Waiting for NSSR

[anxiousapplicant]

Hi all,

I've been following this thread and just decided to get an account because I GOT IN, and I figured I could offer some helpful info.

Program: MA in Poli Sci for Fall 2010

Acceptance format: Hard copy letter in the mail, dated March 15th, with a hand-written note from Robert Macdonald.

FYI I applied before their priority deadline (Jan 19) for which they said if you applied before then you would get your letter mid-March.

No funding offered as far as I can tell.

Also, this link for accepted students says there are receptions on the 25th of March, so as long as you applied before Jan 19th you'll probably know by then: http://www.newschool...e.aspx?id=15954

Good luck all! I hope this was helpful!

So... I didn't make it, I guess. I submitted my app on January 19, just like they said I could. I guess it didn't count as "on time" because they didn't add everything to my file until 10-15 days later. Either I am counted as late, or I wasn't accepted. It doesn't matter, I guess, because I couldn't afford to go there anyway, but I still really liked the school and wanted to hear their decision. oh well!

Edited March 19, 2010 by anxiousapplicant

[jonjalin]

So... I didn't make it, I guess. I submitted my app on January 19, just like they said I could. I guess it didn't count as "on time" because they didn't add everything to my file until 10-15 days later. Either I am counted as late, or I wasn't accepted. It doesn't matter, I guess, because I couldn't afford to go there anyway, but I still really liked the school and wanted to hear their decision. oh well!

I wouldn't despair so soon regarding getting in or not. Just because you haven't heard anything doesn't mean you didn't get in. Most of the ones who have been writing on this particular thread have not heard anything so you're not alone. You could still be admitted. The thing is: it is pretty widely known that NSSR doesn't fund its PhD students very well. That is just a fact. The most one can hope is to get about half of your tuition covered and you have to work to get money for the other half. NYC is very expensive to live in and that makes it difficult. I'm trying to say that, if you think the school is too expensive to afford without having to take out loans or what not, that is just the way it is at NSSR. Most of the people who go here and want to go just accept it and decide they are willing to roll with that. Unlike some other programs, they do let you know by mail whether you are in or out and so you will hear one way or the other. Like I said before, it took four months for me to hear from them when I was trying to get into the Masters program and I got admitted. Don't despair. Just be realistic about the funding situation at the school and the cost of living in NYC.

[anxiousapplicant]

I wouldn't despair so soon regarding getting in or not. Just because you haven't heard anything doesn't mean you didn't get in. Most of the ones who have been writing on this particular thread have not heard anything so you're not alone. You could still be admitted. The thing is: it is pretty widely known that NSSR doesn't fund its PhD students very well. That is just a fact. The most one can hope is to get about half of your tuition covered and you have to work to get money for the other half. NYC is very expensive to live in and that makes it difficult. I'm trying to say that, if you think the school is too expensive to afford without having to take out loans or what not, that is just the way it is at NSSR. Most of the people who go here and want to go just accept it and decide they are willing to roll with that. Unlike some other programs, they do let you know by mail whether you are in or out and so you will hear one way or the other. Like I said before, it took four months for me to hear from them when I was trying to get into the Masters program and I got admitted. Don't despair. Just be realistic about the funding situation at the school and the cost of living in NYC.

I do appreciate your reassurance, jonjalin. I live close enough to NYC that I wouldn't have to live there. However, when I applied to grad schools, esp. the MA's, I didn't expect funding, so I was prepared to take out loans. So NSSR was my top choice; I visited there and I really liked it. But I got a fully funded + GA offer from another MA program in a respectable school. So unless some miracle occurred, I probably can't attend NSSR b/c it would be stupid to turn down free tuition elsewhere. I guess it's just curiosity that's killing me waiting for their decision, b/c I did really like the school.

Edited March 19, 2010 by anxiousapplicant

[Aspiring Shrink]

Hi,

I have been accepted to the Psychology program (MA). I received a letter in the mail on Monday (3/15).

Does anyone have any info to share about the program? What is it like? Is it hard to get into the PhD program? What's the general demographic? I don't know much about the program, though I love the location and the fact that it is liberal and diverse.

I wish you all the best of luck and hope to see you in the Fall.

-A. Shrink

[Babbling Dweeb]

Hi all,

I've been following this thread and just decided to get an account because I GOT IN, and I figured I could offer some helpful info.

Program: MA in Poli Sci for Fall 2010

Acceptance format: Hard copy letter in the mail, dated March 15th, with a hand-written note from Robert Macdonald.

FYI I applied before their priority deadline (Jan 19) for which they said if you applied before then you would get your letter mid-March.

No funding offered as far as I can tell.

Also, this link for accepted students says there are receptions on the 25th of March, so as long as you applied before Jan 19th you'll probably know by then: http://www.newschool...e.aspx?id=15954

Good luck all! I hope this was helpful!

Thank you for signing up and passing on the information! It's really helpful!

Congrats on getting in!

[monkeefugg]

FRiday and still no mail

so..

I just sent en email to the prof at the Phil dept asking for information about my application status.

I already had a miserable day b/c my landlady is INSANE

so I was catatonic and crying, and my nerves are already all vulnerable

so this is actually the perfect time for such an email to get it all over with, b/c the anxiety and tristesse won't add anything to how I'm already feeling...

wait...

[Babbling Dweeb]

Still no mail for me...maybe one of us that is still waiting will hear something this weekend...maybe next week? Sigh.

[lizlemon]

So... I didn't make it, I guess. I submitted my app on January 19, just like they said I could. I guess it didn't count as "on time" because they didn't add everything to my file until 10-15 days later. Either I am counted as late, or I wasn't accepted. It doesn't matter, I guess, because I couldn't afford to go there anyway, but I still really liked the school and wanted to hear their decision. oh well!

Hey... if it helps at all when I logged into Alvin to check my status before I heard from them, they had also listed some of my docs as being added after Jan 19th even though I definitely know they arrived before the deadline. So the date that they added your documents to your file doesn't reflect the date they considered your application to be "in". I was told that even if some of your extra materials were late, as long as your application was in before Jan 19th they would try and consider your app (as much as is possible without the missing materials).

So good luck! You really should be hearing soon, don't lose hope!

Also FYI my status on Alvin remains unchanged. So it looks like that page is not updated even after they've made their decision.

Edited March 19, 2010 by lizlemon

[jonjalin]

Still no mail for me...maybe one of us that is still waiting will hear something this weekend...maybe next week? Sigh.

Well, there is always tomorrow...sigh

[Babbling Dweeb]

Well, there is always tomorrow...sigh

Nothing for me today...maybe next week will be my week. Or the week after...

[jonjalin]

Okay, this is getting ridiculous. I am getting really mad at NSSR for taking so long to get all of these letters out. I think I'm going to not think about it this weekend (already, no letter today) and then I am going to give it next week and then, barring a letter from NSSR, its Rutgers-New Brunswick for me. I just want the wait to be over. Come to think of it, I bet they lose a lot of students by taking so long. People are already anxious and by sending out letters so close to the unofficial April 15 deadline, I bet a lot of people just don't want to wait any longer and accept elsewhere. That is one of my few complaints (well, okay, I have a few more than a few) about NSSAR: between the endless construction, the high tuition with pitiful funding, and the even more endless bickering between Kerry, the faculty, and the students, they don't make it easy for applicants and students who go there. For awhile last year I thought about only applying to NSSR because it seemed like the best place for me but I thought better about it because nothing is ever a sure thing. I like NSSR but I don't like it enough to wait around another year to get into the PhD program. Even though it was expensive, I'm glad I did decide to send off four additional applications so that I have other choices.

[Babbling Dweeb]

I'm trying to be calm about it all, but I only last a few days (or hours). When I checked the results last week on the timing of letters last year (for IA) the following dates popped up:

May 4, 2009

March 20, 2009

March 31, 2008

March 25, 2008

March 21, 2008

So...I'm thinking that next week might be it, but that one entry for May isn't making me happy. It's one thing to be posting in the "April is it!!" topic, but I don't want to be hanging out in "Holy shit May is it!!" topic.

[anxiousapplicant]

As soon as I get my official letter from another MA program, I think I am going to just accept them and forget NSSR as well. I probably would have accepted the other school, except there was a minor fiasco in which they sent me someone else's letter, so I had to mail it back and now I've got to wait for them to get back to me with mine. That school offered me a full ride plus stipend, so I'd be a moron to refuse it considering my unpleasant financial situation. NSSR was originally my top choice and I planned to attend there. I told everyone that I was going there if I got in. But once you get that letter from another school promising funding, it's hard to want to go somewhere you know isn't going to give you what you need in terms of funds. And now they never return my emails or anything. I have to admit, despite my liking for the school's curriculum, I always had a nagging fear that my views on issues wouldn't complement the views of the faculty and students very well, so maybe it's a sign that I was accepted somewhere else with a better package.

Edited March 20, 2010 by anxiousapplicant

[Babbling Dweeb]

Good Monday morning to the NSSR crew! Today we start a new week of waiting...today I start trying to avoid going home to check the mailbox and make an attempt at getting back into my daily routine. I figure right now, the best thing I can do is try to relax and get back to work so the time passes quickly.

...I'm not sure if it will work, but hey it's worth a shot.

There were some more acceptances over the weekend, maybe a new batch of mail has been sent out just to the Grad cafe crew

Cheers!

[Babbling Dweeb]

Just called to ask about the IA program, the first batch of letters was sent last week...they are doing rolling admission and send batches daily and they "expect most people to hear any day now...but over all within the next couple weeks you should hear." So, it sounds like more waiting.

Hopefully answers soon. I feel like I could barf!

[monkeefugg]

I still haven't gotten a reply to my e-mail inquiry

WTF

[anxiousapplicant]

I still haven't gotten a reply to my e-mail inquiry

WTF

I hate to say it, monkeefugg, but it looks like I won a rather pyrrhic victory in our battle over the meaning of the financial aid emails... I'm still waiting too, although notices were already sent out for my program as well.

[monkeefugg]

I hate to say it, monkeefugg, but it looks like I won a rather pyrrhic victory in our battle over the meaning of the financial aid emails... I'm still waiting too, although notices were already sent out for my program as well.

What is that supposed mean

[Babbling Dweeb]

I think what she means is: since you hadn't heard yet, unfortunately that means the f-aid emails from awhile back were nothing to get excited about other than some random bizarreness that is NSSR and their goofy emails. And that the argument (battle) was basically moot in the grand scheme of things.

[monkeefugg]

I don't see how that follows

[anxiousapplicant]

I don't see how that follows

We fought over the meaning of the financial aid emails, yes? I said it didn't mean anything, you said it did? But clearly it didn't mean anything, otherwise we would have received our acceptance letters by now. But neither one of us has. Therefore, it is an unpleasant case of my being correct, because it screwed me over as well.

[monkeefugg]

It is NOT clear that the financial aid email "doesn't mean anything" since we have yet to receive our decision letters.

Also, I am in Paris, France, so my letter will take time.

People are still receiving letters right now in America

stop being wrong all the time

[anxiousapplicant]

It is NOT clear that the financial aid email "doesn't mean anything" since we have yet to receive our decision letters.

Also, I am in Paris, France, so my letter will take time.

People are still receiving letters right now in America

stop being wrong all the time

Um, well, I'm an hour from NYC so my letter will NOT take time. And they were already mailed out for my program, and I made the deadline, so if I was accepted, I would have received the letter.

[blin811]

Um, well, I'm an hour from NYC so my letter will NOT take time. And they were already mailed out for my program, and I made the deadline, so if I was accepted, I would have received the letter.

If it helps to settle anything at all, I did receive that financial aid e-mail from the New School and received my letter from them on March 17th or 18th. I'm located on the West Coast.

[Babbling Dweeb]

Nothing in the mail today, nothing in the mail yesterday...