jmacnomad

You can ship books via media mail from the post office for fairly cheap. It's cheaper than paying for bags on the plane and much less hassle. You can go on the post office website to see how much it would cost per pound.

I'm just curious if anyone has gotten any news in the last week or so. It's been very quiet! As for me--nothing but radio silence. I am going to visit a program tomorrow that admitted but hasn't funded me yet! Send good karma!

I'm working full time right now and I have filled out my FAFSA. My EFC was high considering I will be broke next year, but unfortunately that's just how FAFSA operates. Federal Aid seems to treat us all like we have parents that will pay for us and that income is a constant regardless of the fact that we are choosing to take a lower-paying TA/RA job while in grad school. It's a bit messed up.

Umass is on spring break this week, so I suspect we won't see any movement.

WOW! That is infuriating. I'm so sorry to hear that!

yes it is stressful! And, it's one month and one day to D-day. (I'm not expecting to know anything until april 15th). All I can say sararahmae is I feel your pain!

Not necessarily. I would contact the programs and ask if you are being considered for financial aid in the form of assistanceships. If the answer is yes, then you can ask them when they expect to make financial aid decisions.

I recently watched the documentary "waiting for superman," which followed several kids who were in the lottery for charter schools. Most of the schools had 700 applications for 20 or fewer spots. The lottery scene was just heart-wrenching as the kids waited to hear if they would be one of the ones allowed a shot at a decent education. Most of them did not get in. I realized how blessed I am to be in the position I am now because my education thus far has provided me with a world of socio-economic opportunity. These kids were fighting for a quality middle school education and against at 65% high school drop-out rate. It also put things in perspective. All the karma I can muster goes out to japan.

Hahahhah. Amazing. Only because I too, am an addict!

It's very interesting that this site seems to foster a more collaborative than competitive environment. (In general!) I really do feel happy when people share good news and I commiserate with people in agony. One of us should study this phenomenon once we get in!

Congrats!

Any chance you could visit the schools? If that doesn't work, you could ask to be in touch with some students in your area of interests. I find this to be most helpful in making decisions.

amen!

I absolutely agree with this statement. If it has been an adequate amount of time since they had promised decisions, I think it's okay to send a short, polite email for a status update.

I certainly don't think so, but I can't speak for admissions committees. There are so many factors that go into their decisions that we cannot possibly predict. If they don't take you simply because of your age then they are missing out on adding your experience and perspective to their new cohort. I'm sure there are others out there with your type of background. I hope you hear from them!

welcome to the club!

I probably wouldn't go this route since everyone got the standard email and decisions actually hadn't been made. Rather, I would write them how much your interests fit their program and how it's one of your top choices. I say this because they already stated that decision hadn't been made. All you can do at this point is to make sure they know you are highly interested. Otherwise, it may come off as impatient. Good luck!

Sometimes they contact you sometimes they don't. If you've seen acceptances and rejections from your school go out and haven't heard anything, then it's probably a waitlist. It's best to check in with them to see what your status is.

I agree with this statement. I'm on a wait list and didn't know this until I wrote the school. I doubt they would have told me and would have waited till they knew for sure they a) wanted me or didn't want me.

I wish I knew the answer. All I can says is that I commiserate. I'm on two waitlists and I'm admitted with funding TBA to a third. It's awful! I probably won't know if I'm officially in and funded till at least April 15th! Man! I didn't realize I was going to have to wait that long. If I knew for sure that I was going SOMEWHERE it might be easier.

I read papers of the POIs I was interested in working with and said things like "XYZ's research in ABC would be informative as I investigate QRS."

Awesome! congrats!

I'm in the same boat plus one admission with funding TBA. It's going to be 4/15 for me as well!

Bravo! That's VERY promising news. Good luck! Let us know how it goes.