mia11

Hey all, Just wondering, does anyone have any past/present experience with being on a waitlist? Or know of somebody who made it successfully off a wait-list and onto the 'in' list? (Even outside of History?) Care to share some stories/advice? In particular, I'm wondering what sort of approach to adopt when emailing the graduate admissions chair in response to the notification of one's wait-list status.. (Any sample excerpts from emails of this kind would be very helpful) thanks so much folks, :?

Been a little while since posts on here, hopefully we can get this going again! Much useful info so far, but I want to bring up the big question for me: HOW COLD IS COLD...???! I hate to sound precious, but I was born in/grew up in the tropics...spent most of my life in really really warm climates. I absolutely suffer (feel down etc) when I have had 'harsh' winters by my standards (i.e.40-50 degrees F/ 5-10 degrees C) I generally operate 100% better when it is summer, and running outdoors is a passion of mine. ...BUT...given that the academic side of life promises to be very very fruitful for me in Ann Arbor, am I crazy to be so concerned about the climate..? Is it really that cold? How cold is cold guys? THANKS!!

Thanks for posting this Rutabaga, I had wondered about this myself and would also appreciate any info covering the basics of summer funding. I am similarly under-informed, and hold many of the same assumptions as you. I had also assumed that since my letter says: "Your fellowship includes $x per year in stipend"... and there is nothing at all mentioned in the letter about the summer months, that maybe there is no additional funding up for the asking?... But maybe I'm wrong about this? Incidentally, who would be the appropriate person in the department to talk to about these funding issues? -- The secretary/admin person responsible for sending out all letters, or the Chair of the Graduate Committee? Surely not the Prof we have been corresponding with right!!!? Hope these aren't obvious questions to be asking, but I'm a foreigner to the US system! Many thanks for any enlightenment anyone

Hey guys, All really useful info here Thanks for updating the discussion verninox ..! I wondered if you (or anyone else!?!) had any other wisdom to share about the following: If opting for the room in a shared house option ($600-800), what would be the best way to go about looking for such a situation if an overseas student? (i.e.: WHEN is the best time to look..now/june/july/august?.. And any reputable/popular websites for searching out house-share?) Also, any names/ideas of good locations or areas in particular? Online there is info about the University Village for grad students (I think that's what it's called..) Anyone live there or know anything about what this is like? And are there house-share options possible through this? Thanks for any help!!

Many thanks engguy and miratrix for your replies and well-wishing! ...you've helped me a great deal. Anyone else out there have anything to add to their comments about my post above? .. Cheers folks!

Hi guys, I'm an international student and hence have no idea about living costs etc in the US. I've been offered a funding package that covers 5 years, offering 17K stipend, which covers health + fees, and includes 3 years of TA etc. First of all, I wondered if any of you nice people would be able to give me a sense of how living on this kind of money would be in California? Anybody know what sort of housing situation I'd be best to look for? Is my package a competitive one for a public institution and given that I am in the humanities? -- I only ask since I've been surprised to read on some forums that it is 'the done thing' in the US system to more or less play universities off one another (i.e.: basically ask them for more money than their original offer)... Is this really normal practice? I'd feel so awkward about doing this, especially if the package I've already been offered is competitive! Many thanks for any opinions/advice!