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I ended up spending $1000 CAD (~745 USD) as I applied to 5 schools, but I wrote the GRE twice (yikes! big regret on how I approached the GRE the first time especially given the exchange rate ). Sending transcripts is free at my school and since I only applied to 2 US schools, I did not have to pay extra for sending scores.

What should one expect from short interviews? I just received an email from the department head asking for a 10-15 minute video-Skype. He did not mention anything about anyone else attending the interview. Only thing he mentioned was that I am on the short list of 10 people and he wanted to determine whether or not we are a good match. I have yet to have an interview so I am very nervous. Since he stated this was a short interview, I am not totally sure what to expect. I expect to be asked about why I chose the university, maybe some questions about my background, and goals for a phd? I know I should also have a bunch of questions prepared to ask him about the university. However, what else should I expect from such a short interview? Should I expect to be asked technical questions? Should I be telling him about papers from their university? I am super nervous and this is honestly a dream school. I never in my wildest dreams ever expected to be considered, so I do not want to mess this up

I guess the reason I haven't done this is because I am scared to get invested in the idea of one school and then get rejected. I fear if I hope for one outcome and if it doesn't happen, then I will be quite disappointed in the decision and find it hard to be excited about what I currently have. Honestly, I have been actively trying to ignore other scenarios and dreaming about what it would be like to go to school there. However, in the end it probably would be a good idea to write down a logical comparison of each schools and come up with a list of reasons why I would prefer school A over B and the different scenarios I would accept (ie. min funding offers, supervisors, research opportunities, etc).

Hi everyone, I am sure there is a thread about this, but I cannot find it for whatever reason. I received an offer of admission 2 weeks ago at my current university under my current undergrad supervisor. I was technically given till April 15th, but my supervisor asked if I would be able to make a decision earlier. I completely understand and want to respect this request as I am extremely grateful to him and everything he has done over my undergrad degree. The only problem is all the schools I applied to say on their website that decisions will be sent out early or late March, depending on the university. I regret applying to those will a January deadline instead of December now! Ideally, my professor would like to know by mid March so this may leave me in a predicament if I wait and do nothing and am forced to make a last minute decision without real thought. Is it rude to email to universities to ask about my placement due to a time sensitive funding offer? In most cases, do they actually give you a response? Or rather send a generic email like "no decisions will be sent out till..."? If I were to send an email to each school, I was thinking about sending an inquiry for March 1st. I realize it is extremely early, but I absolutely want to respect my professors wishes at this time.

From my understanding, some universities do not negotiate. What you see is what you get. I had a friend that negotiated at one university and they said she was the first one that ever tried! She ended up going there, so no harm done. However, this year as I apply I just got one offer which did actually say to contact them if I felt the offer was inadequate or if I got a better offer elsewhere. So I think it definitely depends on the school, seems to be no harm in trying especially if you got a better competing offer. Worst case? They say no!