Vulpix

Will the person who calls you be someone from your program? That would be awesome.

Also, on a separate note... how fun would this be next year, as an HGSE student, to get to call an accepted student? I personally would love doing that. Granted, it'd be way more fun if that was the first time they're hearing it, but still!

Also, I think it's fairly common for PhD applicants to reapply, even to schools they were rejected by. So, hypothetically, if you tried again next year, you could repeat some of your acceptances from this year, add BU to the list, and hopefully Harvard. And if you got rejected from Harvard, you can make a real choice. It seems likely that you'd be accepted again next year to the same programs, or at least some of them, and that will at least give you another shot at Harvard. On a separate note, mind if I ask what made your boss believe you'd be a "shoe-in" for Harvard? I've almost never heard of such a statement being true, so I'm just curious what your background is.

I feel for you. I'm in a totally less serious version of this conversation with my roommate, who has been my best friend for 10 years. I told her I wanted to go to Columbia (aka stay in NYC and still be her roommate), and that I just applied to Harvard, Penn, and NYU on a whim. This was true for about 6 months, I was *only* considering applying to Columbia. Well, Columbia is now my third choice, (which was not international, just naturally developed), so she's feeling kind of betrayed. Obviously this is not as emotionally important as your situation, but I can picture how he would feel surprised and confused by this. You probably pictured it wouldn't have to be an issue because you'd get into Harvard, and then you'd never have to deal with the situation at hand. The fact of the matter is, you really DO want your career to move forward, you DO have amazing opportunities ahead of you. Also, just going back to your original question... I don't think career prospects from Hopkins would be any lower than Harvard.

Mind if I ask how old you are? How settled? I think this is really an age-dependent, life-situation dependent thing. I'm 25, I've been with my boyfriend for 1.5 years, so even though I love him and can picture a future with him, I'm very much in selfish-independent-career-ME mode. I guess you have to decide if you are still in "ME" or "US" mode, or what percentage of you is there. And that's a hard thing to honestly answer to yourself, let alone to him. But I think that's the crux of this decision... is it an "US" decision or a "ME" decision. What does he think? Is he trying to be supportively neutral?

Also, with medical school, there is also the risk that even after he is done with his classes, he could be placed in a residency in another city or state altogether, right? So even you investing in Boston would be short-term, and he might not even be in Boston by the time you are done . It sounds like either way, you'd wind up long distance at some point. I agree that 5 years apart would be no bueno, so if you can put your foot down and say "You know what, I'd rather go to BU than lose this relationship," then that's incredible, but that's hard to do given how hard you've worked to get to this point. If the fact is you know the relationship probably couldn't survive 5 years long distance, then that has to be something you can be OK with ultimately happening, and that's a scary thing to talk about. I was crying the other night just freaking out about how "we're both going to change" in the time I move away, and that's only for 1-1.5 years. I don't want to underestimate the fact that I think you have a very good chance of getting admitted to Harvard next year too, and that would greatly simplify this problem Also, don't lose hope on that waitlist. Being this close bodes well for next year, because they will likely remember you (especially if you try to keep in contact/keep your name fresh in their minds).

I do think if your relationship is as important as it sounds, it is worth going at the application process again. Is it possible to defer one of your other acceptances for a year? (And then decline if accepted to Harvard?). Long-distance is tough, I am about to do that myself (But for 1-2 years, so the end is in sight before it begins). My gut is saying that for two reasons you should try again next year... the fact that you were already *this* close to getting into Harvard, and the fact that your relationship is so important. Would you and him be happy for all that time apart? Would the relationship splinter in a negative way? If you believe it's strong enough to withstand, then try it. If you weren't in a relationship, would you give up on Harvard and go to JHU? My guess is you would. This post was less than helpful . Maybe if you think about what would be a *wrong* choice. I don't think re-applying would be a wrong choice, because you could achieve your dream outcome, or at least, attend BU. It's certainly a highly respected school, although maybe less for your program compared to your other top acceptances. On the other hand, going to Hopkins this year has no risk in my eyes, other than what it may do for your relationship. So it sounds like it's the personal choice of knowing if the career risks outweigh the personal risks.

Just curious, what is the "lower Ivy"? Is that supposed to be Cornell? Are there a handful of "lower ivies" (everything that isn't Princeton/Harvard/Yale?)? I'm sure it's different in every field and department, but I recently looked at current Harvard PhDs in education (my field), and basically 90% of them had gotten a masters at Harvard or another Ivy. I'm certain that this is not automatically true for everyone or every field, but there is definitely a community between such institutions. They trust each other. Like, "Oh, he/she went to Yale? Well, we trust that Yale only took him/her because he/she was excellent, so we'll do the same!" I think the Ivys might "question" the admissions criteria of other schools. Even though they're seeing the same GPAs and GREs.

It seems like *many* posters on GradCafe in general have been successful reapplying, and I have also specifically seen Harvard re-applicants be successful. It proves to them that you are serious about attending that school in particular, and determined. That being said, I think differences in acceptance from year to year has most to do with both the faculty compatibility, and the strength of each year's applicant pool, and there is no way of knowing how this year would compare to next year (if this year was especially good, so you were waitlisted, or if this year was below average, and you were still waitlisted? we don't know). I think the biggest thing to decide would be if the other Boston program next year would make you as happy as the non-Boston programs you've been admitted to this year (in the event you don't get into Harvard next year either). If the answer is yes, then I think it's a no-brainer to wait a year, re-apply to Harvard and to the other Boston program, and go from there. Are your other acceptances also significantly higher ranked than the Boston one? Are they fully funded? As for career, it's a tough call. If you want to be in academia, going to Harvard will be a big deal, I assume, but perhaps negligible compared to other top-ranked programs in your field. (I may have to make this call for my masters when I hear back from Harvard this Friday). If you want to go into the work-force, I think name-brand gets you interviews and connections, but ultimately your career is what you make of it, how much effort you put into networking at WHATEVER school you attend, and being a good worker from there.

This is so exciting!! If they make calls on Wednesday, I bet we'll hear Friday Thanks for all the intel, snoops!

Is language study a key part of your future plans/program? I'm curious how it ties in with psychology and all that. You know what's mind-boggling about the FLAS, is that even with a $33K scholarship, and the $10K merit scholarship Penn has offered me, I would still need to pay for $26K plus cost of living. Is this elitism or what? But I want I noticed that all the amazing speakers that have come to Penn this year, in the same week, they go to HGSE. So on that front, I think both schools are top-level connected!

My brother went to Penn State, so I already know that my mom was confused It's frustrating that the general public has that misconception. I've been in a LOT of contact with several current students in my program at Penn, but none at HGSE (figured I don't want to bother anyone if I'm getting rejected ) . They have given me a good idea of the program and how well connected the faculty are to different organizations, how intimate it is, etc. I really feel great about Penn, but I think if I get into HGSE, a lot of these minor misconception things will frustrate me.

I've physically been to Penn but never visited GSE. I will be attending the Admitted Students Day April 2. You? I think the near $25K difference in tuition for Penn vs HGSE is significant (but I suppose is fair for my program, considering Penn is 10 courses + guaranteed international internship placement vs 8 courses at HGSE). However, cost of living in Philly vs Boston/Cambridge is very different (I'm looking at apt rooms on craigslist right near Penn GSE for $500/mo, as opposed to twice that amount in Boston), so perhaps it evens out. I'm in a fortunate position in that my current masters degree is at a public CUNY, which is the most affordable university system in the country (my whole degree will have cost about $12,000, so working over the course of 3 years has made this very manageable.) Is any part of you considering the prestige/future job market outcomes for having attended Penn vs Harvard? I feel that within academia the difference is negligible, but in the world at large, Harvard has bigger pull. I'm just not sure how seriously to consider this factor in decisionmaking, all else being equal.

You sound like me!! I have an offer from Penn, am awaiting HGSE next week. I am currently teaching and finishing an MS Ed in Literacy right now (I'm actually in my class right now ). Although, I am definitely set on either Penn or HGSE. It'll be a hard choice, I'm hoping finances will decide it for me, as I applied for a FLAS ($33K) scholarship at Penn.

I heard back January 15 after applying mid-December (it took about a week to be marked Ready for Review), and I know that at least 3 people on this site have also heard back (with good news!!). If it's still not corrected, I recommend contacting them more directly (via phone if possible). They're generally very responsive to any concerns I've thrown their way. Good luck everyone!

I doubt that constitutes so many people that they would hold off on the rest of the pool... they could just be factored in. My best guess is that Policy is generally one of the most popular areas, so they just have more to review? At least, that's been my observation across the different schools.

Ahhh, this makes me worry that y'all are right and we have another week of waiting ahead of us. But, at the same time, if they were all done, there'd be no point in sitting on the decisions until Friday at all... certainly they *do* work on the applications up until the day before they decide. I don't know, someone ever work in an admissions office? I'm still hopeful.

Good luck team! I don't expect to hear from TC until next week... in the past it's always seemed to be around March 11/12!

Why do you insist on hurting me like this?

I'm seriously banking on this Friday!

It sounds like if a PhD is your ultimate goal, it would be silly not to go with the fully funded offer from an excellent program that you feel is a great fit. I was interested in your decision though because I will likely be going to Penn this fall, but I will hear back on a masters from Harvard on Friday and then, if accepted, I will be looking for compelling reasons to choose Harvard over Penn... and really, the only reason is that Harvard is a stronger alumni network/name brand outside of academia (i.e. who will get me the best jobs/connections?). But with a PhD, if you want to stay in academia, I don't think there would be any disadvantage in choosing Penn over a possibly elusive PhD at Harvard. I don't think it's worth the risk, and the funding is just so enticing!

If it was a logistical question, that sounds like a good sign (like they are just cross-referencing or something). Actually, I agree that ANY question is a good sign, because that means they haven't tossed you into a "reject!" pile I would have freaked out if I saw ANY email from HGSE this week!!! I know it's crazy, we won't hear this early in the week, but I'm still checking...

I can't be sure, but on Google images if you type in HGSE acceptance letter, this is the first thing that pops up and looks like it would be provided through some link to your application....

Apparently in the past you get a phone call a few days after you've been admitted So, it wouldn't be the first way you'd hear about the decision.

Congrats on the offers! Sounds like the better option is not Penn, in this case.