UnlikelyGrad

I've said this before and I'll say it again... I did my freshman and sophomore years at one of the highest-ranked schools in the nation, then transferred to the local State U for my junior & senior years. I got a FAR better education at StateU. There, the professors actually had TIME for me. They liked to teach. They cared about their students. (When I was at BigNameU, a classmate overheard one of my professors say: "Stupid undergraduates. I wish we didn't have to put up with them!") I keep telling my kids, "Go to a state university for undergrad--go to the big name school for grad school." I say this to my tutor clients, too, but they rarely listen to me... :roll: You'll be fine.

With me it was my professors and family. Everyone else in my family has gone to a decent grad school, so they told me I could get in anywhere. And my PI kept telling me: "You're smart! You belong at Stanford or Caltech or MIT!" Honestly, I wouldn't have applied to UW, UIUC, or UM without their pushiness. People in my field have already heard from those schools...whereas it seems like all I got was flushing all that extra $ (not to mention time for doing the extra applications) down the drain! I'm just glad I had the sense to keep the safety schools on my list!

You heard from UM...on a Sunday? Whoa. *twiddles thumbs, hopes to hear from UM soon*

The part I visited seemed more like an off-campus apartment complex than anything. It didn't even have the standard campus-housing feel I was accustomed to.

Well, I think so! I don't have three teenagers--only two, plus one pre-teen and one younger child. And just the other day, my most grumbly teen said, "You know what? I'm starting to get really excited about the move." **huge sigh of relief** His older brother has been fairly accepting ever since his gf moved away last weekend (no one important to leave behind any more, as far as he's concerned). So I don't think I deserve best entry any more.

Well, if one acceptance is all I'm going to get, I wish the other eight schools would reject me so I can get on with my life!

If I were moving there, I would pick a spot west of the north-south train tracks and east of Mattis; south of I-74 and north of Kirby. But that's just me. This area is all in Champaign. I hear there are parts of Urbana that are pretty good, but I didn't get over to that part of town.

That's 'cause the guys are too embarrassed to admit it.

I made another poll for day of the week.

You're allowed multiple options for multiple acceptances.

What time (note: time local to the accepting university) was your acceptance email sent? I know, I'm a bit obsessive, but I'm still checking my email every five minutes well past 6 pm every day. I've let you choose up to 5 options in case you're one of those lucky people with multiple acceptance letters.

...that I'm willing to sell my house and move half-way across the US with some grumbly teenagers in tow.

I definitely had crushes on profs as an undergrad. Even after I was married. :roll: I like to think I have a little more self-control now. Note: Smart guys are mega-hot. Good thing I married one.

Okay, I'll jump in to give my 2 cents as a local denizen. Transportation: Stanford has a lot of free buses through their 'Marguerite' service...check out their website. Some go to shopping areas, some to downtown, PA, etc. Most of the lines stop by the Palo Alto transit center, where you can pick up VTA (Santa Clara county buses) to San Jose (express or slow), SamTrans (San Mateo county buses), and Caltrain, which runs from San Jose to SF. It's ~1 hr to SF from Palo Alto, more like 40 minutes if you can manage to catch a 'baby bullet' (~6 stops). Last train south generally leaves SF around midnight, but if there's a special event (concert, etc.) they'll often run a train that leaves 20 min or so after the event gets out. Of course, by the time you get back to PA the Margurerite buses may not be running any more. My sister-in-law lived in Escondido Village. The apartments are small (to my eyes: people used to undergrad dorms may disagree), but comfortable. For two single people--the apartments are designed to be shared--they would be fine. For a young family? Bah humbug. Fitting a double bed in one of the bedrooms would be a tight squeeze. I concur with the person who told you to look elsewhere. You can get cheaper apartments in Mountain View or Sunnyvale, either within walking distance of the Caltrain line or El Camino Real (where the express bus runs). Transit passes are $61.25 for VTA, $56 for SamTrans, and $66.25 for Caltrain for a one-zone-only pass...you'd need to pay extra to ride to SF. Sounds like a lot, but you'd probably save $300+ in rent monthly, so it's worth it.

My dad hasn't supported me financially for 18+ years, but he's been one of the most supportive people during this process. I can call and talk about grad school any time and I know my dad will be there for me. My dad has a Ph.D. in chemistry, so he really understands what I'm going through. He was particularly helpful when I was choosing schools, which for me was a long and harrowing process. (It was made even more harrowing by the fact that my PI, my husband--who thought it would be nice not to have to move--and my mom--who's very into the "prestigious school" thing--were both pushing hard for me to apply to Stanford. Stanford is a great school if you're going into theoretical chem, or biophysical chem, or organic synthesis. There isn't a single professor who does anything remotely related to my field of interest. So it was great to have my dad back me up on this decision.) He certainly understands the anxiety of waiting for an answer, and he doesn't push for information--unlike my mom, who calls every two days wanting new info on who's accepted me since the last call. My mom is very supportive about other aspects of my life but right now she is driving me crazy! I'm anxious enough without her constant queries for information!

A relative of mine who currently lives in Champaign described it to me this way: "It's a very diverse city, with many ethnic groups and great restaurants. Very cool. But if you drive five miles in any direction...it's very much redneck country." LOL I visited a couple of years ago; I was in Chicago on business and took a couple of days to visit said relative. I think it only took me 2 hrs driving from Chicago. You can also hop on a puddle-jumper directly to Champaign if you are flying into Chicago from elsewhere. Personally, I loved it there: everything is close together (relative bikes everywhere), but there seems to be a lot crammed into the city limits. It was a town with a lot of personality--most places I visit lately seem to be clones of everywhere else. Of course, I don't like big cities (the reason I didn't apply to Columbia or UCLA--even UW was a stretch for me), so if you do, take my advice with a grain of salt.

I try to keep myself very, very, very, very busy. Days where I'm not busy are horrendous: I only get one or two per week, but I'm still amazed I have any hair left!

Check with the school. At my local state university, non-degree students aren't allowed to take graduate-level courses if they've been denied admission to a grad program. Also, there's a limit on how many credits (taken as a non-degree student) that can be applied to a graduate degree.

I've never lived in Davis but I've driven through a lot and I've even stopped there a couple of times. (It's farm country, and they have killer deals on produce!) Sacramento is close, maybe 10 miles. And because of the geography of the place, this doesn't mean 10 miles to the edge of the suburbs; it means 10 miles and then, boom! Suddenly you are in downtown. (The area between Davis & downtown Sac is all flood plain and therefore not built up at all.) SF is farther, maybe 50 miles? I'm in a different part of the Bay Area, so I've never gone directly from SF to Davis. If you're going into SF on a weekend, you'll probably be fine; all the traffic will be going in the other direction. Never drive into SF on a Sunday night or out on a Friday. The first stretch (driving in) will be fine, but once you get to Vacaville it will be slooooow. In any case you will probably want a car. You can take Amtrak (bus or rail) to Sacramento or Oakland (and from Oakland, BART to SF) but that is a terribly inefficient way to get around, not to mention expensive.

It's gotten a little easier for me. But just a little. I'm still going crazy. 1 school down, 8 to go! :shock:

One more note. You might think that a fellowship looks better on your CV long term, but 15-20 hours per week? Yikes! That's the same commitment as a TA-ship. As I said earlier, chem students try not to TA past the first year because that sort of time commitment is a huge time sink that eats into your ability to do research and therefore finish your dissertation. I think you would be much better off going to a place where your funding will eventually come from doing research, because the more time you spend on research, the more papers you can publish before graduation.

One thing you should keep in mind is that, at good schools (read: those with a decent amount of funding), very few chemistry grad students TA past the first year. Usually they're supported by funding from their PI in subsequent years so they can do research without being bothered by undergrads. I highly recommend contacting profs at FSU who are potential advisors and ask about their funding situation. Would they be able to pay your stipend as an RA and, if so, what are they currently paying students? Frequently RAs (whose stipends are funded by profs) make more than TAs (whose stipends are funded, and determined by, the university).

Re-reading my first acceptance letter for the gazillionth time, I notice that it includes this sentence: "If you would like to visit prior to making a decision, please contact (name) to make your travel arrangements." Does this mean they're going to pay? Or will the person just have recommendations on where to stay etc.? Yeah, yeah, I know I should just call her and ask. But I've applied to another school in the area, and I'd like to postpone making travel arrangements until I've heard from that one--would like to visit both in one fell swoop.

If I didn't have to worry about getting a job in academia after grad school (read: I really ought to go to a higher-ranked school), and if I weren't concerned because there's no community college in Missoula for my kids to attend, it would be my top choice. They have a very strong focus on environmental chemistry--don't think I've seen quite as good a program elsewhere. (Davis comes close, though.) I'm not sure what my top choice is but I'm glad Montana is going to be one of my options!

I didn't post because I didn't know where I'd be when I heard the news. I imagined that my response would be different depending on whether I was home, or at school, etc. Here's what actually happened: Got a feeling I should check my email. Found an acceptance email with funding offer. Called my husband over to read. Emailed current PI the good news. Went on loooooong walk with my sweetie while we discussed the logistics of moving. Note that, at no point during the 1+ mile walk did my feet ever touch the ground. So, not quite the wild reaction I would have predicted.