Bianca

I got the same Cornell fellowship from the Human Development dept and everyone I talked to who already lives there says it's more than enough, especially if you share an appt

I completely agree

I agree with pistolwink and it also probably depends on the program. I mentioned at least 2 names in each statement and got in in 4 of the 8 schools I applied. before doing that I contacted all of these potential advisors to make sure they will be taking new grad students this year. and mentioning many names also doesn't have to be necessarily bad. in one of the schools there were 4 professors that work in my area (which is not usually the case, only 1 or 2 in the other departments) and so I used this to say something like 'the fact that there are so many people doing research in this area, such as prof x,y,z, and w makes your school my top choice'. I was accepted, contacted by one of those whose name I mentioned and she was very excited about my application. so there are no rules of thumb, I guess

did they say when they are planning on making that decision?

I;m not from Israel, but I've been there and I have many friends in both cities. I don't know about the schools, but Jerusalem and TEl Aviv are two completely different worlds to live there. Jerusalem is beautiful and full of history, great old architecture and tradition. Tel Aviv is ultra modern, it's the NYC of Middle East. so depending on what you prefer, you might find either of them great. I personally would choose Tel Aviv, although visiting Jerusalem was an unforgettable experience.

yeah, I'm also international and no way I'm flying there to look for housing, so I have no idea how to find the right place foe me. some months ago I met an old Turkish lady that lives in Ithaca (with Cornell PhD) and when I told her I applied there she was very happy to offer me her help with finding housing. so I was thinking of finding potential appts online and then asking her to check the best options out. wonder if she'll be willing to do that. but I'm open to new possibilities, so digger if you have any ideas I'm willing to take part. what I know right now is that I definitely want to live Downtown, I was told that was the busiest place in Ithaca and I need busy and loud. I'm used to living in big cities where it's never quiet, so I'll die of boredom in a nice, peaceful residential area.

I also applied to NYU and Rutgers and still haven't heard anything from them. Regardless of their replies I';m not going there, but good luck to you.

what I did was buy each of them some sweets and drop by their office, telling them I have been admited and thanking them again for their LORs. (now, of course, I come from a very different culture, so this might not be appropriate in the US)

I'm going to the Human Development department, College of Human Ecology. any other future Cornellians?