santana

He said he got rejected. Anyway, there is really nothing to feel bad about. There are so many business schools around this country, one can surely get in one. It may not be the best choice but nothing is perfect in life. I feel sorry for folks in computer science, it is sooo competetive out there like law or medicine yet the jobs are not nearly as rewarding. But as for business school I do not see there is a problem of getting in somewhere. Sure it is hard to get in Wharton or Harvard but there are many, many more. Cheer up!

Take it easy, rejection is a part of life, we all go through that. No self-flagellation, the small time university jerks are not worth it. They themselves are rejects, if not they would not be working for educational salaries. Miley Cyrus earns probably more than the whole department of the place that rejected you. This is their own chance for once in life, to decide something in your life, to play a god. Once that is over, they will skin each other for meager funds they have to fight about. It is not worth wasting your time thinking, let go, move on. :wink:

I am afraid not much, it says only about importance of one's own application, nothing more. In fact many elite schools behave that way since they do not care much about tons of applicants they get. In either case if I would be receiving all the emails asking about a particular admission, I would ignore it as well. Whoever thinks that applicants are somehow important to somebody as human beings that one is misguided. It is all a job function. If your application is important or if you belong to the elite you might get attention, if not you won't. Mediocre applicants are like leaves in a forest, you need them only as a compost.

Again, it is easy to lecture ethics, it is much harder to behave accordingly when it is your turn. You can see that over and over and over in the US. I can go on and on with examples. In other words when somebody starts to lecture corporate ethics (make no mistake, institutions of higher education are corporate entities) it is obvious to me that is only a hot air. Personally, I have accepted offer (they forced me with a date before April 15 and I did not want to complain because I knew that would be stupid) I do not intend to pursue, I am waiting for a better deal to come in a few days. As soon as that happens I'll drop the first offer (I am not going to hurry anywhere though). If not I'll wait for April 15 and if needed I'll go there to study. I honestly do not care about anything else than to make sure I have made the best choice for myself. I think everybody else has the same right, I wish them the best, as a figure of speech, of course. :-)

It depends how many offers they made. If they have 10 openings and they made 10 offers there will be somebody dropping out before April 15 and then they can immediately make a new offer. Most applicants do not care and won't notify anything until very late (close to April 15). The problem is that some of the programs make 2-3 times more offers than they have openings knowing fairly well that many will drop out (I am certain this is the case with many CS programs). Then you might have to wait April 15 or until they figure out they have a deficit in admissions. If you are way down on the waiting list you will have very slim chances. You can ask them that though I don't think they'll tell you anything. I would try anyway since if they are willing to communicate with you that is a good sign. Don't count on anything though.

Yup, looks like you are waitlisted. Not all waitlisting is official because if the list is very long with little chance for most applicants on the waitlist they do not want you to know about it since then many would be calling and bothering them. Thus they use this kind of "explanation." Most admission decisions are made rather fast, there is no need for "careful examination." I actually found, even in a major university, that sometimes people in charge do not even read the application properly, much less examining "in depth." But of course they will always make it sound better than it is so they are "carefully considering" you. When you are waitlisted nobody is examining anything until the candidates with admission start dropping out. Then you might get a chance if you were previously ranked high on the waiting list. The reality is that on the waiting list there are no rights nor "truths to be told." It is simply a limbo.

As far as I am aware many schools would not even include this resolution with the offer. Basically you have the right to protect yourself in two ways: 1. Whoever gives you a financial offer that violates the Council's agreement it is completely understandable to have the right to accept the offer and then decline it once the better deal comes in, as long as you stay within April 15. I would say even after that deadline as I do not see that anybody would be obliged to follow the Council's agreements since they are not legally obligatory to applicants, in particular if they are not even presented to them. One-sided private agreements are not a law in this country. There are many types of contracts but I do not see this would be anything like a contract since it is obviously one-sided. 2. If an offer is submitted after the deadline of April 15, then you can do as you please. You have full rights to simply completely ignore it without spending any time or a postage on it. It is not ethical to make those kinds of offers to start with since they are violating the agreement in spirit. Waitlists with large number of applicants that will be mostly left in cold are certainly not something anybody should expect, respect, or consider normal. I know of programs that have waitlists 3 times bigger than offers they made. That is morally reprehensible as they are intentionally putting a large number of people in limbo without assuming any obligation to them. These are actually not "waitlists" since that would mean that after a period of waiting you would receive what you were waiting for. They are more like insurance policy for one side only. Maybe you'll use it or maybe you won't if you do not need it. I don't think anybody needs to feel any obligation to that. You can and should make insurance policy for yourself only as well, any way you see it fit. To put things in perspective, I am myself currently on two waitlists, including an institution that was and still is my first choice. How can I possibly make a definite decision until that waiting is resolved?

Nothing personal, no problem. I would say this - a lot of people like to give lessons on ethics. However when the real situation arises to behave "ethically" then they do not necessarily follow suit. You can see that in virtually every facet of life in the US. It is always easier to lecture others than to behave accordingly, it is also much cheaper. I am simply saying the way it is, not the way I would like OTHERS to behave. When a school waitlist 3-4 times as many people as they would admit just to throw a bone to a very few in the end, then there is no ethics to hold on to. It is obvious most programs in the US treat applicants like numbers and meat. To behave with "honor" in that kind of situation is to be foolish. Some of people here applying belong to the elite (they can afford to wait, pay, and/or delay), some do not. Institutions of higher learning in the US work like corporate entities. There is no ethics, only rules and sanctions. There is always competetion for money, political considerations, and personal interests. The illusion that they somehow exist for a greater good is just that - illusion. There are probably more selfrighteous "socialist" tendencies among some segments of faculty but that is easily overruled by selfinterests and greed/vanity. I worked in higher education for close to a decade (including some graduate committees) and I have very little illusions left myself.

I am surprised that you would be rejected with these numbers you posted even for Berkeley, much less Maryland. There has to be something else weak in your application. Maryland states in their catalog that average admission to their school is "The average score for the General GRE is: Verbal- 580, Quantitative- 780, and Analytical- 5.0." You are apparently better than that. Your GPA sounds rather strong as well.

You get the textbooks and start studying. Perhaps I am old-fashioned but I just do not see what else. If you want to be successful in any kind of graduate study you better be prepared. You never know what can happen. On my second study I stayed for a semester without a housing since I didn't apply on time. I had to stay in motels. That kind of things can impede studying and if you are already prepared in a course or two you won't have problems. Serious graduate programs are not cakewalk, you better get ready.

Over 35 and I am talking about math/stats. I do not know about other fields to be honest. You can check ams.org data for statistics of people graduating with PhD after 40 (second annual surveys) and that is a very small number. I know from personal experience that going to grad school for Math/Stats after the age of 35 is a challenge, and not in terms of brain/IQ. That stays rather flat throughout life. The challenge is the age discrimination and again it will not show as a straightforward one but rather in questioning of one's goals, intentions, commitment etc. They might well have experiences but it is a typical situation. The more elite school it is the more discrimination, in my view. Elite schools are simply not willing to take any risks, if they see anything questionable with your application you will be denied admission. They always have a plenty of others.

? Not true. It all depends what do you ask for and whom. I agree that asking something trivial is foolish but asking for program details, textbooks, syllabi, what are the areas of expertise etc. You need to know that and no professor in his right mind would consider that annoying. If they are overly busy they will not answer fast but you can always wait. Beside you will learn fast who is accessible and who is not. You do not want to work with a person who is not accessible.

Perhaps you are right in humanities, but in sciences I personally think age discrimination is fairly rampant. It is not expressed as such but there will be doubts about your "commitment," about your "goals," and stuff like that. You will have to have very, very good scores, research, or recommendations to overcome that. I have been in application process three times (have two graduate degrees) and never has been harder than the third time around. I could sense the reservations in interviews (I went to three). It could be there is also because of the previous degrees but I have little doubts that older person in sciences will have a problem in admission process.

You gotta be kidding! Maybe mature like 26-27 as compared to 23 or 24. Surely not people over 35. Anybody over 35 going for graduate study in a field with many young applicants will face age discrimination. It won't be stated, in fact there might be a policy prohibiting such a discrimination but it will be there nonetheless in particular in sciences.

I can tell you that 16K will not go far in Baltimore. $1000 in Baltimore is more like $500 or less in Virginia. But there are many convenience stores to supplement income as long as you are not afraid working overnight.

Yes, you might be in one of those programs where conscious decision was made for a certain percentage of international students and no more (I was told 40% in one school) meaning they will not offer you financial aid no matter how qualified you are (and in math/science international applicants are generally better than US applicants). You never know but some of the schools will not budge. Again, if this is a program with a lot of international applicants and with restriction how many will be admitted I think your chances are low.

"we will let you know as soon as possible" "we were unable to verify all of your documents" "we are in the recess so not all the members of department are available" "we are on the Spring Break" "you are highly qualified individual we would like to admit but we have not received sufficient funding" "you are in the group we would admit if we had sufficient funding so we shall have to wait" "I will let you know by the end of March" "I might not be able to tell you anything until the early April at least" "I might not be able to tell you anything until April 15" "I might not be able to tell you anything until the end of April" ...

I would not assume anything. They have funding decision already. They most likely budgeted everything already, this is a typical lie (as in "we do not know what funds we have"). Some will waitlist you with ranking and you could be the very 1st on the waitlist or just the 21st, and you would not know. For example I heard this is the case with University of Rochester (a specific program though). Some will not rank and will go through the list who is available (I had that experience with Virginia, I am a career student :mrgreen: ). So don't count on anything. Secretaries won't tell anything they are not authorized to tell and usually do not know anything anyway, professors might tell something or nothing or they just lie. Until you get it on the paper, all talk is cheap.

You have absolutely right to do whatever you see fit for yourself. If there is no legal obligation you do not need to adhere to any. This mess is created by both applicants and universities. If there are no waiting lists we would not be there. Accept offer from A and if you get B or C then drop A. You are gambling with your life and career, they are gambling with ONLY ONE spot in their admission class. Your gamble is more risky and it is YOUR life. The US higher education is a place where honor in terms of admission procedure is irrelevant, you will not be recognized for decency, you would only gamble your future. In other words, look for yourself ONLY! "Atleast they could give me their take on the situation. " Unlikely. They would most likely fool you around, it is the nature of business of higher education in the US, just like any other business. Unless you get it signed on the paper, all talk is cheap and irrelevant. "You are our top candidate on the waiti list," "we do not have clear decision on funds yet," blah-blah-blah. I heard it all and they are all most likely lies.

Lies are lies. The first impression is correct, I am afraid. I have been in a place where officially I was told that only about 50% od grads are funded on the first year but after passing qualifying all of them are funded. This is a typical marketing lie. The graduate students I met told me they fund nearly everybody. I gathered they have a waiting list and a "waiting funding list." So there are three groups of applicants with chances: those that have both right away, those that have admission only, and those that have nothing whatsoever. Of course, there is the largest group, the fourth one - those rejected right away. You always depend on the group in front of you. If those in the group in front of you drop out, you move up. Else you are left hanging. There is a heck of a lot of politics in higher education, as late D. P. Moynihan put it nicely - "because the stakes are so low."

I would not believe much whatever they say. The most likely case is that they are expecting some with funding to drop out. If that doesn't happen you will be left hanging.

Why you even wanted to bother wasting time with the PITT when you are sure you are going to OSU? On your place I would start working on getting materials for the first year courses so that you can start working right away instead of wasting time.

1. With whom you are going to work with? 2. Get the syllabi for first year courses. 3. Get the info about extra jobs available, if any. 4. Talk to your advisor to get info about professors. ... There are many things I would ask. It isn't a tourist visit. Also it could be important to get financial aid from department.

Avoid ASU, that is weaker than either NCSU or UF. UF is nicer place to live, Raleigh is not cheap.