Les Miserables

I've accepted NYU! In light of the pandemic, staying close to home is a big plus for me right now. And, having the ability to commute (though I'd really rather not) in light of the present day-to-day ambiguity is a versatility I couldn't say no to. The funny thing is that NYU was my dream choice for undergrad and they rejected me. A no isn't a no forever

I'm a non-traditional student (first gen college student / first gen american), so when I wrote my SoP I started by talking about my background, life challenges, etc. My advisor told me not to do this. She said to reverse it and start with my research interest, and bring in my background towards the end to fill in the gaps and connect my research to who I am. In that way, I kind of forwent the idea of having a personal "hook" and just talked about my field of interest, research, etc. until the end of the piece and it worked out for me.

Does anyone know when UC Santa Barbara will be releasing decisions? I feel like it is well after what they did last year and I just want the last of my decisions in so I know what the rest of my life will look like.

I’m in at NYU!

I'm in the same boat as you. I heard a solid nothing from them so far but am not sure if I should take it as an implied rejection or otherwise.

I was one of the people waitlisted. I don't want to add to your stress but since CMU only accepts 3 people a year, I think, I'm not entirely sure whether or not acceptances would have gone out first or otherwise. Best of luck!

I was also invited to Northeastern. It's my top choice so I'm pretty excited. I've been lurking for some time, but I thought it might be a bit weird if only I knew who you were (or rather, know of your online persona) when we ultimately met next week. I imagine it is an opportunity to have some light academic conversation with faculty and an opportunity for them to get to know us outside of the academy and outside of the application in general. At least, I'm going in with that mindset.