Faraday

secret oath

As far as Duke goes, I vaguely recall meeting two different people this past weekend who said they had gotten into Duke and there was already a visit weekend scheduled. I don't recall the date. Maybe two weeks from now? I suppose this isn't good news but if you haven't been straight up rejected you may be on a wait list so stay optimistic!

My visit this weekend was fantastic, despite the snow storm that rolled through as everyone had to leave. It looks like this is the official visiting/deciding season now for most people so good luck to everyone in making the right choice so that we can all be happy and satisfied with where we go!

I imagine it varries from person to person and from program to program. I submitted my application by mid-November and I heard back unoffocially from a member of the admissions committee around three weeks later that I had gotten in. That said, I am sure they will let you know by early April at the latest since most schools recognize most people want to make up their mind by April 15. Good luck! UMD would be a great school to go to for Public Policy!

Pistachios are good stress food. They are tasty and the act of having to break them open is a good reliever of nervous tension.

For what it's worth I applied mid-november and I heard back right before Christmas, so they should have a pretty quick turn around for acceptances. It seems there is a second visiting weekend in March so if someone hasn't heard back yet they might hear back in the second round. I don't imagine you'll have too much trouble getting people to join you with that.

oak barrel

red light

scotch whisky

jump start

summer breeze

"Consolation Prizes" by Phoenix

"Violet Hill" by Coldplay

farmer's tan

corner market

"You've Got The Love" by Florence + The Machine

If everything goes well I'll have to run one or two more experiments. Keyword there is "if"... Realistically my advisor has said it would be ok if I had to run with only the data I have now, it just wouldn't be quite as pretty as is ideal. The goal is to be done by March, so I can spend most of the month writing everything up and pulling everything together.

party animal

It sounds like that is the case, but you should still be prepared to remind them why they should accept you.

My thoughts on the matter: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uxn3RoqTOQ!

"Under The Bridge" by Red Hot Chili Peppers

I declined two because they don't offer as good of a fit as other schools I heard back from. I feel like there can be instances where you can say with pretty good confidence that you don't feel one school is as good of a fit as another (or a set of others). As for accepting an offer without visiting, I couldn't see myself feeling comfortable doing that.

rubber soul

" " by The Head and the Heart

Typically there are two types of visiting weekends: recruitment weekends, and interview weekends. In the case of the former, you've already been accepted and they are inviting you to learn more about their program so hopefully they can convince you to attend there in the fall (i.e. they intend to wine and dine you). Sometimes these weekends also have interviews with faculty, but those interviews are supposed to help you get a feel for the department and the research happening there that might interest you. That said the professors will still be “watching” you… In the case of the latter, they are inviting you and a select group of other applicants to interview for acceptance (i.e. they only have so many spots and they want to talk to you in person to better evaluate your potential as a graduate student). The interview weekends help them select the final list of accepted students out of the strong potential applicants they narrow the field down to. So take that as you will with regards to your specific situation...