coleoptera

Does anyone else find their opinion of a school changing based on the admin process associated with applying? When I went to visit my first choice school the professors were friendly and enthusiastic, and showed off some great resources and features to the school, so naturally I applied. However, it took a whole month longer than they said it would take to hear back, the professor I initially got in touch with isn't listed under my supervisors, and they're asking for me to send in documents I've already sent again. My second choice has ended up getting back to me in a more timely way and just seems to be more personable and "on top" of things from an admin standpoint, but didn't seem like as good of a "fit" to my research interests. Despite that, I find myself being less sure about what I once thought was doubtlessly my first choice. Is it silly for me to start doubting the quality of the school that I found really attractive on a visit based on these problems? How much do admissions admin problems reflect on larger issues in the school?

I finally got an acceptance from my first choice program!! (conditional on me submitting some original documents and so on) but in the letter it listed my supervisors and... the initial POI I talked with and was interested in isn't on there. There's another prof I met with during a campus visit and one I don't know but looking on the website her work is tangentially related to my interests as well. Is this a bit of a snub or could the original POI I talked to just have too much on their plate now VS 4 months ago when I met with them? sigh.... it's silly but the application process with this school came across as so disorganized even though the profs I met with were nice and enthusiastic which was what made it my first choice... but now I'm thinking my second choice may be better :\ dunno if this is just annoyance at admin burnout or a gut feeling sign of actual problems with the school itself

Hey, I posted this on the Art History department board but I think I could also get some responses here. About a week from now I have a Skype interview with my second choice PhD program. My focus is New Media Art curation with a focus on Serious Games and they are a good fit in terms of what kind of work their profs and other students do. I have been told I have to prepare a 5 minute presentation on my interests and how the program will benefit me, and then there will be 15 minutes of questions. Any tips, especially from people who have specifically interviewed at a similar type of program, on the presentation and what kind of questions to prepare for, would be a huge help! Thanks.

I have just heard back from a pretty good school (my second choice in terms of fit) that they want to do a brief Skype interview with me as a part of the PhD application process. It is a program where I'd be focusing on a curatorial angle mainly, and my specialty is New Media Art and Serious Games, which matches up well with their concerns. They want me to prepare a 5 minute presentation on my interests and what I hope to gain from the program, and then presumably ask some questions as well. Any tips on the presentation, or idea of what sort of questions to expect from your experience? Thanks

Finally got an.... interview notification from my second choice. So it'll really be coming down to early April before I know there. No word from my first choice even though it's a week and a day past the notification timeframe on their site. GROAN.

Still being in the game at this point is better than an immediate rejection, which some programs do alongside first wave admits. They could be working in waves, going from an unofficial waitlist, or just delayed in general. There aren't many ways to tell for sure exactly what the situation is unless you're psychic, in which case, could you tell me why it's a week past from when my program said I'd be notified either way and I haven't heard anything?

Going by the estimate they gave on the website I should have gotten a response by the end of last week, and now it's Wednesday already... It's a rolling admissions program so I'm trying to keep myself sane thinking it's just a delay in the general process and not a problem with my application. It feels bad not being able to talk about or make concrete plans over the past few months.

this is incredibly comforting, as I've been freaking out this week because based on the website estimate I should have heard back sometime last week. nice to hear that a delay isn't necessarily a death sentence.

the rolling admissions program I applied to says responses typically come in 20 working days... well, it's been 23 today... I know a figure like that is an ideal or an estimate but it still makes me feel like something's wrong with my application

I have to agree with what Jo said. Coming out of undergrad I didn't have much of an idea of what I wanted to focus on, I just knew I likely needed postgrad qualifications to do the work I wanted to do (teaching and curatorial). I wasted a LOT of money applying broadly to Masters programs that sounded good, where I didn't make specific contact with someone in the department to ask about what my fit would be like and if they were taking on people with my interests and instead just browsed the site. Sure, a prof in your dream program may share interests with you, but they may be the only person there doing that and overburdened already, something they won't put on the website. In my case, a lot of arts programs have one or two contemporary/new media specialists alongside all the traditional art history categories... these people are almost always swamped with applicants. I got a lot of rejections, but did get in to one program that, while not a perfect fit helped me figure out exactly what I want my focus to be. Going for PhD, I found a school running many initiatives related to my interest, and contacted the professor in charge of these programs. He said that he was confident they could offer supervision for someone with my research interests over the next few years and even went over my research proposal before I sent in the application. I haven't heard back yet since I turned it in late-January, but I feel a lot more confident about fit and what to expect if I get in, plus I know they have room for someone like me.

I have a general question: is a POI getting in touch with you once the application has been "approved" by the department standard? Or does it vary depending on the program, admissions process, and their personality? I just got an automated notification when I was accepted to my masters program, but I hadn't emailed beyond one or two questions with anyone at that school. This POI I met with (albeit casually, not an actual interview) and emailed back and forth some feedback on my applications materials before I submitted. My academia page was googled this week by someone in the city where my first choice school is, so I imagine that means I'm being looked into by the department now... maybe?

I really have trouble focusing on productive things while I'm waiting, such as reading books related to my field, writing for my academic blog, and so on, so I end up watching a bunch of comedy shows usually... then panicking about not being productive enough and everyone in my field is speeding ahead while I'm watching It's Always Sunny reruns... I also find it hard to hang out with people because talking about ~plans~ one way or the other makes me feel like I'll jinx myself so I'm basically being a hermit

I'm kind of jealous of people who've applied for programs that have online portals that offer multiple caegories for your application's progression... even if it does make you more neurotic about the whole process and leads to fakeouts and worrying. My first choice's portal only changes once the offer is made, and my POI is quiet too, so I don't know if I've gotten through the department and am on to admin or what! I did get a google hit from the city this school is in earlier this week, so SOMEONE out there is looking into me... hoping it was actually someone from the school and not a job I applied to in that area and forgot about or a total internet rando conincidence the worst fakeouts I experienced while going for masters programs were probably the ones that would send you information on grants and scholarships "for accepted students" and then write in the tiniest text at the bottom something along the lines of "this email is not actually an offer of admission" Geez... apparently students complain about it every year but they don't change the format of the email.

All my overanalyzing thoughts from the past few weeks: Upon getting an application received email from the research degree secretary: It's a one-sentence email without a period at the end saying they'll notify me of the outcome asap? Geez, I hope my materials don't end up lost somewhere... Upon getting a school ID number and account a week later: Neat, this must be a good sign. i'm sure I'll hear something soon. Two weeks later, having heard nothing: What did I do to deserve this... oh god... even though I met with my POI personally, and he seemed enthusiastic about my research proposal and said there were good opportunities for me at the school and they'd love to have me, I am sure I have no chance at all now. just reject me already :( Yesterday, upon getting a hit on my Academia profile from that school's city: Oh!! They must not have just thrown my application in the trash! Are they still interested in me? Wait, what if they found something incriminating and hate me now? *frantically googles self* Ok well all you find are my basic facebook, linkedin and academia.edu pages... employment history, research interests and schools, nothing on there I didn't write in the app form... BUT WHAT IF THAT GIVES THE IMPRESSION I'M BORING?? :wacko: Tomorrow is -the day- I calculated based on the estimate on their website of when they ~typically~ respond to applications. But who knows if that's an accurate number or the "ideal" they want to project. Either way, if I don't hear anything tomorrow and have to wait the whole weekend... I may go nuts

Basically, instead of a hard deadline and single selection period they take applications for most of the year, and accept students as applications come in. The drawback is that someone could apply late in the game who would otherwise get in but not get in because all the places have filled up... hence why I tried to get it in around the same time as my hard deadline applictions. I think it's more common in small programs, or programs where good fit is especially important. My background is Art History but my research interests are very contemporary and technology related so I end up finding a good "fit" in strange places, which, 90% of the time are not your usual Art History department