Hillary Emick

It depends what you want to do with your degree, and how strongly those employers will value the ranking of the program vs. your individual research and qualifications. With what I want to do with my degree, the school ranking is not a huge issue with the types of employment I am seeking and I would choose the better research fit hands down.

I agree with anthroDork, it's perfectly acceptable to arrange a campus visit and meeting with your POI's although I wouldn't call it an interview in the request.

I would send a separate email to each of the co-directors expressing your interest in the program. If you will be travelling with your SO, also let them know you will be in town that weekend and would appreciate the chance to talk in person. It could make all the difference.

Application Status: In Review

And just to add to the emotional roller coaster, I just got an email from the program director stating that I am still in the running for the fellowship, and they may reverse their decision on admission if I am selected for the fellowship and can identify an advisor. At least point I wish I had an offer from my top choice one way or the other. Part of me wants to keep working for this as the school is in an ideal location for us although it is not the top school for this type of program, part of me is really questioning if I really want to work with these people if this is how they operate.

I think my only real shot at this point is the school I interviewed at, where I did consult with multiple POI's. It is an interdisciplinary program and I was in touch with faculty from 3 of the departments about their current research in putting together my SOP. I interviewed with all 3 who all expressed that they would be happy to have me there in the fall. Luckily this is my first choice and hopefully it will all work out. If not, I will know that I really do have to work from that model and do a better job cultivating relationships in the department with each choice.

I got my first official response, and I was rejected by my safety school. I just about dropped from shock, since I'd been invited to apply for a university fellowship by my POI who is a co-chair on the board for the fellowship. She worked with me on my application packet, and assured me I was the top candidate. There was absolutely no explanation in the rejection letter. It just stated that they would not be recommending me for admission at this time, large pool qualified candidates, blah blah blah. I emailed her to ask for some frank feedback on the deficiencies in my application package that had led to that decision, and she informed me that she was leaving the university for a research position at a government laboratory and it had all happened very suddenly. I am not sure what all led up to this but I feel like collateral damage in some kind of crazy university politics. After this, I did receive an email from the program director explaining that my app package was very competitive, but my research proposal was aimed at work that my POI was the sole faculty member working on, and it just hadn't been possible to match me up with another main advisor at this point in the process. He invited me to reach out to other faculty and apply next year. I am so frustrated I could cry. I was very confident about applying to some programs that were a stretch because I had this sure thing as a backup option. I have had another interview so all hope is not lost for this year. I guess if I end up waiting until next year, I will treat this as a learning experience to try to cultivate more than one POI at each university in case something like this happens.

I interviewed at my top choice back in January. My interview was set up over a month before the school's interview weekend because my POI is on sabbatical and that was the only time he was going to be in town for the interview. They told me that I could expect to hear back from them in the first week in March after they'd interviewed all of their other top candidates. So now that their interview weekend is approaching, would it be appropriate for me to send out an email expressing my continued interest? I would like to keep my name fresh in their memory as they start interviewing all these other folks, but the last thing I want to do is look needy or be a pain in the ass. Pros, cons?

Only put your relevant experience and education on the job apps. It is illegal to lie on your applications by putting in false qualifications, but there is nothing illegal about only reporting some of your qualifications. I agree to go through a temp organization if you aren't having much luck finding something on your own. Good luck, it is a crappy job market out there right now.

Depends on the school and the program. It is perfectly acceptable to ask them how many people they are interviewing for how many spots.

1. Business casual 2. Mostly clarifying questions on your SOP and CV, details about past experience. 3. Find out who you will be interviewing with and look up their research so you will have questions to ask them as well. Remember that this is not just about them deciding if they like you, you are also deciding if this is a good fit. 4. Only if you need to refresh your memory on these. They will have already had access to your application materials.

I did not bring a gift for the student I stayed with on the visit (not knowing her at that time I had no idea what to bring except something generic and fairly thoughtless) but after I returned I sent her a gift that she really appreciated (her favorite coffee, from a regional roaster that is not available in that area). It was really great to have the option to stay with current grad students to get to know them and get their perspective on the program. As I pointed out to my husband, this is also an indication that when I am a grad student here, we are obviously going to be expected to host various visitors.

Interview request - from my PoI: "campus visit"

At my interview/campus visit, I was informed they had received 300 applications and would be interviewing 30-50 candidates for 10-15 spots. So an interview is a really good sign, but not a sure bet.

I don't plan on posting each acceptance to facebook, not because it's conceited or anything but because the majority of the people on my facebook probably don't give a flying fart. Once I get all my offers in hand and decide where I am actually going, I will definitely post that on facebook because my friends and family all very much want to know where we will be relocating to over the summer.

I am leaving a $50K a year job for a PhD program. I have one acceptance with an offer of tuition remission and $15K support. So I am looking at taking a $30,000 per year pay cut. Ouch. My husband and I have saved up for this. We have about a full year of living expenses in the bank. We plan to supplement this with student loans until my husband can find work after we relocate. I am also hopeful at getting a national fellowship. But where there is a will there is a way, and if we have to end up living off of a grad student stipend and student loans, we'll make that work. Getting a PhD is not about money for me. I plan to pursue an academic career, and it will probably take many years for my post-PhD salary to catch up with where my salary would be if I stayed in the field I am in now and kept working, if it ever does. That's not the point for me. This is about doing what I want to be doing with my life and following my passions, not about making more money.

It depends on the school. I interviewed in early January, and was told at the interview that all of the admissions decisions would be issued in early March.

I would definitely want to know. I have a family (husband and kids) and the logistics of a long-distance move are pretty daunting, and I would love to just know where we are going and get going on all of the things I have to do to relocate my little tribe.

I'm 34. I took a few years off between high school and college, and have been working in a related field professionally for seven years. I have been told that while the chronological age is pretty irrelevant, my professional successes will be an asset in getting into graduate programs.

I submitted all of my applications pretty early. Unfortunately, this seems to have just made for a longer stress/anxiety period waiting for responses. I had a great interview with my top school, but they informed me they would not be making any admissions offers until they'd had a chance to interview all of their top candidates sometime in March. The waiting is killing me.