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BostonGrrl

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    Interdisciplinary PhD

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  1. Thank-you for the advice! I'm going to do as you suggest... when should I do it? Before visit, during visit, after visit? Thanks!
  2. So I've pretty much decided which University I want to attend... the only problem is the amount of funding they are offering. It's decent but it's well below the cost of living in that city. I don't know whether their funding offer is flexible but I am inclined to ask as the worst thing that can happen is that they say "no" and then I accept their offer as is and look for another part-time job. 1. First Question: I am attending their admitted students weekend in 2 weeks and am wondering whether I should wait until after I visit the campus to ask about additional funding. I am not sure whether I have a better chance of getting more money if I ask now or if I ask after visiting or if I wait all the way until April. 2. Second Question: What should I say in my letter? I have done some research and it seems that their offer is $x,000 lower than other comprable Universities in my field. Should I metion this in my letter and say that, while I don't expect them to match the other offers, any movement towards closing that gap would be incredibly helpful. Alternatively, should I leave that information out and simply ask if the offer is at all flexible and that I am concerned about the difference between their offer and the realist cost of living in X city? Should I also ask about other fellowships/ summer positions I can apply for or would mentioning these alternatives make them less likely to up my offer? Other things I could mention? I don't want to in any way be dishonest so I cannot say that Z University offered me more money when they did not and I cannot say that I will not attend their University if they don't give me more money because it is not the case. However, living on the amount of money they have currently offered would be quite difficult and I would be happy if they simply offered me $1,000 or $2,000 more per year. Has anyone else been successful in their requests for more money? Are other students out there aksing? I know there was one post a week ago about someone who was successful, but his/her e-mail mentioned her other, better offer and since I am not in that position, following his/her model will not work for me. Thank-you everyone!
  3. After reading all of the posts like "losing the application battle" and "worst rejection letter ever," I thought I would make a poll about ACCEPTANCE.
  4. Based on the selectivity of these programs and the number of applicants who don't get any offers, I question whether "mediocre" students get accepted at all... My opinion... tuition is a silly, antiquated formality for the vast majority of Ph.D. programs.
  5. Did they say anything about when word might come? Via e-mail or postal service?
  6. So people have posted admissions, rejections and waitlists already... I've heard nothing. Anyone else in the same boat? Do you think I should contact them or wait a few more days to see if news turns up?
  7. I hear you. I was also accepted to schools that are ranked equally with my alma mater. I'll be fine next year, but I'd rather be at my alma mater because it has an expert in my field (who wrote my rec letters and expressed a desire to work with me) and because it means separation from my significant other, family, friends and warm weather.
  8. Anyone else apply to their alma mater and not get accepted? I know it probably is not helpful to speculate, but I just wasn't really expecting the rejection. I graduated in the top 5% of my class, have high GRE scores, awards, publications, strong relationships with faculty at the school, etc. Is it possible that Universities are less likely to accept students who got their undergraduate degree there? I really wish I could ask why but I know that is not a good idea... I don't want to burn any bridges. I'm just really disappointed because I wanted to go back to my alma mater and live in that particular city. Anyone else have a similar experience or any useful advice?
  9. So I have some questions for anyone out there who knows more than I do. It seems like all of us are waiting on at least one, if not several, decisions. Is the way they do this to admit their "top" students and then keep everyone else wait in limbo unless or until one of those students turns down the offer and a spot opens up? My programs each get about 180-250 applicants and only take between 2 and 6 people per year. Therefore it seems quite likely that if these programs give out X acceptances, half of those people would turn down their offers for another school. Thus, it would make sense to have a back-up or wait list of maybe 15-20 students to make SURE they fill these openings with great candidates. But why hold on to the other 150 applications that they aren't seriously considering? Why not get those rejects out right away, after they've notified thier top students (as the results board so clearly states they have done already)? Is it at all possible that these schools haven't finished going through all of the applications? Like they've admitted half of their alotted number of students (so those people have been notified) but the committee is still sorting out the other half? I know it isn't actually productive to speculate but it just seems weird to me that we have a nominal number of rejections/acceptances but TONS of "waiting to hear"s. They can't possibly still be considering that many people-- especially since there is at least one post of an acceptance (or interview) from 4 of the 5 schools I am waiting to hear from. So what gives? This perplexes me a bit too because those of us who have both acceptances and "waiting to hear"s can't really make a decision yet. And if brilliant student A got into my top choice school but can't decide whether to take it because he's waiting on Ivys Y and Z, then how am I supposed to be notified about an open spot with enough time to decide between it and already accepted school B with enough time for that school to notify student C should I turn down their offer adn so forth. Shouldn't there be different deadlines for schools to notify us and for us to notify them? Will schools be giving out rejections and wait lists soon so we know where we stand or will we simply remain in this limbo state all through March and possibly into April? I don't know what my order of preference is for the schools I applied to... I have one reach I'm waiting to hear from, 2 target schools (which I'd consider equal to the acceptance I already have and thus would need to visit if I had more offers) and 2 safeties (which I don't want to withdraw from just yet b/c what if they offered amazing funding or if I visited my target school and hated it).
  10. Wazi... has the Northwestern weekend already happened?
  11. I applied to Ph.D. programs in the humanities and many of my programs said that they looked for scores of at least 650 in Verbal (no word about Math or Writing).
  12. I'm feeling rather depressed as well. I received an acceptance from a good school with full funding and, after about 24 hours of excitement, depression started setting in. While it is a good school, it is not my top choice-- it is far away, it is not Top 10, and my partner does not want to move there. I have yet to hear from my top two schools. Others have heard from those schools, and it's killing me. Even though I have yet to hear from 6 schools, I've convinced myself that this will be my only acceptance and I'm going to lose my partner of 4 1/2 years, live in a very, very cold state and always wish I had gotten into a Top 10 school. I really should get off these fora and try to focus on work, family, etc.--- but I just can't concentrate. I'm just depressed and everyone around me wants me to just get my mind of grad school stuff and be happy-- but I can't.
  13. Northwestern Screen Cultures PhD?
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