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Well, just heard from them. Rejected for the PhD program, but they would be happy for me to pay for my MS degree (with an offer of a one time $300 fellowship for the first year)! No thanks!

Anyone heard from CU-Boulder lately? The website says they're supposed to have decisions by March 30 still, but I haven't heard anything from them yet.

Will probably be attending here barring an unbelievable offer from CU-Boulder or U-Mich. Grew up in McMinnville (about 40 miles north of Corvallis). Very nice area, just remember to bring an umbrella and a good rain coat!

Well, that's somewhat less than helpful...may have to commit without a decision from U-Mich then!

Yeah, I was considering this too. I've got an offer that requires an answer by the 15th of April, but I really don't want to wait that long if I don't have to. Let me know what you find out though!

Anyone else still waiting to hear from Michigan?

Right there with you. If you have had my application materials since mid-December and another school has only had my materials since mid-January, and they beat you to the punch then you might be doing something wrong.

I've only heard from two universities, and I'm pretty sure I only heard from the second one because I took the initiative and arranged a meeting with one of the professors (don't think this typically works though, and I have heard some people have had this blow up on them). Have to have an answer to the school I got accepted to by the 15th of April, and starting to wonder when the rest of the decisions will arrive, so I don't limit my options, but also don't keep the school on the hook for too long! 1 and 1 so far...here's to 50%!

So, the message that let me know about the open house I wasn't invited to had links to the presentations that the faculty gave, and said if there were any questions about the presentations or research to contact the faculty directly. The first thing I did was listen to the presentation in my interest area (mercifully short 12 minutes), and shot an email off to one of the faculty members! Last ditch effort, so keeping fingers crossed that my interest might spur a decision...

So, I discovered today that one of the schools to which I applied had an open house for PhD students last week, and I was not among those invited. That would seem like a negative sign to me, but having no experience in the whole application process wasn't sure. That being said I thought I would postulate the question to the group and see if not receiving an invitation to an open house definitively means rejection?

Haven't heard anything yet from UIUC on my MSC app for Fall 2014. Thinking that isn't a good thing at this point, but still trying to be optimistic!

Looks like a couple of people received results today. Who posted their UIUC acceptance today?

And having looked all that information up still does not make me any less anxious to hear back!

From what I can see, the average date for acceptance (2011-2013) for the UIUC MCS program is around the 18th of February, and the average date for denial is the 9th of March. So, I am thinking we should start seeing an uptick in those decisions early next week.

That's great! I hope you start hearing some positive results soon! Möge die Macht mit dir sein!

Thanks, probably just freaking myself out, because it drives me crazy just not knowing (though I'm sure a lot of us are like that). Wasn't extremely confident in my apps anyway, but still hoping for the best!

Yeah, same here. Definitely starting to feel like no news is not good news...

Applying for MS or PhD Programs for Fall 2014 GPA 3.85/4.0 (Major GPA 3.89/4.0) GRE 160 VR/152 QR/5.0 AW BS Business Information Systems (Linfield College) Related Experience: 11 years of professional experience (including current position as Assistant Director of Admissions, working as a DBA for our CRM using SQL server). Research: I am planning on conducting research in programming language and compiler design for parallel computing optimization. Other: 3 Letters of Recommendation: 1 from the Computer Science Department Head where I got my degree, 2 from professors. Awards: Magna Cum Laude, Alpha Sigma Lambda Honor Society Area(s) of Interests: Software Systems Parallel Computing Programming Languages Schools Applied: University of Illinois (MS) University of Michigan (PhD) University of Colorado (PhD) Oregon State University (MS/PhD) Portland State University (MS/PhD) University of Oregon (MS/PhD) I know that the QR score is bad. Unfortunately I will not have enough time to retake for at least half of the applications I have submitted. In most cases though I at least meet the prescribed minimum. I understand that my profile probably is not strong enough for U-Mich or Illinois, but I gave it a stab anyway. Hopefully nothing takes me completely out of the running in the rest of the schools though! I have reached out to a number of the professors in the research areas I am most interested in, and have had some positive responses, so hopefully I am on the right track!

So, here's my follow up to this then. Since I have already submitted all of my applications for MS programs, would it reflect negatively on me to also apply for the PhD programs (assuming they can use the same information collected for my MS applications)?

That was kind of what I was thinking. I have some idea of what I would like to study, but I do feel like it needs some refinement. Most of my stats are pretty good (I think), I just got hung up on the QR section of the GRE a little bit (hopefully won't negatively impact my chances too much). Anyway, thanks for the input!

So, I'm kind of sitting around, twiddling my thumbs, and waiting to hear back from schools I have applied to. Now I am starting to wonder if I made the correct choice in applying to the MS programs, and not straight to the PhD programs. My eventual goal is to teach and do research, but not having any research or teaching experience I was thinking that a MS would provide a good stepping stone (and at the same time be somewhat less competitive). Now I'm starting to second guess myself though. Anyone else been in a similar dilemma and have any insight?

Hi, So, I am kind of psyching myself out a little bit. I'm applying to 4 MS programs (one of which is top ten, but GRE scores are only "recommended" at that one), and a PhD program (which is also a top ten). When I took the GRE, I could have sworn that my breakdown was VR - 160 (84th percentile), and QR - 157 (69th percentile). When my scores were posted on ETS over the weekend it turns out I received VR - 160 (still 84th percentile), QR - 152 (49th percentile), and AW - 5.0 (93rd percentile). This is also the first time I've taken a standardized test (didn't end up having to take the SAT's or ACT's before my Bachelor degree. My cumulative B.S. GPA was 3.854 with a 3.89 in my major (Business Information Systems), and I have strong and glowing recommendations (one from the head of the Computer Science department). I feel like I have strong a Strong Personal Statement, and Purpose Statement, but I am still worried about my QR score. At this point I probably don't have enough time to get the GRE re-taken and scores submitted before the 12/15 deadline of two of the universities I've applied to (both of the top 10's), but I'm wondering if I should retake them for the other schools to which I have applied. For the other three I meet the minimum requirements (if only barely), so I'm wondering if I should just let it ride and hope that the rest of my application materials speak to my abilities more clearly. Any insight would be greatly appreciated!