BFB

PM me the details, wouldja? I need to be clearer about something with somebody, but I don't know what or who. Thanks.

THIS.

OK, I've now gotten three emails from people who we admitted two days ago but who haven't been notified by the Graduate School. I am really, really sorry that some of you are being left hanging. I'll bring this to the attention of the Graduate School next week.

This, by the way, is my nightmare. The way our budgeting works, it's designed for a steady stream of people. That kind of variation causes real problems.

POI: "You know, I've had second thoughts about Smith." DGS: "Uhhhhhh...."

Ok, I now have concrete evidence that everyone wasn't informed simultaneously by our system. One person emailed me to find out why we didn't admit him/her—but we did. So no answer still means no answer. And I think I have MY answer: they're using the hamster-powered TRS-80....

Don't blame your POI. I listened to them, but ultimately I'm the one who had to make the decision. It wasn't fun, and honestly, I wish we'd had quite a few more slots. But the buck stops here. If your POI sent you nice emails, I'd recommend undeleting them. They're very sincere, and you've earned whatever praise they contain.

I wish I could say. Here's the story. Today is the deadline for my grad coordinator to enter the names of people who've been accepted into the system. At some point, those names get converted into acceptances and those acceptances generate letters, typically via email. I assume that it also updates the website, but I don't really know. How long all of this takes is kind of a mystery to me. I honestly don't know whether "the system" is running on a supercooled Cray or a hamster-powered TRS-80. My guess is that they'll all be out quite soon, likely by the end of the day, and that some might go astray into spam folders. I don't know, though. There should be concrete "We regret to inform you..." letters sent out as well, but not for another day or two. So I would say, the more time passes, the lower the odds that you'll hear something positive.

For what it's worth, the timing is right.

I suppose? I really don't know. I gather we're not talking about OSU any longer so I'm reluctant to speculate much at all. That's actually often true, though perhaps not overtly. I do get people grabbing me at meetings or in the hallway and saying "You really have to get this person." But they probably won't let their enthusiasm show to the candidate before the final list comes out, because if they're not on it… well, that'd be a pretty crappy thing to do to someone.

I don't mean to be evasive, but it's hard to say. What does an individual researcher want in a graduate student? Some value being quick on your feet while others place a premium on well-thought-through answers, even if they come via email later on. Some are interested in persistence, others in raw academic aptitude. Mostly, what the committee cares about is the answer to the question, "How much do you want to work with this person?" Could it make or break an application? You could put it that way, though I'd be reluctant to do so myself, and not just because blood pressures would shoot through the roof if I did. We're having chats with the medium list, and we can't accept everyone. The interviews are designed to provide more information than files do, and in so doing to help us make better decisions. They're designed to do a better job of sorting people who should come here from people who shouldn't.

A lot of different parts of an application or a phone chat can inform a committee's guess. In the end, though, it's really just a guess, and it's often wrong. But we have to try.

We traditionally don't do waitlists, in part because of the odd separation between admission and funding here. What we'll probably do this year is a waitlist for financial aid: as we get a better picture of our acceptances and declinations, we should know more about the funding that's available. By the way, in case no one has said this: if you know you're going to turn a school down, do it as soon as humanly possible. And I don't mean April 14. Try to narrow down your list as much as you can by early April. There are other applicants who are waiting to find out whether they can be moved off of the waitlist or given funding, and the DGS can't do that until he/she has an accurate picture of the number of declinations. If everyone waits until April 15 to send in all acceptances/declinations, a lot of people will lose out on going to a school they would have preferred. I know you folks are worried about a lot of things these days. This one is really a big deal.

You people…. Correct. Some people will get called and won't get in. Some people won't get called (or emailed) but will get in. All in all, more of the people who got contacted will be admitted, it's true, but if you conclude that you're in (or out) because you got a call (or didn't), you're jumping the gun. You'll know when the Grad School sends out notifications. Also, I think I've mentioned it before, but at OSU funding and acceptance are separate processes. We won't know the results of the fellowship competition until mid-to-late February. Sometimes people get disappointed or scared when they don't see any language about funding right away.

Well, crap. That wasn't my goal at all. Please don't be devastated, whoever you are, if this doesn't work out. If you got a call from us, it means you're a top recruit. If it doesn't lead to acceptance, it means the Graduate School doesn't give us enough slots. Seriously.

I wish I could say there's a systematic answer to that. Mostly, they want to get to know a candidate better. We emphatically do not discriminate on the basis of age.

Thanks :-) And no worries. Sometimes we do accept people who don't have a clear POI here, on the theory that they're smart and their interests will probably change (mine certainly did). But it's always a much harder decision to make.

I must have missed this comment. A shame. Thank you! As to the question of what we're doing, when, etc.: I've sent medium-list files to POIs to get their feedback. This is a new procedure. I've also noted that that feedback would probably be more valuable if they got to know the candidates a bit better than they would by just reading the files. Some are inclined to call; some aren't; some are sick or on medical leave or out of town. So some of you might be getting calls or emails from OSU POIs. If you do, I can confirm that you're on the medium list, which is about twice as long as the short list will be. And I cannot predict how the process of narrowing down a short list will go. Seriously.

You might actually be better off. There are a limited number of things that one can do in a hotel room, and one of them is read application files. If, as you say, your POI is reading them. Two of our committee members are halfway around the world and are participating fully, thanks to the magic of the Internet. You might try contacting the DGS or the Department admin directly. I don't think it is a secret, though I've never actually been asked, so my counterparts elsewhere might be a little surprised at the question.

That is, if the Grad School is doling out the funding on a case-by-case basis rather than just handing the Department funds. Like I said, a lot of variables.

I hope not. Frankly, waivers are a "fix," a tacit admission that mandatory cutoffs are a bad idea in the first place. If it were up to me, I'd jettison them entirely. The Graduate School should trust its faculty when it comes to making judgments about applicants to their programs and let us decide when one factor outweighs another. (I realize that's a predictable response coming from a faculty member, but that doesn't make it wrong.) To the point, though, I've never seen either mandatory minimums or waivers at another university.

Spring is tricky; it's a pretty busy time. But summer could be worse, depending on your POI's research plans. I'd shoot for spring break or the week or so after spring semester… but YMMV. In particular, if your POI is around during the summer, summer's probably better.

Why, thank you! Trust me. It's a them problem, not a you problem.

Exactly what I was going to recommend. "This is not your concern"?? It's absolutely your concern. The committee may or may not take your POI's workload into account when making an admission decision. If you don't get this question answered at some point, you could end up choosing a department only to find that your POI doesn't have the time or inclination to work with you. I realize it's hard to push back on something like this, but by my lights that's a pretty bullshit answer. ETA: Frankly, if you get anything other than "Yes, I'm taking students, looking forward to your application," I'd consider alternatives. We're busy, but we should be able to spare time for that response, at least.

I can't say, honestly. Speaking for myself, I spend the most time reading the files of the people who are on the fence. Those are the hardest decisions, and that's where we need the most info.