History Admissions 2009

[Highfructose]

Still waiting on Cuny, Nyu, Chicago. Haven't got funding+stipend anywhere yet, and it's beginning to look bleak. Come on CUNY!

[StrangeLight]

other people are moving their cats too?

i've flown my cat on a plane before, but he's too big to go in the cabin under the seat in front of me so he was in the cargo. he was terrified and shaken up for a good day afterward. i can just picture him down there, it's cold and loud and he's getting tossed around in the turbulence. not fun. so on this move, i plan to actually buy him his own seat on the airplane, even though it will cost hundreds of dollars, just so he doesn't have to go back into the cargo. i hope he appreciates all the trouble i'm going to for his sake!

as for everything else in my apartment, i'll just send it off with a moving truck. it's actually cheaper than me renting a u-haul or something myself once you factor in gas, hotels, and meals.

[Sonic]

I'm really banking on my mother's self-proclaimed love of road trips to save me. We'll need to drive a UHaul through DC, New York, and Boston if I end up at School A. I'm really surprised that her vote isn't in for School B, which is a convenient 2.5-hour drive away!

Oh, and the cat is coming, too. The cat loves a car trip. I'm thankful for small miracles.

[synthla]

other people are moving their cats too?

i've flown my cat on a plane before, but he's too big to go in the cabin under the seat in front of me so he was in the cargo. he was terrified and shaken up for a good day afterward. i can just picture him down there, it's cold and loud and he's getting tossed around in the turbulence. not fun. so on this move, i plan to actually buy him his own seat on the airplane, even though it will cost hundreds of dollars, just so he doesn't have to go back into the cargo. i hope he appreciates all the trouble i'm going to for his sake!

I know your cat will appreciate it. I think ours are of a size where they can fit under the seat, but I think a mild sedative from the vet will probably be a must, at least for one of them. Do you have any experience with that?

[synthla]

I'm really banking on my mother's self-proclaimed love of road trips to save me. We'll need to drive a UHaul through DC, New York, and Boston if I end up at School A. I'm really surprised that her vote isn't in for School B, which is a convenient 2.5-hour drive away!

Oh, and the cat is coming, too. The cat loves a car trip. I'm thankful for small miracles.

Ha - I've packed and unpacked myself several times now, each time with more and more stuff, and I've decided that I am not doing it again. Since I'm probably moving 2000 miles, the additional cost of having them pack it and unpack it for me will probably only be a fraction of the cost of the overall move, so I'm just going to pretend it's not optional and grin and bear it.

[earlyamerican]

The move is the part I'm dreading most myself, but I've resigned myself to spending about $5,000 to do it because it would cost several times that much to replace all my stuff. But material items aside, it's the two cats and two cars (I'm also moving with my SO) that will be trickier. Obviously it will be far cheaper to drive the cars than to pay for them to be moved, but the cats would be easier to move by airplane because two cats in a car for two or three days sounds pretty much awful. So I still haven't figured out the logistics of it all... much less finding a house, ideally before showing up in the new locale.

I say sell one car. One person drives, the other flies with the cats. If you absolutely need two cars, buy one in the new location.

Are you trying to buy a house on top of this? That's actually probably genius if you can afford it, unless you're trying to sell one now. That sounds like the albatross of doom.

How do you know if your cat is too big to fly under the seat? I'm worried ours is. I won't stick him in cargo - too many animals die that way and if you're flying in summer, even a 30 minute delay on the tarmac in hot weather could create life-threatening conditions in the hold. (Or, take a crack-of-dawn flight.) That being said, three long days of driving with a nervous cat who craps himself when stressed basically sounds like the end of the world. Fuzzy bastard. I can part with the fish, but the cat is family. Yes, I'm one of "those people."

Also, I don't know if the airlines will let you buy an extra seat for a pet. I think they *have* to go under the seat.

[StrangeLight]

I know your cat will appreciate it. I think ours are of a size where they can fit under the seat, but I think a mild sedative from the vet will probably be a must, at least for one of them. Do you have any experience with that?

you should never sedate your cat for a flight, more often than not that's how they get injured. they're knocked out and then they get tossed around from turbulence and aren't awake/aware enough to brace themselves or retain their balance. most vets will recommend that you don't sedate cats for flights.

yes, the cat will probably meow and cry or even hiss through most of the flight, and everyone around you will hate you, but better to have grumpy passengers than an injured kitty.

[StrangeLight]

How do you know if your cat is too big to fly under the seat? I'm worried ours is. I won't stick him in cargo - too many animals die that way and if you're flying in summer, even a 30 minute delay on the tarmac in hot weather could create life-threatening conditions in the hold. (Or, take a crack-of-dawn flight.) That being said, three long days of driving with a nervous cat who craps himself when stressed basically sounds like the end of the world. Fuzzy bastard. I can part with the fish, but the cat is family. Yes, I'm one of "those people."

Also, I don't know if the airlines will let you buy an extra seat for a pet. I think they *have* to go under the seat.

god, i'm the damn cat lady.

to fit under the seat in front, the cat needs to be able to stand upright and fit underneath, otherwise the airline will say that you have to check the pet into cargo (if there's a space available; sometimes they're booked, and lately many airlines have stopped taking pets in the cargo all together). i believe this means your cat needs to be under 9 or 10 inches tall. check with individual airlines, they'll have FAQ sections about traveling with pets. my cat's a tall bugger, around 13 inches last time he stood still long enough to let me measure him.

if your cat is taller than that and you buy him a seat (individual airline policy varies on this too), i think he still needs to be put under the seat in front for take off and landing (where he'd be sitting/lying down), but otherwise he can sit on the seat (inside his carrier).

also, airline security has the incredibly irritating policy of making you take your pet out of its carrier/kennel so the carrier can be x-rayed. if your pet is anything like mine, he hates going into his kennel, and once he's in, he hates coming out. i've heard about people whose cats have wriggled out of their arms while the carrier is going through the x-ray and bolted across the airport, past the security station. i know of one person that just ran through the metal detectors after her cat, and i don't think she got into any trouble for it, but i imagine there are some places where charging through security could be rather dangerous. put your cat on a leash for the flight. that way the critter won't bolt on you when you've got to take him out of his kennel as you go through security. (note: even if you put your pet in cargo, they still x-ray the kennel. which is odd, considering they don't x-ray checked baggage, but whatever. since when has the TSA's policy ever made sense?).

[petpolitics]

i am still waiting on brandeis, notre dame, and northeastern. i haven't heard a thing. :|

:? still waiting on university of illinois- chicago, carnegie mellon, and chicago (rejection).

[Nikki]

I emailed a professor at Temple and he said I did not make the final cut.

4 rejections and 1 probable (GW).

See some of you next year!

[DrWarpEffect]

Has anyone contacted OSU recently? I have seen maybe a couple of waves of acceptances or rejections but my site still says evaluation.

As far as beach or better school, I say go to better school and then you are more able to live at the beach for your career as opposed to school at the beach and hard time getting job later. The money is another matter. I try to put a money value on the difference in quality of program and then decide. Running up too big a bill for student loans can haunt you for a very long time.

My 2 cents in a down economy.

[Dirt]

im also having a really hard time making a decision. is anyone else moving/making their decision with a significant other?

That's me! Wife *and* baby, in fact. Making a decision shouldn't be too hard: I only have one offer at the moment (and don't really expect another), but that one offer comes with a financial package that should allow us both to leave our current jobs.

Moving, on the other hand...

:roll:

Our biggest issues right now are:

1) Deciding out what to do with our condo, which we bought 4.5 years ago. Should we try to sell it and hope for a decent price? Should we take our chances renting it out until the market picks up?

2) Figuring out whether or not we can bring our dog with us. And, if not, figuring out who to leave her with.

[synthla]

Are you trying to buy a house on top of this? That's actually probably genius if you can afford it, unless you're trying to sell one now. That sounds like the albatross of doom.

I've basically spent the last five or six years living and working in places where housing prices were/are ridiculous, so I saved money but could never afford to buy anything. Now I'm looking at moving to an area where a 1500 sq ft house costs 1/4 the amount of the 2 bedroom condo I live in now (and rent for 1/2 the monthly cost the guy next door is paying to "own" his), so it's hard to resist the opportunity... It's still up in the air but the mortgage payment would probably be less than renting an apartment and there's the tax incentive this year, so it's an appealing option.

[synthla]

to fit under the seat in front, the cat needs to be able to stand upright and fit underneath, otherwise the airline will say that you have to check the pet into cargo (if there's a space available; sometimes they're booked, and lately many airlines have stopped taking pets in the cargo all together). i believe this means your cat needs to be under 9 or 10 inches tall. check with individual airlines, they'll have FAQ sections about traveling with pets. my cat's a tall bugger, around 13 inches last time he stood still long enough to let me measure him.

Now I feel a compulsion to go home and measure the cats... This is sounding worse than I expected though. The cat height thing is silly - it's like like we're flying to Hong Kong and the cats need to worry about arterial thrombosis so they need to be able to stand up comfortably the entire time.

EDIT: If anyone is curious, I just checked Northwest, which is what I fly most of the time, and from what I can tell on quick glance their policy is that the kennel itself may not be taller than 8 inches, but your pet just has to be able to fit inside comfortably and have room to move around. Combined weight of pet and kennel cannot exceed 15 lbs. Best of all, they charge you $150 one-way per carry-on animal. For WHAT? It's not like the cat is getting free soda. Airlines are a joke.

[Dirt]

I've basically spent the last five or six years living and working in places where housing prices were/are ridiculous, so I saved money but could never afford to buy anything. Now I'm looking at moving to an area where a 1500 sq ft house costs 1/4 the amount of the 2 bedroom condo I live in now (and rent for 1/2 the monthly cost the guy next door is paying to "own" his), so it's hard to resist the opportunity... It's still up in the air but the mortgage payment would probably be less than renting an apartment and there's the tax incentive this year, so it's an appealing option.

Having been there and done that, much to my regret, keep in mind that if you buy a house you could be stuck with it for much longer than you might like.

Unless you want to buy my condo (a mere four hours from IU!), in which case you can't go wrong.

:wink:

[synthla]

Having been there and done that, much to my regret, keep in mind that if you buy a house you could be stuck with it for much longer than you might like.

Unless you want to buy my condo (a mere four hours from IU!), in which case you can't go wrong.

:wink:

That sounds like the average commuting time of some people in Southern California, except 4 hours commute probably comes out to something like 300 miles in the midwest, as opposed to 75 here. I know what you mean though and I feel for you if you have to sell in this market. I think part of my motivation is just fear that if I don't use some of this money for a house now, I'll find ways to piss it all away over the next 6 or 7 years, and wind up with nothing to show for my first career. Besides a nice car that will be a decade old at that point. :roll:

[rustonite]

Has anyone contacted OSU recently? I have seen maybe a couple of waves of acceptances or rejections but my site still says evaluation.

I had an e-mail from the DGS on March 6 saying that they hadn't finalized decisions (and that I hadn't been cut yet.) Someone really ought to call again. :wink:

[kahlan_amnell]

god, i'm the damn cat lady.

to fit under the seat in front, the cat needs to be able to stand upright and fit underneath, otherwise the airline will say that you have to check the pet into cargo (if there's a space available; sometimes they're booked, and lately many airlines have stopped taking pets in the cargo all together). i believe this means your cat needs to be under 9 or 10 inches tall. check with individual airlines, they'll have FAQ sections about traveling with pets. my cat's a tall bugger, around 13 inches last time he stood still long enough to let me measure him.

if your cat is taller than that and you buy him a seat (individual airline policy varies on this too), i think he still needs to be put under the seat in front for take off and landing (where he'd be sitting/lying down), but otherwise he can sit on the seat (inside his carrier).

also, airline security has the incredibly irritating policy of making you take your pet out of its carrier/kennel so the carrier can be x-rayed. if your pet is anything like mine, he hates going into his kennel, and once he's in, he hates coming out. i've heard about people whose cats have wriggled out of their arms while the carrier is going through the x-ray and bolted across the airport, past the security station. i know of one person that just ran through the metal detectors after her cat, and i don't think she got into any trouble for it, but i imagine there are some places where charging through security could be rather dangerous. put your cat on a leash for the flight. that way the critter won't bolt on you when you've got to take him out of his kennel as you go through security. (note: even if you put your pet in cargo, they still x-ray the kennel. which is odd, considering they don't x-ray checked baggage, but whatever. since when has the TSA's policy ever made sense?).

For people traveling on planes with cats: your cat is probably not too big to fit in a carrier that fits under the seat.

I'd check with the airline that the cat is allowed to be placed on a seat if you buy an extra seat. I somehow doubt that is allowed, as I've never seen it done. If the cat is too large to fit into a carrier that will find under the seat, then I'm afraid the only option may be to put the cat in cargo. As was pointed out, the cat would have to go under the seat for take off and landing, and if they won't fit, the carrier can't be on the seat for those times. So where would the carrier go then?

For going onto the plane, the cat does not need to be able to stand up in the carrier. That regulation for pets having to be able to stand up and turn around in carriers is for pets going in cargo. They do not check how well pets being brought into the cabin fit in their carriers. So, unless the cat is horribly cramped in a standard sized soft carrier, they should be OK to bring on the plane with you and put under the seat.

Do not sedate your cat for flying, as someone else mentioned it is dangerous. There are natural remedies that calm cats that you could use.

Make resevations for traveling with your cat in advance. Airlines only allow a certain number of pets on each flight. You will have to let them know you are traveling with a pet and pay a fee. Also, you may need a certificate from your vet stating that your cat is healthy, though they almost never ask you to see it.

For anyone traveling with pets, here is a chart of the fees different airlines charge for pets, which range from $69 to $175, with $100 being the most common fee: http://www.airfarewatchdog.com/AirfareW ... fault.aspx.

[misterpat]

Finally got my Chicago rejection. They offered me admission to their cash-cow MA in the Social Sciences program, with a scholarship to waive 1/3 of the ridiculously priced tuition.

It was difficult to explain to my mother how that program exists to bring in money for the university, and that it probably wouldn't do me any good. She read the packet they sent me for like 20 minutes, and seemed more upset about it than I was.

[synthla]

Finally got my Chicago rejection. They offered me admission to their cash-cow MA in the Social Sciences program, with a scholarship to waive 1/3 of the ridiculously priced tuition.

That's no lie:

The cost of study changes slightly every year. 2008-2009 figures from the Dean of Students Office anticipate that the average MA student will spend approximately $58,900 dollars during the academic year.

Tuition* $38,502

Activities Fee* $147

Health Services Fee* $531

Basic Insurance* $1983

Books $1650

Living Expenses $16,125

Total $58,938

Wow... guess I've been looking at public university tuition and fees for too long and forgot what private school charges can be like.

Sorry to hear about Chicago though. I know it's a great school, but rather an unforgiving place to study, from what I've heard from graduates (including faculty at schools to which I applied and who are Chicago grads) - of course, there are probably many who would disagree I'm sure.

[misterpat]

Thanks, it was to be expected though. I think I could have dealt with the no-fun-allowed atmosphere while I was at school and sought refuge in other, more fun, areas of the city.

I was just at the South Side Irish Parade yesterday, which I would recommend any student attending a Chicago school next year check out. My friend was dressed up as Green Man, from It's Always Sunnny In Philadelphia. He was treated like a minor celebrity. Even if you are adamantly opposed to ethnic stereotypes, a visit to this parade will likely convince you that the Irish's reputation of being a bunch of drunks and public-urinators is well-deserved (in a good way).

[StrangeLight]

well, the last of my rejections has rolled in.

i think i'm going to accept pittsburgh's offer today or tomorrow. i don't know how many people applied to CMU or miami, but hopefully me turning them down will help out someone else.

[kahlan_amnell]

Has anyone heard from Rutgers lately? The last posted results were on the 25th and 26th of February. Someone had heard that all acceptances have gone out, but you'd think if that was the case one might think that they might get around to notifying wait listed and rejected applicants soon.

Has anyone else heard from Temple? I've only seen two results posted for this year, one acceptance and one rejection, one of which was gotten by e-mailing to check status.

I'd like to hear from my last three schools so I can concentrate more on finishing my MA thesis.

[petpolitics]

well, the last of my rejections has rolled in.

i think i'm going to accept pittsburgh's offer today or tomorrow. i don't know how many people applied to CMU or miami, but hopefully me turning them down will help out someone else.

ah congrats on making a final decision!

when was your CMU admit-weekend invite? i still have not heard from them...

[Moses]

I just got an identical letter from Chicago, 1/3 tuition and all. How much do you think a program like that would would raise one's standing for the Ph.D program?

I've also been accepted to Georgetown's Ph.D program without a dime. Would someone mind playing devil's advocate and telling me whether or not a reasonable person could accept either of these offers and not end up destitute? (That was a serious question, not a statement of frustration.) I make $60,000 as a high school teacher right now, which feels like way too much. I'm ready to be poor. On the other hand debt is different and scarier than poverty. Can anyone argue the point that I would be better off with one of these offers than with reapplying to more schools next year? I want to believe!

Still waiting with naive optimism for a few more.

Any thoughts would be much appreciated.