egwynn

Seems like Toronto only started notifying yesterday, but I have the same issue. Add Harvard to that list (honestly, why do they have to mail my rejection?) and that's what I'm still waiting on.

Since I have started my two-year program, my immigration/residency status has changed twice. In addition to that, the provincial tuition has also changed twice. I think that I mostly have unfortunate timing, but it is something to think about (I did not plan for the possibility of unfortunate timing). My immigration status directly (and quite negatively) affected my tuition fees because of changes made while I was here. If you have plans to start on a student visa and change your mind, move there permanently, whatever, just be very conscious of what that means for fees at the university, taxes, and so on. And I would recommend that, when you're budgeting, you always assume that immigration and legal procedures will cost at least as much as the various people you speak with say that they might. Otherwise, you may be in for some unpleasant surprises. (That said, everyone I dealt with in Canada during my immigration process was super helpful. It just cost more than I anticipated.) And, again, I'm not in Toronto, but I have heard that it is very expensive if you're looking to maintain the quality of life that you're probably used to. UofT has a great reputation and I completely understand the appeal (I've applied there twice now, and am considering it myself), but the financial situation may not be favorable and it certainly doesn't seem ideal. Oh, and just generally, I wouldn't count on a whole lot more than "at least." Clearly I'm a bit cynical about this, but I just feel like a huge part of this process is trying to be as practical as possible so that you don't saddle yourself with something that seems like a mistake that you've talked yourself into. It's a game of figuring out your priorities: if UofT is your priority, you can make it work, but if not being in debt and/or being completely confident that funding will cover your cost of living (after taxes, of course, which is another thing to consider, especially as you may end up paying them in two countries), it might not be the way to go.

I'm glad your experience will be better-funded than mine. It would be nice if that were the case for everyone. It's not, though, at my institution or several others that I've heard about.

davidm: this is why I said "in my experience."

Well, I mention all of what I did because I know that I, as an American student who had never experienced being an international student and who was silly enough to think that it's kinda not really international to go to Canada, was disenchanted following my experience. I am sure that these are things that are potentially applicable to many situations, but I just hadn't thought of them because I was not bothering to think about more practical things that I had no experience with. I just, you know, was ready to read some books and be fabulous.

sebastian, I feel the same way. This is not one of those situations where being a little selfish is unjustifiable. Also, has anyone heard from WashU?

I'm an American studying in Canada right now and I just want to make a couple of (perhaps obvious) suggestions: 1) Make damn sure you keep up with the provincial, federal, and university policies about tuition and immigration status. They change, and this will change what you are expected to pay and why. 2) Toronto is an expensive place to live. The rent is high, most things are more expensive in Canada (ex: a gallon of milk is $6-8 instead of $3, a 12-pack of beer costs as much as a case in the States), and the taxes are also more expensive for everything. Just keep that in mind if that is your option. 3) Also, in my experience, funding for international students is less dependable than funding for Canadians. Canadians have better options for funding through their federal and provincial governments, so I think that there is a reluctance, however unconscious, to take on the financial burden of an international student. You will probably be dependent entirely on the university's funding while your Canadian peers will be eligible for numerous other (better) financial opportunities. These financial challenges will not necessarily be taken into account when competing with other, better-funded students for TAships, RAships, etc.. 4) If you're going to try to become a permanent resident of Canada, start early and expect to shell out some moneys. The process is easy for some and harder for others, and there seems to be no real reason for whether it's easy or hard. It took me so long that I won't be able to keep the permanent residency because I'm not going to stay in the country a year longer than expected just to do so. This might not be helpful now, but I just wanted to throw this out there. I am not at Toronto, but I assume that there are some important similarities and hope that my experience might be helpful for others.

That makes sense. I have not (yet?) been wait listed anywhere and do not really envy those who are in that position. It's nerve-racking enough to have no definitive decision from some places; it must be even more difficult for the "definitive decision" to be, well, not definitive.

Ategenos: what do you think is an appropriate period of time to wait? I would like to visit all of my schools first, which will probably take until the end of March. But I honestly just don't know what I would decide...

Hallucinations, then. I am not even remotely surprised that I have reached this point.

Anyone heard anything from Rutgers? I was just checking my online app and I want to say that the status changed from "In progress" or something like that to "No decision" but I also might just be hallucinating at this point...

I have the same issue with a bunch of my applications, CodeBlue. Where you go and it just says that it's submitted. Also, I don't really feel the need for a mailed rejection... email, please.

I've done this process twice now. The first time, I applied to programs that were MA and programs that were direct-entry PhD. I did not get into any of the direct-entry programs. When I applied for PhD programs again this past fall, I went back and re-read my applications materials from last time. They were a disaster. The SoP had a "personal hook" opening that made me feel uncomfortable to read, the goals were too general, the writing sample was not sharp enough, and my GRE subject test scores were 60th percentile. Clearly it was the letters that got me in the first time (and clearly the PhD programs were right in declining me, as I was obviously not prepared for that level of work at that point). This time, I have equally good letters. But I have also bumped my GRE subject 20% (so nothing that impresses, but I am not ashamed of it); I have a much more detailed, directed, and specific SoP with nothing personal in it: it is all academic and ranges from my current work to my proposed dissertation to the resources that each school has that are pertinent to my work; and I have a much better writing sample. And I don't know if dazedandbemused is right about how much of the writing sample they read, but they certainly got "voice" from me even in that short a space: my paper finishes with a dirty joke. Good luck going forward, Ken. I recommend doing whatever you can to get your current/past profs to read your materials and give you feedback. You might also benefit from having people who have gone through this process (and, ideally, succeeded) proofread and edit for you.

I think "Referred to College for Review" is the grad app equivalent of "Out to lunch, be back in 5." 5 from when?!?!

I haven't. Partly because I'm not dying to make all those international phone calls, but more because I don't want to nag. Is it better to call or to just wait another week or so before taking action?

Sorry to hear, Chaucerette. After my disheartening application experience 2 years ago, I cast a really broad net this time. It seems to have been effective: I have not heard from a very large number of schools, but I already have two very good options. Maybe this isn't helpful or encouraging, but I would recommend that, if you do this again, you apply to as many schools as you have the money/time for and would even consider.

This list is fabulous. Everything that I should have thought of but at least half of it would have slipped my mind.

That makes sense. It is frustrating (as I am at least keeping those possibilities in the back of my mind while I try to make decisions), but I guess there's nothing I can do about lazy rejections but wait for them, whiskey in hand.

Is anyone else in this position? I've applied for English Literature and keep reading that people have heard from a bunch of the places I've applied to (UT Austin, Berkeley, NYU, Penn, Columbia, Brown). I haven't heard from any of these places. Obviously no one on here can change that for me, but am I the only one?