fuzzylogician

Contact the remaining schools, explain the situation and ask when you can expect to hear back. If you have to decide now, I'd buy whatever ticket works now but leave enough space in my schedule that I could visit the schools that haven't replied yet. I did just that when I visited and ended up doing a short visit at the school I currently attend. It was not ideal but it was good enough, and they gave enough reimbursment that I ended up not even paying anything for this detour.

There are reprecussions to consider in case you get caught. He would be reprimanded and some action could be taken against him. I'm not sure you would be reprimanded but you still stand to lose a lot. You might be asked to switch advisors, in which case you might have to start over or change your thesis topic. Your joint work, or even your solo work that was done while he was your advisor could be suspected of being the product of his work, not yours. I've seen on a number of occasions the talent and dedication of younger (female) students be questioned and the results of their work ascribed to their senior (male) advisors. Similarly if the relationship becomes serious, you'll have to report it to university officials and it will become publicly known, in which case again the above outcomes are both likely. If the relationship doesn't work out, regardless of whether or not you get caught, again you stand to lose more than him. If the working relationship becomes uncomfortable, you might be forced to leave or change advisors. If you stay and feel that he treats you unfairly, you'll have a hard time explaining why and finding someone to defend your rights. You won't be able to get a LOR from him in the future, which could seem suspicious to hiring committees. I'm not saying not to go for it necessarily - I've seen some of these relationships work and make both parties very happy. But consider seriously the risks that are involved before you make a decision.

Well, if it's bad news of the "I can't accept you" kind or great news of the "congratulations! we've decided to admit you with a full fellowship!" kind, there is nothing much to prepare for. So i'd say don't worry about those eventualities and spend your time preparing for a regular "we're at an advanced stage of the decision making process and wanted to ask you some questions" interview. Make sure you can answer questions about the contents of your application packet (SOP, writing sample, etc) and about your future research plans. You have a significant advantage over other applicants because you already know your POI and her work. So - good luck, and don't worry too much!

I took three years between highschool and college, which is probably a bit unusual but is still similar to the OP's situation in many ways. I don't regret my time in the 'real world' one bit. I got to travel, work a real job and save some money, and most importantly I discovered the field that I'm now studying in graduate school. I didn't (officially) take time off between undergrad and grad school but since I came from a three-year BA program and didn't think I had a strong enough background to get into top programs in my field, I continued to a one-year program in a different country where I again got to travel and live in a completely new environment. I found a research job within my field and made contacts with people who turned out to be wonderful mentors. I then came back home and applied to PhD programs, while working as an RA and TA at my home university and taking MA classes. I have no regrets about this path, even though it caused me to start graduate school at an older age than some of the fresh, bright-eyed students who come directly from undergrad.

The visit is for both of you and the program to learn about mutual fit. They've already admitted you so this will mostly be about trying to impress you and trying to convince you to choose their program, but also about learning more about you. It'll probably be pretty similar to pre-acceptance interviews except more relaxed - there will be meetings with professors, opportunities to meet grad students and ask questions, classes you'll be invited to sit in on, and lunch/dinner/party events. Dress comfortably and not too fancy, prepare questions to help you gather all the information you need to make an informed decision, and don't forget to have fun! (Some people bring gifts for their grad students hosts; personally a sincere 'thank you' is enough for me.)

You should be fine as long as you graduate without major incident (=a couple lower but reasonable grades probably won't hurt you). Your language is amusing though: so many schools, so much research, so much project work. Don't use those as excuses if anyone ever asks about lower grades, or they might think you won't be able to stand the pressure of graduate school.

I meant that you could try and have the administrative staff in your department contact the unhelpful ISO staff. Sometimes people are more helpful if they think that they are assisting another admin staff member instead of a student. But if the problem is that you don't trust the answers you might get, maybe it's not worth a try. Can you contact someone in the US immigration directly with the question? If it's seriously important I'd also consider paying an immigration lawyer for some reliable answers. And there are other schools' websites, as I mentioned above.

Your hosts will not be constantly evaluating you, they are grad students who still remember what it's like to be a prospective. As someone who both stayed with other grad students when I visited and who hosts new prospectives now, all I hope for is a pleasant interaction with my guest. I'm offering my house and making an effort to accompany my guest to their meetings and other events, I'd just like to enjoy a nice conversation with them and to have some appreciation of my effort (a thank you is enough, no need for gifts!). Awkward guests can be difficult but I understand that some people are not very social, so I always understand if someone says they're tired and would like to go to bed early.

No. I'm at the other Cambridge school. (But I have friends who go to Harvard, if you have any questions.)

As long as the letter is missing your file is considered incomplete and could get tossed without being reviewed. It sounds like this LOR writer is a lost cause. Find someone to replace him as soon as possible. Once you find a replacement, contact your department to make sure they know that there was a problem with the missing letter and that it's being replaced. You could already be in danger of missing first-round acceptances, so do this as quickly as possible.

The original scene is not ironic at all, it depicts one of Hitler's last days in the bunker. His generals tell him that the Allied forces are advancing in several fronts and that several battles have been lost/forces have been annihilated/ generals are dead. He goes on a fit but then recognizes that the war is lost. I always liked the dubbed versions more... "FOR GOD'S SAKE SAY SOMETHING! ANYTHING!!"

Public universities in California are in a bad financial state. Santa Cruz accepts between 0 and 1 international applicants a year recently and things are not looking great at Berkley and UCLA either (though considerably better than at SC). Stanford is a whole other matter. In any event, congrats to everyone who has been admitted or got interviews and good luck to all who are still waiting! Don't go too mad

I'd start with either asking the office staff itself and (in the likely case they don't know) have *them* ask your quesions of someone in the international student office. I've done this before with unhelpful staff and it's always worked out. Admin assistants are sometimes nicer to each other than to students. Now, if the problem is one of incompetence where you simply don't trust the answers you might get, try searching online. Some universities have wonderful ISO websites that list a lot of information.

Depends on the school, some will let you submit unofficial scores and will only want originals if/when they decide to admit you. Many other schools ask for official transcrips as part of the application and will consider your file incomplete and hence not review it without them. In either case, you will have to submit official transcripts before your admission offer is finalized.

If you haven't talked to your advisor yet, some ways of getting information about the possibility of transferring to the Masters program are - ask older students if they know of other cases when this happened (and how it was done, what happened to those students, etc), - ask someone in the administrative staff, if you think you can trust them. They will likely know and might have less of an incentive to do anything with the information that you asked, - If your department has a student rep. or anyone who is willing to act on your behalf, ask them to find out the details while keeping your privacy. I agree that you should not stay for a full PhD and you should learn more about the benefits of staying for a Masters before you commit to that. You shouldn't waste time in a program where you are unhappy and where there are no (/not enough) benefits to sticking it out.

Depends on your new department. Some will accept credits from previous degrees, others require all coursework to be repeated. If it helps, I had to redo everything and I don't regret it at all. You learn how your professors think and teach (remember, you may very well have to teach this class yourself in the near future!), and you can discover more depth in the material that you might have missed the first time around.

No. Advisor(s), funding (amount, for how many years; travel funding, possibilities for summer funding, funding for field work), availability of labs and relevant equipment, possibilities for collaborations with other departments/universities, location (weather, proximity to international airport, living costs, public transportation/car options), teaching load, other resources (other universities nearby, libraries, special programs), connection with students and professors during visit, connection with (potential) future cohort - all those matter more than the undergrad culture. If you magically found two places that matched on all the important stuff - then maybe undergrad culture would be next. But what really matters is the quality of the grad program. Some very good programs are in quite mediocre universities, and vice versa. In all likelihood you will teach mediocre and uninterested students who are forced to take your class whereever you go. By and large the quality of the undergrads is a much less important consideration than the others I listed above.

Start by asking the school with the more recent offer to change the date. Odds are, there won't be a problem rescheduling that interview. If it's impossible to change the date, then contact the first school to ask about rescheduling there. But as much as possible, I would advise you to be polite and keep your obligations so you don't burn any bridges. Act professionally - even if you don't attend either school, the professors there are still colleagues you will meet in conferences and have future contact with. They understand that schools compete for the strongest applicant and they will not be offended if someone doesn't choose their school, but they will remember if you respond rudely or cancel on them at the last minute.

Honestly I would not ask this question before I was accepted. It's January now and it's still pretty early in the game. In mid-March/April you'll have a better idea of how you are progressing and if, at that time, you worry that you might have to finish your thesis in the fall, I would ask this question then.

A thank you note right after the interview seems fine to me, I don't think it would be construed as pandering. Sending a thank you note/email long after the fact just to remind the professor of your existence, however, is something that I would not advise.

Ask a doctor about ways to alleviate or prevent the pain. None of us can tell you if an ice pack will help or not. Don't tell interviewers anything in advance, but do explain if your condition forces you to sit in an unusual position.

Schools need to be approved by the government in order to be able to issue visas and I believe that there is a separate process for F-1 and J-1 visas. Typically F-1 is the appropriate visa for students in long-term programs so any credible school should be able to issue that visa. J-1 is less common but the only question that is relevant for you is whether or not the school has permission to issue it or not. If not, they will not go through the process just for you and your only option will be to get an F visa. If they are, you may be able to negotiate something. This is something you should be able to find out pretty easily by simply writing the international students office at the univesities you applied to. They will be able to tell you what kinds of visas they issue for their students.

If you are the one applying, you'll either get a F-1 visa or a J-1 visa. The F-1 visa is more commonly given to PhD students but some universities also give J visas, that's something to ask the department and the international student office after you have an acceptance offer. Your girlfriend will get a dependent visa: F-2 or J-2 based on her marriage to you. You'll get forms to fill out after you've accepted an offer; issuing the visa takes a few weeks and you can enter the US on your student visa 30 days before the program's official start date as it appears on the visa. The F-2 will not allow your girldfriend to work or study, but the J-2 does allow work (she will have to apply for a permit which takes about 3 months to obtain). Another option is for her to find work independently - if she can find an employer who is willing to take care of issuing her a work visa then she can also work, of course, and you two won't need to get married if you don't want to. It's very difficult to find a job without an appropriate visa or work permit, however, so getting married is probably the better option for you.

Ask about things that are not clearly stated in the program's website. Advising style: how many students does the POI currently have? how often does he meet with them? how hands-on is he - e.g. does he want to read and approve your abstracts before you submit them to conferences, will he help edit your papers, will he comment on drafts or prefer to see a final version? Professional opportunities: are there opportunities to present work within the department, e.g. in reading groups or lab meetings? Are there travel-funding sources for student presentations? Are students encouraged to present/publish early on? on average, how many conferences did the POI's students attend last year? Dynamics: do students often collaborate with each other? do they collaborate with professors? do students get their own desk in a shared space or office? how many people share a space? how many students usually take seminars in X (how large is an incoming cohort usually?)

If you're successful now you'll have to deal with many word/page/whatever counts in the future. Grant proposals, conference abstracts, proceedings papers, full-length journal papers - most academic writing is done under some kind of limit. If you don't meet the requirements, your work may not be reviewed/accepted; would you really risk a multi-million dollar grant for an extra 212 words? Similarly with SOPs. There are more strong applicants than open positions in any incoming cohort, and you are not more special than anyone else who is applying. Why take the risk? Everyone can get their pitch across in the alloted space, so can you.