NatureCulture

Wow! Many thanks to the Netherlands applicants who responded, and apologies for any confusion. Wishing you all the best of luck!

This is a bit late to be asking, but does anyone know if any research/study applicants to the Netherlands were interviewed? Best of luck to everyone who is still enduring the wait!

Alllright. So, this was my first application season, and overall, I think I performed okay. I have a BA from a little-known small school, and I got a few interviews for top PhD programs, and received a very nice offer from a middle of the run program. I visited the school where I got an offer (let's call it School A), but I'm not confident is a strong match. The fit seems very off, and they are going through a ton of transition, which could end well, but could also end very poorly for me. I'm also still waiting to hear from School B, which I suspect is a better match, but I've heard funding has been hard to come by lately at School B. School A offered a strong package, and I was semi-hoping that I could leverage the offer at A with B, if B gave me a slightly less good offer. However, I still have yet to hear from B, despite my emails inquiring about the application. If I intend to politely decline A, how should I do so and WHEN? Also, I feel very embarrassed (being honest here) that I'm likely applying again next year, and I'm afraid School A will ask where I intend to go instead of accepting their offer. How do I respond to that?

Congratulations! Thanks for your response. I'm a sociocultural applicant; perhaps only the sociocultural spots went out late last week. I know my POI was definitely looking to take at least one student, but I am trying to determine if that slot in the department has been offered to someone else.

Would any of the Harvard accepts be willing to share their POIs?