spacezeppelin

I don’t have much to add, but I did try this. My program is a "professional masters" so it’s a pretty different situation that most of the people here. So it was completely unsuccessful (not surprisingly). I had significant funding from comparable schools and the institution I tried it at wouldn’t budge at all. That being said, it wasn’t awkward and the email response I got was helpful and cordial. Honesty, if you feel like you need more money to attend the institution, I think you should go for it. I'm glad I did. I will probably turn down the unfunded admission, but i'm very glad I tried. Hearing a solid "no" to any financial support sort of put the whole thing in perspective for me. This school does not want me as badly as the other programs do. Clearly I'm a lower priority than the students who did get funding. Thats completely fine, decisions have to be made. I think it has really helped me feel good about choosing another option. I feel like “at least I tried”.

Wow, this is the nightmare that will not end. The last missing transcript was received and processed. My application status said that it was sent to the graduate program and all seemed well. Today, I got ANOTHER email from an admissions advisor saying a transcript was STILL missing. I call to discuss it, and they said this time it was a community college. For the life of me I couldn’t remember what they were talking about. Then, I realize that I took a pysc course in the summer when I was fifteen. This was seven years ago, and I COMPLETELY forgot I took it because it was in the summer for like...a month and a half. So now I’m sending a transcript with one course on it...very late. Its crazy, six other schools didn’t even know about it or didnt even bring it up. I didn’t even remember what I got in the class. Luckily it turns out to be an A, but STILL. The deadline is long gone. Gosh, at this point I’m not sure even I would admit me after TWO missing transcripts. Moral of the story: SEND EVERYTHING!

I guess I will have to wait and see. When I first read it I hoped that OhMySocks was correct. The wording seems a bit vague. I didnt expect the status to change until a decision had been made. If they just began reviewing it the department must be on a different time line from last year. I cant imagine decisions will go out on Monday if they arent done looking over the applications. ahhhhhh. The wait continues.

oh wow, nvm. You are totally right. Disregard everything I just poisted, my bad.

I have nothing really useful to say. Honestly though, that's sorta a very bad situation to be put into. Are you really sure that you want to go there? To me, it seems kind of rude to be told that they are "sure their offer is the best for you." Thats essentially like saying "you cant do better". Even if you chose NOT to take it that way, they are telling you how you should live your own life. It just doesn’t make any sense. They have NO IDEA if their offer is the best place for you. For heaven sake, no one can know that but you.If your parents were on the adcom they STILL couldn’t know that. I don’t understand how they could possibly know you well enough to be able to make that statement without feeling very foolish. I dunno, if I were you I would think on that a little bit. I have three offers right now and am struggling to make a decision. One more is still on the way. One school I was admitted to had a March 15th deadline. I called to talk about it and the director just snorted and told me not to worry about it. He said I should take the time to make a good decision for me. I just think its very unfair that they dont give you the same curtsey. Its still awfully early for all that pressure. Maybe if you are pretty sure you will go there you can just accept it then withdraw. They honestly are asking for that kind of treatment if they pressure people to accept so early

Hello, I'm a bit confused. So he got an interview on March 4th but the deadline was March 5th? That doesnt really make any sense to me. Did they let him know he had been accepted DURING the interview? That would be a bit unusual. He had an official acceptance which they then revoked in one day? Honestly, there must be more information then that. Maybe he was a waitlist candidate and they needed an answer immediately if he wanted to get put on the list. That makes more sense to me, though it seems a bit early to be scrambling to fill a class. As far as who he can contact, I would say his best and only bet is to have a discussion with the department director. There will be no reasonable way to go over his/her head on this one. Your friend doesnt want to try and force himself into a department that doesnt want him to be there. It wouldnt be good for his academic career, even if he was successful. I'm sorry all that happened. It must be very upsetting to have an offer revoked. I think a calm discussion is only chance it has to be worked out. All that being said, he may not want to even go to a school that has such strange and unfair policies.

I think youre best bet is to check the results search. Youll get a lot more answers there. I heard back from UCI and know some people heard back from UCB

Sometimes its staggered. I got an acceptance a week after a bunch of other people. Have all the admissions gone out in one day in past years?

So, I've been obsessively checking the portal for my last application. The application was due Feb. 1st, and since it has been received the status has said "Your Application is Complete, no determination has been made at this time." But, it changed today to: "Your application file has been sent for graduate review. If you have questions, please contact your graduate coordinator. Graduate program contact information can be found at the Graduate Programs website." They cant really have JUST sent it to the graduate program right? According to the website notifications start going out on the 10th and continue to the end of the month. I mean, I guess its possible, but it seems really late. Is that how you guys interpreted that?

I got an email a MONTH after I submitted my application that they didnt have my transcripts...I completely freaked out. It was my top choice school as well. They had my "numbers" listed on the application, but obviously they really need the transcripts. I had them rushed delivered again (I did send them once already) then waited for about a week. I called again and they were STILL missing. At that point I totally lost my cool. I called my undergraduate admissions office to ask if they sent them, and the response I got was, "yeah, we are pretty sure." WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? They did eventually arrive but they got there two days before the deadline the school gave me to get them in. It was incredibly stressful. Honestly, I'm still kind of worried that it affected me negatively. My grades are okay, but they have a STEEP upward trend over all and all my majors grades are far above my average (I had a bit of an o-chem / calculus debacle). I wanted them to see all my nice grades before making an initial judgement based only on the overall. :/

I would have applied to a few more prestigious programs. I should have gone for one crazy stretch school just so I felt like I really tried. I've been accepted to 4 out of 5 (still waiting on the 5th) schools, which leads me to believe that maybe I under estimated the strength of my application or the importance of the LORs and SOP. I live about 15 minutes from Berkeley, so it seems a bit crazy that I didn’t apply there now. To make it even worse, one of the department director from a school I was accepted to asked if my other funded offer was from Berkeley...whoops. Its cool though, I have four really good options which makes me feel very lucky. Its a pretty damn good regret to have, lol.

This might not be the best place for this, but I guess i'm going to share it anyway... I had a horribly awkward conversation with the department head of a program i've already been admitted to. I have other funded offers, so the result of this conversation really was important to my decision making process. The offer was pretty good, but not as good as what the other school has offered. I'm applying to masters, so I didn't expect either to be fully funded necessarily. Anyway...I said something along the lines of "thats good" to his offer, and his response was "Is it?" What was I even supposed to say to that? I mean yeah, I hoped for more, but money is money and i'm appreciative. 　 I had no idea what to say to that. He also asked what other schools I was admitted too, so that was uncomfortable as well. THEN he went on to tell me about the visiting day and ask if that would work for me and I made the mistake of saying "thats great because i'll be in the area anyway." I DIDN’T say it was for the other school's visit, but he got all weird so it sounded like he guessed or suspected. To top it all off, he finished by asking if the other offer was from another in-state school which is the BEST in the country. I didnt even apply because there seemed to be no way I was getting in. Apparently HE THOUGHT I WOULD. I'm having such a hard time making a decision. I hope this conversation wasn't a bad omen. I'm surprisingly downcast for someone who was just offered money. I have no idea which program to pick and i'm worried its kind of a bad sign.

I think any logical person would want to hear about funding before committing to a program. If the person is applying for a PhD then I think it makes sense to refuse to go unless its fully covered, but even masters applicants will want to at least know what they are getting into. I'm going to be taking out some loans for my masters, but that doesn’t mean I just throw caution to the wind and accept a program without at least understanding the situation.

Can you elaboarte on what you mean by working to get funding in your second year? I didn't think that getting new scolarships in your second year was something that really happened. One of my funded offers gaurenteed it for all the years (three in one case) and the other specified just for the first year. The second offer did mention that there was a 'high probability of being granted a TAship". Is that what you mean? If I were you I wouldn’t count getting any kind of grants past what they promise you at the beginning. I might be completely wrong, but it seems like there is very little incentive to give students who are already committed more money. Its not like you can / are likely to leave after your first year without more money. I don't have any full tuition waives yet either. I'm probably going to try and work as much as possible during school and take out loans for the rest. Its going to be expensive. I really like the idea of being a TA because they will pay me AND waive the tuition. Maybe you can look into those types of positions.

Can anyone here comment on just how good of a program USC actually is? I believe it is technically ranked 6th (or maybe 7th...not sure). Is this number widely believed to be accurate? It doesnt seem to be usually included in the discussion of top schools, so I'm not really sure where it actually stands. Basically, do you think it can compete with the widely known "top programs". I know its not as good are Berkeley or Georgetown, but I think a 6th rank program should be at least in the same ball park. I have two other schools offering fellowships for a much lower cumulative tuition. Do you think a degree from USC would lead to better employment prospects than a degree from a lower ranked / new program? In case anyone has any idea where these places are, I have significantly funded offers from UC Irvine and Mills (MBA/MPP combination). I’m struggling to decide...

One school I applied to has a SIR that you fill out if you go or not. That school actually asks for the reason you aren't going and which school you will be accepting. If I reject that offer I plan to tell them, but otherwise i'm not sure I will unless they ask. Thats just me though, I have no idea what is considered "normal". I would imagine if you were in contact with a particular professor they might be interested to know where you end up. That seems pretty natural.It might be a good idea to thank them for their time and support, then say you are accepting X offer. As far as letting the actual institution know though, I'm not sure. .

Hello All, This might be better in the government affairs board, but its less populated and I wanted opinions about the MBA as well. So, I basically am having a VERY hard time picking a program. I have gotten into 4 out of the 5 I have applied too, and am still waiting to hear back from the 5th school. As a disclaimer, I didn’t apply to many “top schools” because I didn’t think I had the stats. I really wish I had now, but I don’t think it makes sense to reapply or anything like that. I’d still like help deciding if anyone has general thoughts, even if you don’t know the programs super well. Option A [uSC MPP]: I could go to USC. The program is ranked 7th in the country (or 11th, depending on who you ask). It’s the highest ranked program I applied to. The issue with it is that its REALLY expensive, even with funding (which isn’t even guaranteed at this point). The cost of living in LA is also kind of astronomical. I would like to work with environmental policy, and USC is the only school that offers the concentration. Option B [uC Irvine]: UC Irvine is a decently respected university for undergraduate, but the MPP is a very new program. Its not ranked yet, but there is discussion about it being pretty good. The PhD is ranked and its in the top 20. They are offering funding, but haven’t told me how much yet. Even without funding its half the cost of USC. Option C [Mills for an MBA and MPP combined]: I’ve also been accepted into the joint MBA / MPP program at Mills College. This program is very small and isn’t ranked yet either, but its well respected in the region. I would like to stay in the Bay Area for jobs anyway, so it might not be such a big deal. I like this program because they are giving me a lot of funding, and its two degrees for the price of one. I currently live in the Bay Area and I could keep my current job and not relocate. Also, my parents live in the area so I could live with them for free if it came to that. Does anyone think the MBA from Mills will add enough earning potential to outweigh the prestige of USC? I would ideally like to work as an environmental consultant on land use / resource sustainability issues. I think I would like to start in the public sector to gain experience then move to the private eventually if I’m lucky enough to land that kind of gig.

I'm actually waiting on funding as well. One school said they intend to make a fellowship offer but hasn't yet. The other school is higher ranked, but funding may not happen at all there. I cant really just reject the lower ranked school without knowing what they might be able to give me, and if they dont give me anything significant I'll probably go with the higher ranked school. And like I said, I'm having a very very hard time deciding between the two programs. They are both good, and frankly I didnt think I would be accpeted to both. I'd like to reject an offer and give a spot to someone on the waitlist, I get that its super stressful waiting, but I just don't know yet. Its a process I guess. Also, I anticipate having a very hard time deciding, even after I hear back about the money. I struggle to make decisions without all the information. I'm really hoping that knowing what all my options are will help bring some clarity. I figure its still early enough that I'm not committing some massive injustice to the waitlist people by taking a bit more time.

I'm kind of in a similar position; in that I really have no idea which school I should chose. Its a surprisingly perplexing problem. No one has a whole lot of sympathy, because it is a pretty great problem to have. Still, its been a pretty big source of anxiety. At this point it doesnt seem like you can really make a "bad" decision. I guess its possible that if you had a magic crystal ball you could indentify one school you would be "happier" with, but I think its more likely you will be happy at both. There are a lot of logical factors to consider, but it sounds like you have already done that. If the two schools really do come up tied, then maybe is time to stop scrutinizing every detail and just go with your gut. If you still want to way the pros and cons, you really should look into the cost of living and quality of life in both areas. Its super easy to get very caught up in the school, but you will be living there for quite a while. Its important to be happy outside of academia as well. I doubt their rankings are the exact same. Is one better? How large are the departments / how are the school's finances holding up (budget cuts are a huge pain, even if you have full funding. Think more work for TAs)?

Ugh, i'm SO ready just to make a decision already! I've already heard back (and was accepted) to three good programs and I'm having such a hard time deciding. This is an awesome problem to have (of course, sooooo thankful) but all three want answers. AND i'm still waiting to hear back from two more schools. I have no idea where i'm going to end up going. They are all good for different reasons, and they all feel like legitimate reasons! I wish the last two schools would hurry up so I could get this over with and move on with my life. Sorry...I'm a bit cynical. I've totally lost my mind. Usually I'm a pleasant person

So, its probably a little late now, but I’m really concerned that an email I sent came off as rude or too blunt. As some background, I was accepted into a masters program over a month ago was told I would receive funding information shortly. I never was contacted and I have other offers and the school (the one that said they would call with funding info) wants an answer my March 15th…so I sent an email. The school really is at the top of my list, but I don’t feel that I can accept or refuse any offers without having all the information. I was counseled to make it short and direct, but I think it may have been too direct. Do you guys think this was a mistake? “I would like to reiterate my interest in XXX University and thank the admissions committee for its show of support. I am hoping to make a final decision in my choice of graduate school shortly, and recognize that an answer was requested by March 15th. I would like to try and meet that deadline, though I have other competitive offers and expect more responses this later month. I would love the opportunity to visit XXX University and learn more about the department. Additionally, my acceptance letter on January 29th indicated an intention to offer fellowship support. I would appreciate knowing the specific terms of that support as soon as they become available so I can make a timely decision. Best, SpaceZeppelin"

I was accepted over the phone as well. The program director called, which I thought was nice. He talked for a little bit about my application and the program. He did ask "if I applied to other programs". Obviously that question is kind of silly seeing as almost everyone must have. I'm sure he was just trying to get a feel for my level of interest. I told him that I was very pleased to be admitted and still interested in the program. I then said that I want to visit all the departments/ campuses before making a final decision. I applied for masters programs, so that line probably wont work as well for PhD candidates who were interviewed. I'd just be nice, enthusiastic, and vague if you aren’t ready to commit either way. I don't think anyone will really expect you to.

I think maybe this might be getting blown out of proportion a tiny bit. I don’t know who told you it was inappropriate, but unless it was a professor or something (in which case I might freak out too) it seems to be a much bigger social blunder to point it out in the first place. For the sake of honestly, I would probably not have emailed everyone on the visiting weekend, but I really dont think its that big of a deal. Did someone make a comment along the lines of "don't send personal messages to CCed contacts?" I think the problem was not that you said hi, but rather that you were contacting people’s personal addresses without authorization. I'm sure not everyone will end up staying in the program, and the admissions committees have our contact information with the understanding that they were confidential. Many people won't care that they are being made semi public, but some might be bothered. Its more about a privacy issue than you. Its just a silly little mistake, not a massive crisis. I wouldn’t say anything (no one else is going to bring it up either, that would be very unnecessary and kind of antagonistic). I think at the very worst it seems a bit "over-eager". I'd try to relax. Honestly, I'm weird all the time accidentally and everyone just gets over it and moves on. It certainly is not going to be a problem for years. There is no way everyone is going to remember and care about one email for more than a few days. If it makes you feel better, someone in my residential college in undergrad responded to 5000 people accidentally talking about his personal crisis with the housing office. It was super personal, and really hilarious and the housing office ended up having to send out an email to EVERYONE telling them to please disregard all the responses. Everyone got over that, and it was a MUCH bigger deal.

I hate to say this...but I think they wait to tell the rejected applicants because when they know doesn’t affect the school either way. They have to get all the acceptances out early enough to let people make decisions. Unfortunately the rejections can wait, in their opinion. I'm sure this time of year is CRAZY for admissions committee. I bet even the support staff is totally swamped with phone calls and emails. I think it basically just comes down to the school prioritizing its time. I bet no one is particularly eager to send out the rejections. Most people probably take it fairly well, but I’d assume they still get a ton of confused / angry emails, and another handful of "what can I do better next time" emails. It might just be too insane to get the admitted students situated AND deal with the rejected ones at the same time. It really sucks for the applicants though. :/

Hello, I was hoping to get some insight into the time line for information about masters funding. I've been accepted into three programs thus far, and one indicated that they would be sending some kind of funding offer "based on the finances available". That was two weeks ago, and I haven't heard anything else yet (even though they said someone would call last week). This school states that masters students are not typically funded, but my letter said otherwise so I’m not sure what to expect from them. The other school hasn't indicated any attention to provide me with a meir based scholarship, which leads me to believe they wont be offering anything. Both schools had me fill out financial aid information, including the FAFSA. Is there any reason to expect anything but loans from a source other than the department? Do department offers usually come with the acceptance letters or are they handed out later? In short, does anyone know if the financial aid office ever hands out aid to graduate students, or it is all from the department. If it is all from the department, is it a one shot deal or will more be provided as others decline their offers? I’m a bit disappointed the other school hasnt indicated any intention to fund me. I know unfunded masters programs aren’t unheard of or even rare, but I don’t want to be the only one foolish to consider an unfunded program...I guess I’m not really sure whats considered normal.