feyfatale

My PI's lab is on Danforth campus so it seems like it would be about a 15 minute bike through Forest Park and worse comes to worse, I can take an uber since the apartment is only 8 min away (according to google maps)
 
I'm just going to go ahead and post this here. It's the map I send to first year/prospective students who are looking for housing near the med campus (so it's highly med-campus focused). Hopefully it will help some people. If anyone is more familiar with the Danforth side, please feel free to update/save/repost a version of the map with more details on that side of Forest Park: 
 
Here's the map I refer to in this e-mail (let me know if you have trouble viewing it): https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=znSq18U6Bxo4.ka_fNS8CoCMQ   Just to orient you on the map: The medical campus is the green square to the right of forest park (large green rectangle). I've also labeled metrolink stops with red markers. There's a blue marker that marks the 4444 building, which is where many of the genomics labs are located (though many of them will be moving to the main campus in the next year or two).    I'm sure you've heard quite a bit about the Central West End (purple and red on map) during the interview process. It's a great place and I highly recommend looking there for apartments. Some of the older buildings have extremely reasonable prices, while some of the newer ones can get pretty pricey. The Del Coronado is (in my mind) the gold standard of what you will find in the CWE. It's new, super close to campus and has a parking garage...but its prices reflect those benefits. I do, however, think it serves as a good comparator when looking at other buildings. If you have a car I highly recommend putting affordable, provided parking high on your list; parking in the CWE without an assigned space or garage can be a bit crazy.    I live in the Debaliviere (DEB) area, which is north of forest park (Blue on map). It's right next to the metro link and I metro to work most days. If you live in either the CWE or DEB, there is a shuttle that runs every 30 mins from campus from 5pm-midnight:30 (M-F) that will take you directly to your door on your way home. I love living where I do. It's not as frequently-travelled as the CWE, parking is easier and I feel very comfortable walking around at night. The CWE is generally safe but it has a lot more foot traffic coming through.    There's an area between the CWE and DEB that is highlighted on the map in pink. A good number of students live there but it's not immediately adjacent to any metrolink stop so transportation may be a bit more difficult, though there are some beautiful buildings in that area.    Another place you might want to look is The Grove (brown pentagon on the map). There is lots of affordable housing in The Grove and it's an area that is getting nicer over the years...but it's not a place I feel 100% comfortable walking on my own at night. I do, however, know a lot of people who live there and have never had any problems. There are several apartments outside of the pentagon that are perfectly safe/nice but I can comfortably vouch for the brown-covered area being filled with happy graduate students.    Also highlighted in green is St. Louis University (in orange). There are tons of apartments in that area, but again, you have the commuting issue that isn't a problem in DEB or CWE. I also highlighted the Tower Grove area (in black) at the bottom right. This tends to be a place students move to in their second or third years. I wouldn't recommend it during your first year.   In yellow is the undergraduate (Danforth) campus and the Delmar Loop area. There are labs that some students may want to join on the Danforth campus and the Delmar loop is a great place to live. Unfortunately, I don't know much about the area. I recommend living close to the medical campus (green) for your first year at least since so many of your classes/journal clubs will be there.

Haha. No. They accept less than 40 people each cohort. You have no idea what you are talking about. Go back and crawl in your hole, no one needs your opinion.

Happy April 15th!!! We made it

And you are DONE!! CONGRATULATIONS!! 
Guys, it's already April 15th where I'm at. Whatever the outcome of this cycle was for you, congratulations on making it this far and not jumping off a cliff. I've done a whole bunch of things career-wise and I can honestly say that the application process is no joke, one of the most stressful processes I've ever been through. Also, just making the decision to continue with school takes a lot of courage, so kudos to us all!

I was waitlisted at my top choice. I have a few backups but I'm not excited about any of them. I know at least one person accepted to this school has not made a decision yet, so I'm assuming they are waiting on him. My question is: when you've had all of your decisions and visits completed over a month ago (which is the case in his situation), what is taking you so long to make a decision?????

Honestly im feeling pretty hopeless right now. I am on two waitlists and go back and forth between checking my email every five seconds and not caring about anything. I'm not sleeping, I'm not eating... I have no confidence in myself at the moment. I've pretty much given up in the whole idea of getting a positive response. I honestly feel like I am just existing until sometime around April 15th when someone will put me out of my misery and I can just move on and forget about this whole horrible experience. I came into this process with a lot of positivity and high hopes, but right now I wonder if it was all a giant waste of time. And worst, there is not a single person in my life who really understands how awful this feels.

I’m sure that if you are coming from a third country, it is more reasonable to put every effort in finding a new partner on the spot. It should give you broader opportunities for integration and immigration...

Anyone else feel like their life is basically in "on hold" mode until the entire process is over and done with? All I do all day every day is obsessively refresh application portals and gmail, it feels like.
Come on, UMass, put us out of our misery soon. Please?

@LLL_ last year they started to send the offers on March 1st.

@heyDW that's so scary sounding!! If someone cut out the bs in my statement, they'd be left with the title of the document lol oh, and maybe a few lines with facts about my past..