[Communication/Media Studies Ph.D Fall 2015--Apps, Decisions, and Waiting...]

Honestly, it's pretty difficult to know what schools mean when they talk about "being at the top" of a waitlist. If you have an acceptance elsewhere at a decently ranked program then you might use it as leverage to ask exactly where you are on the waitlist, especially if it gets into April and you haven't heard anything. I hope that it all works out for you!

Thanks a bunch! On her first Email, my POI said I was "on the top of the list" and when I asked her if the list was track specific, she wrote back saying "you are first on our wait list regardless of the area". In any case, I realized its best if I go into hibernation until April.

[Communication/Media Studies Ph.D Fall 2015--Apps, Decisions, and Waiting...]

I've never heard of more being admitted than the number of seats, unless you mean admission with funding. Sometimes more are admitted than schools will fund, but the waitlist only kicks in if there are seats made available by applicants who don't choose to attend a specific program.

 

^ Exactly. So I'm waitlisted in a program that offers guaranteed funding. They said I was on the top of the waitlist and there is only one waitlist (i.e, the list is not divided based on tracks). Does it mean that I will get picked off the waitlist if only one person decides to not attend? I might be overthinking here but since this is my top choice, I'm a bit concerned about the odds of me getting in. Thanks!

[Communication/Media Studies Ph.D Fall 2015--Apps, Decisions, and Waiting...]

And oh, is it true that most programs accept more PhD candidates than the number of seats on offer, and the waitlist kicks in only after that? (admitted in one, waitlisted in another)  

[Communication/Media Studies Ph.D Fall 2015--Apps, Decisions, and Waiting...]

Its been over three months since I've applied but I haven't heard anything from Drexel. I see a couple of you have already been accepted, and I think I saw one rejection as well, all of which were made during the first week of February. Anybody on the same boat as me? Contacted them a couple of weeks back, they said my application is in review. Also, anybody here planning on officially accepting the offer from the University of Maryland?