i/o hopeful

Does anyone have experience with tablets other than iPads? I was looking at a Xoom tablet (uses Android OS) and a HTC one that seemed like good alternatives to an iPad, but I've been able to find very little information on people's experiences with them. My biggest use for a tablet would be reading pdfs and maybe having some functionality to take notes on the docs, and anything else I can use the device for would be icing on the cake. Does anyone have experience using Droid apps for pdfs or other academically useful tasks? I don't even have a smartphone at the moment, so the whole world of apps is very foreign to me....

For those waiting on DePaul, I just declined so a spot should be opening soon. Good luck!

Have you already been accepted? If so, it seems most people are casual-- jeans and a nice shirt. Sometimes people are more formal for when you speak with professors (maybe dress pants and/or button down), but you don't have to be. There's no need to impress them once you've already been accepted, so just be comfortable without looking disheveled. If there's still going to be more 'cuts' before offers are extended, then maybe go more business casual for the professor talk portion of the day.

Penn State has invited some people to a visiting weekend (this weekend), but no official decisions have been made at this point I don't think.

I've received an invite-- it's the first weekend of March, so there's definitely still time to hear back before then. I didn't have a phone interview though....who's your POI?

This was for their PhD program. Anyone out there apply to University of Maryland College Park and hear anything?

I didn't end up applying to Portland so don't know, but it seems they've been one of the later schools to get back to people in the past. GaTech has called with invitations to their visiting weekend (the first weekend in March).

I don't know if they're done with all notifications, but I do know initial acceptances have gone out.

I'm not sure if this even qualifies as cooking, but they're amazingly addictive. Oreo "Truffles" 1 package Oreo cookies 1 brick cream cheese, softened about 12 oz of whatever chocolate you like (milk, dark, white, etc) 1. Put cookies in large ziploc bag and beat with your favorite blunt instrument until finely crushed (or use a food processor if you're fancy) 2. Pour crumbs into a bowl; add cream cheese and mix until well combined 3. Roll into 1/2 -1in balls 4. Chill balls for approx 30 min in refrigerator (optional, but helpful) 5. Melt chocolate in bowl set above simmering water (or melt in the microwave, but be careful not to overheat chocolate or it will seize) 6. Dip balls in chocolate; let dry 7. Consume

From what I can tell from the results page, looks like the earliest people hear back from I/O programs is late January....which is next week! However, looks like it's more common to hear sometime in February.

Ah well, I figured as much-- thanks for the input everyone!

As I'm waiting to hear back from programs, I'm getting increasingly paranoid I won't get in anywhere, so am thinking about working on a resume to apply for analyst positions (like in consulting/ market research firms) this spring just in case all else fails. Do you think it's appropriate to include my GRE scores on the resume, or would that be weird? I want to include them because I have really high scores, so it could show potential employers I have good quantitative skills and am "smart". However, I feel like normally business resumes don't include stats like that, so wanted to see if anyone had opinions/experiences one way or the other. Thoughts?

Congrats on getting everything out the door! I've got all my Dec 1 apps in, and the rest are pretty much ready to go out as soon as I can convince myself to stop looking at my SOPs =) A lot of the schools I applied to say there's a several week lag between getting transcript/scores/etc and actually updating their statuses to "received", so don't contact them before then. However, it's hard for me to watch deadlines pass without getting confirmation that everything they need they have. Do you have this issue too? I'm contemplating following up by calling the schools right at the deadline to get someone to tell me my application is all there, but I'm wondering if that's just going to be pesky for them. Also, seems to be a quiet years for I/O people-- who else is out there? Where's everyone applying?

Thanks for the input, both of you-- I met with my old thesis advisor yesterday, and he sort of echoed what you are saying (and in fact strongly encouraged me to apply to Minnesota in particular). I guess I have a question of how much the school 'brand' matters in terms of options after the degree if I'm thinking that applied is where I'm headed at the moment (I'm not saying academia is out of the picture entirely, but I just can't envision it right now). My thinking was that being by a city would be really good in terms of getting exposure to internships and taking advantage of ties the schools may have with surrounding organizations. Is that right, or do you think people in industry actually care about name as well? Also, do any big 10 schools really encourage the option to go applied post-PhD, or are they pretty much gearing their students toward a professor's life?