betun

I formally accepted UIUC's offer based on my comfort with my advisor. Wish everyone is well!

Thanks @Phoenix88 I hope that you arrived at decision comfortably in that case. Best of luck with grad school!

Congratulations! Way to go! You must be over the moon!

So sorry that you did not get in and this was your only application for this season. You must be disappointed but I wish you the best with your other efforts. If you wish to use this forum as a sounding board for your plans, absolutely do so. I for one am certainly curious to know more.

Thanks, I don't know yet though if you had make me choose this moment, I would say UIUC because my probable future advisor reached out to me and has been very engaged in giving me information about the lab and the research and she is also very ope-minded about research ideas; so I think she might be a good match. Having said that, I am going to going learn more about the Penn State programs from students and faculty/ Thanks! It does feel good because I am moving between streams, and it is not even my first transition. So, I did not know whether I would make it. That way, I am really glad that I saved an year.

Yes, a generic phrase was fine here and your phrase does the job. Being transparent with the professor would not have hurt either as long as you did not specifically illustrate why you think they are better choices than his university.

I am uncertain about whether this applies only to PhD but as I understand it, the resolution of the Council of Graduate Schools basically means that the offer has to remain valid till April 15. In the part you quote from their letter, the second line contradicts the first. You must have already made your decision by now. What did you decide?

Hi congratulations on UIUC, good going! I won't be able to comment on the merits of the two programs as I haven't attended either though in the Stanford section, you ought to add industry presence of CS as an advantage. However, I don't see why you need to rush into your decision here when you have not even heard from Stanford. In case you need more time to decide, ask for it. Deadlines for decision do get extended. I have rushed into accepting offers in the past for Master's and lost deposits unnecessarily because I realized later on that I could have easily have asked for more time.Top US universities are interested in having students who really want to be there. Most times, they are very considerate. Take your time deciding. It is a big decision.

It is ok to tell them whenever you have decided for sure. It really, really helps the admissions team in making decisions. They are well aware that only a percentage of admits will matriculate and so, do not worry about telling them too early. It saves them a hassle. Visits are meant to help in decisions but they are by no means necessary. For internationals, it is often practically impossible to make visits in advance and so, the point of using the weekend to make a decision is not that critical to the process (after all, many applicants are internationals). I will strongly suggest at least looking at all the stuff you can gather about living in the place of your program and talking to students or others in the place, so that you can take an informed decision even without making an actual visit. I'd caution against officially accepting too early if there is still anything left in terms of results, or there are people you haven't talked to yet, and such conversations could materially influence your decision to join.

Thanks Jimmy. Best of luck to you too! I don't expect such quick results though as the deadline for Heinz was a month after other schools.

It seems that everyone here is focused on Drexel. Best of luck! I got accepted into UIUC and Penn State's iSchools so far for the Information Science PhD programs, and I have also interviewed with Syracuse but am yet to get the result. While, there are still schools I am yet to hear from, I do know that I am going somewhere this year.

Hi I just stumbled upon this thread. I have made quite a few applications and only have started hearing back. Two rejects and two interview requests thus far. Many more left to hear from. Stay strong, fellow applicants!

Yes, I applied to the Information Management and Systems PhD program HCI, AI, ML. Can't say I am too hopeful as I did not send in my transcript with credential evaluation and I am an international applicant. Let's see though. Best of luck to you!

Thank you for starting this thread. I am nervous in solidarity as well. I have received 2 interview requests so far and have not heard from other programs. Apart from this, one reject decision had arrived in December itself. I applied to UMich InfoSci as well but have not heard back.

I agree with GeorgiaTechPhD in this regard. Some universities explicitly state their expectations about transcripts that could be updated at a later stage and thus have a section for coursework that is currently in progress. Where they don't, as in this case, it is implicitly understood because it would be clear from your application that you are still taking classes. Universities that have deadlines by December 15th are very aware of this; for example, at Cornell, my last exam was on the 17th and so it would have been impossible for me to submit the final GPA of the semester by 15th. The admission materials are usually looked at only at the department level. So, I do not see the need to worry about a difference in transcripts between departments.

The processing or acceptance does not have to be till the deadline. Even if they (hypothetically) finally process the document on the 6th, they will enter the date of receipt as the 27th and it will be considered to have met the deadline. As an example, my UC Berkeley submission was on 2nd December, the date of deadline. However, the processing happened on 4th and was application was marked complete only then, 2 days after deadline. The system however, through automated mails and manual login to the application system confirms that everything is in order. To cut a long story short, the only thing that matters is having stuff received before the deadline. Marking as complete could happen for weeks afterwards. This is based on my experience during the Fall 216 cycle and the current (Fall 2020) cycle.

The automated emails on 11/27 and 11/28 are self-explanatory. The one on 27th states that no application material shall be accepted after the 27th. It does not state that all material accepted has to be processed by the 2nd. The one on the 28th further makes it clear by stating that not having the material checked yet is the more likely case. If you can trust credential solution's delivery report, there is no reason to be worried. As long as the date of receipt is before the 2nd, you have met the deadline. Automated emails have this problem that they are generic and really can only tell whether your material has been processed, but cannot tell you about receipt; that requires human input.

I would go with 3.5. The argument you made is logically coherent and the language is generally ok. However, several factors are in the way of a higher score: Your essay is barely 2 paragraphs long (217 words). There is not even the scope of suitable transitions with such length. The language is overly complex at times. Yet, it is not error-free and there are at least a couple of really glaring errors. the extraneous much for example.This gives me the vibe that the author has intentionally included jargon but at the cost of content. No examples are provided. No other counterpoints are addressed. You also need more main points. Don't be disheartened. I've seen many admits with 3.5. However, aim for 4.

Miss_Ali, Let me preface by stating that marketing is not my field ( I studied pure finance and computer science previously) and so I am not in a position to advise you as to Universities. However, I could comment on your profile. Your GRE score is on the lower side and GPA is neutral. However, you do have relevant experience for a significant amount of time and some research output (theses). These and letters of recommendations would count for more than your GRE. Your GRE could count against you and I would strongly recommend you retaking it if possible because business schools have a higher probability of taking them more seriously than a most PhD programs. However, even top schools are keenly aware of difficulties in developing countries and have diversity objectives. As a working woman from Pakistan, you may have a decent chance at a good school, maybe even financial aid. I know of Harvard MBA admissions with GMAT scores below 650. If there are adverse circumstances in play, GRE/GMAT scores become even less important than usual. Go for schools you think are in line with your scores but also apply to higher ranked schools that are less quantitatively inclined (not John Hopkins for instance). You may have a chance. Best of luck. P.S: In the Cornell policy program I graduated from, I know that there were students with scores around what you have. Mine was 337 in one attempt. I am going to apply for PhD this year with the same score, though in STEM.

The flyer is unavailable. Could you share where I could find the information as I am applying this cycle myself?

(I know this question is 2 years old but I find it relevant) I agree that more general tools come at the expense of depth. Statistics and Operations Research seem to be exploring problems in much greater depth. However, the length of the program in terms of time and credits is important too. I can make some comments based on my time at Cornell since I took courses across different departments if anyone is still interested.

Your decision was based on sound logic and several good reasons. Obviously both places would have individual advantages. It is a very difficult decision and no one really knows how it will work out. I think about my first grad school decision in 2010 and am still not sure about whether it was right. My career could have been markedly different with the other decision. Yet, I think it has worked all right for me. There were sound reasons for my decision then and I stand by my reasons as well as my decision. As fuzzylogician said, what matters is what you make of grad school.

Thanks Applying before April end, well...late applications generally do not receive full financial aid consideration. About your request, while stating you need, do emphasize your fit for the program. They too must feel that you will be an asset to them. Best of luck!

You are right. From personal experience too, I can say that it is not a negotiation. However, for searching on Grad Cafe, one would have to use the keyword negotiation as the word has been used in threads in past years.

Congrats on your acceptances! Unfortunately, I only came across CIR while researching programs myself, so i cannot comment. It would be helpful if you could share more about your career goals and background. What sort of funding offers have you received?