Nords

Thanks! Yeah, they're program is incredible. Pretty much perfect for my interests as well. Not to mention I already live close-by, so I wouldn't have a big cross-country move ahead of me. Hoping to hear from them soon! I can't stand all this waiting.

Sad to see the forum has died down a bit ... I'm still here waiting on Pittsburgh to admit me off the waitlist. I think I'd sell my left foot to get into the program =D Slowly going crazy.

Thanks, Mmorrison! I'm looking forward to hearing your impressions. I'll be in Riverside next week for a recruitment day, but don't know how much time I'll have to look around, so it'll be good to hear your impressions!

Anyone know anything about if/when Pitt might contact waitlisters? Any other Pitt waitlist people here been in contact with the department at all?

Any update on which direction you're leaning, Zoolander?

Thanks for the input! I appreciate it. I guess I'll have to hope that recruitment weekends make me fall in love with other schools (or that my waitlisted program contacts me before the 15th!

I have a question for you all. If you're waitlisted at your top choice, but have admits from other schools, it's quite possible that your top choice school won't get back to you 'till AFTER the April 15 deadline. If you accept an offer from another school because of the deadline and your top choice gets back to you after the deadline, how inappropriate would it be to withdraw from whatever school you said you would attend? How would you all go about a situation like this anyway?

I appreciate the detailed answer! Honestly, no, I probably wouldn't have made the opposite choice. Of course a lot of it would depend on fit. As both a U.S. and Canadian citizen myself, I was just curious. I love Toronto (it's where my paternal side of the family lives) and U of T always had quite a draw for me. Still, I think I would have gone with Northwestern as well. Financial concerns are important, but the biggest factor would simply have been that I want to go to a U.S. school, because I intend to work in the U.S. Whatever makes it easier in the long run is a good decision in my book, ceteris paribus.

It's quite an impressive school to decline haha. If you don't mind me asking, why Northwestern over Toronto? =)

I second this question!

Haven't quite figured it out yet. I'm still waiting to hear back from Pittsburgh, which might be my top choice. And I still don't know about funding from Santa Barbara. Sooo, I probably won't make a choice 'till I hear from them. Funding isn't guaranteed at Mason. From what I've been told, about 6-8/20 incoming students get full funding through research assistantships. It probably helped that SPP is where I did my MA.

Finally heard from George Mason (Public Policy). In with full funding =)

I see we're starting off with a high roller =D

Hey everyone, Well, we just spent about 2.5 months of hell together, waiting for admissions decisions, and gradcafe pretty much single-handedly made it tolerable. I figured it would be great to start a thread to see where everyone ends up going. So, if you've already picked a program and don't mind sharing, what program will you be attending this fall? =)

A huge congratulations indeed to the Harvard admits! I'm almost sad to see this application cycle wind down. Everyone here has been so helpful and supportive (with one exception, haha =D ). I truly hope to meet all of you in person someday (hopefully at research conferences or perhaps even by being on the same department's faculty!). All future professors should be required to disclose their old gradcafe usernames haha.

Nice. I'm from Estonia, so I grew up watching all the big European leagues, so I have a favorite in each.

Can we amend this to include La Liga? (In England, though, I'm all for Arsenal)

Congrats Cazorla! That's wonderful news!

University of Pittsburgh anyone?

Hey everybody, It's National Decline Your Offer from Pittsburgh Day! Don't forget to do your part! =P Sincerely, A waitlisted applicant =)

Thanks! Will do in a minute.

rdsull89, thanks for your comment here! Would you mind if I PM you with a few questions?

Haha, I suppose you don't. I don't mind when they include stuff about how many people applied. People take bad news differently, so I imagine it does soften the blow for some. I just don't happen to be one of them =) I'd rather yank the bandaid off and be done with it so I don't have to think about it any longer than necessary.

Woke up to a rather direct email from UNC. "We have made our decisions and I am sorry to say that you were not accepted." No hello, no goodbye =D Oddly enough, I actually kind of appreciated it. Not that I don't like hearing that the applicant pool this year was extraordinarily large, like last year and the year before =P, but I've always preferred the direct and honest responses that don't waste my time or the department's =) (Though, ironically, I suppose the long response could be a stock email, in which case the short and direct email written to me personally probably took more of the department's time... Oh God, what have I done?! :| I think it's time for coffee now.)

I didn't mean to sound resentful =) I didn't even apply there, cause there is no POI and my own application likely wouldn't have been strong enough, even if I did have a relative who donated a library or two haha. That being said, I still think "external factors" like that can play a role in admissions at top schools. I don't resent it, but I certainly find some humor in it =)