Inspekt

They are just debating how much funding to give you. :wink:

In other application/interview process do they give you feedback about why you were not selected?

Are you doing PhD or not? Where is the best match for your research interest? What are your career goals?

I was planning on doing this, but I haven't heard back yet about travel reimbursement. One professor I spoke with said up to $500 for out of state students, but I cannot find this in writing any where. Does anyone happen to know?

Haven't heard anything yet either for Higher Ed...

I have recieved my admit letter by mail and the website still posts "No decision has been made yet." Go figure.

I applied to Higher Ed. Rejected from Harvard EdD, put in masters pool. Check the website. Michigan, Penn, Teacher's College and UCLA have already been in touch. UCLA Still has not updated their decision website. Still waiting on Stanford....

Pay off your credit card every month and never charge more than you can afford. If you make the minimum payments on your accounts it will take you nearly 25 years to pay it off, so always pay the balance in full and never pay the minimum! Never exceed your credit limit, you'll get hit with tons of fees. Never pay late, you'll get hit with tons of fees and your interest rate will go up significantly. If you do get ONE late fee, try calling the bank and politely them to remove it. You may need to speak with a manager, but usually they will remove your first late charge should this happen. It is better to pay your card early every month to avoid this scenario. After a few months of using your card and paying on time call the bank and ask for 1. a Lower interest rate 2. a higher credit limit. They will usually oblige. Also, you should not have to pay a yearly fee for your card. There are great cards available where you can get cash back for free and no fee for having them. Look into those options.

From the SUSE Website: How/ When will I be notified of the Admission Committee's decision? The Academic Services office will mail decision letters for Ph.D. applicants starting February 25, 2009. The decision letters for STEP applicants will be sent starting on March 2, 2009, and the decision letters for all other M.A. applicants will be sent starting on March 11, 2009.

For admits and WL people, you should not be afraid to contact the graduate school office with these kinds of questions. They are there to help! I think it would be beneficial to call Harvard explain your situation and ask when they release students from the waitlist. Then you have some kind of idea how long you may be waiting. I Know for law schools people can get taken from the waitlist as late as August! I'm not sure the time for PhD, but the Admissions Office at Harvard would know. In any case, you should wait until very close to April 15 to submit your deposit to UCLA. Can you deposit at UCLA and wait it out for Harvard? If you get into Harvard and decided to enroll you can always forfeit your deposit at UCLA. Happens all the time in Undergrad and law school - in fact we encourage students to deposit at another place if they are on our waitlist and if we select them they will forfeit their deposit to the other school in order to enroll at ours. Call UCLA and Harvard and ask!

While I wouldn't base my whole decision on my admissions experience I do think it is important to consider how you are treated before you apply. How they treat you before they have your money (or time) says a lot about how they will treat you once you are locked in.

I've been in this situation and I suggest you do not cancel. You can learn some valuable information about how the programs. Even if 2nd choice isn't the right match you still may learn about interesting research projects, opportunities to pursue, and the curriculum structure that you can adapt to your first choice. Basically, you can take the highlights from their program and see how those fit with/adapt to your new program. One of the programs that was on the bottom of my list quickly rose towards the top because of my phone conversation. While I might not be going there I think it is great to know what work is being done there and how they approach training their PhD students. I have found this to be very valuable indeed.

Thank you! I did not realize there were rankings for Higher Ed PhD programs. Could you point me to where you found them? I have seen the general US News Education rankings, but that is about it. It would be interesting to know. I am unsure if I will accept the Michigan offer at this point. I need to find out more detailed information about funding, in particular the stipend. Finally, I'm concerned about living in Michigan in general with the dismal state of this economy.....plus 10 below zero sounds downright terrible. I would like to work with Deborah Faye Carter, Ed St John, and Steve Dejardains. They are all excellent researchers and are doing some really great work on college access. Plus it would allow me to explore quant and qual methods. What about you? We will see...

I applied and was admitted to the PhD program in Higher Education. I heard by phone about 3 weeks ago now and I received my letter by email a few days ago. Good luck!

If you have been out of school for so long it might be worthwhile to take 1 or 2 courses in your field so you can get back into "School mode." Before doing that, I would contact the department/faculty you are interested in working with and ask for their opinion on the letters. Because you are not interested in academic research or a faculty tenure position, they may have different advice for your letters. They may suggest some other routes that could save you time and money. It certainly never hurts to ask what their expectations are for incoming students who have been working for a significant amount of time. Finding a match where the PhD would advance your current career/interest is essential. Stay away from schools that are heavy on research and place people in faculty tenure track positions - they are looking for researchers. It sounds like more applied, practice based programs might be a fit for you. Have you looked at EdD options instead of the PhD?

I did not get the email and I did not check the masters box.

Got my admit for PhD by mail on Saturday. I also received notification by email about 3 weeks ago from my advisor. Good luck!

I applied to UCLA for the PhD in HEOC. I was admitted by phone in late January. The website has still not updated the status to reflect this, even though I have received the letter by email. Still waiting on Harvard, Stanford and Penn GSE....

I just submitted my app for this. We had to submit early for a university wide competition for the nomination. I should know in 2 weeks if I am selected.

I also applied to Teachers College for a PhD and I was told by a professor and the admissions director there is no funding. Teacher's College is an affiliate of Columbia and has a separate endowment,. Their endowment was small to begin with, but now it appears in event worse shape. I need full funding, so I am sure I will get rejected regardless if they like me or not. If you aren't applying to Teacher's College I wouldn't worry much until you get your letter.

I applied for PhD programs and left it blank. I doubt it is a mandatory question since that information isn't really needed to evaluate your application. It's silly to make you rank schools. I know my rankings change all the time as I get to meet the professors and get a feel for each department. I figure leaving that question blank can't hurt you. If you fill it out, honestly or not, people can interpret things the wrong way. 2 out of 4 of the schools that have offered me interviews have been interested in this information. They asked me flat out over the phone, where did you apply? I was happy to list my schools and provide a little context as to my choices when they asked. I feel like they had a much better grasp of my thought process vs. just seeing some names on the application.

What program did you hear from at Columbia? I applied to Anthropology and Ed. PhD....

What that girl did was completely wrong. This isn't the same thing as a white lie to your mom or girlfriend when she asks, "do I look fat in this dress?" This person is lying about her relationships with her professors, her ability to do research, her potential as a scholar (regardless of her grades...which she very well may have cheated on too) and their seal of approval on her work. She is cheating the system to get ahead. I dunno where you are from, but on my block cheating and lying in that context and to that extent are wrong no matter what. As for being too socially awkward to ask for a letter - good luck getting through the rest of your life. That's one of the most ludicrous excuses I've ever heard. I was pretty introverted and socially awkward as an undergrad but I did my best to develop my personal skills - without having to lie to anyone or make excuses to justify my actions. You want to know what it takes? Practice. Go and talk to a professor during office hours. Practice. Join a student group and make friends. Practice. Yes, even the most socially awkward person can develop a personality and the ability to build rapport with someone. You have to take initiative to practice. Hell yeah I was uncomfortable doing it, but that's what growing up is all about. As for what to do, that's a whole other can of worms. I supposed I would have shared this with one of my mentors I trust and picked their brain. Condoning her actions is not the appropriate course to take. Finally, I doubt you all have my good looks and magnetic charm, so you better practice. :wink:

I have heard from a Stanford PhD in Ed. that they do not do interviews.

Wait! where/what programs did you apply to?