Tinyboss

Same here. It seems like every school of mine stopped updating their online status when the deadline passed, even though in some cases I have USPS tracking to show that the forms arrived well before.

I have a networked hard drive ($99) and a script to copy the contents of my "school" directory to it every 24 hours if I'm home. Everybody needs something...if I lost all my data, I'd be devastated.

Since First Choice University is in Home State (spouse's and my families are both there), I don't really have the option of saying I got in but turned them down--my father in law would have me killed.

I have US Postal Service confirmation that a couple of forms were signed for at Some University on January 12th. As of today, the 16th, they still don't show in the online status. Of course, they do have a message on that page to the effect of, "We'll take a few weeks to update this if we want to. Don't email or call us about it." So I guess it isn't unusual.

Okay, this has been bothering me for a long time...what's PI stand for?

It is my understanding that it's unwise not to waive your right to review them. Admissions committees will question the honesty of a recommendation which the professor knows the student will see. I waived all of mine, and had the paper ones sent from the department office, to avoid any temptation.

To me, it's two things: 1) Close to 100% chance to get in 2) Willing to go there if the others say no Edit: Tonights, it's amazing how similar our situations are! My undergrad institution is one safety, for all the reasons you gave. I have another "double-safety", in my home state, which is also where First Choice is. If FC says no, and something happens where my family really needs to move to Home State, then I'll attend Double Safety, which is substantially less selective than my qualifications, but has a nice department with good people.

Well, my wife's and my families are in the same state. My actual safety is my current undergrad institution (out of state), and my first choice is in Home State. I picked a double-safety in Home State, just in case (a) First Choice says no, and ( my wife and I decide for some reason that we really, really need to live in Home State. Current Undergrad has a much better program than Double Safety (it's safe because I'm known here), so it's only in a very particular scenario that I'd end up going to Double Safety. But I wanted to keep the option open.

I know for a fact that at least one school is strict about it. I had a problem with a recommender, and I called First Choice's admissions department to find out how to proceed. I was told that it is "crucial" to have my recs in before the committee begins to review. I had to scramble to get it there electronically. Every other school on my list told me some variation of "do get it in soon, but there's no hard deadline".

Due to a mix-up which I'm trying to remain calm about (since everything turned out okay), two of my recommenders had not acutally sent the letters as of this morning. I contacted the three programs I'm applying to which have a Jan. 15th deadline, and here's what I was told: Safety school: We admitted you yesterday based on your app and the one rec letter we've received. Get us another letter whenever. Middle-of-the-road school: Do get them in, but there's no real hurry. First choice school: It's crucial that you get them to us by the deadline.

I had this happen as well. One school (my first choice) told me it was crucial to get the letters in before the deadline. One said there was no hurry, and another had already accepted me on the basis of the one letter that had gone out on time (that was my double-safety school).

I can graduate with honors, but only if I take a year of algebra instead of topology. I'm much more interested in topology, but algebra and analysis are the honors requirement. I'm wondering, just how helpful is it to graduate with honors when applying to a math PhD program?