PJ1987

It sounds like you have quite a decision to make! I can't tell you what the right answer is, but if I were in your position, I would probably go with School #1. It all depends on what your priorities are, but it sounds to me like you prioritize family and loved ones over your academics (and I absolutely do not judge you for that -- I am the exact same way, which is the reason I applied exclusively to programs near my family). And if your relationship with your boyfriend is very serious, I wouldn't jeopardize it with the strain of going to School #3 - as wonderful as the program may be, long-distance is never easy. As for School #2 in NYC, I'm about to say something really unpopular: as someone who currently lives here in NYC, I do not recommend it. If you grew up in a place where there's clean air, quiet, and enough space to walk down the street without getting head lice from the nearest person on the sidewalk, you might not like it here. I mean, there definitely are great things about it (i.e. you don't need a car at all, ever, which saves a lot of money) but it's a very stressful place to live. It all depends on your personality -- a lot of people really thrive in a bustling atmosphere like NYC, and they love that it's always so busy and vibrant here. Personally, I prefer a city like Boston. But that's just me. If you haven't visited New York before, it's worth coming down to see if you think it might be a good fit for you. It sounds like School #1 is a nice place, relatively affordable, close to the important people in your life, and will provide you with a clear (and quick) path towards your ultimate goal of doctoral study. It sounds to me like School #1 satisfies both the head and the heart. Those are my thoughts, anyway. Good luck with your decision!

Ccarmona, that's a good idea to wait for the deadline. (If I bring it up sooner, I'm afraid they might scramble to send me a last-minute rejection and cover their butts by saying, "See? Your application was processed!") If I get an acceptance/rejection from a different department, I'll definitely have a good laugh! Thanks for your advice

Hi all, I'm in kind of a weird situation here. I still had not heard back from one of the schools I applied to, and I'm pressed for time because, obviously, I only have about two and a half weeks to make a decision about what I'm doing next year. (A rejection would be a fair assumption, considering I hadn't been contacted by anyone for an interview or anything, but still I just wanted to make sure.) I emailed the admissions office asking about the status of my application, and something weird happened... they replied telling me that they had no record of my application whatsoever. It just wasn't on file. They said they never received an application in my name. However, I know that all of my application materials were received (including my $100+ application fee, which is strangely the only part of my application that seems to have been processed) because I received a confirmation email telling me so. In addition, I checked my status shortly after I received that email and it said that all of my materials--my transcripts, writing samples, personal statement, etc--had been received. (I have a print-out of this page for my records, thankfully.) I also have bank records proving that my check was cashed by the school. Here's my question: I know that most schools say that the application fee is non-refundable, but If the fee is paid specifically for the service (the service being the processing of my application, regardless of the outcome) and then that service is not provided, shouldn't I be legally entitled to a refund? I know it sounds silly to make waves about such a small amount of money, but that money was still valuable to me. Has this happened to anyone before? Do you think I have a legitimate case for getting my money back? Thanks!

Thanks for your responses! Physwimic, you bring up a good point and have reminded me of all the stuff I went through to get here, so thanks Babar_Suleman, I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one! I wish you luck in your decision and hope it all works out for you!

Okay, it's like this: for the last four years, I've wanted to go for the Ph.D. I was absolutely positive that's what I wanted to do. It was my dream. I went and got a master's just so that I could better prepare myself and improve my admissions chances. I took the GRE TWICE. I spent two thousand dollars on applications alone. Now, I've gotten accepted to one of my top choice programs. ...And I'm suddenly starting to doubt that I want to do the Ph.D. at all anymore. I know. It's insane. I think what really happened was that I got so burned out from my master's that I'm just dreading having to do even more work in this field. I love the field I'm in, but I'm starting to question whether I love it enough to devote the rest of my life to writing papers about it, possibly with no job at the end of the Ph.D. tunnel. I'm really wavering on it. I still haven't found out about funding yet, and my family's advice to me is that if I do get funding, I should go for one year and see how I like it. I can always leave the program after a year if I'm unhappy. Do you think this is a good idea? Has this eleventh-hour crisis happened to anyone else? Thanks for reading, and congrats to you all!