Graduate School Decisions

Posted by Nicole Sharp on 27 March 2006 at 21:02

The time has come to give the final run-down on graduate school applications. Here's the list of schools and responses:

It was pretty shocking to get accepted everywhere and to get four financial offers. How I managed to do so much better in applying to graduate schools than I did applying to undergraduate institutions is beyond me.

In any case, I went through and carefully considered each offer, both financially and in terms of what would be expected of me at each school. I also spent quite a bit of time reflecting on each of the four schools I visited and whether I felt I would fit well with the departments and their research interests.

In the end, I decided to accept Cornell's offer. I won't be tied to any one research project until after my first semester, but there are at least two professors in the department that I would be thrilled to work with. I also have to admit that Cornell was the most exciting of my school visits. I really got into talking about the research with professors and students there, and the atmosphere of the department was one I felt comfortable in. I didn't spend as much time exploring the campus and Ithaca as I might have liked--Charlottesville was very much a factor in favor of UVa--but I'm confident that I'll enjoy my five years there.

It was a tough choice, but now that I've made it, I'm ready to start looking forward to this summer when I get to go back to Ithaca to find an apartment. I can't wait to get out on my own. In some ways, it's like going back to those exciting couple of months before college started. Some days I get up and all I can think is, "I can't wait to start graduate school!" We'll see if I still feel that way in, say, November.

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  • 1
    Got Gravatars?

    Sandy Piderit said

    On 28 March 2006 at 07:57

    Congratulations, Nicole!

  • 2
    Got Gravatars?

    Mano Singham said

    On 28 March 2006 at 08:41

    Congratulations. It is nice to have decided.

    I am not surprised that you did much better at graduate school applications than as an undergraduate. UG selections are much more arbitrary since the volume of applicants is greater and the selection decisions are influenced criteria (standardized test scores, geography, and the like) that are not too closely connected to academic suitability.

    With graduate school, you become much more of an individual and your potential for successful research become much easier to gauge. You now have a track record that is actually related to what you are likely to be doing.

    Anyway, I look forward to hearing great things about, and from, you!

  • 3
    Got Gravatars?

    Nicole Sharp said

    On 28 March 2006 at 11:08

    @ Prof. Piderit:

    Thanks very much! :)

    @ Mano:

    I suppose that's one way of considering the differences in the admissions processes. It just seems really wild to me that I performed better in terms of ACT score and GPA as a high schooler than I did on the GRE and GPA in college, yet I got accepted to a greater percentage of places for graduate work. The bit that really gets me is that I was waitlisted at UVa as an undergraduate, yet was one of their top applicants for graduate work, based on the fact that they offered me two fellowships on top of a research position.

    Then again, I seem to be the only one surprised at how well I fared. Whatever the reason, I'm thankful to have done so well.

    I'm looking forward to trying to meet or even exceed everyone's expectations!

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