Aceflyer

I agree. Some people have brought their SO along on visits I've been on, but their SO definitely never participated in any of our scheduled events.

I wouldn't because while I had a great experience at my undergrad school, it really isn't suited for my grad school plans. But if it were suited, I at least personally wouldn't have an issue with the fact that it was my undergrad school. However it is worth noting that there are advantages to switching schools, particularly because in academia in many fields it is expected for one to do one's graduate work at a different institution than the undergrad school. Opportunity to meet new people and work with different faculty is also a plus with switching schools.

I have yet to hear of such a phenomenon. Do you have any idea why they would want to schedule a telephone conversation to reject you? It seems like this is a rather unwieldy and inconvenient thing to do.

In terms of general GRE advice, when I took the GRE I just used The Princeton Review's general GRE book (Cracking the GRE), REA's general GRE book, and the following ETS materials: GRE Enhanced Diagnostic Service Practicing to take the GRE General Test All of the free materials & tips available on ETS' website I spent a few months prepping on and off (balanced with coursework, research, thesis writing, and school apps) and about a week just prior to the test cramming for Verbal and furiously practicing for Analytical Writing. I did all the 'official' tests and test questions I could get my hands on from ETS, and did a fair amount of the material in The Princeton Review and REA's books. I didn't really spend too much time prepping for Quant but I did minor in math so that may have helped..

I was wondering too. Three for me, and I'm almost certainly finished hearing back from schools.

Then wait and see what they tell you. Some programs are simply not in any hurry to notify rejected applicants of their status. But it is also possible that you are, in fact, on a waitlist, and simply weren't notified of this fact. There's no way to tell really.

I don't think it'll hurt. If you're concerned though, you can always address this in your personal statement/statement of purpose. Industrial work experience could be an asset if you can explain that the experience helped you better realize what you actually want (i.e., helped you realize your actual passion for research/grad school).

Hehe - I think most of us here are at least somewhat prone to freaking out. My advice would be to just relax and wait until the visit. The school visits I went on were extremely illuminating in helping me narrow down where I'll be going in the fall.

I'd be happy to help as well if anyone is interested.

My impression from the programs I visited was that some programs barely care about GRE scores (as long as they aren't totally abysmal) while others care more about it. Overall though I agree with rufzilla, it is best to make sure that every part of your application is as good as you can make it.

Have you visited the programs and spoken with the faculty and students? By talking with the current students - and the faculty - at a program, you should be able to determine whether you could see yourself in that program or not.

Both of them are relatively safe overall. And you are correct about travel time on the Green Line - that old streetcar line is notoriously slow, overcrowded, and prone to delays. The Green Line is many things, but fast is not one of them. Lots of people commute from Malden and Quincy daily. You won't be alone. Heck, one of my friends lives in Braintree (near the T stop there) and takes the Red Line in every day, and he's perfectly happy.

That couldn't hurt. If you want you should do that.

Wow... a year and a half of applications. I admire your perseverance - I would have gone nuts probably if I had focused on applications for a year and a half! On that note, I don't think it's always true that emailing profs helps. I tried that with some programs and was told to basically sit and wait for the admissions committee to do their job. However I have heard that there are some exceptions with specific programs where admissions are based more on the interest of potential faculty advisers and less on a committee/departmental evaluation.

Generally I think your chances won't be affected by whether you send or don't send thank-you emails. But I think it's good practice and good courtesy to send thank-you emails to people (profs, administrators, and student hosts) who you felt were particularly friendly or helpful. If you do decide to send someone a thank-you email, please make it sincere and specific - if you just plan on sending a 'form' letter I wouldn't bother, personally.

I agree with this. I think the letter was perhaps just somewhat poorly written/phrased.

It depends in part on how many schools one applies to. I know of people who have a ton of acceptances as a result of applying to a ton of 'safety' schools - for those people I guess they ended up wasting quite a bit of money and time on so many 'safeties'.

Similar thing happened to me too at one of the schools I visited... except it was at dinner (with faculty, current students, and prospectives all present) and not technically in a 'group interview'. But it was still a 'group' situation and there was definitely pressure to name names as everyone else was doing so. Also, I had a "School X"-esque situation once, but I still got an offer from the school even though they don't think I'll go. I am grateful I was so lucky.

13 happens to be my favorite/lucky number. So it isn't necessarily a bad number folks.

Don't be too down. Just because you haven't heard yet doesn't mean you won't get in - especially because you applied to G&D, which does things separately from BMCB and may well be slower in getting back to interviewees. We could've met, but not necessarily; I don't think the BMCB interviewees had many joint activities with the G&D interviewees. I think by and large the BMCB interviewees and the G&D interviewees ran in separate groups and had separate events and activities.

Thanks! I interviewed there during Feb. 26-28 as well; I just heard back on Monday. I hope you hear back soon too - waiting is agonizing.

Yeah, "sometimes" is pretty much unavoidable no matter which area you live in around Boston. But the Porter/Davis Square area is really nice, I've never had any problems living here - it's safe and quiet and the streets are clean. I think Central Square isn't as nice, but it's closer to MIT, MGH, and downtown Boston so some people like that. From what I've heard I agree with Yellow#5's post about living in downtown.

When did you interview? I applied to BMCB at Ithaca and heard back about a week and a half after the interview (they told us that we should all hear our results within two weeks). But I guess it may be different for G&D, although I think they are actually a smaller program (in terms of student population size) than BMCB.

I dunno, all I'm saying is I've lived in the Boston area for several years and I've heard that it would be a bad idea to live in South Boston, Dorchester, or Roxbury. (I currently live near Davis Square in Somerville.) I've never lived in South Boston, Dorchester, or Roxbury so I can't make firsthand judgments or comparisons.