2006 Application Results Wall Archive

31

Ben Zion

The guy is a loser. It's easy to come on here and post BS.

32

daphna

I don't know about Tel Aviv being the best school for physics, but Israel does have some of the best science departments in the world. For example, the Hebrew University in Jerusalem has one the top Computer Science departments in the world including several winners of the CS equivalent of a nobel prize.

32

daphna

sorry - the Israel comment is for the previous message. Still learning the board.

35

t

to the sad northeastern applicant: buck up, kiddo. we feel you.

35

Vince

Sorry.I did not even apply to Northeastern

36

tigerlily

University of Nevada - Las Vegas maybe?

36

I love the buffet

what is the best department at that school?

37

Barista

Hahaha! Yeah, it would. Darn that default text! What morons. ;)

39

Barista

To your #1, I have been going through the results myself looking for fishy entries. If they were moved from the old survey, it's hard for me to do it, but with the new autmotic one some things are a little more obvious. If I see something obvious, I delete it. You can't really identify a false entry though, but I can find duplicate entries. So, don't worry, I'm on the look out. If you do see an entry you find odd, let me know. I will check "behind the scenes" so to speak. To your #2, I am hoping people can just use the forum. I made a new section, but making a new survey requires more room for a database. I'll check with the person who made the survey though. Maybe we can do something because I am curious as well!

40

Barista

I've been working on that one! I tried using a yahoo or google website search bar, but it wouldn't pick up the php stuff. I'll get on the ball with it though. We'll figure out something.

41

I love the buffet

again, what is the best department at that school?

41

G.

Aren't you a snob! First of all, why do you care? Second of all, how does disparaging someone's university make you smarter? Jeeze

41

I love the buffet

No. There is one person claiming that UNLV Physics is better than Uchicago Physics. So, I was wondering what kind of school it is since I've never heard of it. I'm just hoping to learn more about that school. As I remember, I once drove past UNLV when I was in Las Vegas but never know about its academics.

43

guest

Have you ever hear of the Aharonov-Bohm effect? Aharonov is from Tel Aviv

43

William Burner

MIT physics rocks the shit out of Tel Aviv. Tel Aviv needs to get their head out of their ass.

46

AliceInChains

okay, now it seems to be working for me.... don't know what was the prob.

46

Barista the idiot.

No - that's just for the forum. Sorry, I marked the wrong option on my hosting service which gave everything a password! You just happened to try to access the survey in that 5 minute window I was trying to reverse my mistake.

49

Barista

I am going through them right now, and so far the ones with the comments: Yale/Eco/Accept "HAHAHAHA, I'm the ONLY one here who got in!!" Yale/Eco/Reject "No, apparently, nobody got in. they decided they didn't want any first years this year in Yale's econ program. WHAT KIND OF A QUESTION IS THAT?" are posted by the same person. I am deleting them both, and I will continue to look through the rest! If you see any other weird things, go post on the forum under "survey."

49

Barista

Okay. I went through the rest of the Yale Economics posts and they are all from unique users, so that's as far as I can go in figuring out if they are bogus or not.

52

newbie_bio

Jorge Cham was the best thing that happened to grad education!

52

alice in chains

jorge cham IS the best thing that has and is happening to grad schools. hopefully wherever I go he will have a presentation there. ahh, this site is a great procrastination tool.

55

lailai

any others

55

alice in chains

no, that has been my only interview. the prof called out of the blue. didn't promise anything, just had some questions but still a good sign.

57

mse

Maybe that person is an undergrad at nwu? There is a Materials thread in the forum, join us there ;)

60

Have heard.

I've heard from Rutgers, but someone at who_got_in called and was told that they're still in the process of deciding (that is, they've sent out some acceptances but not all). Some have heard from Columbia, I think, but they've been called by profs in their field, not the DGS.

60

Mildly Dejected

If you're still wondering, you can check your status on your online application. My status changed last night from "No Decision" to a rejection. Awesome.

60

Paddy_Conscience

As noted above...big ol' rejection from Columbia (sorry, but this was the first letter I got, and it STUNG), still waiting on NYU and can't find my stupid ID number to check my stupid status...GRRRR!

61

Barista

Nope - I'm an applicant just like the rest of you! That's what lead me to start this survey for a web-community I was in, but it grew. I can say I will be a graduate student come Fall 06 though. Seriously, what were some of these schools thinking to accept me! ;)

61

dream

cool

61

newbie_bio

and you are applying in CSE or something? or mass communication?

61

Barista

Neither - I am applying for Public Administration, and the person who did the codes for the survey is applying to engineering I believe.

63

mse

Did they just call you today (March 1st)? I thought it was still < 8AM in Illinios when you posted the result.

63

waiting

I'm not the person who posted the news. But after I read that, I called, they told me there was something wrong with their computer at that moment so they couldn't tell me anything. That was 9 am.

63

mse

ok. so the time zone on this website is CST. According from the time stamp of my first post, that person received the call before 9 AM (NWU time). I think that's pretty early.

63

mse

my apologies for all the typos. I was really nervous!

63

waiting

To MSE, you were right. When that person posted the news, it's earlier than 8am in IL. I mean it was 9am WHEN I called.

63

mse

see ^ for the time zone test. My understanding is that, that person recieved the call some time before 9 AM CST or 10 AM EST. well, it's also possible that I saw that entry ~1 hour after it had been posted. Did they mention if all decisions have been made when you called though? Anyways, good luck to both of us.

64

ClassArch

Hi! So I did a little searching and found out where to go to find out your status. Go to the main graduate admissions page and click on the left where it says "online status check." You'll need your UTEID and password. Pay attention though, I almost read right over my rejection!

64

UThopeful

Thanks ClassArch! I appreciate it. Apparently my program hasn't decided yet, so I'll be making good use of this advice in the days to come. :-)

64

anxiousgrad

UThopeful, I hope you post if you get in to UT (or t.u., as I am an Aggie undergrad, but also a UT hopeful) on this link. I search through the wall postings with one of two words: "Texas" or "Penn." I have not heard from either and I am going nuts!

69

mse

whoops I just got back. I guess it's too late to call now so I'll try tomorrow.

69

mse

I called and didn't get any significant information :(

71

Barista

I think people are making pretty good use of the comments section for that. We're working on a new survey right now for something else, so I'll incorporate it into that one!

73

mhcrosefly311

your waiting too...so am I, Im glad Im not the only one on this sad, sad boat...what did you apply for hit me up by sending a message along, im mhcrosefly311 or in the forum under social sciences and history...

74

anon

yes.

74

Vince

Thanks.So when is the deadline for them to send out all the offers?

74

Vince

And how could you be sure that it is a yes?

74

Vince

I got an email from the department saying that they will inform potential students only in March

74

Jerry MacGuire

Don't be ridiculous. Chill out, man. The world is not coming to an end. Have patience. Slit your wrists while you're at it.

74

Vince

Jerry,you are absolutely right.Perhaps we should all wait till a formal letter comes to us!The result is not that important!

75

Panda77

Oh yes, that would really be nice!!

75

econapplicant

Yale's program is *that* good...as are several others that likely have commanded a large number of applications (perhaps 600 to 900 for target entering class sizes of around 25): MIT, Penn, Northwestern, Harvard, Minnesota, Stanford, Princeton, and Rochester come to mind.

77

Barista

Well I suppose it could be if you're really REALLY nice. Just kidding - it's no problem.

77

alice in chains

that can be put in the notes. minor thing in my opinion and there can be many more distinctions made for all the rest of the fields and schools and depts.

77

MFA Person

Barista--Thank you so much! Alice--Neener, neener, neener!

77

alice in chains

well congrats! hmmm, MFA stands for... j/k just so you know, alice in chains is a grunge rock band out of my home town, Seattle, Washington. not that it matters, I just like to share that.

79

judith

i don't ...

80

Noname Poster

David, yes, I was accepted two weeks ago.

80

Judith

well ... most of the time potential grad students are still waiting for their top choice(s). Imagine yourself in such position: I think it is wise to wait. You can only make a sound choice, knowing all the information available. The other spaces will be freed uo. No worries about that!

80

now just pissed

I think you intended to reply to the above post. You are indulging in a serious lack of critical thinking, probably because you are so self-congratulatory for already having received multiple offers. Irrationally, you are probably happily relishing the idea of having all your acceptance letters before you in a pile of seemingly unlimited choice. Unfortunately for the rest of us, this is a complete waste of everyone's time. If this was an admissions logic test, you would have failed.

80

judith

i got one rejection, one acceptance, still waiting as you: we're in the same boat! I am sick of waiting too ... but that is the way it is.

81

annoyed

um, exactly why do you have to have all offers in before you start making decisions? pick your top choice from among your current offers and inform the rest.

81

Guessed

Yeah, those entering class seats want to be freed, FAST.

81

where to go

I'm in a similar position. I haven't freed up those spots because I really don't know which of the schools that I've been admitted to that I'd prefer. Hopefully visits in the next two weeks will help...

81

t

if you are really unsure, then it may be unavoidable. and it is certainly within your rights to wait. but you should certainly give it serious thought and not just hold on to them for the hell of it.

81

Leah

If you have "several" there has to be one or two you know you won't accept. Be kind to those waiting and to profs who need to find other qualified applicants to fill your spot. If you don't a lot of people will be unhappy, and you may makje enemies of professors in your field. PS- You better not be in psych, because I seem to be in purgatory everywhere!

81

Halle

Puhlease. If you need time to make the decision, take the time. This is a big decision and the faculty understand. If you can eliminate one or two now, I would encourage you to do so, but you certainly don't have to. And while you're thinking about your options, call the departments you haven't heard from yet and see if they can give you any hints over the phone, either about your status or when you might be hearing.

81

um

If you don't have at least a general ranking of schools, then most likely you just haven't thought about it enough. Difficult decision or no, why would you have to wait until every single school has contacted you? It just doesn't MAKE SENSE. If you have two offers, consider them carefuly. But there's no reason you can't decide between them and notify the other.

81

Leah

Puhlease Halle (first of all, that sounded really dumb), if you expect the other schools to give procrastinating an answer (especially if he is waitlisted there) shouldn't he have the same professional courtesy? This is more important in some programs than others. If the program accepts only 3-4 people every year and he is taking up space at more than 2 or 3, yeah that's downright evil. If it's a program that accepts a large amount of applicants, it's merely rude to hoard more than 1 or two spaces. I am not even saying right this very instant and narrowing to only one choice, but eliminate some and eliminate soon. Otherwise you and he/she are just completely full of yourselves and have absolutely no regard for others.

81

Halle

I'm not encouraging the original poster to hoard spots, just to take the time he/she needs to make a good decision. Waiting a few more weeks will _not_ make enemies of professors, and I thought it was a bit extreme for you to claim so. It's only March 3rd, which technically gives the poster 6 weeks to decide. I wouldn't think it at all problematic for the poster to do more investigating in the next few weeks - which might even leave a whole month for the school to contact other applicants. Furthermore, some programs keep waitlists, while others do not, and turning down an offer does not neccessarily mean that the offer will be given to another applicant. As for order of preference, maybe the clear choice is one of the programs that haven't responded yet. Sometimes it's hard to truly tell what is a good fit without visiting first. I personally have received five offers. Because I do want to make the process as smooth for everyone as possible, I've already turned down two offers and am trying to decide between three programs (with notification from two programs outstanding). The three I'm looking at right now are very different programs and would mean very different things for me. I need to meet some of my potential advisers in person before I decide which program is the best fit. I've done my research, but there are other sources of information (like campus visits, phone calls from faculty and graduate students) that I didn't have access to before I received an acceptance.

81

peer

yea like what Halle says you should consider carefully the different advantages / aspects / faculty / research / facility / philosophy / career potentials of the various schools back in high school when i was applying to undergrad programs all i could decide on were based on rankings, since email and websites weren't so ubiquitous back then... but now there's a lot of resources to better understand whether a program suits your interest, your desires... and just going through all that 'data' can take a while, so i would tell procrastinating to stop procrastinating ;) and big crossing out some, researching on the programs cuz yep i find that that process can take awhile... :)

81

t

I think the norm for all but the most competetive schools/programs is to make offers on a rolling basis dependent on the response they get from initial offers. The only school I've heard from right now told me specifically this was the case and even offered an estimate of my chances based on my position in the waiting list and past acceptance rates. Only really competitive schools can afford to make only one set of offers knowing they will have a consistent response.

81

Emma

I'm in the same boat; I'm in at two schools, about to interview at one and waitlisted at another, still to hear back from one left. I don't think it's rude to wait until you at least get a chance to visit the programs that you are interested in, so I'm with the "take your time" camp. And I really doubt that there are professors who would hate you if you took even until the last day to decide. You're given that deadline for a reason. If you know for sure that you don't want to go, then call and tell the department, but I think it's pretty reasonable to need to weigh your options carefully and with time.

82

alice in chains

professors get tons of emails. some don't like, some tolerate it. I know some professors put notes about such on their website saying don't do it or do it this way. but still give it a shot. But do you know anyone (a prof) that might know that professor. Then, you can use that prof's name in your subject like: Prof A recommended I contact you about.... I did this and it helped, I got a lot input from a prof at Berkeley by doing this.

82

alice in chains

also, don't just say you want to work with them & don't just send an email you write up in 2sec. first, read up on that prof's research. then say to the prof, I am interested in what you did in paper A and I would like to work with you on furthering this paper by trying ..... make sure you express to them that you have a reason to want to work with them so put some effort into knowing who they are and writing a good letter to them. whether they like it or not, I would suggest it as long as you do a good job. that is my 2 cents.

82

Imp

Yes, email directly the a professor is a great idea. A friend of mine is a professor. He admits about 4 students a year on his say so. (Others in the dept could veto, but never do.) He only admits people who bother to contact him. The department admits many other people, of course -- but then those people don't wind up working in my friend's lab. He gets way more qualified applicants than he has time to mentor, so he reasons it's better to at least select people who care about working in his lab in particular. He hates having to turn good people away. Having some rule that culls the files he looks at isn't just practical for time savinges, it's emotionally easier. On the flip side, he gets to know everyone he considers seriously, and even making the cut for interviews pulls at him. He'd like to say yes to nearly everyone, I think, and he's impressed by the applicant pool. For reference, he's in psych at a State school. His work is highly regarded, and he's somewhat known in his area, but he's still young and hasn't hit total rock star status yet. I can't even imagine how deluged the famous professors must be.

82

frommers

Oh no they've been sending out the round 2 decisions already? I haven't gotten any response yet so that doesn't sound so good. When did you get your application in? I submitted mine on the last possible date so I was expecting it a bit later but it sounds like they are getting them out already.

83

Guest 2

mine doesnot say anything at all. there has been no change since the time of dinosaurs

83

Mia

agree, no info at all

85

Barista

Applying for economics makes me think of a bunch of people standing in front of a machine spitting out baseballs. The last person left standing gets admitted! God bless you econ applicants.

88

daphna

It's not just the assitant. Every contact I had with the school - including faculty etc. - they were extra nice with sprinkles on top. Shame I didn't get accepted.

89

Leah

I think that those who are most nervous (for example, me) are people who applied to PhD programs and especially competitive ones, so they are more likely to use the site. I have seen some lower tier programs, but the higher tier programs are more likely to have larger number of apps and more nervoud people. But, yes, I think this is a highly ambitious crowd.

89

Daphna

Well, I live in Israel, so I only applied to the best schools in my field. The reason is, I've got several decent-level departments right here. So there's no point in uprooting my life, finding a job for my husband and moving to the other side of world if I'm going to a less than great school. I can go to an OK school here. I'm actually wondering how difficult is it really to get into these schools. I mean, I've so far only been accepted to one school, albeit a great one. I'm wondering if most people who apply to the great schools only get accepted to one or two, so that the good applicants kind of end up "divided" between the schools, or whether there is a small but excellent group of applicants that gets accepted to all or most of the top tier schools to which they apply (and who the hell are these people and how can we borrow their brains :-P)

89

Barista

I've wondered this myself. I can say, though, that I didn't apply to any ivy schools. I applied to top programs at public state schools, but still not ivy leagues. If it wouldn't be from my own expierence, I would say that people applying to ivy leagues might "care" more, but that's not always the case obviously. The mysteries of life! Maybe I should make a survey :P

89

Twister

Hey, good point!~ I guess I like to be somewhat ambitious..I applied to some top programs in bioengineering, but also a couple of average programs, but no acceptaces and 1 rejection so far.. I think one of the reasons is that I'm really passionate about research and I want to be at an institution where leading edge research is being conducted. I have interests in many areas and I think I can get the best exposure at these top schools. Now, that being said...my GPA isn't very high, but I have good rec letters, so I'm hoping the committee will look beyond that. Just as an additional comment: I see lots of economics majors here! or maybe it's just the timing...

89

bianca

Like the previous poster, I also applied to a cpl of Ivy league schools, cpl of top public ones and cpl of average public ones. it seemed like a very reasonable strategy for improving my chances of getting accepted *somewhere*, but also for not regretting for not trying to get into the best schools for the rest of my life. well, it certainly paid off: I got into an Ivy league school :) (with cpl of other offers)

89

where to go

I couldn't apply to Ivy League schools since they don't have the program I'm pursuing.

90

Barista

Nothing happened to them. You are probably still looking in the default view of "Last 2 Days." There are a total of 4 Georgetown reject entries, three were posted on 3/3/06. Yesterday, the default view showed 3/3/06 and 3/4/06. Since today is 3/5/06, the default view is 3/4/06 and 3/5/06. On the Results - 1. Click Reset (just to be sure) 2. Click "All" or "This Week" 3. Click "G" and scroll through. OR 1. Press Reset 2. Type "Government" in the program field and press enter. It will probably not show you any entries, so don't freak out. 3. Click "All" or "This Week"

91

Helper

e-Mailing the people at UMD and posing this same question would be a good start.

91

susan

Here is my way to find the SID: first go to: http://apra.umd.edu/, fill in your code and birthday. Then you can find your SID, that is the UMCP ID in the official contact information.

92

Mia

No info on aid yet. not sure

92

newbie_bio

which dept, mia? i'm biology phd

96

Panda77

Yes, some of them do. My recent experience is with U. of Virginia, I received an e-mail too, but they did post their decision on their site. By the way, a lot of the results posted on the survey have “website” as notification mean so I guess UVA is not the only school that does that. Anyhow, apart from the actual results, I think most of them are wasting this kind of technology. I mean, it took months to some of my schools to update my status!!

98

kejnn

Emails for Accepts. Letters for Rejects.

98

viv

really? damn.. guess i shouldn't be anticipating this letter then. thanks for the heads up

99

t

It's not exactly a pity-party. According the philosophy program to which I applied, they offer spots to the upper third (or thereabouts) of humanities applicants. It's designed to help students bolster their qualifications for future admission to phd programs at chicago or other top schools. Expensive though, that's for damn sure.

99

emily

Hey, a few years ago I opted for the Master of Arts Program in the Humanities at Chicago instead of taking a great offer from Emory in English. I'm still waiting to hear from some schools in this round, and am still not totally sure if I made the right decision by doing MAPH (career and money wise). I can tell you, though, that the program is *great*, the people are *great*, the classes are *great*, the environment is *great*... I'd urge you to go to the campus days event. (They'll reimburse you for $200 in travel, so why not take the free trip to Chicago anyway.) It's a tough decision, but I think it's a fabulous program and a great choice for some people.

101

t

see my respone to post 94 below. it's not unrespectable-- a lot of people apply directly to the humanities ma program. but if you were hoping for a funded phd then yeah, it's a let down. i'm expecting my letter from the phil. dept. this evening--no way i'll consider the MA unless it's at least full tuition. but that's just not likely.

103

agree

me 2

103

Iris

i feel your pain.

103

cant take no more

I feel the rain

103

econapp

ahhh i know. i see from the new results that the acceptances for NWU's econ program have been sent out today...nothing in my inbox. Northwestern: you're killing me! give me my rejection already so i can actually focus on the offers i DO have!!!

104

emory

sorry didnt mean to make that awkward sentence...woops! But has anyone heard from the history dept. @ emory yet? the waiting is Killer....

104

DJ

Haven't heard a thing yet. This is starting to get on my nerves.

105

newbie_bio

of course yes. i did the same and the univs wrote back.

105

daphna

thanks! I'll do that!

109

t

Wait until it is confirmed--you are legally entitled to wait until April 15th to accept an offer. But as has been said before, notify the other shcools you are no longer considering.

112

guest

USC, Indiana, U of Missouri, Northwestern, UNC, UMD, Syracuse, NYU, Columbia.

112

ERN

Northwestern, Berkeley, Georgetown (more communication-based, not so much journalism)

112

guest

I believe University of Nevada, Reno has a good one...

114

guest

I live in D.C. and whil parts of this city and Maryland are VERY expensive, College Park (I am assuming that is the campus you are going to) is not as costly. The whole area up there caters to students. I know someone who pays $300 for a whole basement apartment. (Just go to craigslist.org and look up washington dc.... then do a search for housing in college park -- I am positive you will find many inexpensive options)... and that is just housing.

114

guest

I never talked to anyone at UMD about funding, but at other schools, it was almost guaranteed that if you were still around after the first year you would get some funding. That said, if you think that you will be at the bottom of the class at UMD, you might consider going to a second or third choice, which could give you money, and at which you will be more likely to be above average.

115

teacup

GRRR... Got rejected from both... the former sent me a generic letter from the Humanities division, the latter sent me an email, with hard copy letter to follow. (Oh goodie.) This was disappointing, because I (and my advisors) really thought I had a shot here. But I'm getting to be a pro at this rejection business by now! :)

115

Paddy_Conscience

I also received a brutally indifferent rejection letter from Columbia. Has anyone received an acceptance letter from them yet?

117

guest

Haha, I know what you mean. Speaking of which, I need to go check my email.

117

DarkVomit

My acceptances have come at completely different times. The first was 11 am on a Tuesday, the second was 330 on a Friday. I don’t think they even try to do any sort of standardization.

117

guest

my rejections were waiting in my inbox when I'd wake up at 8 AM or so.

117

floopy

I got one acceptance e-mail at 11:30pm on a Monday night and one at 7:45 on a Thursday night.

117

lasagna

Much to my surprise, there was a notification email in my inbox this morning at 7:45. It told me to log on to the status page, where a friendly little pop-up window informed me of my rejection. What a way to start off the day...

118

waiting234

(the PhD - not the mdiv etc)

118

guest

and no one has heard anything from Chicago Divinity?

118

waiting234

according to people at who_got_in div school letters should be coming this week.

120

econapp

i agree, that would be really interesting:) however, we'd have to keep in mind that it may be that users are more inclined to post acceptances than rejections.

120

barista

Another [shameless] website does that, and I think it's a little misleading. It would only represent the acceptances and rejections at thegradcafe.com, but I don't know if it would be an accurate sample. If I did a statistical set for this site on which program has the highest rejection rate, it would probably come out Economics on here, but who knows what it really is. A real statistic is that more people are rejected than accepted! But you probably don't need a pie chart to tell you that. I'll see if it is too much trouble to do one based on thegradecafe.com's users, but it wouldn't be useful to any real world application. I can say right off the bat that the stats for the first 1494 responses were (the survey system before had auto stats): Accepted 62.2% Interview 11.4% Rejected 24% Wait-Listed 2.3% Phone 12.9% Postal Service 18.6% E-Mail 63.5% Other 5%

123

waiting234

sorry - vague - about the relg phd.

125

waiting234

nothing. about columbia - someone posted today that htey called and were told they were rejected...personally i've had no luck with calling these people.

126

Guest

I am also waiting. Supposedly, letters were mailed earlier this week. Mail coming out of Chicago tends to be slow so there is still hope.

126

Guest

Received my acceptance to the AM program yesterday via postal mail which was dated 3/7. I also received a tuition scholarship which was a nice surprise.

127

waiting234

i would bug teh admin assistant instead of the director (at least as a first option). if that doesn't work and you applied for a phd (meaning you should have heard by now) then maybe you could bug the director. if you applied for a MA don't annoy the director yet (they still have a couple weeks until they're really late with notices).

127

guest

one big reason there are delays is due to people bugging the programs. though I hate to wait as well, I at least can say I am not making it worse for others. Also, to the comment that if you are a PhD you should have heard by now.... where is this stated, in the sky? All schools, areas, etc set their own timeline. This is only true if there was some specific deadline they would contact you by. And for most programs, that is still off.

127

guest

one big reason there are delays is due to people bugging the programs. though I hate to wait as well, I at least can say I am not making it worse for others. Also, to the comment that if you are a PhD you should have heard by now.... where is this stated, in the sky? All schools, areas, etc set their own timeline. This is only true if there was some specific deadline they would contact you by. And for most programs, that is still off

127

t

Judging by this site, it seems as though MIT hasn't sent out the majority of its ECON PHD decisions (perhaps waiting for the NSF Fellowship list?)

128

limbo

I called them yesterday--the admissions counselor for english said they were still in the process of sending decisions out by the postal service. Maybe it's a good sign for those of us who haven't heard...

129

a guess

most probably

130

guest

i'm having the same concern...

130

ughh!

i'm trying to find out the same about columbia. not knowing sucks!

133

guest

what's CMU?

133

Guest

CMU = Carnegie Mellon University

134

another applicant

but when you DO get in, relish the conversations about financial aid!

134

guest

the worst is *not* getting and reading about all that aid. it's like watching people win the lottery.

134

blargh

responding to the aid... tell me about it.

136

ashk

posters can write down their email in he comments section if they want. No need to make it mandatory in my opinion.

136

t

the BEST would be if there was a collapsible sectio nunder each post that contain threaded comments similar to these, but that would take substantial work.

136

Barista

I will never make all of you happy, will I? I've created forums about cities, schools, aid, ect. I'm made this wall for even easier posting access, and some people might not want to be contacted. People can leave their email addresses in comments, and you can post to the forum. There are those people who don't want any connection to what they post as a result, so if I made it where they had to enter contact info, the results count would drop down. We actually have a discussion about this on the forum right now. I know it's frustrating at times.

137

ie

Congrat!

137

AliceInChains

I was told I will have a partial RA but they won't waive the out of state tuition. After I pass their entrance exam, then I will receive the waiver & a full RA. probably I will still take it anyway. chance of a lifetime.

139

guest

I have yet to hear either.

142

scottie

I was admitted to 3 PhD programs without an interview, but that may be atypical(?). I think for one, going up to visit/interview might help my funding, but they haven't acted like it's a requirement (and I'm visiting my top choice soon, so if I love it, it's a moot point). I think it depends on the school - one school I applied to (MA, though) does require an interview for final admissions decisions. If you haven't already done so, I'd check the admissions website to see if they mention anything about an interview being required; I know it hadn't sunken in for me about that one school until they asked me to interview. Best of luck!!!

142

Ya

Thank you, Scottie, for your information. I have been rejected by two programs, and I have only two more to hear from. It appeared to me that many people here who were admitted had been invited to interviews, so it started to worry me. Yes, I checked the admissions websites for the two programs and they clearly state that interviews are not required for admission process. Thank you again!!

142

daphna

I was also accepted to a program without interview, and have friends here who have been accepted to many programs without any interview. It is not in any way unique.

142

an

many programs don't require interviews at all. and if they do and you're international they can interview you over the phone

142

Ya

Thank you, dephna & an, for your valuable information!!

143

guest

I don't know, but I'm driving myself crazy with the same questions (also English PhD). I'm trying to figure out if I should just resign myself to rejections at this point.

143

nyc too

I know of someone who was accepted very late "in the game". The university informed them that they had been on their wait-list all along and that a spot had opened up once one of the accepted students had declined their offer. But... this doesn't mean that this goes on in all cases, all programs. I understand your confusion, I'm in the same position (but for French Lit. PhD). I am waiting to hear from my top choice school while I ponder a great offer from my #2 choice. I would venture a guess that no news is good news in the sense that until a rejection letter hits your mailbox or inbox, there is still a chance... Best of luck to all!

143

AliceInChains

unless it was just first round rejections based on scores only, if there have already been rejections then you most likely are either being carefully considered for a position or on a wait list. So I disagree. Most programs have a deadline that if you are not accepted or on a wait list by a certain date, you will be rejected. That doesn't mean you will be accepted but at least you are a kinda like a finalist. And for my area at least, engineering, I think late acceptances are common. I went through this 2yrs ago for masters and I didn't hear from some until really late. my thought at least.

143

Emily

Thanks, everyone. I'm just bad at waiting to find out about important things, and that's precisely what I'm being forced to do at this point. I'm glad to hear that the silence isn't *necessarily* a bad sign, and also somewhat comforted that I'm not the only one waiting at this moment (though I'd never wish this on anyone!)

143

Been there. Done that.

I am checking out this website out before recommending it to a friend who is going crazy waiting to hear from various schools. I have already finished my PhD (English/Cr Writing). When I applied, I didn't receive my acceptance until June. And while where I went wasn't my top choice (even though it is a really good school in my program), as a friend reassured me, "done is good" -- as in stay focused on completing the goal, the degree, and less so on the school itself. After all, the egomaniacs who teach in grad programs fart just like everyone else. And what you get professionally from your degree probably has more to do with what you do with it than it does with the name of the school who bestows it upon you. Have confidence in yourself and the ability to make your life happen regardless of whether other people cooperate or not. Good luck!

144

wondering

sorry for my ignorance, but I was just wondering: are people who study Religious studies very religious, or are they kind of critical toward the religious teachings and that's why they study that? I come from an ex-communist country, and we still don't have religious studies at our Universities

144

guest

Uhm, I haven't heard from UPenn either :(. About the comment above... no, you don't have to be very religious. You may be very religious, somewhat, or not at all. Many people study traditions outside of their own as well, and the approach is secular.

144

daphna

about the question on being religious, it's important to know that religious studies is not theology. There is also a degree in theology which is a religious degree generally undertaken by religious people (often those wanting to be priests, ministers, rabbis etc.) Religious studies is the study of religions from a secular point of view. You can study it if you are religious or if you are completely secular.

145

spring break

Just an FYI - this week is a lot of schools' Spring Break, so they might no respond to you this week.

145

Guest

Also, I always try to wait at the most for 2 weeks whenever I mail to schools like CMU. I know that goes aainst the policy of e-mail but the sheer bulk of e-mails such large schools get makes it impossible for them to get to someone ASAP.

145

HAHA

Thank you for your reply. I have waited for her reply three weeks. (I applied to this department last year.) I am always very curious about SDS depart at CMU, but nobody will answer my question. I really hope that I can be admitted to this program.

146

Quit_bitchin

I have dealt with the Texas Economics Department on multiple occasions during the application process. I have found them to be much more helpful and organized than other top schools. The Graduate Coordinator in particular is a very kind woman. Lack of class? I don't buy it.

146

UThopeful

I have applied to the anthropology department at UT on two separate occasions, and while I found the online application process very sterile and the admission office's automated system daunting, once I spoke with human beings at the department and at the GIAC, people were very friendly and accommodating, as have other friends of mine who applied there. So while I empathize with the OP, I would also agree that different departments behave in different ways. Also, I have no idea how they'll send rejections this year, but the first time I did this two years ago, I received a snail mail letter from the department. So...I think that since the school is so huge, it's not really accurate to typecast it as universally classless and rude. (And sadly, the email with forward marks has also been done elsewhere--some friends of mine who applied to Stanford anthro received a similarly insulting rejection, sigh...)

147

same guy

MIT EECS PHD 1)Has anyone offered a TA or RA position? (has anyone get any funding info? It has been almost a month since I get the accaptence, but nothing has been said about the funding yet) 2)Has anyone attend the open house? :confused:

147

MITee

Hi~ I attended the EE open house, and I'm writing this assuming that you're in EE (and not CS) and didn't attend. I still haven't heard anything regarding RA/TA positions, but at the open house they encouraged us to contact the professors directly about RA positions, and to submit a form if we're interested in TA positions.

147

MITee

(This invalid word filter really sucks) Also, check www.eecs.mit.edu grad tamemo.html (with slashes where the spaces are) for more information.

147

same guy

>Hi MITee. Thanks for your cooments. I am also in ee, and I couldn't attent (250 $ airfare is too low). I e-mailed one of the profs there for an RA position, but he didn't write back. Is it possible to contact more than one prof at the same time? For the TA position I did not know that we need to submit a form (thanks for that).

147

MITee

No problem. Yeah, it's all right to contact more than one professor. Just make sure that you only contact people that you're really interested in working with, and keep it to a reasonable number. I contacted three, and even though I met with all of them personally, only one emailed me back (saying he's thinking about which students to accept and will know in a few weeks).

147

same guy

Thanks a lot again. Today I contacted Ms. Peggy Carney (administrator in charge of graduate admissions) and e-mailed the TA & RA application form, and asked several questions on the financial aid issue (waiting for a reply now).

148

himm

E-mailed both schools last week. Only cornell replied: "We still have not made all of our decisions. No rejection letters have gone out as of yet. I hope to be done with this process by the end of the week." *What does the secretary mean?

148

hey

there are two posts already 1) Cornell Applied Physics PhD Accepted, 2006-03-02 (Postal Service), 2006-03-02, I 2)Cornell Applied Physics, Masters Accepted, 2006-02-26 (E-mail), 2006-03-01,U

148

i_zer0

I was also hoping to get in touch with the person who posted an acceptance from Cornell Applied physics Phd? Are you still around? Ref:MFA Dude

149

himm

how ignorant are they? Also I start to believe that almost half off the grad school secretaries are dummies, or they have really fat asses (so they just cant do anything).

149

guest

I know that the admissions office has a lot of people to deal with... but really, it doesn't seem like a stack of (max) 250 applicants is that hard to deal with in a program!

152

bittergrrl

As someone mentioned on a previous post, it is spring break for some schools, so they may not be in the office this week. That doesn't excuse not getting back to you last week, but I'd say give them until next week to start harrassing them again. :)

152

anxiousgrad

UT strongly hinted to me that there would be no communication once deliberations got underway. I have visited with several profs there and have been in regular contact with them for close to a year now, so this info comes with some weight. Hope this may set your mind at ease, though the waiting is driving me nuts, too!

153

Guest

I am interested also. Waiting on: Duke Cornell UCSD Columbia Texas-Austin USC

153

Me

also waiting on a bunch: MIT Harvard (HST) UMich UPenn Northwestern Columbia

153

Iris

Me too, Utah, Drexel, JHU( yeah sure!) *sigh* Can't stop myself from thinking about plan B.

153

anxiousguest

Me too: University of Texas Penn State

154

Tiki

forgot to mention, I applied for Political Science PhD

154

likely a terrapin

For UMD, if you go here: http://testudo.umd.edu/ and click on admissions, then graduate school application status, you can log in using your SSN and birthday and see the status of your application. Perhaps you are on a "waitlist" and they are waiting to hear back from people. I have been admitted to UMD poli sci (found out at the beginning of March) and right now it is the only offer I have not declined (and therefore where I will most likely go). However, I'm still waiting to hear from one school and I am reluctant to make a decision until I know what is up with the remaining school.

154

help?

it asks for a pin number... I got my UID with my application confirmation -- but no pin. How do I get a pin?

154

tiki

Hello there. I logged in and it saying pending. I hope this means I'm on a waiting list. -- Your SID is your SSN # or whatever they told you (for those without SSN), your pin is your birthday. If your birthday is March 15, 1980, then your pin is 031580

154

guest

In regards to UMD -- I have been in direct contact with my program's assistant dean, and he made it very clear that no decision (including waitlisting) had been made on my application. **The reason I say this, is because my website page says pending decision as well.... you are still 100% in the running :)

154

tiki

Hi, thanx for that info. I guess I'll cross my fingers and keep on praying. BTW, I saw an rejection via postal on today's post (I think). So I guess no news is still good news at this point

154

likely a terrapin

Hey - just to let you know, I heard from my last school and am definitely accepting UMD's offer. Good luck to you; maybe I will see you there! :)

154

tiki

Congrats on choosing UMD! I lived in MD & the DC area for a couple of years, and I enjoyed the suburb-metropolitan atmosphere of that area:) I guess I'm still pending, although someone at this other admission website said that they would see "pending" as a rejection at this time:( I'm wondering if there's something I could do at this time (besides waiting), maybe get in touch with a faculty? Is this a good idea??

154

JOUR

Pending does not mean rejected! I just got an email from the assistant dean, asking if I was still interested in the program, and my status says pending. Unless they rejected me and like to toy with my mind, pending does not mean rejected.

154

tripax

Mine says pending but I got an email that says I am accepted, so keep your chin up.

154

tiki

Thanx, I think I'm so strung up now that every little piece of news gives me these mood swings:P I got my answer from Chicago but was denied. All I care now is UMD!! What programs did you guys applied to? Also polisci?

154

yanochka

I've been checking UMD's site religiously, and this morning it finally changed from "pending" to "recommended for admission on 3/16." Still no official word. applied for polisci phd

154

likely a terrapin

any news tiki? :)

154

tiki

ugh, I guess I'm the pending queen of applications. I tried mailing the secretary, but got an auto reponse (I think) saying she'll be gone till the 22nd...Grrr..

154

JOUR

Raise your hand if you are still waiting for UMD reply :(

154

tiki

I really don't know how much longer this is going to take. UMD will be closed for spring break on March 20 & 21. It's fast approaching the "national reply date," I am just feeling so anxious--with UMD being my first choice. As time roll by, I'm thinking my chances are diminishing with it.

154

tiki

In answer to my query about app status, it seems that the dept. is not yet finished deliberating. The secretary told me if status say "pending," decision hasn't been made yet

156

riley

Well, my plan B is an English MA, but I guess you've been there and gotten the t-shirt... I'd also be fine with working for a bit, I've had a lot of internships.

156

Jen

yeeaahh...move to ireland and play my violin. right. most likely i'll be moping around Madison for another year.

157

vad

Students are under no obligation to respond to offers of financial support prior to April 15; earlier deadlines for acceptance of such offers violate the intent of this Resolution. In those instances in which a student accepts an offer before April 15, and subsequently desires to withdraw that acceptance, the student may submit in writing a resignation of the appointment at any time through April 15. However, an acceptance given or left in force after April 15 commits the student not to accept another offer without first obtaining a written release from the institution to which a commitment has been made. Similarly, an offer by an institution after April 15 is conditional on presentation by the student of the written release from any previously accepted offer.

158

phil?

what field

158

student

nothing from their genetics department...ignored my email too.

159

AliceInChains

my advisor knows the Director of Grad studies there at ECE. He mentioned that UMN is trying to switch to more of a European style of making RAs full time jobs, 40hrs/wk & like ~40k! but then the PhD takes longer to receive and research comes before classes. so if this is true, then there might be a shortage of assistantships this year. but this is something they want to do and haven't worked it out yet, at least that is what I heard, I have applied to there again for PhD (denied their masters offer and went elsewhere)

160

Heart Attack!

Has anyone else not heard from MIT either way?

160

dc

I haven't heard anything... What do you think it means?

160

Heart Attack!

waitlist - did you apply for an NSF? I heard that mit likes to snag people once they win NSFs.

160

dc

Yep... though I'm not holding my breath on that.

160

Heart Attack!

most of the rejections were for internationals (who cannot apply for the NSF)...

161

HMCgrad

I don't know if you are referring to me, but I posted an acceptance to the CSE department at ND about 2 weeks ago. Did you have a question?

161

MFA Dude

I don't think so. This was involving an MFA in creative writing. But thanks anyway!

163

aha

I also want to hear an answer to this question.

163

AliceInChains

first, the more people bug the programs the longer it will take. For the ones that haven't contacted you yet, there is still a month before you need to make your decision, i.e. plenty of time! Most programs say they will contact you before April 1 so wait until then. If these places you haven't heard from yet don't contact you by the date they specified for a response, then contact them. If you don't see that date stated, it probably is April 1. About asking the current program for an extension, I would follow the same process and wait until April 1. It takes patience, they are working on it. So far, I have been rejected by 1, accepted by 2 with no final word on assistantship for both, and still haven't heard anything from 3. But at least for most engineering programs, I have until April 15th to make my decision while most places say they will contact me by April 1. After April 1, I will call if I haven't heard anything.

163

Drops

It all depends if you are getting any financial support. If you are, then you will most likely have to answer their offer by the stated deadline (Apr 17). If not, you might have some leeway by talking to the Graduate coordinator at the appropriate program. Most schools that extend an offer of financial support abide by the CGS resolution that sets the guidelines for deadlines in accepting offers. You can read the resolution here: http://www.cgsnet.org /portals/0/pdf/ CGSResolutionJune2005.pdf (note: I couldn't submit that URL as a single string, recombine those lines for the complete URL) That list includes a list of schools that have agreed to follow that policy. If everyone who received financial support asks for a later decision date, it just causes a self feeding degenerative cycle since the only reason the schools have a waiting list is to make sure they have all of their supported, and later unsupported, openings filled. Without knowing how many people are going to actually accept their offers, they canno