jmacnomad

Location and lifestyle fit was a strong factor in where I applied to schools. My SO's happiness is also very important. It's five years of you AND your family's life! It's okay not to choose a top program in order to accept a program that will fit you better overall.

cute. I'm feeling optimistic!

Wise words TVPhD! I keep re-reading this post () and reminding myself how many factors go into the admissions committees' decisions. It is way more complicated than those of us on the outside sometimes realize.

Sorry to hear that. I'm in at one place but no funding yet so I don't feel like that counts till I have funding. here's to keeping the faith!

I agree with this poster. "Vibe" is incredibly important because these are the people you will be spending the next few years of your life with. Plus, your SO's happiness and ability to find work will be key to both of your abilities to cope with the life change that is grad school.

Absolutely! Not only will they get to know you better ( a face to an application name does wonders), but you will able to decide if it is a fit for you. Definitely go if you can.

Keep the faith maximalist! you never know in what crazy ways admissions committees work. good luck!

Agreed! I spend so much time checking personal email and this site but I'm somehow managing to keep the ship running at work. Imagine if I was at full capacity?

I feel your pain! My productivity has majorly gone downhill and I feel guilty about it. Productivity is low and stress is high! I'm just trying to fly under the radar as much as possible until this horrible waiting game is over!

Yes! It is hard not telling people I work with. I'm in charge of a center at a college and I will have to make plans in order to depart and not leave them high and dry. However, I can't do this till everything is official.(Ugh! I need at least one admit!) I'm planning on telling them in May so that we have time to prepare for the transition. It's tough though. We've already started talking about fall and I have to be careful about what I commit to. I feel a bit dishonest!

Congrats!

Ah yes, wise words! If I could just figure out how to do that. I think once I get an accept under my belt, I'll feel a lot better. In the meantime, I'll work on my que sera sera mindset.

My routine is pretty much the same as those above. Right now I'm really wishing I didn't have an office job where I can access to the internet all day long! I'm feeling guilty because I'm becoming a slacker with OCD!

I certainly think such a high gre score in your field is impressive! I also don't think one bad year will haunt you forever. That being said, I'd agree with others that most programs seem to look at the whole package--what lies beyond gre and gpa. I found this post from a professor to be most helpful: Good luck!

I'm glad that you confirmed that was a real person. I was wondering since there was only one. I haven't heard anything either. I saw the "applied" notice online as well. However, I wonder if Umass actually follows that. It seems that a lot of other Umass departments inform admits, waitlists, and denials all at the same time. It appears that last year the comm department informed acceptances and denials at the same time. Hmmm. Maybe they are just holding off on their waitlists and denials until they hear back from their first picks?

During my masters I taught yoga and kickboxing a few times per week and got paid $30 an hour. It was great because I got to work out/ de-stress and didn't have to stare at books or a computer. It was great and I'm hoping to do the same during my PhD!

I'm an RPCV from Morocco 03-05. The application process is bureaucratic. I think I started in October and it was the following July before I had my official assignment. (I was living overseas already when I applied and had a hard time getting medical clearance because they required that I have my forms signed by an american doctor). The application timeline varies by individual so you should start early. If you have any medical problems, it can take longer. If you are going as a married couple, it can take longer. If you are picky about your assignment, that too can take longer. What exactly do you mean by deployment? What's the pro/cons of serving? wow. I could write a book on that! For the sake of brevity, I would say that each assignment is different and the key is flexibility. If you go into with a very strict agenda on what you want to accomplish individually or what you want to "do" for your community, then you're setting yourself up for disappointment. If you go into with an open mind and take from it what you are given, you can have an amazing experience. You can stretch yourself and grow a great deal and you can be a part of a host community that you might never have the opportunity to know so intimately. Also, the volunteer friends you make are ones for life. I stay in better touch with PCV friends than college friends. That being said, everyone has their own experience and it would be important to get a lot of perspectives when making your decisions. As far as grad and career benifits, I would say that most people look favorably upon PC experience; however, you have to learn to spin it for the jobs or degrees that you apply (just like any other experience). For example, for one job application I connected my experience with illiterate women in Peace Corps to working with low-skill/at-risk college students. For my grad apps, I talked about my experience with grant writing / management in PC that gave me experience in data collection, analysis, and report writing--all skills useful for graduate school. (If I get in somewhere, I'll let you know if that worked! lol) Good luck!

Hi There, I just came across this forum and decided to say hi to my fellow scholars in waiting. The waiting is killer! I'm waiting on UMass, Denver, York, and I randomly applied to florida state today because I'm a bit worried that I didn't apply to enough schools and I'm not going to get in anywhere. I got denied from UCSD I'm currently waitlisted at UW, so at least that's some news. Anyway, glad to know that I'm not the only out there obsessing about this. Good luck to all! Cheers, jmacnomad