brown_eyed_girl

I think you should just email your POI and the DGS as soon as possible explaining the situation and expressing your regret at not being able to attend. Luckily it's not too far after the deadline, and they could probably still accept someone else if they are looking to fill your spot. A sudden change in life circumstances is unavoidable, so I don't think you should feel bad; just be honest and direct. I certainly hope your situation has changed for the better, and I'm sorry you won't be able to attend regardless! Wishing you the best and hoping all is okay with you.

Thanks for the feedback! It's kinda disappointing to hear that you don't think I can find a 1-bedroom in Morningside Heights in the $2400 price range (I'm coming from California, which isn't cheap either, but I don't really have a gauge of what to expect at different price points in NYC), but I would be fine with being somewhere a little farther away as long as it's near a subway line that goes to 116th street and is relatively safe. I've heard that it takes around an hour to get there from Brooklyn, though, which wouldn't be ideal if I can help it. Are there any specific areas within a 20-30 minute commute that you think would be in the right price range? Do my boyfriend and I have to suck it up and share a studio if I want to live closer to campus? Any specific neighborhoods in Harlem that you guys like? I did the commuter student thing throughout undergrad and I know I can handle it, but it would be really nice to be close to campus for once, at least during my first year in the city when it would be nice to be able to meet up with classmates on a whim or pop over to the library whenever. (Also, as a Californian who has never lived someplace with a winter, it would be really nice if, at least while I'm adjusting to my first winter in NYC, I didn't have to walk more than 10ish minutes to a subway stop. I can't even fathom negative 15 windchill yet, and yes, I know I'm a wimp.)

Congrats on your decision! You really can't go wrong with these options, but it sounds like Penn will be a great place for you. Others may have more specific insight on these programs, but from what I have heard generally I doubt you'd have any significant advantage applying to Chicago after completing your masters there versus after completing it at Penn. Plus, assuming that you want to go there for your PhD I think you'll benefit from having a different experience and building a larger network by going elsewhere for the MS. Good luck!!

I really relate to this thread. I got into 3 programs and one was far and away the best offer, so the decision of where to attend was thankfully very easy, and I accepted almost a month before the deadline. Even then, though, there have been a lot of emotions - stress and apprehension about only having a couple months to plan my move 2500 miles across the country and anxiety about being so far away from my friends and family and adjusting to a new city with real winters a different lifestyle than I'm accustomed to. Then there's the anxiety about going from only having an undergrad degree and going into a PhD program, where many of my peers will already have masters degrees behind them and be much more seasoned than me. And there are the general fears about the job market and the knowledge that I'm dedicating 7 years of my life to something without any guarantees. Mostly it's very exciting and I am grateful and thrilled to be on this journey and be one of the lucky ones this application season. I think the changes will ultimately spur a lot of growth and I know I can handle them.But even under the best of circumstances, preparing for grad school is a HUGE transition and commitment -- whether of time, money, or blood, sweat, and tears. I'm not the emotional type, but this whole process has been emotional for sure.

Wow, what an unfortunate situation. I'm so sorry - it's majorly lame that this is happening to you. I think the best thing you can do right now, since this program is still significantly better in your eyes than your other options, would be to talk to the director of graduate studies and/or graduate student coordinator in your department and see what they recommend. Do they foresee hiring a replacement soon? Can they recommend another adviser? Would the other prof in your area reconsider taking you on given the circumstance? Could you work with an outside adviser at another school in the area, or explore a more interdisciplinary curriculum and find advisers in other departments to fill the gaps? If there is a strong base of courses you could take in the department and they would be flexible about letting you mix and match advisers, you may be fine.

I also found the free Magoosh GRE Vocabulary phone app to be hugely helpful for studying for the verbal section (my score was 166/96th percentile). It's very convenient to use on lunch breaks or at the checkout line. I had a good vocabulary going in, but I found that memorizing exact dictionary definitions with the app helped me breeze confidently through the verbal section.

I'd contact the school directly and ask whether they have a policy on this; some universities may not even let you apply to multiple programs. In other cases if the programs are in different schools they may be totally unconnected and not even know that you're applying to both.

Regarding FAFSA, you can file a FAFSA with multiple schools as recipients before you are accepted anywhere. I remember doing this with colleges, since in my state to be considered for state financial aid you need to file by a FAFSA by March even though you don't get acceptances until April or May. Go ahead and fill it out now!

If you'd be sad about missing the opportunity to do the nanotech MS at Penn, why not do it now? You wouldn't have been accepted if you were unprepared (admissions committees' whole job is to suss out whether you're equipped to do the work well!), so I wouldn't worry about that for now. If this is really worrying you, I'd also ask Penn whether they would let you take some of the other classes you think you need as electives, or enroll in summer classes before starting your nanotech curriculum. Getting 2 masters degrees isn't recommended unless you really need to, for example in the case of students who are drastically switching fields and need to do a second MA before they'd be considered for a PhD in the second field.

I'd just call the admin person and ask what the timeline is. For what it's worth, I got into Columbia (GSAS) and it took me 2 months to hear an unofficial acceptance from them + another 3 weeks for my official acceptance, so I definitely wouldn't worry if you haven't heard from them yet.

If you're still nervous to turn down the PhD, you may also want to see if you can defer for a year, reapply to med school, and see whether anything is different in the next cycle.

COMPLETELY agree about no more math or standardized tests. Whew! Obviously there will be many challenges down the road, but for now I'm just happy to have gotten into a great program and be starting a new adventure across the country. (And relieved and grateful that I will never have to retake the GRE or go through another application cycle!)

I'm not a math person, but just based on how you've described the two programs I definitely would pick UMD. It sounds like it will give you a lot more flexibility overall, and you'll be less stressed about workload and more able to focus on your studies. Another plus would be more community support in your cohort at UMD; it sounds like you could be pretty isolated by being a full-time worker taking night classes in the GW scenario. For quality of life and prestige, UMD sounds like a solid pick.

Hahaha, love the McSweeny's piece. I laughed out loud at "we combat past discrimination by discriminating in the present." My own rejection letters were pretty standard, sadly. I didn't give them much thought since I thankfully got into a great program, but in those cases where people get across the board rejections a little constructive feedback seems welcome...

Yeah, that does seem odd. There was no deposit for my school (unless I missed something major...) but I guess it makes sense for schools that have a lot of people accept offers only to rescind them later? Unfortunately based on this forum it sounds like more than a few people decide to accept offers while still waiting to see if they'll be accepted at other schools...

That's pretty frustrating. For whatever it's worth, the PhD program that took the longest to get back to me did so (after some acceptances and rejections had gone out on the boards) because they had not accepted me to their PhD program but had accepted me to their freestanding MA program (which I wasn't interested in in the first place). Schools that do this may notify their MA admits after their PhD admits, so instead of sending an outright rejection with their wave of PhD rejections they wait to do it with their MA wave of acceptances/rejections. Not sure if that's what's going on in this case, but it could be a possibility and explain in part why they haven't responded yet. There could also be an unofficial waitlist situation. In either case I wouldn't hedge my bets on schools that can't bother to respond by now when you have a firm offer.

Congrats on your decision, and good luck!

I think you should call/email them as soon as possible and let them know that you are waiting on your official acceptance and want to be able to make an informed decision; also call the schools that are awaiting your response and see if you can get a deadline extension in the event that you don't get your final answer by tomorrow. For whatever it's worth, it took the school I will be attending over 3 weeks from the time of my unofficial acceptance to my official GSAS acceptance. I believe there's already a thread on this topic. The department may have to really petition for you if you were recommended by the department without meeting the requirements for admissions to the grad school (i.e. a cutoff GPA of at least 3.00 or a certain GRE minimum).

I would call them and give a last follow up email ASAP, but if they don't respond positively by tomorrow, assume rejection and accept the other offer. Have you checked the results board to see whether other people have heard back from these schools in the relevant department?

Cornell for sure. Going to a new place will broaden your horizons and expand your network, and you already know the Ohio profs so you can stay in touch and get guidance from them either way. If you want to go into academia eventually (or keep the option open at least) it will be helpful to have degrees from different places, and to have your highest degree be from a prestigious institution. Also don't discount the resources wealthy private schools have that can give you an edge - for example more money for conferences, etc.

I agree that Merced does not seem like a good fit for you, and I personally would not go there for various reasons. A PhD is a big commitment even under the best circumstances, so I think you should only do one you're thrilled about. That said, just because you didn't get in anyplace you're excited about this year doesn't mean you can't get into a place that's a great fit for you in the future. The fact that you got waitlisted at Berkeley demonstrates that you are a very strong candidate capable of getting into top programs (and you may still get in - it seems from these boards that a lot of people are waiting to the last minute to make up their minds about where to attend). Plus it sounds like you are continuing to do work in your field (writing new papers, continuing research work on your own) that will only strengthen future applications. As you said, your issue here really comes down to where you applied. So I say take this time to work, consider your priorities, and if and when you reapply, only apply to places that you could really envision yourself being for a while, including where your significant other will be happy and have opportunities. I think your advisors should be understanding of the fact that Merced wasn't a great fit for you, but that you're interested (for now) in keeping your PhD options open. Your other underlying question - whether you should get a PhD at all - is a whole other can of worms and is incredibly personal. How were you feeling about it when you applied? Did you always doubt whether you wanted one or is it just because you're questioning your path since you're unhappy with your acceptances at the moment? If it's not a reaction to your current stress, then it's definitely worth taking some time to think about... another plus for rejecting the Merced offer and taking some time to think. Academic life is definitely not for everyone. What are the options in your field for going into industry with a PhD? Would you be super excited about the idea of being in school for 5-7 years if it were someplace like Berkeley, or are you unenthusiastic about the whole idea even in best case scenario? I think it's normal to have some crises of faith at a time like this... I think application and decision season is a time of ups and downs for all of us. Just some thoughts to consider. Best of luck!

I'd definitely go for the funded masters. Even if funding is possible down the line at the PhD programs, it's a huge risk and you won't do your best work if you're stressed or if it all hinges on being liked by an unpredictable and ego-driven professor. The MS sounds like it would set you up well to continue your PhD there or apply elsewhere and get into top funded PhD programs down the line.

I'd go for school B. You'll still be able to access the faculty from School A since you (presumably) worked with them in undergrad and have made those connections already; there is no reason these people can't continue to offer some mentorship or even be outside readers on your dissertation. Aside from the fellowship and prestigious name at option B, it sounds like it will expand your horizons more, give you access to a different alumni network, and provide more personalized support since the cohort is smaller and you note their mentorship as stronger. In terms of personal growth, I think there's a lot to be said for putting yourself in a different environment in a new city. After all, you'll be spending another 5-7 years in this city, and since you already spent 4 years in the vicinity of school A it would be easy to see feeling stagnant after a while. Another thing to consider is that I have heard that in the academic job market, it is preferred that you don't get all your degrees from the same institution. Having a mix of public and private school experience would also be a draw of B for me. The most significant pro of option A seems to be the interdisciplinary bent of the program - but did you ask program B whether you'd be allowed to take classes in other departments? Interdisciplinary work may still be allowed at option B even if it isn't encouraged to the extent of option A. Good luck! It sounds like both schools are strong contenders and you can't really make a wrong choice here.

Please don't lose hope! When I was in undergrad, I talked to several TAs, who were in a PhD program in a great department. Nearly all of them said they had applied 2 or 3 times before they got in anywhere. Several had multiple MAs before they got into a PhD. Admissions are very competitive, and applying while you're in school means your attention was almost certainly divided between your current studies and your applications. I think the best thing you can do right now is stay as focused as possible on what you're doing now, keep your fingers crossed some good news comes your way yet, and if not... what have you really lost? There's nothing wrong with taking some extra time to do something different and apply later. If this is the career you want for the long haul, don't let this hold you back.

Just reply and let her know that you have been taking time considering your options but are still very excited about her program and intend to respond before the 15th. It should be fine!