jprufrock

I just don't understand why you would apply to 3rd or 4th choice schools unless you would attend them if accepted. This question doesn't really help with your current situation, I realize, but there must be some redeeming qualities of these institutions if you decided to apply to them in the first place, right? If so, follow through with your initial strategy and go to the schools. If you plan to wait and reapply next year, make sure you compile a list of schools which you would definitely attend if accepted.

Here are all the questions you should ask. See posts 1 and 2:

Wow, that was fast. From the Graduate Chair: In answer to your queries, we're aiming for an entering class of 10 or 11 and have accepted 13. The waitlist, if everyone I've contacted asks to be on it, will be 11. It's not ranked; rather, I'll be exercising my judgment as Grad Chair regarding how best to balance the class in terms of interest, likely field/period, etc. as particular offers are declined.

Miraculously, I found a waitlist e-mail sitting in my inbox this morning. I was bummed all week because I thought I missed the UPenn train. But now there is a hope. A chance. In all seriousness, though, UPenn is at the top of my list and I really hope to gain admittance. I asked for some more information on the number of accepted (though I assume it's 13, as stated earlier), their ideal cohort size, number on the waitlist and if the waitlist is ranked. Hopefully I'll get these answers soon, as my heart can't take this anymore.

I'm not quite sure how your field works, but if your ultimate goal is a PhD, then I think it is wise to skip an MA altogether (or get it as part of a PhD tract). If you get accepted somewhere you're not sure about, then you should make every effort to go visit. Many places do not fit their reputations and you may find out that you will fit in better than you expect. You can also do a fair amount of research into communities and groups, etc, to find your place in your prospective locations. I wouldn't dismiss a school because of location without checking it out first. In your specific case, I bet you could find more tolerance because you'd primarily work with college-educated folk who are generally more inclusive and less discriminating. If you can find value in stopping your education with just a MA, which is in every sense respectable, then perhaps that will provide a great middle ground for you. Many people put a PhD up on this glass pedestal and yet its usefulness is very narrow. Happiness does not correlate linearly with education nor money. You need to choose whatever path will fulfill you, sustain you and make you happy. Education, location, money, etc. are just secondary details to the primary goal of living a happy life with happy people and family. Best of luck to you.

No, visits aren't necessary for applicants, but they are essential to those who are admitted. It's fine to spread a wide net when applying, but when narrowing schools down to a final decision to attend, then these visits often help sway someone to their choice.

Even though I've already done a huge amount of homework in researching the schools to which I've been accepted, I'm hoping to be able to visit all of them. Every time I find something spectacular about one program, I find even more spectacular things out about the others. Only by visiting in person will I be able to make a decision that I feel I won't regret. Plus, I think of it as a reward. My prospective programs fund all my travel expenses and, while I don't want to waste money, I think of it as fair compensation for the ca. $1,000 I spent on application and test fees. My only issue is getting time off work and managing my schedule.

I assume they used correct language--thus "ineligible" in this context means something bureaucratic in that it doesn't meet some University-wide standard for admission. "Justifiable" sounds like a weak attempt to say, "Though we can't admit you, your high grades in law school were justifiable because they clearly reflect your intelligence and wit in ways that your undergraduate GPA does not." Unfortunately, they could have said this much more tactfully with more encouragement, etc etc I'm really sorry for your rescinded acceptance--even the programs we'd love to join are bound by arbitrary cut-offs out of their control.

Yes I hope they break their tradition, too. Just search for "English" as opposed to "UPenn English" or "University of Pennsylvania English" I see three from this year. Edit: Search for "English" over Today Only, for best success.

I see 3 admits and am losing hope. I checked previous years and it looks like the past 3 years have all been by phone all on the same day. One year was by e-mail, again all on the same day. Waitlisters were also notified on the same day as admits. I really liked UPenn--thought it to be the best match for my interests, actually.

The results board of previous years shows that UPenn usually notifies the last week of February or the first week of March. Believe me, many are anxiously waiting to hear! This week might be the start of notifications.

The Graduate

So happy for you. Congrats!

For those of us with significant others (SOs), I think we should all take a minute to thank them, love them and support them as they support us. Some of them sacrifice a lot when we make the decision to go to grad school, so I want to applaud them for staying through thick and thin. My SO, however, has a dilemma: now that I've been accepted (which we initially considered a longshot), she has the difficult task of telling her employer/boss. How should she go about this? Some details: I have not yet decided where I am going. She has only been in her position for 3 months (in fact, her 90 day review is coming up in the next few weeks), but her boss has strongly hinted at promotions and building her career. She loves her job and has already made friendships in her office. This is a career track job and she already has signs that she has a long-term future available for her there. She says that the nature of her work is such that telecommuting is definitely possible and she would be more than willing to do everything possible to make it happen, but her boss might not go along with the idea. She is afraid that she will be fired, or that her boss will feel betrayed. We currently plan on moving sometime in July and she would like to remain employed until we leave. Right now, we've made this game plan: She will tell her boss that I got into grad school on her 90-day review just to be upfront, honest and relieve her of the stress of secrecy. She will say that nothing has been decided and I am currently torn between going to grad school and staying at my current job, where my boss has offered me a promotion and more money in a desperate attempt to keep me from going (which is true to an extent). She will say that nothing is certain until April 15th, but she wants to keep everything on good terms either way and is willing to work until the end of June and cross-train her replacement (or discuss the possibility of telecommuting from where-ever we end up). What other options do we have? Has anyone else been through this, and if so, how did you handle it? If she does get fired, what then? Search for another job? Or...?

Thank you. I'm really just reeling from all of this...

I was also accepted, and was the one to post the stats/info on the results board. Method was phone call. 15/500+ accepted; $23,622/yr for 5 years with no teaching duties; $1,000 one-time stipend for help relocating and setup; ~$5,000/yr(or semester?) for optional teaching (two 1-hour sections a semester, I think?) starting in year 3. Also, visit weekend is close, on March 3rd/4th. E-mails and official letters to come

Vanderbilt has made 11 acceptances with a goal to have an incoming cohort of 8. I believe all the acceptances have already been made, as the invite for the Visit Weekend has already gone out. Given these numbers, at least 4 of the accepted would have to decline before they go to the waiting list (if there is one). EDIT: This is just for the English PhD program.

Who here is attending the Visit Weekend? The last event is on Monday at 7:00PM (PST, of course)--a dinner at the home of Professors George Starr and Julia Bader in Berkeley Hills. I'm trying to figure out a flight schedule since I intend on working Tuesday morning, so I wanted to know how some of you are planning to get to the airport etc or what flight times you're planning on. We're responsible for finding our own transportation while we're there, apparently, so maybe we can stick together and figure it out. Edit to add helpful info from our grad student cheerleaders/hosts:

I consider grad school a huge investment of time and energy, knowledge and resources. To have to invest money as well is asking too much. If I took all of the immaterial currency I'm willing to spend on grad school and directed it to other pathways, it would arguably result in a large +$EV. This has nothing to do with my own potential, mind you--it's simply a function of the amount of work one must or is expected to accomplish in a grad program. Thus, a grad school offer that doesn't include funding would have to 1) have a +EV equivalent to whatever +$EV I could earn otherwise and 2) probably wouldn't be able to meet such an expectation without funding. There's no such thing as pampering--everything should be fair and equal as far as I'm concerned. It's nothing more than an exchange--in return for my work, effort, talent, knowledge, teaching, sweat and blood, I receive a PhD degree, education, money, connections and eventually a career. Of course, not every program has the resources to make such a fair exchange to x number of qualified people, and that is a shame.

Yes--I've learned that my proposed question in this thread is overly reductive. The conclusion I've come to is that funding is invariably linked to many other aspects of potential programs, such as fit, climate, happiness, stress, living situations, etc. To pit money against ranking is thus impossible because too many variables come into play and our 'hypothetical' loses its utility in reality. What I've gathered is that one should not give up a higher ranked program solely for money, and contrarily, one should not at all dismiss another program based on rank. This has been said many times before. Perhaps something new to say is that money and ranking are not mutually exclusive; schools should be judged holistically and in regard to your own personal inclinations. I've also learned this: ask everyone about everything. callmelilyb has given me excellent advice which has subsequently made decisions[, decisions] even more difficult. And grad school choices should never be an easy decision.

Did he mention that the info would come with our "Official Acceptance Letter" in the mail? I haven't received mine yet and wasn't able to coax any info from any of the people I e-mailed (though they pleasantly said I'd receive it soon). I'm hoping whatever I receive soon clarifies specific details that their form e-mail didn't, like travel reimbursements.

It was Tuesday morning and I was sleeping like a sack of bricks. I got up at 6:00am to take our puppy out and came back inside without checking my e-mail on my iPhone because I was too tired. Fast forward 2 hours later and my alarm blared throughout the room. I promptly slammed SNOOZE and didn't bother to check again. An hour later, now at 9:00am or so, my puppy woke me up by licking my face. I groggily nudged her away and laid in bed for 5 minutes before reaching to check my e-mail on my iPhone. I fumbled through my Inbox to find a letter from one of my grad schools. My heart half jumped--somehow drowsiness cut away at my anticipation. I read the letter thrice almost half-heartedly, trying to decipher the meaning of a then-incomprehensible ACCEPTED. It then all flourished into a leap out of bed and a few bounds of joy. My puppy took the chance to dance with me too, as if it would result in a treat. And it did. And then, on Wednesday, the same scenario happened again with a different grad school.

Same here--way to light a fire. But, considering NYU's history via the results board, I somehow doubt this is legitimate unless NYU has drastically changed their process this year. According to the results board postings of the past few years, most news, good or bad, doesn't seem to come until late Feb / early Mar. Although interview requests have been sent out in early to mid Feb.

All these food suggestions must be veiled double entendres; or, I guess the obvious 'hey let me make you feel better' isn't so obvious. --- If I weren't accepted, I would want some time to decompress, think through the situation, analyze, consider other options, think about other second-choice colleges etc. Just sit with him and let him think through it. You can hold his hand if you want. He'll talk when he's ready. Really, a lot of people ask, "What should I say?" What they should actually ask is, "How should I listen?"