GeorgeC07

I'm applying to programs of Nuclear Engineering, and one of my classmates back in undergrad told me that Mechanical Engineering program at Purdue already sent out admissions. But I wouldn't worry too much about other programs since they don't review the applications together. One way of finding out the approximate dates would be the records from previous years in the results survey section. And of course you can email the graduate coordinators of your programs about the exact dates, although it still seems early for some programs. One of the schools I apply to may probably make the decisions next week so I'm quite nervous now. Nah I need more food.

Okay if it bugs you, you can contact the graduate office. Don't think it's not worth bothering the staff, they are hired to answer your questions and you have paid your application fee. Make the resources useful hehe.

@ruilinchI never bothered to find other applicants' info, but I did spend a whole lot of time in gathering information on the specific requests of every program and approximate dates when the results would come out. Turns out that in my area, the dates range from late January to early April, meaning that I've got more waiting ahead than I anticipated. Still, I always come up with new ways of torturing myself, so I no longer check the application status, just keeping an eye on the emails. I ordered a kindle today and finally I get to spend some time without worrying, at least not when I'm reading. Reading is healthy stuff, clears the mind. BTW I'm also Chinese, and to my knowledge, there're not so many Chinese on this forum.

Okay I've just ordered an kindle paperwhite and am about to start reading a lot, I hope. At least this'll keep my mind off for a while. I have finished two novels after the winter break started, and I'm currently reading Decisive Moments in History by Stefan Zweig.

Of course the home cooking will help with the anxiety, but it also helps with gaining weight during winter. Guess I'll just add losing weight to my new year's plan like last year and the year before that. Gee I'm starting to wonder when I'm gonna find a girlfriend just like my parents do.

@phdthoughtsDon't worry, it seems that they usually allow the delay of some of the materials. One school even mentions that the official GRE and TOEFL scores could be received by them till one and half a month after the deadline. So I wouldn't panic too much about the LOR, but it could lead to a longer wait though. That won't bother you too much right?

=。= Gee You must be Chinese, all those bicycles. I submitted some of my materials a month ago, and I'll have to wait for another month for the first result to come, which I'm pretty sure will be bad news since I know what my chances are. I'll be home for the spring festival so at least mom's dishes will comfort me.

I knew that the waiting process was gonna be long and depressing, so I decided to finish the applications early and set them aside for a while. After meeting the December 1st deadline of UT Austin, I kept on and finished all the applications in less than a fortnight, including requesting all the LORs for all the schools. There were a few short dramas among the process and I was really depressed about writing all the materials in such a short time, but my friends encouraged me and helped me with the SOPs and other stuffs. And then the long wait came, although I didn't have to check the LORs since all had been uploaded except one due to the winter break. It seems that in my major, the programs start really late and it's possible that I have to wait till February for the first response to come while more results could have me waiting till March or April. I also check the emails like on a hour basis and begin to feel a little angry about the jam emails now, even the ones from amazon about the items on my wish lists. I don't even have the money to buy those stuffs. Still, go back to checking the emails.

Has the deadline expired? One of my recommenders couldn't open the webpage through the recommendation email's links, actually it happened to two of the schools I applied. So he contacted the graduate office and was instructed to email the recommendation letter to a staff member. The LOR was uploaded to the application system by the staff almost on the same working day, so if you have not missed the deadline, it's probably fine. But if you have, I don't know what will come out. Just try contacting the graduate office, it's likely nothing.

One of the schools that I applied, Gatech, informed me that my materials had been uploaded to an website for faculty members to review, and if one of the faculties offers RA opportunities, I will be admitted. That be said, it's up to the professors to decide which applicant should be admitted, so in this case it would help a lot if you can get a faculty member to review your materials. As for other schools, this may not always be the case, since most of the times the faculties don't have any say on the admissions. Still, some programs mention that we're welcomed to contact the professors who would be quite busy, like you said, so they suggest using a more humble tone and it might take some time for them to reply. I think it won't hurt to contact them, but I would make sure that they don't feel bothered.

Hi guys, happy new year! So the winter break will be over in a few days for most schools and the adcomms should start review the applications soon. The decisions should be made later in January or February, if those haven't been made. Seems that some programs in biology have already sent out interviews and admissions, as for other majors, maybe more patience is needed. Anyway, if you are feeling too overwhelmed by the long wait, try contact the graduate coordinator about the dates. Keep up, we're already half way there.

I'm actually finalizing some details on my research project, and hopefully could finish the essay within next month. My friend at MIT told me that yeah good GPA and GRE would help a lot, but the adcomms would focus more on research experience and potentiality. So your idea is quite good, keep up the good work.

=。=Try traveling or cooking.

The Devotion of Suspect X by Higashino Keigo, a fantastic reasoning novel if you're interested. Should keep you engaged for some time coz it's long.

=。=I'm a RA at a research institute so there's always work for me. I also want to buy a kindle and resume reading again.

My interests are multiphysics study on advanced reactor designs, especially the next generation reactors that are being developed in several countries. Also intrigued by innovative computational simulation methods used in engineering simulations. This research interest also led me back to coding and algorithms, which I had set aside for a few years.

It's not gone awol, it's the winter break. Also don't panic too much about the results, coz you won't know until a few months later. As for the job, that's a tricky one.

Haha that's a good thought. Never too old to learn. Love and marriage will come.

Ah the winter break's gonna last till early January, maybe January 5th. I just found a silly mistake in my sop yesterday, but there's nothing I can do about it anyway. So you think 28 is late for marriage, too? I guess it's the same around the world then. My parents' been bugging my sister, also 28, to get married for a few years and she just quitted her job to join medical graduate school this September. =。=Now only god knows when she'll marry, since she's aiming at Ph.D.

Nah, I'm on the other side of the planet. I'll try to meet you guys at this time next year.

I didn't find any solution to it. The solution found me. It just bent me to a point that I simply gave up and no longer refreshed app websites or emails. Just trying to get myself busy. BTW, it seems that having an interview is almost a sign that you're gonna get admitted, at least it's like that for my friends.

=。=I've got nothing. No interview no reply. Just an email telling me that I have little chance getting into one program.

I guess every institute has its own process and there won't be any reply until the winter break is over. I'm already trying to take my mind off it now, only refreshing emails 20 times a day hahaha. Same here. But I anticipate a few rejections first just to keep my expectations in the right place. I figure we'll have some sort of results, and it's only a matter of satisfaction.

Yep the winter break will last till early January, for instance PennState is January 5th. So they probably won't reply before that. While some universities say that we can feel free to contact any faculty member and that these members have no control over admission, some programs, like ME at Gatech, leave the right to choose candidates to the faculty members, and will offer admissions to students who have received RA opportunities from those professors. So my advice would be to contact the professor, because eventually you have to contact the POI for funding opportunities after admission. At best maybe the professor you contact has the final say in whether to admit you.

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