johndiligent

And what was the word?

I was considering doing that, applying to two different program at the same school since they both seemed like good fits. I was strongly cautioned not to do so by my letter writers, who recommended that I decide which of the two was the best fit and apply there, bearing in mind that I could always meet with professors from the other program casually and informally if I felt they could contribute something to my project. They said that it usually indicates that the student is not committed to a specific area, hasn't thought through which would be the best fit, and is applying somewhat haphazardly. While that's probably not true in most cases, I wouldn't want to risk that implication.

Along those lines, I discovered well after I submitted my application that while the GRE wasn't required, it was "strongly encouraged" (in Canadian admissions, the GRE is very, very rarely a requirement). I got in anyway, thankfully.

Final Frontier

Glad to know I'm not the only one who got it! Good luck to you!

That's a good call, the Forum is good therapy!

2, in my opinion

Sunday Brunch

This thread represents a very different experience from what I've had. I've told lots of people, and I rationalise it by thinking that if they'd been working for the last six of their lives on an accomplishment and achieved it, then they'd want to share it, too. I guess there's also the factor that since I'm in the Humanities, very few people would actually want to go off and do what I'm going to do. People keep asking me, "So, a Master's degree? What will that actually prepare you to do?" like they pity me. I'm sure they wouldn't attempt to sabotage me because I can't imagine that they'd ever muster enough to care that much about it. Or me, for that matter.

Within three minutes? That's horrible! At least you didn't get time to recover from one before the other one hit, so it's sort of like you only have to feel dejected once for both. But I hope this is the precursor to something very good.

Haha, it must be pretty sweet to be able to post this topic! I don't think you need to make it fancy, provided that you have all the details you need to make a decision. Have they told you about funding? Have you had a chance to visit? That sort of thing. If you know everything you need to know and you're ready to accept then I think a quick response that thanks them and clearly informs them that you're accepting is all you need.

Still love this effort by someone from the Philosophy board (sorry I forget who!)

For sure. We'll all just have to wait it out, unfortunately.

old school

MARCH BEGINS TOMORROW! AWESOME!

Here's pretty much verbatim what they sent me: Dear John, I'm writing to let you know that our admissions committee has met, and we were very impressed with your application. At this point, we have placed you on a short list for admission to our MA program, and we will let you know as soon as possible if we are able to make a formal offer of admission. If you are interested in visiting our Department, we are hosting a Campus Visit Day on Friday March 5th... etc, etc. Best wishes, Pamela Klassen --------------------------------- Here's what I think it means: they sent these out to the people on the shortlist but, I think, only for the MA programme. I think they're doing this because they're not sure how many MA students they'll be able to admit and won't know until they have some idea how many of their PhD admits are going to accept, but they still want to give MA candidates who have an outside shot of being offered admission a chance to visit. I don't think it would make any sense to tell PhD students that they're shortlisted for the reasons you mentioned. The only thing that blows my theory is the fact that someone posted on the Results page about being Wailisted for the PhD on the same day that I got my e-mail.

Going Bonkers

girl guide

Mine's on the 5th. I usually feel pretty lucky on my birthday, so I'll keep checking. Hopefully nothing will ruin it.

MA in Religion, through U of T Department of Religion. Field: Religions of Mediterranean Antiquity.

Haha, I guess I can stop cluttering up the PhD thread with my news or lack thereof then. So far, accepted to MA in Ancient Culture, Religion and Ethnicity at UBC. Waiting to hear from five more, but as I've said elsewhere, I'm hoping March is it!

Don't stress until something's official. I really think there's no point in assuming a rejection until you've been rejected. You'll just make yourself crazy, possibly needlessly.

Wow. I'm kind of hoping that my sub-par GPA has worked like that: makes me stand out a little bit from the cookie-cutter perfect profile. In my dreams, at least!

maple leaf

Giving Tree