cynder

Nothing definitive yet, its possible that you have been wait-listed or that there will be multiple recruiting weekends. Until you get an official rejection you shouldnt rule the school out. You could consider to ask for an update if you are waiting for a long time.

As an international US resident I got invited for 2 of these. They offered a maximum travel reimbursement in both cases that would make it very hard to come if I really had to come from another country. Based on that it seems that they do invite international students to these visitation weekends. Some schools will accept without a visit being required, they should notify you about that. If you get invited to visit and cant attend I think it may lower your chances to finally get admitted.

Most graduate schools ask for your GPA as part of the application process. Im wondering how heavily this GPA is being weighted for international students, most countries have different grading scales than the US, and the grades dont always scale well with the GPA system (From my country fe. I do not know anyone who has a scaled GPA of more than 3.6). I reckon that the graduate schools will be aware of this, but should you do something in your application to address the issue? For example, you could take a GRE subject test, even when it is not recommended, or you could mention in your SOP that the grade in your national scale corresponds to the top xx% of the class. Im curious to know how other international students dealt with this issue. Personally I didnt do anything about it finally, and Im wondering if I should have.

From my experience this wont be a problem. I am not Italian but I am from Europe and I got a visa without problems after spending a lot of time in the US previously (in one year I went there 5 times; for 3 months, 2 months, 1 week, 1 week, 1 week). Just prepare to show some ties to your home country in case they ask, show for example that you have a bank account, have family, and a degree (with transcripts). If things get really serious they will verify that you do not owe any money in taxes etc. Bottom line, if you have nothing to hide there will be no problem. Just be honest in your interview, they wont consider it a big deal that you have an American girlfriend, they just dont want you to stay in the US and live/work illegally. By showing that you have a degree, some savings and a family you convince them that there is really no need for you to work in the US illegally.

Applied and got accepted, I live about 8 miles from Caltech on $500 rent at the moment (shared) and Im thinking about moving closer as I have to get by with just a bicycle. Anywhere else I think the 8 mile bike would be fine, but in LA with the traffic and the heat (and drought) its not gonna be much fun. Im expecting to find places close enough around $600-800 if its shared with someone else.

Asking the PI you are interested in if they are planning on taking new students is such an important thing to do! I completely forgot during my first interview and I very much regret it

Sad news indeed. Ow well, atleast picking a grad school gets easier with one less choice to consider ^^ Honestly though, Im mainly disappointed in the fact that as an international student it seems my odds were much lower to start out with. If I had known that I would have never applied to UCSD.

Thanks for the info! Though I wish I had found this message board sooner, might have saved $100 on application fees :/

Hey, is this also the case for physical chemistry at UCSD? Or was your post specifically about analytical chemistry? UCSD is the only school I haven't heard back from, it kind of makes sense because of their late deadline (though I submitted early December), but on the other hand there is your message and the fact that a lot of people have already heard back from them. I also read on this forum that UCSD does not accept many international students (I am an international student), and it seems to be true looking at the "results survey" that shows only domestic students got accepted so far (and bothered to fill in the result survey). Does anyone have more information on this, or is it just a vague suspicion that people have?