Hopelessly_Neurotic

Ah, I see. Lucky you.

I would totally scream and jump around and be generally obnoxious/incoherent....but afterward I would definitely go out to eat somewhere I love....and definitely would have a few drinks!!

That's funny. I guess I think I have an answer to my own question, but I figured maybe if you still said, "Yes, I would go," then I would keep on thinking about it... At this moment I'm still not certain about what to do. I agree that it's a good opportunity to network and stuff. And an opportunity for fun! This one's in San Diego.... SocialPsych, in terms of the quality of the program and the match with the supervisor it is great, but how can one be so certain about their #1 choice if they haven't visited in person?

1) You've been admitted to one of your top choices and this isn't it (this is third); 2) They haven't told you that you've been admitted (you're just invited with a "select" group); 3) They are paying a portion of the plane ticket, not all (I will have to pay $300 for the trip at the very least) 4) The trip is less than convenient (it's in the middle of the work week.... and yep, I work! I'd have to take off probably three days). I may not get into my second choice, so I don't want to ruin my chances with this place. Does one really have to attend the visiting weekend in order to be seriously considered for admittance? Would you feel okay about opting out if you'd already been admitted to your top choice? I just want to add that it is my top choice in my head. One can never be sure that the ranking will stay that way in the end, hence my caution.

Good point!! He might be a little disappointed, but happy to know.

I like that you have the inside scoop! Okay, I think I will just try to think about something else then.....

Is it rude/premature to contact a program and ask where they are in the process of reviewing/admitting applicants? The deadline for the program I'm thinking about was Dec 5th. If I knew the invites had gone out it would allow me to move on with my life somewhat, but I don't want to seem impatient (which I totally am, of course..)

Thanks, Ivy Hope. I agree with you and my goal is to do the right thing. The only catch is that I haven't received my official offer of admission in the mail yet from school X. Thus I'm not in a position to turn down Z outright. Furthermore, there is the off chance that I could visit school X and something could change my mind. It's very unlikely, but I don't want to take too many risks. That said, I'm willing to risk not attending the open house for Z. That said, I think I will go ahead and let the other school I mentioned (the one for which I have the phone call scheduled) know about my plans. I'm just not sure about the wording...

Hi all, I am in a few awkward situations right now and could use some advice. I've been admitted to one of my top schools (school X) and will be visiting at the end of Feb. I'm quite sure I will attend X if I don't gain admittance to my other top choice (school Y). I've also been invited to visit school Z, which in my mind is a distant third to X and Y for a number of reasons. As a result, I don't want to shell out $300+ dollars (the difference in the cost of the plane ticket that I would have to pay) to visit this school, but on the other hand I don't want to turn them off, just in case. I know some people might think that I should play it safe and just attend the visit weekend, but I'm not the type to invest much energy in worst case scenarios. I am pretty confident that I will attend school X (if I don't get into Y -- I'm pretty certain that I won't). Any suggestions for how I might word an email to the POI at this school? I just want to tell her that I can't visit but that I'm still interested. Should I give details/make excuses for not visiting? Is "I can't afford it" a reasonable excuse or does that sound bad? Another awkward situation I am dealing with: I have a phone meeting arranged with another POI at a school I've been admitted to that is much lower on my list than the three mentioned above. I debated about whether to go ahead with it, but figured I should not waste too much time trying to make decisions now. Well, I revisited this school's website and carefully read the details about their funding and realized that they rarely offer funding to incoming students!! Apparently I've been nominated for a fellowship, but I checked and I don't even meet their requirements so I have doubts that I'll get it. I'm just so not interested in this school, but I do have much respect for the POI and I want to do right by him. What should I do? Should I go ahead with the phone interview, or should I just email the POI and say that I'm not interested? If I go with the latter, I'm worried about how to word things tactfully. I just want to reduce my stress and I don't like the idea of going through with an interview when I know that it's very unlikely that I would attend that institution. I also want to be candid with the POI and not have to pretend I'm interested in the school when I'm not. Ugghhh... maybe I'm just being a wimp. I feel it might be premature to say "no" when I haven't learned the conditions of the offer... Thanks so much for your insights/suggestions... MUCH appreciated!

I imagine that philosophy departments might take the analytic writing score more seriously than departments in other disciplines, but ultimately I think that if you get slightly below the posted average in the department you are applying to, it's not going to be a deal breaker, especially if your app is very strong. I've heard that in general the AW section is not taken all that seriously. I just got admitted to a competitive program in psychology where the median scores were 670V 750Q 5.3AW. My scores: 690V 680Q 5.0AW. There is so much more to getting admitted to grad school than your GRE scores. I also just wanted to add that perhaps the original poster should have applied to more top tier schools. I think we tend to sell ourselves short, believing that grad school is so competitive to get into and that we won't have a chance at the top schools. I'm not sure how philosophy compares to my field (I'm curious, actually), but my application definitely had some shortcomings (which I made up for in various ways), yet I've been admitted to a top school in my field. How glad I am now that I didn't decide against applying to this school.

Let's hope that the people who are responding who deny this is an ethical issue will gain admittance to a grad program that requires coursework in professional ethics. Hopefully that will open their eyes to the important issues at hand. While some comments on here are disappointing, I'm really, really impressed with what many have expressed as their stand on the issue.

Yeah, but shouldn't the cost of living be somewhat lower in Evanston (which is where the grad program in Psych is located)? I wonder if that stipend is what all prospectives are offered in that program?

I think what psychology says is right. I guess it's a bit late now though -- I wonder what programs this person ended up applying to. Psychology, where did you apply? Just out of curiosity, what area of cog dvpt are you into? You seem really wise to this whole application process and shouldn't have a prob getting into decent programs. I think maturity goes a long way and really differentiates people from the crowd. Many students obsess over their stats. Sure, stats are important, but they certainly are not the be all and end all. For example: my undergrad GPA was unremarkable, but I took several relevant courses later on as a non-degree student and demonstrated my capacity for academic excellence. I also took my sweet time to apply to grad school (wasn't entirely sure I wanted to stay in Psych) but once I decided, I was uber focused. I sought out research projects and secured awesome references. I also have paid work experience in the field. All this experience was brought together in a really effective narrative in my SOP, which basically explained how my research and academic experiences led me to become passionate about a particular area on cognitive development.

Wow, I read this whole thread!! Now my two cents: I won't even attempt to repeat the very well articulated, compelling arguments for why the OP should report this girl's actions. I just wanted to add that the OP does appear to have questionable integrity/ethics herself -- hence her "feeling" that the Dept Head didn't believe her. Clearly she feels a bit of guilt about this and has come here to rationalize her actions which are not in the service of what's right but rather motivated by the desire to not let this girl get ahead of her. In a way she is feeding off of all the arguments about why reporting her is the morally the right thing to do -- because she knows this is not what motivates her, but something much less honorable. So, what should she do? She should report her for the right reasons (which she can't, because she doesn't know how to) or forget about it. We'll just have to hope that someday someone with more integrity learns about this girl's scheming (it will happen) and they will have the courage and ethical compass that will make the question of whether or not to report her a no-brainer.

To the person who got an interview at UCLA for Developmental Psych: Congrats!! Where else did you apply?

That sounds like a lot. Could it have anything to do with the fact that NU is privately funded? How are you liking the program, by the way?

The OP's stats definitely are good. With a very well written statement of intent, you should have no problem getting in to the schools you want to go to. I have heard from Minnesota...open house end of Feb.

I'm hoping that this is really a rare situation!! I've been accepted at one of my top choices with funding details coming in the mail along with the official offer of admission. I haven't heard back from my other top choice, but the school's FAQ states that in all cases students will receive a definitive answer at the very latest by April 1st, but usually long before then.

Yeah, I am feeling a bit silly right about now for telling everyone about my grad school apps and where I'm applying...but the truth is that it's very difficult not to tell people. Everyone asks me where I'm applying, did I hear anything, etc., etc. I always tell people that the odds are against me so that no one will be too surprised if I don't get into my top choice. That said, I would never lie about where I got in and where I didn't. What would be the point of that???

Great job!! I agree with one of the other posters that you should sort the results into rejections versus acceptances. I'm sure that the majority of the acceptances come early on...and perhaps they are more likely to happen on a Monday??!