socialpsych

"Rumour has it"? There is a definite date. I just checked--it's April 22nd.

I don't think the applications are open yet. I believe they open on April 20th, but you can double check on the housing website.

Yeah...I know someone who applied to MIT BCS a few years ago and never heard back...finally sometime in May he asked them whether he'd been rejected and they said "Uh....yeah." I wish schools didn't do this. :/

It's not bad at all once you've spent some time here, I promise!

Lyman is a little more engineery, right? I'm in the social sciences so I don't know anyone who lives there. But it seems nice. I went to a reception in one of their common spaces once. West Campus is pretty, out next to the golf course, but a little farther from the center of campus.

First of all, congrats. I had an online button to click, so I did that, and then I emailed the PhD program director and told him I had officially accepted the offer and was delighted to be coming next year, and to let me know if there was anything else he needed from me. He said thanks and he'd let everybody know. If you don't have an online acceptance form you may need to mail in a signed letter. Never hurts to ask. I'm sure they will be thrilled to hear you're coming!

I know nothing about EE, but Stanford is in a better financial position, being a private school and therefore not dependent on the state of CA, which is having problems right now. So funding may be better at Stanford.

I think there have been at least 5 threads on this topic already. I know you're both new to GC...just sayin'.

I've heard consulting can be a pretty good gig. Management consulting? Education? Depending what kind of psych...

If you look at the highest earners at Michigan, it's medicine, law, and business, upward of 200K.

I don't know about #3, but regarding the other two: I don't think most US universities are taking holidays on the 10th and 13th. So, no, I think offers could reach you up until the 15th. Ask the program. You may want to ask now (or this coming Monday) what they will accept. I would be surprised if they demanded the acceptance by post on or before the 15th as long as you notify them by email before then, but you should really check with each individual program.

Okay, I'm not a polisci person but I've lived in both places too. I'm from California and I think Palo Alto is a WAAAAAY better place to live than New Haven, hands down (although I have to concede the point about food). So I guess it is a matter of taste!

Right, EV is probably not the place for you. I have heard that Rains and Munger are both more social, but you may want to ask around in your department (and Munger is a little more expensive). For undergrad, in the first year you fill out something about your living hours/messiness/love for partying, etc. After that, if they have to assign you a roommate, I'm pretty sure it's random. So I assume for first-year grads it's like either one of those processes, but I'm not sure which one...

I like OP's style. Saying "hey, relax" or "hey, easy" is an awesome way of dealing with people who disagree with you!

Congrats Parmenides!!

I think I liked the beginning and the end, when things were happening (either I was writing my SOP, which was definitely fun, or I was visiting schools and trying to make a decision). The part in between--waiting--was not so fun.

MIT is the one with the hot and humid summers. Berkeley's summers are pleasant and dry. Berkeley in general has a milder and drier climate. So if you really want temperatures around/below freezing for your acne, MIT has more of those, but in general Berkeley has the WAY better climate!

Nope. You would need to request a release from the first one, but people do it and I'd think this school in particular should definitely let you given that they are acting against CGS rules anyway. You may lose some kind of deposit, but if it's worth it for the possibility of getting in to your first choice, it is a perfectly fair thing to do.

Great poll idea, T! And wow, I'm glad so many of us did better than expected! I was a little worried about one of my letters, but everything seems to have gone fine. I had a lot of interest from top schools, and I know I was chosen over some amazing applicants for my top choice program, which is the one I will end up attending. Hooray!

Wow, congrats flyinglion!! That's fantastic.

Woohoo! Congrats paiged!! Where are you headed next year?

Jost, Banaji, Haidt, and Sidanius are a few who come to mind. But that's just based on what they've written; I'm not sure what they're doing now or how active they are.

Sorry to hear that, psycholinguist! At least you have other offers on the table...hoping you are feeling excited about at least one of those!

This is exactly what won't happen on its own, and it's exactly what you don't want to force at the last minute! If you assume that you will feel emotionally ready on April 16th just because you will have been forced to make a formal decision, you may instead feel TERRIBLE about your choice. It is never too early to get yourself emotionally settled with what you want to do next year.

If you are still not sure and need more time to make a decision, of course you are entitled to take your time, and of course it is a big decision. But if you are just waiting until you happen to feel better about it--I just don't think that's going to happen. At least not on its own. Talk to the important people in your life, write down your thoughts, flip a coin or whatever it takes...and then, when you're ready, write to those other schools. It will not be fun now, but I'll bet it will be even less fun in April because you'll actually be feeling the time pressure. This is a big enough decision to avoid having to make in a rush. Don't put yourself in a position where you are forced to make it in a rush!