everygirl

I have been following up with the DGS. Then waiting patiently, then following up with a quick, polite email. My waitlist is ranked, so I'm not trying to change his mind, but rather, information gathering for myself during this maddening time. I found out a lot of things by emailing the DGS, like my rank, the time frame I may hear by, and the possibility of acceptance based on recent years. You should definitely do it!

This is a great thread! Alas, all the schools listed are American. Good luck to all the waitlisters!

I love this series. Ever since GRRM announced the hard publication date for Dance with Dragons my status on BBM has been "Prepare to Dance". I changed it yesterday to "Winter is Coming", and everyone thinks I have my facts backward. I read the first two books over a weekend I was supposed to be completing a 20 page paper. HandsomeNerd, good luck with your readings -- these books are crack for the mind.

I got a more complete vision of what my waitlist situation was like. I'm ranked #10 on the waitlist, and they hope to admit 20 students for the 2011 Cohort. 50-50 chance of bust? The plus side is that this school is not what many people would consider their top choice. (But it's MY top choice for many reasons.) Anyway, I should probably know more in two weeks, because students are supposed to accept with a deposit two weeks after they receive their offer letters. I got my waitlist notification on Thursday. So. Here's to hoping that I survive the upcoming weeks... As always, best of luck to you all.

I don't know if my story is applicable, but if I get into my top choice, I'll probably have to choose between a well-paying, secure job in government and grad school. I've been promoted recently and will probably be promoted again before September, so that'll make it harder. If I get an acceptance though, I will choose grad school. I figure I only have a few years to do an MA, and the rest of my life to be gainfully employed -- and I do believe that I will be gainfully employed in the future. Even though I know grad school will always be there, I want to do it when I'm young, unattached, and with no kids or a mortgage. I won't feel happy about leaving my job (which is not in my field) but I'm sure, absolutely sure, that I will regret passing up the opportunity for grad school. I can get another job, but I can't get these years back... As for the relationship question, my boyfriend chose law school over our relationship. I should say ex-boyfriend. I don't begrudge him the choice -- if it's supposed to work out, it will. And it didn't.

What! No rejection letter, even a form one? That's terrible. You would think the application fee buys you some kind of notification!

Thanks for saying this! I am pretending to be number 5, in my head. But if the waitlist is comprised of people like me -- desperate to get the program -- than I am in a world of sh*t. But I am pretending to be number 5 in my head to save my sanity.

I have no idea how large a large program is, but let's say they admit between 16 - 20ish people a year. Ballpark. It's an MA program, and there isn't a lot of funding. Yes, the school is nationally known, but is better known in other fields. I'm not really sure how competitive this program is, because it's a new program and that's not particularly--I think-- well-known. I was notified of the waitlist on Thursday, and term begins (and admissions closes) in September. They didn't say when I would hear for sure. While the DGS has been being very polite, I don't know if asking would do anything. April 15th doesn't hold much weight in Canada, and sometimes people get in during the SUMMER. My sister was on a waitlist for another program at the school, they never told her, and they called to offer admission in early June. She declined, but was a little "WTF". As far as 'hanging in there', I'm 'hanging' all right... but maybe from a rope if I don't hear soon from my other schools.

As the topic above, I inquired about my rank on the waitlist and I'm number 10. In your experiences (or at least the experiences you've heard of), what are my chances of admission? I don't know how many people they admit per year. (New program, long story.) The DGS says my chances are 'not bad'. (But the DGS says a lot of things, like I had a strong application, and I've stopped trusting in him.) Because it's a ranked waitlist, I don't think there is anything at all I can do but wait. And wait. But how much hope should I have in my heart of hearts while I wait? Is this just a delayed rejection? Responses are very much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Being on a waitlist for your top school is like that syndrome my sister (psych student) told me about: silver medal syndrome. Apparently, getting the silver medal is worse than getting a bronze because you were ALMOST there, but no cigar. Bronze -- you're just happy to have made the podium. To those of who made the waitlist, we are so tantalizingly close. We are qualified, but there's something, something in our applications that wasn't up to snuff and thus, we weren't one of those lucky few who got a first round offer. What was it? We may never know. It may not even have been us, it may have been a circumstance out of our control, but it still means no offer. A waitlist may be better than an outright rejection, but if it means I don't get in, it's just dying slowly and in more agony. (Let me speak in hyperbole. I've earned it!) Either way, if we don't get in, a waitlist is a promising sign -- it means we should apply again and better ourselves/hope for a less competitive cohort, but that dooms us to another year of this limbo. Not so comforting after all, really... I'm getting really depressed about this. Sigh. Glad I have this forum to cry on.

I'll bite... the main difference, I think, is the expense. The schools in the States are significantly more expensive, aren't they? When my brother was an international student, my parents were constantly freaking out over the fees they had to pay, and he eventually transferred to McGill. Plus, depending on your field, you need the GRE to apply to the States whereas in Canada I didn't have to write it, thank God. Otherwise, it all depends on which country you want to live in. My family ended up choosing Canada, and I think we're better for it. Also, as an international student, the healthcare options in Canada might be better than in the States. And our money is colored! YMMV. Except about the colored money.

No. I think emailing for an update is perfectly fine. They must know we're going out of our minds, and any department secretary fields several of these per hour. In other news, I just heard from a friend of a friend that people were accepted into a UofT Masters program in late August to early September two years ago. This story just depressed me, even though it was supposed to cheer me up. If I don't get into my top program (I was waitlisted) by summertime, I will be living my plan B. To get an acceptance that late in the game when I can't do anything about it would almost be worse than an outright rejection.

Is the waitlist you're on ranked? If so, there's not much of a point in emailing, because they're just going to go down the list. If an acceptable amount of short, polite emails makes you feel better, go for it -- because even mildly annoying them won't change your status. From what I've heard, the number you're assigned is final... I do know how you feel though -- getting waitlisted at your top choice is maddening. THIS close. I've emailed the DGS, I went to the grad student conference, visited the school... all things that made me feel better, but I know these things don't change my number. Just keep hanging in there. Any waitlist is better than a rejection.

Glad to see all the waitlisters getting in too. I'm so bummed and this forum is making me feel better. Well, a little....

Best of luck to you, Foreign Guy! It was great to wait with you. Hey that rhymed.

Thanks for the words! I feel almost better. Well, maybe a fifth of gin would be good about now, but still better...

I'm in a similar situation. At my second choice school, people had gotten rejections, acceptances, and waitlists, but nothing for me. I emailed the DGS, and the response was "your application is undecided" and may come under review again in May or June. Because I'm a pessimist (take this with a grain of salt, please) I think this means an implicit rejection. I think it means we are somehow below the waitlist but not outright rejected -- a contingency plan late in the summer in case absolutely everyone on the waitlist accepts somewhere else. They'll look at us next. My official decode is: "shot in hell, but a shot nonetheless." YMMV.

I'm bumping this thread because I was hoping others had replies. I was waitlisted at my top choice and I want to email the director of grad studies. His email didn't say anything about a rank, so I don't know how far down I am on the list. If I'm really down there, I know the waitlist is an implicit rejection. If so, I'd just like to know now so I can move on. Anyway, if anyone's sent an email, is it kosher to say that this school is my top choice and I'd accept an offer of admission immediately? I think I should state my enthusiasm for the program, but I don't want to sound too pushy...

Well, choose your words carefully when you ask for an extension at your safety. You need an extension because you need a more "fulsome picture of your opportunities" or something. If this is truly a safety, I think they would be used to be waiting for their top applicants to decide. The reality is that everyone applies to several schools and it's a process to pick one because there are so many things to consider -- I should hope every school understands that!

I've been waitlisted at my top school. It sucks. The worst thing about it is while I've heard stories regarding people getting in off the waitlist, I haven't heard anything about getting funded after getting in off the waitlist. But prove me wrong, if you can. Honesty. Only way to go. I would think they'd understand your dilemma....

Hello Carleton. Your silence is deafening. You rejected someone on the board last week. But you accepted someone at the beginning of the month. So where's my letter/email/phone call? Is it me? Is it you? Is it my gmail account? Am I refreshing too much? Can you please pick up the phone, drop an envelope in the mail, stick a post-it on a carrier pigeon and throw the damn bird out the window and LET ME KNOW?!?!

Hello fellow wannabes. I just received email notification that I was waitlisted by the school that would've made my girlish dreams come true. My top school. My dream school. THAT school. While I'm glad I know something definite -- the waiting was killing me -- I really don't know what this means. When I clear my head a little bit, I'm going to craft an email to the DGS, ask about my 'rank' and explain my continued interest in the program or whatever (anything else I should add?). But for right now, I just want to wallow a little bit. Can you help me by telling me your success stories about being accepted from the waitlist? I want to know that all is not over. That's not the fat lady singing in the corner, it's just the TV. RIGHT?

Why POI, and not the director or administrator? I would think those two would have more of a duty to respond to you. At this point, sending polite emails to inquire about status must be expected.

Haha! I'm like, "beep, damnit! Beep with a new email!" And then Blackberry says, "OK! Here's one from Redflagdeals. One day sale at Old Navy!" More on topic, I'm waiting on 3 out of 4. I emailed the grad director for one two weeks ago and "not aware of final decision on my application." Emailed the other one a week ago, and it's been crickets. I think a phone call would be better/more immediate, but if it's a rejection, they can hear me crying...

The only time I've ever seen this was in that movie Wonder Boys. Michael Douglas played the professor, and Katie Holmes played the student who lived in his house. Professors and students living together? Even in the movies, it's weird. One of my friends went to a conference with his professor and had to share a room with the professor, also male. Apparently the professor snored and wore a matching pajama set -- gray with yellow piping. It was weird for my friend to know these things.