catchermiscount Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 Edit: Bad joke removed. Oh, because we've been maintaining such high comedic standards on the board thus far.
aw02 Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 Congrats westcoast! I already got the mail today without anything from Michigan in it, but I'm sure I'll be hovering by the mailbox waiting for it to arrive tomorrow... I posted the other acceptance. It came by email, but it was very informal, and I only got it at 5 30 pm (ET). No details yet, just a faculty member giving me a heads up. So I agree with westcoast, they're very probably not done notifying. Also, my previous source on Harvard (the one who claimed decisions were being made last Friday) said it is very likely that notices will be out by this Friday. And at least a first batch of decisions has been made. Then again, my previous lead was disputed by someone on the forum, so take it with a pinch of salt...
montage Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 I posted the other acceptance. It came by email, but it was very informal, and I only got it at 5 30 pm (ET). No details yet, just a faculty member giving me a heads up. So I agree with westcoast, they're very probably not done notifying. Also, my previous source on Harvard (the one who claimed decisions were being made last Friday) said it is very likely that notices will be out by this Friday. And at least a first batch of decisions has been made. Then again, my previous lead was disputed by someone on the forum, so take it with a pinch of salt... Thank you aw2. Congrats on Michigan btw, I wonder who you were gonna work with
AllFiredUp Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 Sorry for not keeping you posted on Columbia. The faculty has not met to make final decisions yet, but I think they will do so tomorrow or Friday. They will probably send out notices next week though I can't tell you for sure when. I will ask tomorrow and see if I can get more precise information for all of you. Good luck:) Thanks for the reconnaissance, gradster. Sorry about your chimpanzee.
ShamPain Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 plisar - regarding tuition waivers and taxes... as i said in my first post about it, i believe it depends on how your school counts the waivers. if they count it as a scholarship, then no taxes. but if they count it as part of your compensation for being a TA, then i believe it is taxable. it is certainly possible that different departments do it differently.
jackassjim Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 Oh, because we've been maintaining such high comedic standards on the board thus far. True enough, the baseline is not too high. I just learned about this guy demetri martin from youtube, and he really made me laugh and think of myself (except I play the ukulele instead of riding a unicycle). Maybe I should try my hand at standup comedy; it seems to work pretty well for him.
oscarwildebeest Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 True enough, the baseline is not too high. I just learned about this guy demetri martin from youtube, and he really made me laugh and think of myself (except I play the ukulele instead of riding a unicycle). Maybe I should try my hand at standup comedy; it seems to work pretty well for him. Is that the guy who does "Trendspotting" on the Daily Show? If so... lotta love.
plisar Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 plisar - regarding tuition waivers and taxes... as i said in my first post about it, i believe it depends on how your school counts the waivers. if they count it as a scholarship, then no taxes. but if they count it as part of your compensation for being a TA, then i believe it is taxable. it is certainly possible that different departments do it differently. Be careful, no matter what, United States tax code says any income spent on tuition, fees, books, etc is FULLY taken off of your taxes. Even if it is subtracted initially, I guarantee you an accountant would claim it and get you a refund. I work in graduate financial aid, and have confirmed this with our head accountant. He said this will not change from state-to-state or school-to-school. Plisar
fsmn36 Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 The economy is AWFUL. Unfortunately, this is vastly affecting graduate programs, especially at private institutions, but it's clearly hurting public institutions as well. Harvard Soc was considering not admitting anyone this year. This is definitely the worst year in years for graduate school admissions. It is ROUGH. Can't escape it trying to find a job straight out of college, and can't even use grad school as some sort of backup (which is the advice I've read from various news outlets--shows what they know!). Why did I (and thousands others) have to be graduating this year? :|
TimeWaster Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 I don't know man but look at it this way, nobody of the graduate age (current workers fear of getting laid off, prospective workers can't find jobs, prospective grads can't find schools) has it easy.
eve2008 Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 Harvard made decisions last week. Admitted students should be hearing the word any day now.
milkbaba Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 I have been working full time for years and paying tuition during that time. Not only is tuition not-taxable, you should be able to take tuition credits (Lifetime Learning or Hope credit), which would reduce your tax liability substantially (possibly to zero). As far as tuition wavers go, it should not be taxable but obviously you can not claim tuition credits on it. Stipends are fully taxable, and I know this because I am on a fellowship right now in which I am taxed at approx. 15%. Now, if your only income is your PhD stipend, then 15-25k per year is not that much income. Your standard deduction plus any tuition credits (if you are unfunded and pay tuition yourself) should keep your tax liability down.
Billy1 Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 hey So you mean Harvard Gov PhD made decisions last week. Where did you hear? Based on previous years, it looks like they should notify people next Monday (and that week) for those that are successful Should be interesting to see B
milkbaba Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 Damned if you do, damned if you don't; horrible job market. horrible grad school market. No shelter from the perfect storm Is this the worst grad school admit year on record?!
k314 Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 Damned if you do, damned if you don't; horrible job market. horrible grad school market. No shelter from the perfect storm Is this the worst grad school admit year on record?! i think somebody posted earlier that columbia's applications were actually down this year (which would mean at least it's not the worst year ever somewhere). i don't know if there was any confirmation of that, though...
Lex Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 I can confirm that Harvard's admissions committee met last Friday (aw02 was right, I was wrong) and at least some decisions have been made. My source said official notification next Monday, but I wouldn't be surprised if we heard before that.
plisar Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 Any have any idea about the Harvard rumor? It's legit, she went to Harvard this year and it sounds like she has an in with someone on the adcomm. Expect that we should hear something by Monday.
driftwood Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 Completely off topic and most of you might know this already, but there's a lot of good info on grad schools at this link http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-economics/99553-faqs-about-graduate-school-economics-links-useful-threads.html I found the threads relating to Q.12 in the FAQs pretty useful.
bayer Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 Those waiting on Harvard - what are your stats? Am curious.
BigCheese Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 It's legit, she went to Harvard this year and it sounds like she has an in with someone on the adcomm. Expect that we should hear something by Monday. oh god another rejection...
vig180 Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 Those waiting on Harvard - what are your stats? Am curious. I don't think stats have much play based on my experience thus far. I've got a 1580 GRE, 3.99 GPA, several minor publications, great recs., etc. and haven't had much luck this cycle (I'm 1 for 4). Grad school isn't like Law or Med School- stats are a much smaller part of the application. Who you know, work experience, research experience, and a strong and specific SOP seem to be more highly valued.
k314 Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 Those waiting on Harvard - what are your stats? Am curious. sure: 790Q/800V/6 on the GREs, 3.76 undergrad GPA (not in poli sci), and i've also got a law degree, for whatever that's worth (consensus seems to be either "some" or "not much") my recs are from 2 law profs and 1 poli sci prof.
PollyTheory Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 i think somebody posted earlier that columbia's applications were actually down this year (which would mean at least it's not the worst year ever somewhere). i don't know if there was any confirmation of that, though... I posted that, heard from a current grad student. Take it for what it's worth.
politicalscience1 Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 has anyone heard about the details of their funding package from Texas?
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