latemeg

I've lived in Chicago for a couple years now (congrats on DePaul, I love my school!) and agree that people are kind of dramatic--with one caveat. The time you spend in areas with both excessive crime and excessive police (like North Lawndale) does significantly increase the likelihood of your being victim to a crime, whether it be on purpose (muggings outside CTA stations) or accidental (witnessing or becoming involved in a crime that doesn't involve you). What kind of budget are you looking for? In Chicago, there are a good deal of apartments in areas that are safer that can accommodate your need for space and pet friendliness. If you don't mind living further from transit, check Hermosa Park and Humboldt Park; remember that you can also take Metra downtown from stops throughout the city, though it isn't as frequent as the CTA. As a rule of thumb, if you can get 3-4 roommates in a 4-5 bedroom apartment, you're gonna be paying much less and can stay in a safer area. 

Davis broke my damn heart right out of undergrad rejecting me--it was the only program I applied to as well! But if you're coming out of their program, they will likely favor you more (I was coming out of a state school, and Davis has a...thing...about emulating Berkeley's selectiveness). My GRE scores were awful, though, and so was my SOP for them; I'm sure you're a MUCH more qualified applicant, and coming out of MPH lines you up perfectly for your research area. 
Best of luck, and let us know what happens!

I just wanted to say that this is excellent advice, and I'm happy it worked out for you

I follow the advice of a person that I know with low GRE scores. I had low GRE scores, I re-took the test several times and I could not get higher scores (I even got Magoosh reimbursement because I got even lower scores than ever after taking their course and doing everything following the crazy time consuming plan of study. It's not that the program does not work it's just that I am horrible taking tests and at one point I block myself, it happened to me too with the Toefl when I applied to my masters in the U.S.). After that, I realized the GRE makes me miserable. I do not have publications in the U.S either, and I did not have time to get something out there before submitting my application. I got rejected from 8 schools last year, and this year my best GRE score was the same I used in the previous application cycle. What this person recommended me was to contact POI, I contacted over 90-100 professors and applied to almost 15 schools and 18 programs (I had to save a lot and my credit card is totally collapsed). I wrote a standard e-mail introducing myself and attached my CV and a research proposal I wrote. The e-mail asked professors their advice and thoughts regarding my proposal and regarding the application. Most of them did not reply, others did. I apply to a conference (American Society of Criminology), and I contacted all the professors I was interested in working with that were attending to the conference with this strategy. I got meetings with them during the conference and talk with them about my proposal, my work, etc (it was like having the chance to have a pre-interview), I think if the know you you are not just a file, and the look you differently, beyond your test scores. I do not know if this helps, but I appreciated this advice when my friend gave it to me. She also got rejected from all schools she applied the first time (PhD in History). For me this new strategy worked, if you still want to apply it may work for you too. You can apply to fewer schools that I did (my friend applied only to 4-5 programs) and she still got positive results (she is at Princeton history department).

I'm in the same boat, waiting on info about the visit. I would loooove to get some details. I'm not too far from Madison, but if they'd throw me some gas money to visit, that would be much appreciated. 
I understand your frustration. Just a notice ("we're still reviewing apps" or "decisions will be out in two weeks") would be really helpful. 

I just wanted to shoot everybody some love on here. PLEASE remember how arbitrary these decisions are; I almost didn't apply because frankly it all seems elitist to me. At the end of the day, we are all so much more than what we are on paper--and applications are limited amounts of paper anyway! I hope everybody here gets into ONE awesome program, or gets ONE awesome dream job--just don't give up hope and remember that this stuff is not indicative of your worth. 

I just got an email from UW Madison. The program has recommended me for admission, graduate school is just waiting on my official transcript. No acceptance letter yet, but O M F G 
 
I'm on top of the world. 5 more schools to hear from, but they can all be rejections for all I care. 

I just wanted to shoot everybody some love on here. PLEASE remember how arbitrary these decisions are; I almost didn't apply because frankly it all seems elitist to me. At the end of the day, we are all so much more than what we are on paper--and applications are limited amounts of paper anyway! I hope everybody here gets into ONE awesome program, or gets ONE awesome dream job--just don't give up hope and remember that this stuff is not indicative of your worth. 

I just wanted to shoot everybody some love on here. PLEASE remember how arbitrary these decisions are; I almost didn't apply because frankly it all seems elitist to me. At the end of the day, we are all so much more than what we are on paper--and applications are limited amounts of paper anyway! I hope everybody here gets into ONE awesome program, or gets ONE awesome dream job--just don't give up hope and remember that this stuff is not indicative of your worth. 

I just wanted to shoot everybody some love on here. PLEASE remember how arbitrary these decisions are; I almost didn't apply because frankly it all seems elitist to me. At the end of the day, we are all so much more than what we are on paper--and applications are limited amounts of paper anyway! I hope everybody here gets into ONE awesome program, or gets ONE awesome dream job--just don't give up hope and remember that this stuff is not indicative of your worth. 

I just wanted to shoot everybody some love on here. PLEASE remember how arbitrary these decisions are; I almost didn't apply because frankly it all seems elitist to me. At the end of the day, we are all so much more than what we are on paper--and applications are limited amounts of paper anyway! I hope everybody here gets into ONE awesome program, or gets ONE awesome dream job--just don't give up hope and remember that this stuff is not indicative of your worth. 

I just wanted to shoot everybody some love on here. PLEASE remember how arbitrary these decisions are; I almost didn't apply because frankly it all seems elitist to me. At the end of the day, we are all so much more than what we are on paper--and applications are limited amounts of paper anyway! I hope everybody here gets into ONE awesome program, or gets ONE awesome dream job--just don't give up hope and remember that this stuff is not indicative of your worth. 

Dang y'all. What a wild day on this forum! I got my Duke rejection while laying in bed sick with the flu and something about that just feels...poetic? :-)
My heart hurts upon seeing everyone's rejections. Be kind to yourself in the midst of the hurt you feel. PM me if you need a stranger to vent at. Also, these times call me back to one of my favorite poems: Max Ehrmann's Desiderata. Particularly pertinent verses include:
"If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will appear to be greater and lesser persons than Yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans."
And 
"Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should."
<3 

I just got an email from UW Madison. The program has recommended me for admission, graduate school is just waiting on my official transcript. No acceptance letter yet, but O M F G 
 
I'm on top of the world. 5 more schools to hear from, but they can all be rejections for all I care. 

I just got an email from UW Madison. The program has recommended me for admission, graduate school is just waiting on my official transcript. No acceptance letter yet, but O M F G 
 
I'm on top of the world. 5 more schools to hear from, but they can all be rejections for all I care. 

I just got an email from UW Madison. The program has recommended me for admission, graduate school is just waiting on my official transcript. No acceptance letter yet, but O M F G 
 
I'm on top of the world. 5 more schools to hear from, but they can all be rejections for all I care. 

I just got an email from UW Madison. The program has recommended me for admission, graduate school is just waiting on my official transcript. No acceptance letter yet, but O M F G 
 
I'm on top of the world. 5 more schools to hear from, but they can all be rejections for all I care. 

I just got an email from UW Madison. The program has recommended me for admission, graduate school is just waiting on my official transcript. No acceptance letter yet, but O M F G 
 
I'm on top of the world. 5 more schools to hear from, but they can all be rejections for all I care. 

I just got an email from UW Madison. The program has recommended me for admission, graduate school is just waiting on my official transcript. No acceptance letter yet, but O M F G 
 
I'm on top of the world. 5 more schools to hear from, but they can all be rejections for all I care. 

I just got an email from UW Madison. The program has recommended me for admission, graduate school is just waiting on my official transcript. No acceptance letter yet, but O M F G 
 
I'm on top of the world. 5 more schools to hear from, but they can all be rejections for all I care. 

Just got invited to Northeastern open house next week via email! Northeastern was my last choice but I'm just happy I got something!!!!!!!

Hey! It's okay to be negative of course, but why are you assuming that you couldn't get into a higher ranked program? Rejections happen all the time but usually it's partially because of fit, not just grades. If you have a better fit at the other schools, then you have just as good a chance at being accepted there too

Congrats--I hope you get a spot for funding ASAP!
Noooo I'm sorry. Hang in there. So many decisions aren't even out yet. 
 
Guys, I need some news!!!!! Can we get UPenn/UWM/UMichigan/Northwestern/IUB to hurry up, and can we get UChicago to reject me already so I have one less portal to check?

I'm sorry! You have five more schools, so hold out hope for an acceptance from somebody else higher on your list. These T30 schools are hard as fuck to get into and the process gets pretty random. 

The variability in notification across schools is killing me. I feel like individually checking all 6 application portals is just a part of my morning routine now--coffee, then obsessively checking the results page here, then logging in to every portal and checking on my app. Decisions one way or another are really going to mess up my mornings. Lol