synthla

I had a similar experience; while I've been lucky enough to now have a couple options (although not in the league of schools that you mentioned), it seems clear that the admissions process and standards have changed dramatically from when our professors were going through the same process. And it's made worse when those professors aren't at big research universities (like the ones at my LAC) so they're really quite removed from the process.

I wish there was a :clapping: smiley or something similar. Great explanation!

Isn't that great? Mine are locked in at 2% for the life of the loans and I too will be happy to pay them back over the next however many years than pay them off early. But I understand that consolidations aren't easy to find anymore, so we got lucky graduating at the right time.

I think it's just the tradeoff between responsibilty and cost vs. control; but like you said, if you do your due diligence on a condo you'll be fine. Depending on where it is, just take a very close look at the financials for the building and HOA, as well as occupancy levels if its a newer development. Some areas experienced a tremendous over-development of condos during the bubble and so prices have noe dropped and gotten very attractive, but foreclosures have taken a toll on some buildings as HOAs have run out of cash when banks don't pay the fees on the condos they've repossessed. I also have a friend who bought into a new condo development a couple years ago in the first phase, so the development is still not finished but the developers just handed the keys to the bank on the rest of the project that wasn't yet sold so she has NO idea what's going to happen. But as long as you are careful and find someplace with an established history, you should be fine.

If you can swing it for a couple months, buy the new place while you're still employed. Banks typically look for a certain amount of cash reserves after taking out your down payment, closing costs, etc., to get them comfortable about what might happen if you suddenly lost your job. But people have mortgages and lose their jobs (or take significant salary cuts) every day... what matters most is your financial condition when you apply. Beyond the points I already made about condos, I think I just don't like living in such close proximity to other people if I can avoid it.

Right now I'm looking at 3 bed/2 bath houses between $125K and $150K with a 20% down payment. With current mortgage rates that takes the payment down to between $500 and $600, plus taxes/insurance. I'm coming from several years of steady work though, so I've got a significant amount of cash saved up and a SO that will be helping out, so it makes sense for me - I wouldn't be doing this straight out of undergrad. As it is, I just have too much stuff and am used to living on my own in a 2 bedroom apartment, so there's just no way I could go back to 1 room or sharing with unrelated people.

:roll:

I wasn't saying that the test isn't teachable; only disagreeing with the statement that anyone could get a perfect score with enough practice.

For me, the amount of money from the school has turned out to be lesser issue than the cost of living in the relevant city. When it comes to humanities funding, the difference between schools is probably not going to be dramatic, but housing costs can vary dramatically, and all other things being equal, I'd rather be in a place where I can buy a house and swing the mortgage payment, than in a place where I have to rent an apartment. Thankfully, it looks like everything is coming together to make that happen.

September. Once I've decided to do something, I prefer just to get it done.

I heard from professors in advance of the official acceptance letter with both of my acceptances thus far - but one was the day before and the other was the same day (just earlier in the day). I think it's just their personal preference though; I don't think you can expect to hear in advance even from a place that really wants you.

Well your anger/frustration antenna must be malfunctioning today; my life is in a pretty great place. I attended one of the top law schools in the nation, have had the pleasure of practicing for several years, learned a lot, and now I'm getting ready to pursue a Ph.D full time and have already been admitted to my top choice. I suppose I'm just speaking from a position of having had a lot of time to figure all of this out - and I don't know how old you are, but your post makes your thought process seem very dilletante-ish and if I was one of those other people who was hoping against hope to get into Chicago, e.g., and saw your post, then I think I would be frustrated; so perhaps I'm just chanelling. Obviously I know what it's like to have multiple passions; I was just sure of what I was doing at each step of the way so as to avoid wasting my and others time. At the end of the day, I hope you're able to find a place that's satisfying for you in all respects.

Have you really researched law school, or is this just some basically unformed idea? I've said it many times already, and there are several other posters who have said essentially the same thing, but law school and a history graduate program couldn't be further apart in just about every category. If you're this unsure about graduate study in history, I'd say do everyone a favor and turn down Chicago so that someone who is obsessed with the subject can have the opportunity to pursue their dream. Not only are you helping out your fellow applicant but you're probably saving yourself from wasting a year or two of graduate study to which you're only half-committed; everything I've learned so far indicates you have to be 100% focused on graduate study or you're not going to succeed with it. And (I'm having a hard time believing that I'm being this blunt, because I typically try to be more cordial), but the fact that you would even mention UDetroit law and UChicago history in the same post leads me to seriously question, even more so, your level of seriousness. I have a law degree, and I wasn't even aware of UDetroit's existence, much less their law school. I can't overstress the importance of a big-name law school if you want to have a real chance at success on the job market - it doesn't matter what kind of catchy hip new program they have. Legal employers are EXTREMELY focused on academic pedigree. Finally, you can't let geographic considerations have this big an impact (again, this goes to the seriousness question); that's life - I moved away from my family nearly a decade ago, first one coast and then another, and I miss them daily, but that's how things go in the modern world. Sorry to be so harsh, but I know there are dozens of applicants, some of them on this board, who would love your spot and accept it without hesitation, so your post is very aggravating from that perspective.

If this is completely true, then I would expect to see more perfect scores on here because you can buy some pretty comprehensive prep books for under $30 and spend weeks studying for the exam before taking it. But I don't see many perfect scores. Now whether the GRE measures anything worthwhile is debatable, but the blanket statement that you can just study, learn the test and earn a perfect score is a bit overblown.

I lived in New York for several years after coming from the same background. The people weren't awful, but I didn't encounter that much random kindness. And attitudes tend toward the surlier side overall - I mean, it's steaming hot and humid in the summer and freezing and snowing in the winter; one has every right to be pissed off most days. After escaping to Los Angeles, I've never once looked back and wished I was still in New York (and I have no great love for southern California either, to be honest). I believe NYC falls squarely in the overrated and overpriced categories; however, you're there for an education and just as I wouldn't suggest avoiding a top school just because it's in a small town, I wouldn't avoid a school in NYC just because it's in NYC. It's an adventure and fun for a while - I was just more than ready to move on by the time I left.

Your sense of time has been warped even worse than you think - it's only been about 12 days actually. But the website status still hasn't changed...

Just saw this article if anyone considering moving here is looking for a general current overview of the state of the State of California: http://www.newsweek.com/id/185791.

And don't forget, with the recently passed California budget, you will now have the joy of having not only the highest state income taxes in the country (outside of NYC), which were raised by 5% for next year, and one of the highest state sales taxes (9%+ depending on county), but you'll also have the pleasure of the fact that they nearly doubled the annual vehicle registration fee... I forget the exact numbers but plan on paying 1%+ of the value of your car each year just for the privilege of driving it on California roads. All in a state mired in political gridlock, with education being the only thing that the politicians can agree is worth cutting funding for, and intractable social service issues. It's a joy here!

Just started a book completely outside of my field, The Fall of the Roman Empire by Peter Heather; it's a relatively recent work and obviously is tackling a large topic (given my general unfamiliarity with the area, so much the better for me), but given the recent discussion of a preference for combining readability with good scholarship, I have to give it a real thumbs up so far. Heather represents his work as an attempt to construct a synthetic narrative from the multitude of new and revolutionary, but very focused historical work that has been done in the late-Imperial, early-antiquity period over the last 40 years or so. I'm sure it would present nothing new to the student of the field, but it's a very engaging read for someone who wants to read history but needs a break from their own area. His general thesis is that the conventional wisdom, which has prevailed from at least Gibbon and places the ultimate blame for the empire's demise on its own internal weaknesses is wrong, and that the empire was still filled with vitality and resilience in the fourth century; rather, it really was the "barbarians" who did it in. The only downside for me, and this happens a lot when reading secondary classical history, are all the references to lost texts - the fact that so many did not survive to today always makes me profoundly sad.

Thanks rising_star; for anyone who's interested, the thread is here: http://forum.thegradcafe.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=13986 I was just looking at houses in Bloomington. Seems possible to get a decent 3 bed/2 bath for around $120-$140K there! With a decent down payment, that is very affordable. If you get the payment down to $500-$600 per month, you could get a roommate to basically pay most of your mortgage. Coming from California, this seems too good to be true...

Might be time for a trip to the bar, if that's your thing, or some other location away from email, computer, etc. It's not easy to force yourself to go to that place, but if you can get somewhere where it's just not physically possible for you to check your email or this site, even for a few hours, it might be good. An entire weekend would be even better. I visited friends in another city a couple weekends ago, had a great time, and it did wonders. I still thought about admissions, don't get me wrong, but I couldn't do anything about it, so my mind relaxed.

http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=908 see last panel

If I hadn't heard positive results from a couple schools already, I'd be very worried - you're all much more qualified than me. I'm sure good news is in the future for you!

I don't have any specific celebration ideas that don't involve spending more money you don't have, but still wanted to say congratulations! After such a tough morning, that acceptance was exactly what you deserved.

I was just kidding, hence the :wink: . When I lived in New York, I dated someone who grew up and lived in NJ (and coincidentally went to Rutgers), so I've actually spent a fair amount of time there, and appreciate much of the state, once you escape the NYC suburb parts.