ashes_are_burning

I just turned down my offer from Brandeis. I hope this helps someone out! :-)

Is anyone else attending Brandeis' open house?

There is an MA acceptance up now. Email notification.

I was accepted by School A, with full finding, at the beginning of February. School B is large and public, and their English department has a strong reputation in the concentration I plan to pursue. I have received a couple emails from members of the department encouraging me to accept their offer, as they feel I am a strong candidate. This week, I was wait listed at School B. School B is private, guarantees funding, and has a better reputation than School A. In the email, they said I was "high on the wait list" and invited me to their accepted student open house (funded) later this month. I could receive an acceptance from this school up to April 15. Should I be honest with School A and tell them I am visiting School B, although I am wait listed? (I have met with a prof from School A and so I have a personal contact there.) Is that bad form? What is the etiquette surrounding this? I also don't want to burn bridges with people in my field.

I can't speak to anthropology specifically; but U of Chicago, hands down, gets my vote. It's one of the best universities in the US.

I declined my funded offer from UNM about a week ago. I hope this helps you! :-)

I was accepted by School A, with full finding, at the beginning of February. School B is large and public, and their English department has a strong reputation in the concentration I plan to pursue. I have received a couple emails from members of the department encouraging me to accept their offer, as they feel I am a strong candidate. This week, I was wait listed at School B. School B is private, guarantees funding, and has a better reputation than School A. In the email, they said I was "high on the wait list" and invited me to their accepted student open house (funded) later this month. My question is, Do you think School B told all wait listed students they were "high on the wait list"? How much should I read into that? Likewise, do they typically invite all wait listed students to the open house? Thanks!

That makes me even more nervous for some reason. How did you obtain this info?

Count me among those who received the email.

Thank you for the encouragement! I am looking at this as a positive -- it's not an outright rejection, and it gives me a plan B if all the other schools reject me.

Thank you both! I realize it is promising that it was a personal response and maybe a blessing in disguise? The MA might make the difference -- we'll see. I still have five other apps out there, fingers crossed!

Yesterday, I heard from one of the schools I applied to. I have a BA & MA in English and applied to six communication PhD programs. This is the first school I have heard from. They said that I was declined admission to the PhD program because they do not feel I am ready (ostensibly because my background is not in communication), and then said I would be a great asset to their program and encouraged me to apply to their MA, with the option of petitioning after one year to begin a doctorate. BTW, I would not have to reapply and their MA is funded. My question is ... Does their interest in me sound genuine -- do they truly want me for their program -- or is this standard procedure (encouraging PhD rejects to apply for an MA)?

I am not sure if this will help, but I gained a lot of my teaching philosophy from Carl Roger's Freedom to Learn. (It's out of print but I got a copy used on Amazon -- it's also in a lot of libraries.) In it, he applies his person-centered approach to psychotherapy to the classroom. Generally, I have found genuinely respecting students, resisting micromanagement, and teaching with empathy are the most effective practices for the college classroom.

I have been lurking here for a while ... I applied to six programs. Just heard from Oregon via email. I was rejected from their doctoral program but encouraged to consider the MA program; if admitted, I could petition to join the PhD program after one year. (I already have an MA in English Lit, btw.) Sad ...