InquilineKea

Or can they lead to increased impersonal interactions? It's one of those intangibles that you won't necessarily see on a visit, but which could affect you in the future. I'm just curious about this question in particular, since UChicago seems to be *really* expanding in my area quite a bit (which is what I can see from its Physical Science Division newsletter). I wonder if this is the case for other schools as well?

Hm, that is a good point. == On another note, I think it might be a good idea to ask your UG adviser about this, or to maybe ask the professor you're going to work with about this.

Wow - so interesting. Was that email the only "rejection" email that was sent? Or was it sent in addition to the "official" one? And were you in contact with them before applying? Are secretaries also more likely to root for those with non-traditional backgrounds? I also have a non-traditional background myself

It won't make a difference in the decision I make. But it is something to take into consideration when I finally move.

Alright thanks - that's very good advice.

That's true - and the program does pay for my visit. The thing with me is that I should always have a backup plan in mind when I'm staying with a student (and if I'm staying for longer than most people - which I do due to my interdisciplinarity - my interdisciplinary interests mean that professors in other departments will also be important for my decision too).

Interesting. So cities with better vegan eating-out options often tend to be pricier for us vegans, eh? I can understand that - we splurge more when we have more options. Thanks very much for defending me. I think this thread is now showing that some very useful advice is coming out of this thread now. Very acute observation on how companies are trying to take advantage of the ignorance of these trend-followers. You have a good point about the Asian supermarkets. Aren't a lot of them revolting to vegan senses though? They actually kill live fish in a lot of them. With that said, I can control my revulsion at that. I wonder if there are Asian supermarkets that are more vegan-friendly than others. I do notice that almost none of them have any white people in them for some reason.

Good points and advice - I'll do that.

Thanks for the suggestions - I'll bookmark this thread if I ever need to book a hotel when visiting! (I do tend to stay longer than others due to interdisciplinary interests)

Thanks very much - I appreciated that comment a lot. Okay thanks for the advice - I'll look up the CSA prices and reviews. It's hard to reply to an "It depends" reply. But I'll try to be better with replying. Even then though, a lot of the general questions do generate useful replies. Ah yes - this was definitely useful and specialized advice (especially if I end up at Columbia). I would have upvoted it if I didn't run into my daily quota (which I often run into).

I do reply to people's questions and comments, and I read what everyone has to say in reply (and I do try to reply to questions whenever possible, unless the reply could lead into a fight). Not all comments demand a reply - but I will reply to ones that are well-thought out where the person is expecting a reply from me. For replies I appreciate where it's hard to reply to with something other than "thanks", I will give upvotes (e.g. I upvoted once's reply to my thread here because I appreciated it, but it's hard to give a meaningful reply to it at this moment). Also, some of my threads are not for myself, but for the rest of the community. For the question in mind, yes, I care because maybe I am a near-vegan and food prices could factor into whether or not a place is affordable for me or not.

Particularly for applicants who may have been in extensive discussion with several members at the program prior to applying?

As in, the experiences in the early visit dates will always influence the experiences in the later visit dates (people also get better and better at figuring out what questions to ask). And people's memories are biased towards the recent, could this also mean that some schools with later "visiting weekends" have an advantage in the % of applicants who accept their offers?

yeah - it definitely has a visitation weekend. The fact that multiple redditors gave that advice did concern me a little. I'm still enthusiastic about Chicago, but this will at least make me more open to the other schools.

Yes - I'd imagine that it would be undergrad only. In some cases, undergrad classes are the best way to develop technical skill in an area you're unfamiliar with. For example - machine learning. Oh, good point. Of course, one could set it up as an independent study with a professor, though this would likely only apply to courses within the department.

Hmm... Interesting... For a while, I thought that it was the work of a troll, but then I saw that she had 180 posts on the forum, so now I'm not sure what to believe..

I'm getting some worrisome messages from http://www.reddit.com/r/GradSchool/comments/p0o62/discussing_offers_from_other_universities_during/c3lk4r1

And in what circumstances does this happen? One example here: http://www.mathematicsgre.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=495#p2294

A lot of profs tell me to just apply to around 6, which is the average there. Meanwhile, I'm seeing a lot of Physics or Math students who are basically applying to 12-20 schools (just look at physicsgre.com or mathematicsgre.com). I wonder if it's because "fit" matters a lot more in Geoscience? Geoscience tends not to have a common core, so people are more self-selective about the schools they're applying for (in other words, apply to only the schools where there are professors who do the stuff you're interested in).

What program do you attend now? What is it like? What other programs did you turn down for it, and what were the reasons why you did so? What percent of students in the program seem to be reasonably happy? Are the professors approachable? What are its biggest strengths, and what are its biggest weaknesses?

Has anyone tried setting up a forum for a reading group? I know that the Astronomy PhD students from astrobites have set up an online reading group for anyone in the nation.

Wow... Interesting. I wonder if this happens anywhere else?

This is a follow-up thread to Did you do it? If so, what types of responses did you get?

What about a grad student taking an undergrad CS, applied math, or statistics course?

lol really? like which ones?