my top choices and would really like to attend the admitted students' event before committing. The school offered some travel allowance, but it's nowhere near enough to cover both flights and visa fees. Does anyone know if it's acceptable to ask for more allowance on top of the maximum stated amount? Also, is it difficult to get a US visitor visa for the purpose of visiting grad schools?

Just went through my inbox and unsubscribed from every mailing list I ever signed up for, since every time the count for unread messages goes up, I have a mini heart attack. This waiting game is absolutely brutal!

Congrats to everyone who got good news, and best of luck to those who are still waiting! It's a bit late, but I'm claiming another Princeton acceptance. I'm thrilled, but school hasn't started yet and I'm already feeling some very real impostor syndrome. Princeton was the first school I've heard from; Northwestern is most likely a no at this point. I'm still waiting to hear back from others, particularly Yale and Chicago.

Thanks for the reply. Good to know - now I won't have to keep waiting

For those who said they were rejected from Northwestern: did you get a rejection email/is it reflected in your online application's activity page? I applied with a theory subfield and didn't get any email. Not sure if that means there's still hope, or that I should consider that a rejection.