YellowSubmarine

Hi! Former UW undergrad/future grad student here. Just throwing in my two cents about renting in Madison. Personally, I've had bad experiences with JSM and wouldn't rent through them again (didn't give us back our security deposit, slow with maintenance issues, etc), and their properties are a little pricey. You can find a lot of places just browsing through Craigslist (although you have to sort through the summer sublets). I'd also recommend padmapper.com, and then cdliving- they seem to cover a fair amount of what's available. As far as where to live... I live on the East side (in the WIlly st area) and love it. I can't imagine living anywhere else. I've found that a lot of grad students live in the Willy St area, and then also on the other side of E. Washington near Tenny Park and James Madison Park. Other areas that seem to be popular for grad students are the Vilas area (south of Regent st), and then the west side (anywhere between University ave by the hospital - called Old University - and then all the way to the Hilldale Mall area). I've always felt pretty safe in Madison, but I guess the places I'd avoid looking for housing are further south (anywhere much past the Hospitals on Park st), or very far east. I think there are a couple threads around here comparing the areas; the forums at city-data.com are also a great way to read up on what the different areas of Madison are like, and where you think you'd be happiest.

I was put in a similar situation with Columbia... I'm choosing a state school instead of incurring $100,000 in debt. Starting salaries are not high enough to rationalize paying that much for a masters degree, in my eyes. I also spoke with several practicing therapists about this issue- and the impression I got was that most patients don't really care where you got your degree from. Of course, quality of training is hugely important- but I don't think you'll have to worry about potential clients deciding not to see you because you didn't go to an Ivy League school. My recommendation would be to talk to professionals in the field - people working in similar areas/with similar clientele that you hope to someday work with as well. See what they have to say. I know it's a tough choice to make- best of luck to you.

Editing on 3/29 to add: I still haven't heard from NYU yet, either- I did call them as well but they just told me that all letters should be sent out by the end of the week (via email). Beyond that... From what I understand, NYU's counseling program gets a lot of applications each year, and also accepts a fair amount of people into the program. That might be good news, if you are actually on a waiting list; there are more people to turn down spots. And because most schools have an April 15th deadline to notify, you should hear pretty quickly. I'd hang on until you actually get some sort of official correspondence from them- it sounds like your phone call didn't give you too many answers. What were they able to tell you?

No word for me. Ah well. Was it a mass email?

Congrats, SassyChica! Which track did you get accepted into (school, community)? I've got a basic understanding down about the mental health and wellness program at NYU (very multicultural/diversity oriented, leads to licensure, etcetc) but I don't know anything about the Hunter program so I can't really help compare/contrast. I'm not sure what exactly you're looking for looking for (other than cost/curriculum/what the program leads to)- have you tried emailing the department to get specific questions answered? They may also be able to put you in contact with a current student in the program, which may be helpful as well. Angelwinks: I heard a few weeks back about TC scholarships/funding. I got an email letting me know how much they were offering me; there's also a link on their application website. Perhaps it's different for people who they actually give funding to and not just loans but I'd try logging onto their website, or maybe giving them a call. It's been more than a month since they notified people so it may be worth a try.

Nope- I haven't heard anything. I'm still waiting on half my schools, though (the March 1st application deadline is ridiculous). It looks like they started notifying people around mid-March last year, so it should be any day now. I've got a quick question.... I'm going out to visit a school (that I'll likely attend), and I emailed asking if there was any way I could sit down and meet with someone, as I had a bunch of questions about assistantships, etc. I didn't hear back, so I called and left a voicemail a week later. I'm from out of state and I've already asked for time off of work for the long weekend... I'm getting really frustrated. Is sitting down with an advisor from the program a really unusual request? Should I go about this in a different way?

I've got a quick question about housing as well. I'm pretty sure I'm going to UMN this fall, and I'm ideally hoping to save some money on rent by finding a roommate or two. In the city where I'm at now (which is much more of a college town I guess) it's easy to find roommates on Craigslist, etc. I'm not finding that to be the case at UMN. I glanced over the MN Daily newspapers but for some reason most of the ads seemed to be for nearby colleges... Does anyone know of other sites out there that might be helpful? If anyone here is looking to save some money and split rent next fall, let me know.

Disallusioned14, If you know that these labs are currently looking for RAs, I would wait a week or two longer and then maybe begin to worry (it's spring break/midterm season, so allow extra time). However, if you're just inquiring as to whether or not they have any RA positions available, it's unfortunately not uncommon for professors to not answer at all, especially at larger universities. As an undergrad looking for a position I remember not getting any replies from several labs, and working as a lab manger now I have my doubts as to how many emails my professor replies to. Keep your feelers out for positions in other labs (and other cities/universities- this thread is a really cool resource), and best of luck with the position you're applying for

Ugh, I just got my Columbia TC financial aid information today. The Columbia TC financial aid link has been broken on the website for months now but from everything I can find out, tuition alone is more than $40,000/year (plus living costs in NYC- yikes). They offered me loans to cover all of my tuition but I don't want to leave grad school $100,000 in debt. I'm still waiting to hear back from a few other programs (come on, NYU!) but it looks like it's state school again for me. If anyone else is thinking they're going to Minnesota CSPP in the fall, let me know! We can party. And by party I mean discuss the best areas to live/funding and assistantship opportunities/etc etc.

Take some deep breaths. Check the mail in a day or two. Try to focus on the things around you and get your mind elsewhere for a little bit- and not so much on refreshing the page over and over again on your application. Things will be okay

I definitely relate to a lot of your post. I applied to a few PhD programs- albeit only ones that would automatically consider my application for the masters program if i was rejected - and didn't get into any. One thing to keep in mind: while I know this isn't true across the board, most counseling PhD programs I looked at were mostly admitting people who already had their masters degree. This is my personal understanding (the problem is that everyone seems to have a different opinion on the matter, which is fascinating and frustrating): If your ultimate goal is to practice (and not do research or teach), then a terminal masters program is a good way to go. If you don't want to rule out a PhD (for whatever reason- you feel like it will give you an edge in getting a job in private practice; you'd like to teach someday; assessment; research; etc etc), then it wouldn't hurt to find a masters program where a large percent of the students go on to PhD programs. And do research while you're studying there. It can be hard in this process not to let your grad school search dictate your self-worth- I know I spent so much time and energy (and money!) on these ridiculous applications. But your working definition of success is a good one

So I think most of us in here are applying to masters programs. But there's a notification thread around here that seems to be aimed more towards PhD programs, and there's also a great resource on the Student Doctor Network forums: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=872308 I'd check that, and see if your program shows up. And, depending on when their application deadline/interview dates are, it might not hurt to call and ask. Best of luck

If it's at all helpful, I live a state over (in WI), so it probably just went out on Friday or so... Don't stress out! Because of tuition reciprocity between Wisconsin and Minnesota, MN is probably my cheapest option (and it's a great program)- it's definitely my most realistic choice right now. Where else did you apply? And a general question for everyone on here: what questions have you guys been asking the programs you've being admitted into? I've been trying to keep a list of questions to ask advisors/financial aid people/current grad students (if I can talk to any).

Yes- I got an acceptance letter yesterday afternoon (although my application status hasn't changed and I haven't gotten any emails, etc). Any word for you?

Has anyone heard from Northwestern?