ashwel11

Congratulations! I'm from MA and went to undergrad in upstate NY. I look forward to being on campus too, and I hope that we have a more definite answer about whether classes will be on campus or online soon!

Just got accepted into COLUMBIA!!!

Hi everyone! Congrats on your acceptance. I got into the M.A. in South Asian Studies program at Columbia starting this fall. I emailed the school and the director informed me they're planning to start classes as per normal in Sept. Hope this helps! Where's everyone from? I'll be moving from SG to NY and don't know a single person in NY ?

Don't worry, many were in similar boat,. Your professor has been good to you and you are just interested in different topic, he/she shouldn't take offense.
The first thing I would advice you is to really know what you want to do, this way you can clearly articulate that to your adviser. You will look much better then simply telling them that you are not interested in their work, as you might come off as lost.. He/she might even help you suggest a colleague or a collaboration of some sort. 
Research what other faculties/labs are doing in your department/school. Hopefully you will find interesting sub field and then you can email them and ask for interview. I would ask for possible research project available and try to do well in them.
 
Good luck!

First: You have to do what you have to do. If Davis offers an equal or better package than you choose Davis if its BEST for you. Just write the NYU faculty or director an email explaining your decision that you can no longer commit (I don't think you should disclose the exact reason). Just express kindly that you appreciate the acceptance but due to unforeseen circumstances that has arise, you can no longer commit. If you want to tell them about Davis, go for it.
Second: From another perspective, I don't think the reason you gave to not want to go to NYU is good enough... NY isn't that bad. You said you get anxiety living in NY... have you lived there? Also, you also don't have to live it Manhattan (where NYU is located). Opt for another quiet neighborhood in another borough. So weigh the pros and cons of each location... Davis is pretty isolated. I have friends who go there and diversity isn't big and students of color feel isolated, while in NY its pretty diverse (not sure if diversity matters to you).
As for metrics, you should do research on it or just wait for the funding offer and then decide... I believer NYU will give a larger stipend (at least in my field, it pays way more than the funding package in Davis... and I am also in social science... is religion a humanities?). Also the research opportunities and funding NYU can offer its grad students compared to Davis.... NYU has more funding opportunities. 
Finally: If you want to go to Davis because of better research, faculty, and cost, then those are good reasons to consider. If NYU is better rethink your "New York is horrible for my anxiety" reason carefully. What are the two school's ranking for a PhD in religion? Ranking matters for job prospects; do you want a job in academia? If so, ranking matters. 
Personally I don't know if you've lived in NY (maybe you have), but if you've been there for a few weeks or months, that's not the same thing as living there for years. Ultimately rethink and do what's best for you. Regardless, its your path and you shouldn't feel the need to go somewhere because you committed. 

It ain't over til the...
Don't count your chickens before...
It's probably fine (I have no basis for saying that except for wanting to assuage your fears), but tbh if I were you I wouldn't celebrate until I got something in writing. I've been burned before on verbals. 
After a week or two, it might be reasonable to reach back out and ask when you can expect a formal offer or reversal of the decision. 

Just for future reference, in case anyone is curious: In this instance, an official offer did materialize. I'm in!

Hi,
 
Got accepted today for the MSW program, curious to see if they transition to online or not. Anyways, really excited!

Clinical Psych PhD here, but I'm a humanities guy at heart, so hoping to mingle beyond my program. Hope to see you all in person in the fall.

To my knowledge, Columbia is still currently planning to have in-person classes in the fall. I'm sure they'll be very direct and let us know ASAP if/when they decide to change that. I've been playing around with the idea of deferring for a year, but I think I'd loose the scholarship that I got. So I think I'll stick with whatever Columbia decides to do for now. 

I ended accepting an offer at Columbia University for an MA with a half tuition scholarship. I successfully deferred until Fall of 2021. Thank you all!

Hi All. I've committed to the East Asian Languages and Cultures M.A. program, but am slightly worried about the fall semester being online/other virus-related contingencies. Does anyone have any information about what the fall semester will likely look like? 

Search committees are made up of people in the field, so it's highly likely that they are aware of its reputation. Also, the stats seem to support that if they place alumni quicker. Research fit is important in a PhD. It sounds like you put a lot of thought into your decision prior to making it, but are getting last minute nerves. Trust in yourself and the decisions you've made. Northwestern is also a great school. 

I agree that work can be a tricky situation and having other people still waiting might make them jealous, but I would think at least your recommenders would be happy for you! They helped you to get in and should be rooting for you! I hope that you're at least proud of your accomplishment, congrats!

Officially signed my SIR for UC Irvine, and I'm super excited!!! 

After much deliberation, I have decided to accept UNM's offer! Albuquerque, here we come!  
Best of luck to everyone else who is still considering their options, and a BIG congrats to everyone who has already made their decision!

Very happy to announce that I have accepted Washington University's offer of admission! It was an immensely tough choice, but I am thrilled to be joining such a welcoming and supportive program.  

I've accepted NYU! In light of the pandemic, staying close to home is a big plus for me right now. And, having the ability to commute (though I'd really rather not) in light of the present day-to-day ambiguity is a versatility I couldn't say no to. 
The funny thing is that NYU was my dream choice for undergrad and they rejected me. A no isn't a no forever

I have a lot of hard emails to write over the next few days, but I will be officially committing to Yale on Monday. It really hurts my heart to walk away from all the lovely people I met at both Northwestern and Michigan (not to mention Michigan's Rackham Merit Fellowship!), but I think deep down I've known Yale was where I most wanted to be since even before I applied. In spite of all the turmoil in the world right now, this really is a dream come true.
Best wishes to all who are making tough final decisions in the next few days!

Heading to Yale!!!!!!!!!
Was genuinely so tough to decide between Yale, Princeton and Columbia, as they were all legitimately tied as #1 in my mind and each had unique strengths for me personally, but something about New Haven just already felt like home. Whether that was just because they had their visit days and Princeton/Columbia didn't, it's a little hard to say, but at one point I just had to say to myself that counterfactuals aren't helpful in this scenario, it is what it is, and I have to go with my gut. If I'm honest I'm going to feel pretty sad about turning down Princeton/Columbia for a long time, but still feels like the right decision, if that makes any sense... 
Good luck to everyone in the next few days! Hang in there.

I've officially accepted my offer to Tufts!
What a wild ride. I was quite petrified when I decided to decline the deferral Oregon offered me for 2020, but deep down I knew I wouldn't attempt that move for a second time after the first was such a nightmare. I think Tufts is a better fit, and I'm looking forward to having a more personal experience with my POI's and the department in general. The substantially higher stipend and lighter teaching load don't hurt either! Thank you to everyone who has endured my complaining, poor attempts at humor, and obsession with my cats over the last few months. Not being alone this time made the experience much more tolerable. For those of you who have a place to go in the fall, I wish you the best of luck! For those who will be trying again next year, don't give up if this is truly the path you want! It doesn't always work out the first time (even with offers!), but each setback provides new lessons to learn and overcome.
You know what this means? Celebratory cheesecake!

Hey! I'll be a student in the American Studies MA Program. Looking forward to the fall aswell  

This is so heartbreaking, and it's absolutely appropriate for you to mourn the loss of these months! Please also remember that even though you're not able to go to the conferences or accept the awards to applause (i.e., take the honors that you deserve!!), you have still achieved all these things--I mean that both in the sense that you should feel just as good about your accomplishments, but more to the point, all of this still belongs on a CV, like so:
Invited Presentations
"Title" at Conference, Location, Date *
"Title" at Conference, Location, Date*
*These conferences were not held due to global health crisis from COVID019.
You'll not be the only one with an asterisk--everyone's careers will be in the same boat. So don't worry about that.
But in the meantime... it sucks so much that you're missing these things, as well as just your remaining months at university. It's cosmically unfair, and I'm very sorry, in the sense of being quite sad for you and for your peers. Also I will personally eat anyone who quips "Life isn't fair" in response to college seniors' sadness at the things they're set to miss out on. 

not sure if this affects anyone, but I have just accepted duke english's offer of admission ?

CONGRATS!!