hope4fall2012

I'm kind of in the same scenario as well.. I really don't think I'll be attending any of the other schools even if Im admitted.. And I know that withdrawing my application right now may benefit someone else, in case the school doesn't have a waitlisting procedure.. But I still want to see if I get through any of the other schools, particularly Berkeley (because its Berkeley after all) and WashU (because it is rated really highly in Atmospheric Sciences).. I know that this is selfish, but I did spend quite a lot of money on the applications and I want to see where it goes.. And I also don't want to burn any bridges in case I'll end up in these schools later on in life..

Sorry about Yale.. I guess their intake is very low.. Ive applied to UCSC and Scripps.. Ive heard from Scripps but I havent had any contact from UCSC.. I guess their department is very small and because of the funding scenario in the UCs, they might be constrained on the manpower available to work on graduate admissions as well.. The waiting part really sucks.. But I guess there is no other choice but to grin and bear it.. Hopefully there'll be some good news soon..

I would like to hear from Berkeley and WashU too.. Just so that I can get on with life.. Kind of always in the back of your head..

Also, its good that you got into a thesis based program.. I think previous research is highly valued when making admission decisions, so make it count.. In my opinion, you get to do better research in a Masters program than in an undergrad program.. You get to devote more time in the problem definition stage and there is usually a better direction during the research stage.. I'm guessing you'll be in a much better position 2 years down the line when you apply again..

Sorry to hear that.. All the best on your future decisions.. They should be out soon, no??

Congratulations!!! .. Thats a very good financial offer..

For what its worth, I applied to PhD programs after going through a 2 year Masters program.. One of the biggest ways in which it helped me was by helping me form a definitive research interest. I don't really know whether it'll be something that I'll work on for my PhD research, but I think looking at a particular area and analyzing the current open problems in that area definitely helps.. Of course, you don't really need a Masters to do this, but my undergrad was in Electrical Engineering and I was applying for programs in atmospheric science.. So it helped me a ton to first get my Masters

I don't really hang out on any internet forums as such as well.. What about blogs though?? I'm sure all of us follow technical blogs.. I follow realclimate.org .. It's not really technical, but keeps me updated on the science of climate change..

Hang in there!!! .. The final week of february.. there will definitely be news.. ..

Like jrah822 said, you should email or call the school and ask them. In my opinion, its better to look at and analyse these offers without any presumptions. Something that seems a particular way may not actually be so.

I'm thinking of Yale as a serious option for grad school..My girlfriend works as a software engineer in the tech industry and is right now in Sunnyvale.. Would anyone know where the tech inductries are located nearest to New Haven? Networking companies such as Cisco etc?? As a worst case scenario, the closest places would be Boston or New York right?? How feasible would it be to commute from Boston or New York to New Haven everyday, while doing my Ph.D. I know that its not ideal, but is it feasible?

I kinda underestimated my first Stats exam last semester too.. Stats is wierd in a way because sometimes its so easy to understand everything in class but once you try to solve problems, there seem to be multiple correct ways of solving it.. Don't think too much about it, it must be still pretty early in the semester..

Thats what EB456 meant.. try the sub forum here : http://forum.thegradcafe.com/forum/18-city-guide/ .. Posting there might get you more replies.

If grad school is like this, then its a lost battle already. I can barely go through 2.5 bottles (650 ml, thats what we get here in India) and not end up sloshed.. Im going end up being an outcast.. booohooo

I would say the same thing too..Choose the "higher ranked" program.. Assuming one thing, the higher ranked program offers you what you are looking for, whatever it may be, better expertise in your sub-area of research, better job placement history etc.. Ranking systems usually take into account a whole lot of parameters which may or may not be relelvant for you.. Make sure you apply your own judgement when choosing universities.. Also, since you are choosing a Masters program, this might not be a big deal, but for a PhD choose the professor first and the university next..Well, atleast a major part of your decision should factor in the professor

LOL.. I can't believe how much on the edge all of us are..

Of course, thats the best way to go about it.. Visiting is definitely ruled out for me since I'm an international student, but I should definitely send out emails..

I just had a short phone interview with a Professor I'm very very interested in working with and he asked me what the situation with my other applications were, so that he could decide the number of offers he should hand out. I told him all the schools I'd applied to and that I'd barely heard from anyone else yet and even if I had heard from all other places, this particular school was very very high on my list, basically due to research fit. He told me that I would indeed have a difficult time choosing between all the schools I'd applied to and he was very nice about it..

I posted this in the Earth Sciences forum (), but since it's relevant to a wider audience, I'm reposting it here.. This decsion will play a major role in the final admit I have to accept. Expanding departments expand by usually taking in younger assisstant professors.. I was thinking the pros and cons of working with fresh, younger assisstant professors against elder, more established 'full' professors.. My gut feeling says that assisstant professors usually work much harder (I'm not generalising here, and I mean no offense) and this maybe rubs off on their grad students. Also, they might have more time to devote to graduate students since they may not yet be involved with non-teching and research tasks. Also, while it is definitely challenging to work in an upcoming lab, the pleasure that comes from succeeding in such an environment is much larger, don't you think? Also, would they find it easier to relate with grad students since they've just gone through the whole grad-sudent phase very recently? On the other hand, established professors have experience on their hands, which might mean that they might be more insightful when it comes to research problems. Also, they might hold more clout (for the lack of a better word), in the department and could possibly get things done easily. And this could apply to areas outside the dept. too right? Like journal publications and conference acceptances and stuff.. Am I reading too much into this? Should I be thinking about this at all or just concentrate on research-fit? I've often heard that the most important decision grad students make is the professor they choose, and all your other choices should be made around this choice.

How do you accept an offer unofficially btw??? Tell the POI that you would definitely come to their school?? If so, I'm sure you can tell the POI from Rutgers that you've also got into Princeton and weighing in your options.. It's a highly unpleasant thing to do, but considering that it's Princeton, they'll understand.. Hopefully..

Us people in the tropics get to run all year.. .. Especially where I stay is awesome at this time of the year.. .. But you can't disagree with Drink Drink Drink!!! LOL..

I know of one person (LOL) whose consumption shot up like crazy during the Jan-Feb time frame.. Luckily he also chose to immerse himself in long distance running and it kinda worked out.. ..

hehe..LOL.. I do wish they could get the results out faster.. .. I mean, they've all been grad school applicants before right??

I was just explaining the costs of application to my friend who intends to apply next fall.. Coming from India, the application costs for around 6 colleges is around INR 60000 or $1200..This amount is really expensive and if you're a student, it takes close to a year to save up this much of money.. The expression on his face was not good when I told him how much the whole shenanigan costs..

I've stopped checking the application status webpages.. I'm not going to a school that doesn't email me when a decision is available.. .. LOL, who am I kidding..I'll go to whichever place gives me an admit..