Spritely

Many of us--and probabaly many of your future classmates--have been out of school much longer than 9 months, so you'll be fine. I agree that reading and language study are good ways to spend the summer, although for those of us with a full time job through August, there is not as much time for such activities as one would hope. Also, plan for the move if there is one, or for other logistic/administrative things that need to be taken care of before school starts.

I'm in English so I can't speak specifically to Computer Science. However, I live in Seattle and love it here (I will unfortunately I have to move for school in the fall). I would say that if you were interested in OS and programming (which you're not), then UW would make more sense, especially if you were interested in potential work with Microsoft or Amazon in the area or working with them for your graduate projects. If you're more concerned about getting a job in academia, I would go with Berkeley, personally. If location or climate mattered a lot to you (which you say it doesn't), I would probably lean towards Seattle, but I don't think Berkeley would be a bad place to live at all. Good luck! I wish my last-minute decision was between equally wonderful prospects!

Congrats on at least getting in off the wait list! I'm relieved to know someone else is in a similar situation, although yours is currently better than mine. I'm actually still waiting to hear from two wait lists. I think one of them is over as they hinted the chances weren't good, but the other program still had five of seven admission offers without responses as of Monday, and so I am hoping to hear from them early on the 15th. If they don't get back to me in time, I will have to accept the best offer I have so far received. I'm anxious to hear from them (one way or the other) and eager to get this over with and start planning for my move and beginning work PhD work in the fall.

They told me early on that it would be wise to accept other funded offers, so I assumed there was a slim chance of funding. I declined their offer several days ago (with funding still up in the air, but doubtful) so I have not heard anything since. Good luck.

What makes the European program more attractive? If it's a funding issue, that makes total sense and may be reason enough to go. I don't think Ph.D.s in our field are correlated strongly enough with job placement to afford us the luxury of huge student loans if we aren't funded, so I'm a strong proponent of going where the funding is. On the other hand, if you would just rather live in Europe--well, join the club. But it's hard enough to get a job with a degree from a school in the U.S., and it's even harder to do so from a non U.S. program. If you have a funded offer in the U.S., I would probably take that over a European school, unless you're planning to live/teach in Europe or elsewhere in the world, in which case a well-respected European program would make equally good sense.

Good Monday morning, all. http://www.slate.com/id/2215830/ And good luck to those of you who, like me, are hoping against hope for your wait list to pay off at the eleventh hour. The time is drawing near.

This is interesting. I'm in a similar position, having made a choice among my current offers, but still waiting on two wait-lists. I was only told that they were seeing some movement on the wait list, but was not told specifically where I fall on the list. I think with the smaller cohorts and the competition for admission, my chances are less than helpful if I haven't heard by now. (Then again, my prior wait list experience came down to the morning of April 15.) I do not plan to ask my other school for an extension. Rather, I will 1) hope people think long and hard this weekend and accept or decline at their schools, 2) prepare myself for the possibility of a Tuesday morning e-mail or phone call admitting me into my top choice. If I am not admitted of the wait list by 4/15, I will be content with my best offer and make the most of the next few years.

I have also had to decline several great program admissions over the years (Master's and Ph.D. programs) because there was no or insufficient funding. I feel your pain, but it seems like unnecessary stress to put yourself in a financial hole when there is another, better-funded offer. Good luck with your other school!

That sounds a bit unusual. I think typically you should expect to hear from the graduate school and the department separately--both notifying you of admission, but the Department usually shares more specific information on the terms of the offer. My only guess that if you haven't heard about funding yet, maybe you are "wait listed" for funding, and thus they are waiting to see what will happen with the applicants who have already been offered funding. In short, I think it's smart of you to follow up with the Department Head. I haven't always heard from specific professors, but you should at least get some specifics from the Department Head. Good luck!

Some good advice in the above posts. I would also make sure you have taken enough language classes. Although I'm fairly proficient in Spanish from high school and independent study, I didn't take any Spanish classes in college OR for my Master's, and I think this really hurt my application to several programs (seeing as my literary interests involve Mexican-American Literature). Of course, the specific language study that would benefit you for your area of focus is different, but make sure you have the requisite language study on your transcripts. It's one less way for them to count you out.

More news coverage of the graduate application spikes we have seen (and experienced) elsewhere: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/video/share.html?s=news01s238bq851 Happy Monday! :wink:

For what it's worth, I received a rejection before the April 15 deadline a few years ago (2005 I think). I can't speak to how their process may have changed or not since then, but I can't imagine them not rejecting anyone before that date, so I would take your situation as potentially hopeful news. I also struggle with the etiquette. I may be in a similar situation with a wait list or two this year. I think I can be happy and productive with my current best offer, so I will accept on April 15 if I don't hear from the wait lists. If your two choices are equally appealing, hopefully you will feel comfortable accepting the best offer you have at the time. Can't put life on hold while we wait around for something better to come along. Good luck!

It may be less about the specific recommenders than 1) the strength/specificity of the recommendations, 2) the quality of your writing sample, 3) the case you make for yourself in your personal statement. It also seems to me that if you figure out which Ph.D. programs you are most interested in, you can contact them and get an honest answer about whether they prefer to accept students with vs. without an MA. I already had an MA going into the application process, and many web sites plainly stated or strongly implied their preference one way or another. At least this saved me from wasting my time with schools who prefer to accept students for MA/Ph.D. directly from undergrad. If I had to apply again, I would contact every one of the programs I was interested in to ask about the MA issue, and not apply to those which prefer you not have an MA. You may also be able to discern this information by looking at their current graduate students (did they all come from other Master's programs first?). One more note: A friend of mine with an MA was asked to complete another MA in Comp Lit at his Ph.D. institution. From my basic understanding of Comp Lit, it seems the programs may want you to do the MA/Ph.D. all at the same school--at least more often than is the case with English Ph.D.s. Good luck!

Glad to know I'm not alone here. No, I was not actually invited to the open house due to my wait list status, so I wasn't planning to crash the party. Hopefully some people make up their minds in the next week so I will know one way or another about my two wait lists. I'm anxious to make a decision and start planning for the fall semester.

At least you people made the wait list. I was rejected outright, and I thought the program was one of my better fits. I love how the e-mail is entitled "ASU Deny Letter." Why bother filling in the body of the e-mail after that point?