It doesn't make sense

[Abigail]

First of all I have to ask... what the in hell (forgive my language) is up with admin committees???

Here's the story... Last summer my husband contacted a professor he was interested in working with. This professor expressed extreme interest. So much so that she asked him to relocate and attend the university as a non-degree seeking student so the department could get to know him and him them. Okay we did this - moved our entire family across several states, found a house we loved and he started classes. The class went great and he formed good relationships - keeping in contact with his potential advisor and committe members. Application went in - normal stress (all of you understand it) of the waiting game. He was told by several professors that there was nothing to worry about, he was taking a back door way into the department. There was no reason for him to worry or for him not to be admitted.

Well - today all of that was for nothing... all the reassurances from the faculty, the excellent LORs, the existing master's (this is a combination program so he would only need the Ph.D portion), the existing publications and conference presentations, the year's research already completed - all of it and none of it mattered when the rejection letter came in the mail.

We both knew there were no guarantees - but why would you ask someone to uproot their life and offer all this assurance (the potential advisor was the admin chair)?

Now we sit and try to understand why... The letter said that it was based on the anticipated work load of the faculty. Unfortunately we have to wait until after spring break (which starts this weekend) to get any answers - if they'll give them.

Good luck to all ofyou still waiting... btw the letter was dated 2/19 but wasn't put in the mail until 3/4 (day delivery).

[AbaNader]

WOW, I'm speechless...

[socialpsychg]

Ouch. Has your husband talked with the potential advisor/department?

[Abigail]

Ouch. Has your husband talked with the potential advisor/department?

Not yet. They started spring break so no one in the office yet. Have sent an email, but don't expect to hear anything until after next week.

[a fragrant plant]

This is purely speculation. But I wonder if your husband has become a victim of departmental politics? You know, the professor who likes your husband wasn't in the admission committee and the director of admission committee hates your husband's potential advisor? You have my sympathy.

[Summit_Bid]

I'm sorry for what happened. It think it happends more than we think and like the above poster mentioned, I beilieve it too was all politics.

[Summit_Bid]

I'm sorry for what happened. It think it happends more than we think and like the above poster mentioned, I also think too that it was all politics.

[Summit_Bid]

I'm sorry for what happened. It think it happends more than we think and like the above poster mentioned, I also think it was all politics.

[joro]

Wow...that is horrible. I'd probably start demanding answers if I was in that position. What will happen now to your family? Are you guys going to stay there and have your husband attempt to reapply? I think it would be rather awkward for me to do such a thing. All that assurance of getting in and in the end you don't get in.

[TMP]

Yeah I would definitely say politics. See if your husband can ask one of the administrative assistants for a private chat. They know all the ins and outs of the department and would be able to reveal some things to your husband regarding his application. They may also be able to tell you that whatever's going on between the two or three professors was just a recent thing and MAY be able to pass by the next cycle for him to get in, or it's a permanent scar.

[Tiglath-Pileser III]

He was told... that there was no reason for him to worry....

Anytime a prof tells me this, a red flag goes up. Too often, I find, this is double-speak for "I'm don't really care about your future (because you will do well whether I help you or not, because I'm too busy, because you are annoying and I'm trying to prevent you from advancing, because someone else in the department will help you, etc.)." Although it is kind of hindsight now, your husband should have been more aloof. You shouldn't have moved until he had something tangible in hand, because some unknown idealized student on an application always looks better than a real person in the flesh. New students are kind of like shiny new toys for profs; they always play better in the commercials than out of the package. Unfortunately, it is often true that the student that is known has to fight harder for a seat than some guy far away. Now, at some schools the opposite can be true too, where home grown students are much more attractive than the outsider. But even in this case, your husband would have work hard to claw and tooth for a seat, since these seats are rewards for the superstars. So even in that case, the "no reason to worry" advice should be ignored.

[Abigail]

He is going to demand answers - The biggest problem with the idea of politics is that his potential advisor was on the admin committe...actually she was the chair. The one thing that sticks out is that his focus isn't the US - he's a european archaeologist. I wonder if that got in the way...

[piccgeek]

I think my jaw just hit the keyboard. That's AWFUL. You, your husband, and your family deserve some answers.

[red_crayons]

This is purely speculation. But I wonder if your husband has become a victim of departmental politics? You know, the professor who likes your husband wasn't in the admission committee and the director of admission committee hates your husband's potential advisor? You have my sympathy.

My guess as well.

I am so sorry. Good luck figuring things out...

[genotype]

Wow, I'm so sorry! I can't even imagine what happened here, but I agree that you certainly deserve to get some answers. Are there any other schools in the area that your husband would be interested in attending?

[FoggyAnhinga]

Oh man, this is crazy! I'm really sorry to hear this... you and your husband definitely deserve some explanations from those people!!

[Sassytune]

How awful! I'm sorry! I hope you can get some honest answers, but don't hold your breath. Seems like your DH was given the standard pie-in-the-sky promise - which stinks! Funnily, when someone tells me 'no need to worry' - I do - twice as much! But that's just me.

I am not in the field, but is it a funding issue?

Good Luck to you both!

[shaydlip]

He is going to demand answers - The biggest problem with the idea of politics is that his potential advisor was on the admin committe...actually she was the chair. The one thing that sticks out is that his focus isn't the US - he's a european archaeologist. I wonder if that got in the way...

Here's the thing- and an incredibly widespread problem within academia. Tenured professors have all the power. If your husband goes in an aggressive manner, he will not be winning himself any friends. There is no accountability for how he has been treated, and worse, he probably needs that professor's LoR if he wanted to go somewhere else.

Absolutely go and ask what happened, but you are unlikely to get a straight, honest answer. To expect anything else is to disregard previous experience- the professor already did not give a straight, honest answer when your husband was assured there was nothing to worry about.

This kind of shit doesn't just happen at this level; it happens until *you* become tenured. (Even then, there's still backstabbing, but you at least have a contract).

Your husband does not want to be in this PhD program, with that advisor, anyway. Thank your lucky stars this has happened now, and not when he's trying to pass his comprehensive exams. When he's trying to defend. When he's on the job market. etc etc etc.

Your husband needs to find an advisor who will make a personal investment in him. This is the single most important piece of advice I have for anyone applying to graduate school. Easier said than done, I know. You both probably felt you already got that when the professor asked you to move out in advance of being accepted. I would need to know more about how the professor interacted with your husband to know if there were any warning flags.

The best thing for him to do is this: Finish his year with excellent grades. Don't make a hubbub or a scene about it. Next fall, start applying to programs & make contacts with other professors elsewhere. Start doing research projects (if he hasn't already).

[Aspiring Shrink]

HORRIBLE!!!

I was in a similar situation, though not nearly as painful. Where I took a sizable pay cut in my salary so that I could take the time to do research with a POI at a school I was applying to. Turns out the day after I submitted my application, she tells me that he's not taking on any students for this coming year.

[Abigail]

UPDATE: It was explained to my husband that with budget cuts and the loss of two faculty members and an impending retirement (in two years), they were only taking a few students. His work is primarily in Europe so that put him out in a department that focuses on the mid-west. It would have been nice to have this information last August - that being a europeanist was going to hurt his chances so much.