seekingalpha

Maybe I shouldn't bother saying anything until after I complete year 1 & prelims (& prove myself), but while I agree with the general sentiment that being at the top vs. bottom of the class could lead to very different experiences, and that the judgement of adcoms obviously means a lot (since they've seen and reviewed many people & have the knowledge of who succeeded and who didn't), I hardly think it's the end-all be-all. There are many factors, including research interest and composition of the rest of the potential class (ie, are you interested in research they haven't already accepted a few strong candidates for), that affect your chances. I, for instance, didn't get funding for Pitt Econ(T40) .... but I'll be going to Wharton (T10) for finance. Clearly very different programs, and looking back, I should have applied exclusively to finance, made a bunch of mistakes, etc. Doesn't change the fact that two good schools clearly saw my research potential very differently. To the OP: I recommend being extremely polite, as well as honest, when you talk to whichever school you end up declining. While some may think it was poor form to accept two grad school offers (similarly, accepting two job offer is also considered taboo), what's done is done, and I can absolutely understand the desire to go to as highly ranked a school as possible.

So I know I said I was going to relax and not worry about reading textbooks ... buut I just checked out Penn's Econ Math Camp curriculum/old exams (finance does econ's math camp) and it got me all excited about proofs and math and also ashamed that I was so rusty with notation after 2 years. So I'm going to check out this (http://cupid.economics.uq.edu.au/mclennan/NatureOrigins/nature_origins.pdf), this (Real Mathematical Analysis (Undergraduate Texts in Mathematics): Charles C. Pugh: 9781441929419: Amazon.com: Books), and probably read Kahneman/Tversky's Choices, Values, and Frames (Choices, Values, and Frames: Daniel Kahneman, Amos Tversky: 9780521627498: Amazon.com: Books) which I bought months ago and have been itching to read but letting life get in the way of.

I can't speak from personal experience, as I haven't started my PhD yet. However, I agree with the general reaction that time away (out of sight, out of mind) will likely be detrimental, and that whether you choose to travel home should be a personal decision where the various trade-offs are considered. I have several friends who are in the latter half of their PhDs (biology, computer science, math, engineering) and some of them who are internationals definitely do go home 1 or 2x a year for extended periods of time (several weeks). I think that if you are flexible on when you go home, ie work around your research schedules -- does a certain phase require you to be in the lab or using specific equipment or software on campus, whereas another involves more writing and interaction with faculty that are willing to communicate via skype? If you can plan around the higher and lower research volume times, that could likely go a long way in mitigating negative impacts of being out of the country. If you work with certain faculty mostly -- when do they typically take their vacation? Winter break may be a time when others in your field are dedicating less time to research. (Just hypothesizing) That said, I agree with chuisle that there is a lot outside of academia, particularly your personal relationships, that matters. My relationship is more important than getting tenure (of course, what's critical too is that my relationship is such that I get support that enables me to be MORE successful in my career than I would be without it). I am willing to make certain sacrifices during my graduate career for my relationship, perhaps you are too and so it's worth giving some thought as to what value you place on your relationship with your partner. Bottom line: if you accept that there will be some drawbacks, and that you'll need to work extra hard when abroad (and before) to communicate with professors and keep motivated with your research, it doesn't seem impossible or totally foolish to go home occasionally. Are there no other international students in your program? I'd talk to them and see how they manage, and obviously talk with your professors to work out a workable arrangement.

Interesting discussion on renting vs. owning. For me personally, I'd only buy during grad school if 1) I had enough money for a 20% down-payment so that I didn't have to pay PMI, 2) monthly rent vs. mortgage was favorable for owning (ie, it was decently more expensive to rent the same place than to own), and 3) I could conceivably rent it out after I finished grad school (ie, in-demand location that you could get renters for & being OK being a long-distance landlord). My only big thing is I need to take my spending way, way down (coming from consulting aka $$$$). But I think I can still max out my Roth IRA every year. Anyone else aiming to do that?

I'm taking the couple months between working and grad school (have to be in Philly for math camp by mid-July) to enjoy life, work out, go to a bunch of friends' weddings, do a lot of reading, and write a book. Math camp will be my re-introduction to math after being out of school for a few years. I think being refreshed and energized for the school year will benefit me, personally, more than reading some textbooks. Good luck everyone (especially those with ambitious plans)!

I got the same email, as well. I declined, but I will admit I'm also curious as to what the substantial tuition deduction amounts to =)

Definitely, but I think that's normal. Like ForbiddenDonut said, the people involved in admissions have experience and knowledge about who succeeds and they think you will be one of them. I, for one, am particularly concerned about the math (and in talking to people who know things, they've acknowledged that I'll likely have to work harder than some others). But to be quite honest, I always struggled and had to work hard in college, and yes a lot of times I felt really inferior, but I ended up kicking ***. My best friend is doing her PhD at MIT and she still has the same feelings I do (even though by all objective measures, she kicks a ton of ***). People are more vocal about their successes than they are about their fears and struggles -- I'd venture that you are way less alone in this feeling than you think. Good luck!

We had a state holiday today in MA. Today (and tomorrow) are days off (holidays) for MIT, though Harvard did not have a holiday.

ForbiddenDonut, congrats on the FSU decision! :)

Good luck to everyone making decisions today/tomorrow!

Go to FSU! I totally feel you on the academia/love dilemma -- both the program you attend and the person by your side are important inputs to your overall happiness & success. There are obviously reasons (as you listed) that you applied to FSU in the first place, and that you would choose to attend for. I too have an SO I met in undergrad (dating 4+ years, long-distance for almost half of that), and the current plan is for him to follow me to where I'll be in grad school (in a year, due to some constraints at his job). I tried to keep his preference for location in mind as much as possible, and luckily my best option was in a city he felt he'd be able to find a job at (he's an engineer). He is an amazing person, and while I don't believe in 'the one' or 'soulmates' or that I can guarantee we'll be together forever, he's the best (kindest, smartest, cutest) person I know, and we have a great track record of making each other happy. Not to be a downer, though, but I imagine things will only get tougher later on. I worry (even though my boyfriend always reassures me when I bring this up) that making my boyfriend move somewhere for my career could end badly if he's unhappy and comes to resent me. Even more than that, I know that a career in academia requires a lot of sacrifices down the road. I've mentioned before that my dad is a tenured prof at a top university-- so, my parents have lived in the same house/place for the last 14 years, which is nice. But before that, during a span of 5 years, we lived in 3 different countries (& 3 different universities for my dad's post-doc & first AP positions). Having talked to my mom recently, I realized that while it rocked for me, my mom (and SOs of other faculty) had to deal with underemployment because some locations were less than ideal and didn't offer much. I guess this is all too far ahead to worry about --and I do know two professor couples at my undergrad institution (both econ) who managed to find places together. So I'm sure it is doable being in other depts, as well! Conclusion: as long as you're choosing FSU for many reasons other than your girlfriend, I think it's important to go somewhere you can be with the person you love.

Insti

So in the end things worked out very well for me. But in the process I made a lot of mistakes, got a lot of rejections (11, to be exact), and to reiterate, made a lot of mistakes. I'm so thankful that the school I'm going to was able to see past the downsides of my application & saw potential in me as a researcher, but can't blame all of the other schools in the slightest. 1) LOR writers: I went to a well-known research university, and ended up getting letter from (person 1) econometrics professor who is a tenure-track econ prof, (person 2) teaching-track econ professor who was my thesis advisor, and (person 3) teaching-track math professor who I TAd for and took Multivariate Calculus with. I assumed that since they all had PhDs and did research at some point (or were doing it currently but not super-actively) that they would be able to speak to my potential as a researcher. Apparently not, a well-known researcher would have been better. I knew that, mostly, but I figured that my thesis advisor was the perfect person because she had actually seen me in action. So if you do go to a school with strong research, you definitely need to seek out the superstars. 2) Grades: it's a huge boost to your profile to take a high-level (or grad-level) math class ... only if you do well. I'm still haunted by the D I got in a senior-level (first legit proof-based math class) probability course that I took in sophomore year. If only I had had the foresight to drop & try again later, or drop and take a comparable less awful class. A grade like that makes every adcom question your math abilities (for good reason). 3) Apparently this happens often so isn't necessarily held against you -- but I definitely referenced specific professors in my SOP. Some of them, turns out, were visiting professors who have left, or don't have any current research b/c they're so senior. Oops :D Good luck, everyone! I would be interested in hearing everyone else's stories as well -- while recognizing that I'm still totally uninformed and incompetent and have no idea what I'm getting myself into, I know way more than when I started. Now I know enough to realize things are WAY more competitive than I first thought, and that there is so much noise in the process. On the bright side, it only take one admit =)

So, my dad is a tenured professor at the top university for his field (not econ). Not sure how helpful the following will be, but I'm happy to share from my perspective what the life of a professor is like. I will say that in some ways [my dad who is a tenured professor] is constantly working -- whenever he drove me around to activities as a kid, he'd bring a binder and be solving math problems. At home, he is literally always sitting with his binder or computer, working. Always. On the other hand, he's not as constrained by time/location (working mostly with grad students, occasionally teaching an undergrad class) - so in that sense, he can work from anywhere, was able to be super involved in his kids' lives when we were growing up. In the summer, he often works mostly from home, coming in to see his grad students on occasion. So I guess the best way to describe a successful professor's lifestyle is to say that while in some ways there's a lot of flexibility, it's the people who really love and are driven by their research who succeed and get ahead. And these people are always, always thinking and working.

I'll just chime in quickly regarding funding -- I'm also waitlisted for funding at Pitt, and when I talked to Randy, he said that while they're not in the position to guarantee funding for years 2-5 if you complete the first year in good standing, but that they've provided funding in years 2-5 for everyone who has finished year 1 in good standing. That said ... 1 year to self-fund is still a lot & every single current student I talked to said not to go to pitt without funding, but instead to go somewhere else you do have funding.