[.]

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[Stopping the tenure clock...]

Jasper, my wife and I will likely try the same route you are taking (having a kid while I'm done with coursework in my PhD program). I also agree with everyone who says there "is no right time." If you want to have kids, have them. It's not like you'll be any less stressed or have any more time the further along you get in your career. We're going to try having a kid while I am in school because we'll both be looking for TT positions when I am done (academic couple; maybe we won't be able to swing that, but we'll see) and we'd rather get used to being parents while I have some flexability. Will it be hard? Of course. But I imagine it will only get harder.

I don't know how lawyers have kids! All the lawyers I know are stressed beyond belief, up to their ears in debt, and at the office maybe 70 hours a week. Maybe I'm nuts, but I think academia is probably one of the more family-friendly career tracks one can take.

[Non prestigious undergrad-->prestigious grad school]

On average, it will be harder to go from a little-known school to a "prestigious" school, but it certainly is not impossible. I think the key (assuming you have good grades, GREs, etc.) is to have good recommendations and at least one recommender who is really willing to go the extra mile for you (which of course requires you putting in time with that faculty member during your undergrad years). I went from a relatively unheard of satellite state school for undergrad, but had a great relationship with several fairly well-known faculty members there. I was able to go to a very good school for my masters (not necessarily prestigious, but very good in my field). And now I'll be going to one of the top-ranked schools in my field for the PhD. And I can say with very little doubt that it simply would not have happened had I not had the support of my undergrad advisor and other recommenders. Furthermore, if I hadn't gone to the small school I went to, I may not have had the opportunity to strike up such relationships.

[What are your thoughts on Grad Certificates?]

How valuable are Graduate/Post-bachelors certificates?

Obviously they are not a substitute for a MA or MS degree, but are they a good way to build your resume and knowledge base?

What if they are acquired through distance/online learning?

(Cornell, Penn State, U Mass, GW ..... not U of Phoenix or Kaplan!)

I am considering one in addition to my MBA due to the fact that I want to do government/business relations in DC eventually, and I am thinking a grad certificate in Legislative affairs or Political management might be a nice way to accentuate a business degree.... especially if I do not go for a PhD.

I have no data to back this up, but I think a grad certificate is a fine way to improve a resume if you aren't going to stay in academia. Even if you are on an academic path, it certainly can't hurt--unless obtaining the certificate requires taking lots of extra classes, which could take valuable time away from your research and other activities. I imagine a good rule of thumb would be to get a certificate IF 1.) you are interested in the material you'll be learning in the required classes and 2.) at least some of the classes also count toward the completion of coursework for your PhD or MS program. When I did a masters (in applied econ), I went through a course sequence to obtain a graduate certificate in survey research. It was maybe a 5-course sequence, but I think I only had to take two more courses than my main course of study required because of overlap between the two areas. AND I learned an awful lot of extremely valuable information along the way. It was definitely worth doing.

[By When Must I Make A Decision?]

I agree with those who say there should be a deadline for schools to make offers and then a month or so for students to decide. That really would make a lot of sense, not just for those waitlisted, but for people who are pretty sure about going to one place only to receive a late offer that throws a wrench in things (albeit, a fortunate wrench).

For those of you on waitlists who are angry at people for waiting until the last moment, I'd offer that most aren't doing this simply because they can. I am weighing a couple offers and waiting until the end because of factors out of my control or the school's control (my spouse is waiting on job offers from both locations). I imagine this is a fairly common thing, particularly for aspiring PhD students who are more likely to have spouses, children, less of an ability to pick up and move anywhere, etc.

[Evans school at UW]

From some research and conversations with faculty at other schools, I believe this might have something to do with UW's financial position. I think they are at least as bad as most schools right now budget-wise. That may have affected Evans' selection process this year.

I am quite irritated by Evans at this juncture. After a week of notifications (already much later than most schools), I still have heard nothing from them one way or the other. I can only assume that I have been rejected, or will be admitted with no funding. I don't really understand their reasoning, as I have a fairly strong profile and have been accepted to Indiana, CMU, and Cornell, all with at least some funding. Evans was in fact my safety school, and although I certainly would have considered attending, I feel very slighted by them at this point. Every other school I applied to responded with an offer of admission within a few weeks of recieving my application, and all of them have reached out to me extensively in the interim. I do not mean to suggest that I "deserve" an acceptance to Evans, or that I am "above" their program, but I feel that given the fact that other schools are competing for my attention, Evans could at least have the respect to contact me one way or the other in a timely manner. With the way they seem to be conducting admissions, they may very well lose out on many prospective students who have developed loyalty to other programs.