AurantiacaStella

I don't see why not. It never hurts to make connections with people in your field. And it definitely sounds promising that you're invited to the open house!

I just want to add that you can get a PhD and have a "life" at the same time. You can choose to have a family while in graduate school (of course this is probably dependent on your partner having a decent job to supplement your stipend). You can choose how much time you spend on this. You can choose whether or not you will go wherever a job is, and if other things are more important to you, then you can choose to seek a job outside of the top-tier, or even outside academia. It depends on the stipend, but many of them are better than the minimum wage, so personally (for those of us with the option) I would much rather take this experience of getting a PhD than working in a dead-end job. And, obviously we'll all make choices and compromises as we go, but if given good funding, getting a PhD is a worthwhile in and of itself, IMHO.

In bullet points, because it's easier to read: the number of / sense of community among students in my field what their students have taught in the past (to find out if I will get be able to get teaching experience in my specialty) other faculty members I should consider working with (or at least taking their classes) in other departments because I have interdisciplinary interests the placement records of their particular students because often placement varies according to specialty frequency of classes in my field, both in the department and in other departments what their current projects are; with older profs, they sometimes aren't really working on what they're famous for anymore, although this doesn't mean they wouldn't still be a good advisor if those are your interests I've asked grad students who are working with my potential advisor what the professor is like as a teacher, as a mentor, etc.; also I've asked them about their teaching experiences and about preparation for going on the job market. I definitely try to avoid asking funding questions, etc., that the DGS could more easily answer, or simple things that I could find out by reading the grad student handbook.

I have contacted everyone with similar interests to me at every school I have been accepted to. I think you should definitely do this. It can only be helpful to you to hear as many perspectives as possible when making your decision. Even if they are sort of a secondary POI for you, they can often tell you things you would want to know about your potential advisor, etc. Edit (I realized I didn't answer a main part of the question): I would go ahead and email them beforehand, especially if the visits are late in March. Perhaps you won't write back and forth in as much detail with the ones you will be meeting in person, but if I were you I would want to start gathering as much info as possible as early as possible.

You should go. What jazzy dubois's prof said about saving the visit money for the students that will actually attend doesn't apply here because the plane ticket has already been purchased. Also, the visit could really change your mind, as Datatape said. After visiting one of my programs, I have very strong/different feelings about the program as a whole and the people that I met there than I could have possibly had/known if I had not visited.

24. Do other grad students my age really not wake up at 5am too? I am very old at heart though; can't really function after 8pm.

Reinforced super heavy legal boxes are great for books, and they fold down so you can save them for the next move. I had 12 for the move to my master's program, and I think I might have to get 12 more for this move...

I got a 4.0 on the writing, and I have been admitted to two programs with funding in the 20Ks. So it really doesn't matter, but on the other hand, there are strategies for getting a better score that are pretty easy to follow. Glad you're still enthuasiatic about the process, KenAnderson. This is my second time around, and I can't imagine doing it again. So hopefully next time will do the trick for you (who's to say you won't get in this time with three more programs still to hear from though?).

Please no one contribute to discussions in classes you're sitting in on. You'll look like a pretentious asshole to the current students (I witnessed an admitted student doing this last year), and I highly doubt you will impress the professor either.

Also, it seems that there is a standard amount for the stipend and for research/summer funds for each PhD student, so the only way to get more money is to win one of the school-wide fellowships. Does this change anyone's advice?

Just to clarify, everyone admitted is guaranteed a standard stipend (along with tuition remission and health insurance), so there's no risk of having no funding at all. The school-wide fellowship would simply top-up the department award by several thousand. Thanks for all the feedback so far, everyone!

I've been nominated for an extra fellowship, but I know I will attend the school whether I am awarded it or not. Is there any benefit (I.e. higher likelihood of actually getting the fellowship) to me to wait to submit my official acceptance until after the extra fellowship awardees have been named?

Agreed with katzenmusik. I interviewed somewhere that was my top choice, and made it clear that I was very interested but considering other programs as well. They nominated me for a special fellowship, I think largely because they wanted to convince me to come. So don't play all your cards too soon!

I know many of you are preparing for interviews. Do any veteran interviewees (or any one at all, really) have tips for interviewing with professors outside your specialty? For example, you specialize in science and literature and a Renaissance drama prof is interviewing you. Will professors expect you to know their work and to be able to say something about it? What if you have none of the prerequisite knowledge required to understand their work? Since there are such a variety of specialities within literature departments, I think this sort of situation could happen for many of us.

I read a thread on here from last year or the year before -- I think about Emory -- that suggested that the waitlist could extend beyond the group of applicants interviewed. No clue if this is true for Notre Dame.

Can anyone fill us in on how many applicants a program typically admits above their target class size? i.e. If a school can fund 10 students, how many will actually be admitted? I imagine this varies program to program, depending what percentage typically accepts a particular program's offer. Still, any insight would be appreciated!

I don't know anything about Emory in particular, but it is my impression that many programs admit above their target. So perhaps 12 of the 18 would be admitted (for a target of 8), and the other 6 would be wait listed. This is because at most programs they do not have a perfect yield.

I'm currently in a master's program at an Ivy, and this is what a PhD classmate of mine told me that grades mean here, at least in grad seminars. A = excellent, outstanding, publishable work A- = good work, meets all basic expectations for a course without really exceeding them B+ = OK work, but not up to standard; be careful and don't get another one B = this is cause to be concerned and you should talk seriously with your professor about how to improve your performace B- = GTFO of the program Obviously, this varies among different types of schools (and among professors), but this is what I've been told about grading at a top program. I am sure AdComs are familiar with the differences between grading at different programs. Also, totally agree with DontHate. For all of my grad classes, I have NO IDEA what my number grade was. In language courses, I've received number grades for exams, but for the papers in those and other classes, I've only ever received a letter grade.

I did get an email a few days ago from the professor I would be working with at Chicago. Now I'm thinking each accepted student is supposed to be contacted by their POI.

It was included in my admissions/financial aid letter.

I got half tuition and am second on the wait-list for full tuition. It probably just depends on the area of interest, I think. I'm interested in medieval Christianity.

I was admitted to the AM in Divinity at Chicago, but I didn't get an email from a professor. So, I think that's probably a personal contact from a professor in your area of interest.

I really wouldn't encourage anyone to accept an offer earlier than April 15 when there remains the possibility that they might later back out of the offer. This really screws people over on the wait-list. Personally, I certainly understand that the wait-list is a difficult place to be, but I would encourage Philologus to wait out Duke's wait-list until April 15. And then if you haven't moved off the wait-list by April 15, of course you should accept.

Also, has anyone heard from Chicago yet? I know there was someone who called to get their results early, but what about others? I called the admissions office last week, and they told me that they would be sending personal emails to each applicant and hoped to finish by the end of last week. I haven't heard anything yet, though.

Just so everyone knows, I don't think you'll have much luck petitioning HDS for larger grants. It's their policy not to adjust grants at all, even if some admitted students turn down their offers. I suppose it's worth a try, but even though my potential advisor wrote to the admissions office, it didn't make any difference.