LadyWolfshadow

So what schools and which programs are doing this?  OMG I can't do this again.  I really can't.

I'm Biological Sciences instead of Biomed so I'm not 100% sure on the structure of those two programs, but are they rotation-based at all?  If you have to do lab rotations, which one has more labs that you think you would be a good fit for?  If you know that there are more, it may signal that you're a better overall fit for that program and the chances of landing in a sucky lab for even a few weeks goes down, but it's also a good safety net in case something happens with the PI you're really interested in.  (Great match on paper but turn out to be major personality conflicts that couldn't be figured out remotely, any unexpected leaves of absence due to personal circumstances with the pandemic, any sudden funding issues cue to COIVD-19 that result in them not being able to take students, etc.)
What's your preferences for location beyond the cost of living aspect?  I haven't been to St. Louis but I grew up in the Mid-Atlantic.  If you enjoy the idea of being able to plan to take short weekend trips somewhere, the Mid-Atlantic is great for that.  Baltimore is only a couple of hours from beaches, you can use mass transit to get to DC fairly well and it's not hard to get from Baltimore to Philly/NYC.
As far as comments on the schools themselves, some of my faculty members have either done research or taught at JHU and they only had positive things to say about the school.  I don't know much about WashU at all, so I'm not much help there.  Do either have any additional programs that you would have the option to take advantage of?  (Ex: One of mine has the option to convert to a Ph.D/MBA program or some side certifications you can do.  Even if you don't necessarily think you want them now, them being an option isn't a bad thing.)
I actually have a similar problem to the point where the programs are VERY even and there's a lab at the one that I really like and the other has a really good program structure.  I'm having to drill down REALLY far into my list of preferences to start seeing where there's differences that may be able to tip the scales one way or the other.  I'm to the point that I may have to start considering things like which one has easier access to a better array of grocery stores.
 

Once I make my final decision (which is terrifying to think has to happen in a few short days), I was originally going to give them really cute handmade thank you cards.  With the current situation, I'm going to cobble together some sort of digital personalized thank you announcement/letter type thing that's printable in case they want to add it to their collection of thank yous from students and give them an IOU for some kind of gift with that school on it once I get there (since by then things should have calmed down to the point that it'd be safe to send them something).  That way, they get something now that shares the joy and gratitude and they can make it tangible if they want, but gives them something to look forward to in a few months.

So what schools and which programs are doing this?  OMG I can't do this again.  I really can't.

Thank you all for sharing! I wish I could find words of encouragement. But I can't. Some of us will come out of this unscathed, most of us won't. All we can do now is wait for the storm to pass by. If you are worried about dying, call your parents, call your crush, tell them what you want them to know. 
#stayathome

So what schools and which programs are doing this?  OMG I can't do this again.  I really can't.

So I'm sitting here with an acceptance to a PhD program at UMBC and my visit got cancelled so I have no way to see the area and I'm trying to figure out if living up there is actually doable on a grad student stipend because the numbers seem a little scary for living in a suburb of Baltimore.  I have no clue what taxes are like, what the going rate would be for sharing a house or an apartment up there, how difficult it would be to get around without a car, how difficult food shopping is in the area.  I also have no clue what the general vibe of the town or the campus are like and all of this is SUPER difficult to figure out from hundreds of miles away.
I'm wondering if anyone who either goes to UMBC or has lived in the area could give me any insight on how doable all of this is.

So what schools and which programs are doing this?  OMG I can't do this again.  I really can't.

So what schools and which programs are doing this?  OMG I can't do this again.  I really can't.

I received six straight rejections before getting admitted to my dream school for my seventh decision. I stopped what I was doing and started bawling because I was so sure after six out of 10 of my total decisions, that I would not get into school. You only need one to make it work. Don’t lose hope.

completely agree. They gave me 3 weeks to decide and now the campus is closed...seems messed up.

Over 15 of the 20 top US physics PhD programs have canceled their open houses with no plan to reschedule.
Some are intended on running "virtual open houses." Other's are just sending links to information that could be found on the internet regarding their program.
Is the April 15th requirement of a decision regarding accepting grad school offers of admission still ethical?
Is it reasonable to propose that April 15th be moved a month or two later to let corona virus paranoia burn out and for departments to redo their open houses?
A STEM PhD could take anywhere from 4-7 years in the US. That is a non-trivial amount of your life.
It does not seem ethical to require students to make this decision without meeting (in person) the PIs at these institutions they intend to work under.

I'm absolutely with you.   I'm bouncing back and forth between extreme panic and losing the will to live.  There's no real "decision dates" for my field so it's just this long, drawn out hell of uncertainty.

Hi, I graduated from UD in 2015, so it might be a little different, but here's some of what's good about the Newark area:
UD has free buses that go around the campus so you can get to the North/Center/East/West/South area of the main campus pretty easily There's a lot of food/stuff to do on Main St if you know where to go (it was a little different when I visited it a year ago, but it's got quite a bit there!) I would suggest getting a bike (if possible) if you don't want to rely on the buses because they can be a little wonky with their times/not come soon enough before your class, I used to bike there all the time  If you take summer classes, bring a hoodie, they blast the AC - this is specific to the UD campus and just something everyone should know lol Public transport exists but it's not the best (buses) UD also has a lot of resources for international students iirc, and they have The INNternationale House: http://www.theinnternationale.org/ It also depends on what kinds of things you're interested in doing. I lived off campus, about a 30 minute walk away. Biking was easier, but I was near apartments where the UD buses picked up so I could go there if I needed to. I walked to bars, my Tang Soo Do dojo, and the grocery store alright (the grocery stores can be a little far, though). There was a small Chinese market and a co-op at the end of Main Street when I lived there and I did a lot of grocery shopping in both of those places, with more stores beyond that, but depending on where you live, it's a bit of a walk. If you walk to get groceries, I highly recommend getting a rolling cart for groceries so you don't hurt yourself hauling it back (which is what I kept doing to myself).
Also, other options for housing can be found here: https://udel.uloop.com/. I found a pretty good place that was a three bedroom for $1,000/month in 2013/2014, so it might be a little more expensive now, but we were splitting it between 3-4 people, which made it really affordable. Let me know if you have any other specific questions!

I'm going to guess I'm on the silent waitlist for Maryland, I've heard absolutely nothing.  Oregon State I'm starting to wonder if they even remember my application exists.  Apparently Jefferson is great at the silent rejections, so not expecting anything from them.  I just want to know for sure either way so that I can process everything and move on.

Really appreciating the solidarity on this thread! If you'll let me vent for a moment...I applied for ~7 PhD programs 2 years ago, got rejected from them all, then last minute (literally in April) applied to a MA program that I started that fall. I did the MA because a couple of the POIs I had skyped with during the app process recommended it. Now I'm about to finish that MA and have 9 PhD apps out in the world with 4 rejections, 2 surely on their way based on the posted results, a waitlist at what I thought would be my absolute backup school, and 2 that I haven't heard a peep about. If I could sum up how I'm feeling in a word? Disillusioned.
I've learned the best thing you can do for your mental health in these trying times (at least in my experience) is picture life not only without that degree, but with hope. I've spent the last couple weeks applying for a ton of jobs outside academia, some of which I'm actually weirdly excited about, and one of which resulted in an interview for a paid summer internship for something I never, ever thought I would get. And even if it turns out I don't get it after all, it's a reminder that there's more out there. So, fellow gradcafers, keep pushing - rejection in one aspect of your life is not a reflection of you, neither as a professional nor a person. We'll get through it.

I wouldn't say no to a group chat.  Knowing that there are others out there who are going through extremely similar situations is comforting in a way, we can commiserate about wanting to throw our phones every time we get a junk email or spam call.  ?

At this point, the only advice I can have is to expect the unexpected and focus on whatever distractions you have in the meantime.  From everything I'd seen, I thought that all of the programs in my field did interviews and totally gave up hope when everyone else was posting interview requests from most of the places I applied to.  Even the ones I hadn't seen interview requests posted, it was historically 2-3 weeks past their actual decision dates.  I pretty much gave up hope at that point, but I got two acceptances without interviews....somehow?  I didn't know that was even a thing.
I know it's not cold, hard numbers and I'm probably an n of 1 at this point, but I say all of this because this cycle seems VERY wild and unpredictable.  I definitely wish we could all do hugs and drinks and try to have some fun and get our minds off of this absurdity.  Hang in there, find some great stuff to binge read and binge watch, come here and vent, hope for the best, and hold on for this wild ride.

Big thanks to you guys! There is something you all said; it's "we see you". I appreciate that so much and it got me emotional each time. I didn't realize that I needed to be seen until you said that you see me. Your advice is great.  
I got my rejection from Princeton. I hope things end in a good way ....
Thank you so much again guys. I wish you all the best of luck! 

My friends and faculty constantly yell at me for the e-mail checking and constantly being on GradCafe, but the uncertainty is SO frustrating.  Seeing programs that have historically decided the last week in January having nothing posted for this year is driving me up the wall.  And I know that not being rejected means that there's still a chance, but not knowing anything is SO stressful.  After a while, the rejections become less frustrating than the radio silence.

It really does border on masochism.  We spend so much time and money and stress out so much getting those applications in, especially trying to condense our academic journey into the severely limited spaces we get for those SoPs.  I have such an odd history and transcript issues that so many of them didn't give me a chance to explain that most programs probably want nothing to do with me. 
And THEN comes this waiting.  We have absolutely no control over anything at this point and that's definitely a nightmare in its own right.  Even trying to ask some of these programs questions can be an effort in futility at times, which just compounds it.
But yeah, I share the belief that there's no other place in the world I would rather be.
 

It's okay to reach out when you're feeling so stressed out and overwhelmed and everything feels like it's going wrong.  Life just keeps on throwing more and more crap onto you and you feel like you can't keep holding on, but you're still here.  You may have considered ending it all, but you haven't.  You're stronger than you give yourself credit for, and we see you. 
Not hearing from your dream school sucks, there's no doubt about that, although not hearing from them isn't an outright no, either.    And even if you don't hear from them, it's not the end of the road.  Surprises really do happen--one of those other programs that you applied to may accept you and it could wind up being a better fit for you personally in the end, despite not being as big as Princeton. 
Take things one day at a time, try to take care of yourself, keep reaching out, and remember that good things come to those that wait.  You deserve good things and they'll come to you. 

I TOTALLY feel you on this.  I still have so many applications out there that I just want the ones where I stand absolutely zero chance to cut me loose now.  Actual status updates would be nice too, but that's like asking for the moon.  Some say that they're under departmental review, but some of them just say "Status: Submitted" and it's like "Well that's a little vague, isn't it?"  Submitting the applications was SUPER stressful, but nobody warned me that the waiting would be SO much worse. 
It doesn't help that one of the programs historically made all of their decisions during the last week of January but it looks like it's been radio silence for everyone. 
At least a rejection we can process and move on.

It's okay to reach out when you're feeling so stressed out and overwhelmed and everything feels like it's going wrong.  Life just keeps on throwing more and more crap onto you and you feel like you can't keep holding on, but you're still here.  You may have considered ending it all, but you haven't.  You're stronger than you give yourself credit for, and we see you. 
Not hearing from your dream school sucks, there's no doubt about that, although not hearing from them isn't an outright no, either.    And even if you don't hear from them, it's not the end of the road.  Surprises really do happen--one of those other programs that you applied to may accept you and it could wind up being a better fit for you personally in the end, despite not being as big as Princeton. 
Take things one day at a time, try to take care of yourself, keep reaching out, and remember that good things come to those that wait.  You deserve good things and they'll come to you. 

We see you, @lou1234. You can share on here without judgment.
When one door closes, another one opens. When you hit rock bottom, you can only go up. I know that even if this school doesn't work out, there are more opportunities that could be even better for you. We just have to believe in the power of the next day - to keep going, despite the weight of life. I can understand suicidal ideation, having felt it myself because of issues with family. 
But little surprises - like virtual strangers seeing you - can make the next day worth it. And the next day. And then maybe after a few days - you get an acceptance. 
Don't lose hope yet - I promise there are little surprises and eventually, big and positive changes coming your way.