johndiligent

FLAME ON!

I'd choose out of the places that you've been officially accepted, and let them all know to that effect by April 15th. If, after you've accepted somewhere else, you get admitted to Harvard, then you can make a decision from there. You certainly wouldn't be the first to politely back out of a school after receiving a better but late offer.

Happy dance

It's Passover that's looming for me. A whole whack of judgmental family members all in one place at one time, all around to ask me "So do you have any life plans already?" Or "I don't see why you don't just call them and tell them to make up their minds faster. Do you want my cousin to call them? He went to graduate school, I think, so they might know him. Or was it grad school he went to? I can't remember. Something about electricians. But I'll get him to call them."

March is a scant four days away. THIS will be the month that most of those of us who are waiting will finally find out what's what. And I know that's what we said about January. And February. But it pretty much has to be March, right? ...Right?! Congratulations on surviving the waiting so far. Only... theoretically... perhaps... maybe... one more month of application anxiety. Good luck!

Ditto to what was said above. After April hits, if you haven't heard, I think it's time to ask. Much as asking directly sucks.

Hopefully the two years I'm in my MA programme will make things look better, not worse. Though I'm not holding my breath.

I think you should write to whoever extended you the offer of admission and tell them that, while UPitt is your top choice, you've been offered X amount of assistance from Tufts. Tell them that before you make your final decision you're wondering if there's any chance that UPitt would be able to approximate or better that offer. That's what I'd do anyway but bear in mind that this is my first rodeo!

Ball One!

play boy

This. The grades are old enough that they'll likely discount them at least enough to look at your other application materials.

Check with the Department and verify its legitimacy. Very weird to get anything legit from a hotmail address. Perhaps you can search for the name of the person on the school's website??? It's bound to show up somewhere if he's actually an employee.

blue balls

That makes perfect sense and given the variation in cost of living from place to place, the generosity of the offer doesn't just boil down to dollar amount. I'd just wonder about someone who would take an unfunded PhD over a funded one. Masochism!

Major League

It's 95% for sure. Though, with deference to fuzzylogician, I have heard of someone being accepted by the department but rejected by the graduate school. But it happens only very, very, very rarely so you needn't worry.

No prob! It's useful but a bit addictive... Hope it helped!

Are there people out there who wouldn't choose the funding?

If the school came up with full funding for you, would you accept their offer or take the other one? If you'd accept, then I think you should go to the Visit Day. If not (presumably because you're quite happy with your other offer), you shouldn't bother going since the utility of the visit is nil.

Exactly! It's like being given a million dollars but being told that you're not allowed to touch it. So frustrating!

Yeah, I'm hoping to find a way to make it work without piling on to the loans. I have an interview tomorrow via Skype for a Residence Coordinator position there, which - if I'm successful - would at least take care of the "How will I live?" problem. I must admit that getting accepted without funding is better than rejection without funding, and I suppose the norm at the MA level.

ass hat

Countdown to March! Only 6 more days!

Perhaps just me but I wouldn't bother. I doubt it's going to get the results to you any faster. Best case scenario, you get an e-mail that gives you a vague timeline, which I imagine would only increase your anxiety as that goes whizzing by!

Don't expect them to change their minds but I think if you were really gung-ho on this school or you're going to re-apply, you should contact the schools you were rejected by and ask them how you might make yourself a more attractive candidate. Some schools won't offer anything but the standard reply "Very competitive... many excellent candidates... bla bla bla." but I've heard some offer considerable feedback and constructive criticism. A lot of people say you should wait until after the application cycle is mostly over before you contact. And if you never plan on re-applying, one wonders what you'd gain from it apart from something new to obsess over.