bolani

I'm glad we have a group here that understands my feelings. I'm calling my parents/friends at random hours like "omg do you think this email mean that I got in? Am i waitlisted? Shortlisted? " ....They all pleasantly nod and smile, but I know they are sick of me talking about it. :-)

Which school? Have you already applied? My advice would be that you kind of want to wait until you get an email from a prof or you get admitted to talk to profs about research....because you might risk making them annoyed otherwise. Most advice I have heard is that you should contact profs about 6 months BEFORE you apply...so that when they see your app they will remember you. Professors at this point are probably picking their favs among the applications in front of them; having a random student contact them might make them feel sort of used....if you have a real interest in a professor(and not getting simply RA funding) it is good to mention that in the application.

I asked 3 different people what they thought: a current grad student at my uni, a current grad student there, and one of my profs. They read the email and promptly told me that they were very sure that it was a good thing because of the whole "we can't promise you anything now" thing...sort of implies that they are rounding up decisions. It would be mean for them to send a vague email to people if they were waitlisted...and besides, in the US, students have till April 15 to settle on a grad school. So thinking that if they offer students positions before most schools that they would accept/reject right away is silly... If you are waitlisted at most schools they will call you. I think the email implies: "You are at the top of our stack. We cant offer you anything yet, but just wait and you probably will .Worst case would be we might waitlist you" If students were receiving acceptances they I'm pretty calm about this, much more than I thought I would be....just going to wait a week and see what they say. If you are worried, you should call adam! He's super cool and helpful. :-)

UMich should have sent you a "wolverine link" upon your application submission. Then you have to go sign up for a bunch of IDs...here is the email I got: HOW TO CHECK YOUR STATUS Applicants can now verify application data and status online. You will need to use a login ID and password, and confirm some personal data before viewing your application. For applicants who are current students or employees: Log into Wolverine Access using your existing UMICH uniqname login and click New and Prospective Student Business. For applicants new to the University: This is a 2-step process. First, you need to create a secure login using a UM Friend Account and second, you need to go to and log into the UM administrative services web site called Wolverine Access. To do this, you must follow both steps below: 1. Create a UM Friend Account Use the following URL: https://friend.weblogin.umich.edu/friend/ Note: If you have questions about creating a UM Friend Account, use the following URL for detailed instructions: http://www.itd.umich.edu/itcsdocs/s4316 2. Log into UM administrative services (Wolverine Access) After you create your UM Friend Account, use the following URL to view your application data: http://wolverineaccess.umich.edu and click New and Prospective Student Business.

Yeah, I'm trying to be optimistic and hoping that they would only send it out to students that they really want, but can't really guarentee anything today. Like, 95% of the people that got the email got in. I can hope, can't I? B/c it might be kind of unnecessary of the dept otherwise, where they really only needed to make us wait another week w/o saying anything. I want to know other people who got the email! Hahah, I just read your "unfortunately" comment and I did the same thing! :-)

I'm excited but this kind of stresses me out a little too. I don't know what that means...are they narrowing it down from here? or trying to find funding?

OMGOMGOMGOGMOMGOGMOGMOGMOGMOGMOGMOGMOG! I JUST GOT THIS! YESSSSSSSS. Will let you know how it pans out. Thank you for your application to the IEMS graduate program at Northwestern. We would like to let you know that you are one of our highly rated domestic applicants. Unfortunately, there are many applicants for only a few spots, so we cannot promise anything at this point. However, we do plan to make admissions offers in the coming week or two, and will be back in touch with you regarding your status.

I did the same thing: only applied to schools where I thought I would be happy if I got an offer. Order: Northwestern Stanford Michigan UF/Princeton I researched a ton of schools and basically ended up concluding that while a lot of good programs are out there, the advisors/research areas/location/students happiness level are all equally important to me,so it narrowed down my list significantly when I attended conferences and met a bunch of different faculty members from different schools. I really admire the fact that you applied so many places! The application process is so...exhausting. And now I'm filled with a whole different type of stress. :-) I would be THRILLED if i got an offer from either NU, Stanford, or UMich. BTW funny story...I got a call today from a # I didn't know, and intstantly I was nervous...turned out to be my landlord(outside my state) calling to see if i wanted to renew my lease.... sigh. :-)

I'm sure that this isn't the case if you are a top pick, but does anyone find it annoying that you have to log into ask.northwestern.edu or your application in order to see what the status is? They don't even email you if your status changes! ORMalv, is your first choice GATech? I couldn't bring myself to apply there, mainly because I don't think I would be happy in Atlanta.

My application has been reviewed, I think. Or at least is somewhere in the process. My advisor told me he got a couple of phone calls from them, both positive! YAY! Sorry for scaring you.... :-) I was the one who posted it. But I figured we needed to get some thoughts moving on here. Top schools anyone? What is your first choice? I'll be first and say Northwestern!

Hi! I just joined and I'm glad you started this.. I'll give my stats: GRE: 790Q 540V 5.0AW GRE: 4.0 3 years undergrad research, 7 publications/presentations @ conferences, 2 NSF REUs. Where I applied: Pending: Princeton (random i know, but I have my reasons!) U Michigan U Florida Stanford Northwestern Rejected: none yet! Accepted: none yet BUT....I received an email from a prof on Friday @ Michigan wanting to talk with me over the phone about my research interests. Have no idea what this could mean with regards to admission status, but think its a good sign. My advisor/one of my recommendeders received a phone call from Northwestern prof about my application as well, so I know they are in the reviewing process. If you notice, Stanford lets everyone know by end of Feb...I saw that the Mgmt Sciences and Engr has asked one person for an interview last week sometime...but no mass rejection or acceptance for people yet. What else....NU's visit weekends are in late Feb, so if we are first cuts they will probably tell us around the next few weeks. What is your order of choices? First/second/backups.....anyone you want to work with specifically?