migrationdude

Congrats hardboiledegg!

I completely agree, hip2btriangle. I don't particularly like the cookie-cutter approach to admissions in any field, even though I have been a beneficiary of it. And yes, I also believe that having a good application does not tell very much about what may happen in the future. The hard-work towards real scholarship barely begins...

To answer your questions, No, I wasn't contacted by anyone but the DGS. Yes, I am international. I'm in the US on an F-1 Visa and a "Non-Resident Alien;" kind of what got me into thinking about studying migrations, although part of me is drifting away from that now -- nevermind my username.

Rumor has it that their stipends are pretty good. I have no idea about weekends though.

Yeah, part of me feels like some sort of freak. Not that I'm gonna feel bad about it now. I worked hard for everything I listed (though I've also been extremely lucky).

Honestly, I was not expecting things to be so good. Not in this economic climate, and not in a discipline where so many people apply. I am overwhelmed...

Congrats to everyone who got in. Anyone know anything about the average package they offer?

Edited: sorry, everyone, but maybe posting my stats wasn't such a good idea.

Priceless! Are you actually going to send it? Fo' reals?

Thanks a lot, Unlikely Grad. I was also considering living outside PA, but then I realized that my first year might make for a better experience if I lived on-campus -- even though I'm sick as hell of dorm life. Does EV feel like a dorm?

What do people think of Escondido Village? How easy is it to get to SF for the evening?

Okay, I get the drift. Part of me still wants to see if I can get a perfect-12, but that's kinda silly. Acceptances are still important at this point, because of fellowships: as far as I understand, having many acceptances gives you the power to negotiate, and a higher fellowship from a competing school might result in a matching offer, though not necessarily. I will consider withdrawing two-four applications next week, regardless of whether I hear back by then. In any case, I don't think the timing of my withdrawal matters so much right now, as long as it's made before the end of this month. Decisions have pretty much been made everywhere, and I don't think one withdrawn application would change much. This being said, a withdrawal/refusal would definitely free up some space for Round 2 of decisions, as I do plan to decline the least likely offers in a timely manner. I don't want to engage in acceptance-hogging right now, but I do need to consider my options as well. I definitely feel lucky to be in this position, and I'm sure that most people would proceed in the same way.

So far the 9-month range has been $20k - $22k for me, in comparable-COL areas to LA.

Wohoo, go gradcafe!

Thanks everyone. I'll do some horn-tooting here and announce that beeswax was the other person. Congrats, beeswax! And yes, I did get an interview -- they always do this, it seems, but only for the short-listed applicants.

Ewurgler, didn't UNC also offer $15k? I mean, it's much easier to get by on that money in Chapel Hill than it is in LA. UCLA sounds ridiculous IMHO -- I guess they pretty much expect you to take loans. Also, if you're an international student, they might end up CHARGING you non-resident tuition. For some reason I don't get all the anti-foreigner discrimination thing when it comes to PhDs.

Two people actually. Got a phone-call this evening. Pretty good financial aid package, and some great people there.

Congrats beeswax and neutiquammero

Yeah, it was me. Got a personalized letter, with info on funding. Congrats to everyone else who got it! Don't freak out if you haven't heard from them, remember these things go in rounds!

To me this definitely sounds like you're in. The bad news is that they may either delay you until April 15 to find out about funding, or that their financial package might be a little underwhelming. Definitely reply enthusiastically and keep your fingers crossed about funding.

Hah, that could be very true )

Has anyone else noticed the post? It seems like they may have started out notifying people; since they began with rejections, maybe they've let people know if they haven't made the shortlist. At this point I would assume no news is good news .

Here's what I've dug up: http://orgtheory.wordpress.com/grad-skool-rulz/ I'm sure other people know this source, but I thought it's an useful link to post. Great read, imho.

Yeah, Princeton used to be my first choice hands-off. The thing is that a project I've been working on for a while also stoked my interest in social psychology and social networks, so this kind of complicates the situation, because Princeton otherwise would be perfect. Princeton is great except for the location, and I must ask how much it matters to my own sanity; I've spent the past four years working like crazy, and now I want to have a life besides school as well. I'm sick of being isolated out in the sticks, even though this situation has had its advantages. As about UNC, so far they have offered very little support; like everyone else I suppose, I'm waiting to hear about fellowship funding from them as well, but at this point I think the chances aren't so great for good support over there. Again, I don't want to appear shallow or anything, but I have met my share of depressive grad students, unhappy with the environment and/or the conditions they ended up living in. I want to avoid that, and that's why I'm talking so much about where a school is located and how much support it can offer. Pretty much all of the schools I applied to were good research fits -- my interests are still in flux -- and now it comes down to finding the right balance between prestige, fit and quality of life.

Tritonetelephone, I've also been involved with LGBT organizations for the past four years I love to travel (part of me is looking forward to the visiting weekends at least for that reason), and am quite a shutterbug. Recently I've been playing Europa Universalis III a lot -- it's more of a history major addiction than one fit for a sociology type, but it satisfies the world-domination streak in me