Georgetown MSFS Fall 2010

[jaa]

Dear everyone who is waiting anxiously just like me,

I emailed Georgetown Graduate Admissions today asking when and how I will receive my decision. This was their answer;

"Admissions decisions are rendered by the Admissions Committee for each department individually, and deliberations vary in length from one department to the next. Because of this variation, our office cannot speak to where your application is in the review process, or how soon you will hear from the admissions committee. Most admissions decisions should be made and notifications sent by the end of March. We will only be sending notifications in hard copy, through the postal service."

Then I emailed MSFS program asking the same thing. They haven't actually (personally) replied my email yet but the following was included in their auto-reply;

"If you are a current applicant, please be aware that all decisions regarding admission and scholarships will be communicated via postal mail. We plan to have all decisions mailed by April 1st."

(I did the highlighting, not them.)

Best of luck to everyone!

[Kokobear]

Dear everyone who is waiting anxiously just like me,

I emailed Georgetown Graduate Admissions today asking when and how I will receive my decision. This was their answer;

"Admissions decisions are rendered by the Admissions Committee for each department individually, and deliberations vary in length from one department to the next. Because of this variation, our office cannot speak to where your application is in the review process, or how soon you will hear from the admissions committee. Most admissions decisions should be made and notifications sent by the end of March. We will only be sending notifications in hard copy, through the postal service."

Then I emailed MSFS program asking the same thing. They haven't actually (personally) replied my email yet but the following was included in their auto-reply;

"If you are a current applicant, please be aware that all decisions regarding admission and scholarships will be communicated via postal mail. We plan to have all decisions mailed by April 1st."

(I did the highlighting, not them.)

Best of luck to everyone!

[Kokobear]

I am also still waiting to hear from G-town's MSFS. I haven't received either email or mail. I am in NY. I am wondering the scholl sends out the acceptance letters via email,and the wait list/rejection letters via USPS mail.

Is there anyone here who got an acceptance letter through USPS mail?

This has been painful.....

[cafe au lait]

i live in spain and was waitlisted via snail mail.

[Kokobear]

i live in spain and was waitlisted via snail mail.

[Kokobear]

Congratulation! So, you may get in shortly!!!

Would you mind if I ask for your stats and background (academic/professional)?

[fsowannabe]

Are you living overseas as well?

Nope, nyc

[killerbees]

I'm still waiting, too. I live about ten miles away from DC. Shouldn't take that long for a letter to reach me. I applied to the School of Foreign Service for an MSFS with an International Relations and Security focus. Anybody else heard back from them?

Good luck to everybody still waiting, btw! If they can put a man on the moon, surely I can get into grad school, too.

[RunnINcircles]

wow so if they mail it by April 1st it could still be a few days til we all finally hear back!

to killerbees: I applied for the same concentration and no word here either unfortunately. I hope you hear some good news soon soon though!

[Kokobear]

I'm still waiting, too. I live about ten miles away from DC. Shouldn't take that long for a letter to reach me. I applied to the School of Foreign Service for an MSFS with an International Relations and Security focus. Anybody else heard back from them?

Good luck to everybody still waiting, btw! If they can put a man on the moon, surely I can get into grad school, too.

I also applied to the School of Foreign Service with an INternational Relations and Security focus,and haven't heard back from them via email or mail. Interestingly, like you did, I have received a letter from American University (SIS), saying that I am on their wait list.

So, in many ways, we are exactly on the same boat:-) Just out of my curiosity, would you mind of I ask your stats (GRE) and background?

[jaa]

Dear everyone who is waiting anxiously just like me,

I emailed Georgetown Graduate Admissions today asking when and how I will receive my decision. This was their answer;

"Admissions decisions are rendered by the Admissions Committee for each department individually, and deliberations vary in length from one department to the next. Because of this variation, our office cannot speak to where your application is in the review process, or how soon you will hear from the admissions committee. Most admissions decisions should be made and notifications sent by the end of March. We will only be sending notifications in hard copy, through the postal service."

Then I emailed MSFS program asking the same thing. They haven't actually (personally) replied my email yet but the following was included in their auto-reply;

"If you are a current applicant, please be aware that all decisions regarding admission and scholarships will be communicated via postal mail. We plan to have all decisions mailed by April 1st."

(I did the highlighting, not them.)

Best of luck to everyone!

MSFS Admissions wrote back to me;

"We will mail all decision letters by April 1st."

While SFS official line is they will send admissions decisions via postal mail (and by April 1st), there have been so many people reporting they had already received acceptance emails or rejection hard-copy letters from SFS. Does it mean those who got in are notified by email first and those who don't only get hard-copy rejection? And those who haven't heard anything from SFS can only expect a rejection letter in their mailboxes some time soon? Or am I just too pessimistic? I really hope it's the latter.

@Kokobear @RunnINcircles @killerbees I also applied for the same program and concentration!!

[Kokobear]

MSFS Admissions wrote back to me;

"We will mail all decision letters by April 1st."

While SFS official line is they will send admissions decisions via postal mail (and by April 1st), there have been so many people reporting they had already received acceptance emails or rejection hard-copy letters from SFS. Does it mean those who got in are notified by email first and those who don't only get hard-copy rejection? And those who haven't heard anything from SFS can only expect a rejection letter in their mailboxes some time soon? Or am I just too pessimistic? I really hope it's the latter.

@Kokobear @RunnINcircles @killerbees I also applied for the same program and concentration!!

I am holding a small but strong hope. Last year, I know several people received acceptance letters via postal mail while many other received their acceptance letters via email. So, we can still have some hope. And, in many cases, people are receiving wait list letters via mail.

So, let's have our hope until the last moment!

[nihs.j]

Not many people who have already received their acceptance from Georgetown has talked about funding. For those who have already gotten their admissions notice, did you receive any funding from the school?

Still waiting for my letter. I'm wondering if funding has anything to do with how late their decision is for a number of people.

[killerbees]

I also applied to the School of Foreign Service with an INternational Relations and Security focus,and haven't heard back from them via email or mail. Interestingly, like you did, I have received a letter from American University (SIS), saying that I am on their wait list.

So, in many ways, we are exactly on the same boat:-) Just out of my curiosity, would you mind of I ask your stats (GRE) and background?

GRE: about 1400

GPA: about 3.3-3.4

Undergrad: completely unrelated to IR (but 3.4 GPA in major)

BG: last four years overseas (but not really working in an IR-related field)

Rec: two great recs, one wildcard (never got to read it; prof. never sent it to me)

I'm also a couple of years older than the average MSFS student.

Good luck to everybody!

Edited March 25, 2010 by killerbees

[quantic]

I don't mean to be the bearer of bad news, but I wanted to provide a bit of a reality check to aid those of you still waiting for an MSFS decision.

Those who were admitted to MSFS recieved their letters of admission on March 15 via email. On March 16, large packages were sent with paper admissions letters (dated 12 March), merit funding information, conditional admission information, enrollment guidelines, etc. The admissions letter made it clear that they had processed all admissions decisions. Most importantly: TODAY, March 25, MSFS is holding two live chat sessions for all admitted students.

I would be very very surprised if anyone who did not receive the initial email will get a decision beyond wait list or rejection. I find it impossible to believe that MSFS would schedule an online chat session today and rely on snail mail to make sure admitted applicants were aware of it. I say this only to urge those of you still holding out to begin focusing your energy on evaluating your other options.

I also assume you have recieved vaugue response from the Georgetown Grad/SFS admissions department becuase they have multiple programs (MAGES, SSP, etc) releasing decisions at different times. MSFS, however, does not appear to be releasing information in waves (a la SIPA). As you can see from the traffic on this site, no one has registered an admit since the initial March 15 email (or there abouts).

All of this said, I will not be taking my offer of admission at MSFS, so best of luck to all of you on the wait list!

[DL2K10]

Thank you so much for that information. While this is what I assumed, the fact there was a live-chat today makes it all the more apparent. However, I think it is somewhat unprofessional on the behalf of MSFS to not notify all applicants in a more systematic manner. I don't need the courtesy of a snail mail letter to tell me the same thing an email would, and allow me to focus on the schools to which I have already been accepted.

[Kokobear]

Thank you so much for that information. While this is what I assumed, the fact there was a live-chat today makes it all the more apparent. However, I think it is somewhat unprofessional on the behalf of MSFS to not notify all applicants in a more systematic manner. I don't need the courtesy of a snail mail letter to tell me the same thing an email would, and allow me to focus on the schools to which I have already been accepted.

Still no mail today......

I called in the admission office,and they told me that the acceptance notice does not necessarirly come via email. The woman I spoke to said, "it is true the email waive was sent out last week and this week, but it doesn't mean that those who haven't got emails weren't accepted". I don't know if she meant those who haven't received letters can be on the wait list, or people, who were finalists in the process, will receive their acceptance letters via mail.

Either way, it is so frustrating.

[Kokobear]

I don't mean to be the bearer of bad news, but I wanted to provide a bit of a reality check to aid those of you still waiting for an MSFS decision.

Those who were admitted to MSFS recieved their letters of admission on March 15 via email. On March 16, large packages were sent with paper admissions letters (dated 12 March), merit funding information, conditional admission information, enrollment guidelines, etc. The admissions letter made it clear that they had processed all admissions decisions. Most importantly: TODAY, March 25, MSFS is holding two live chat sessions for all admitted students.

What is email wave by the way?

I would be very very surprised if anyone who did not receive the initial email will get a decision beyond wait list or rejection. I find it impossible to believe that MSFS would schedule an online chat session today and rely on snail mail to make sure admitted applicants were aware of it. I say this only to urge those of you still holding out to begin focusing your energy on evaluating your other options.

I also assume you have recieved vaugue response from the Georgetown Grad/SFS admissions department becuase they have multiple programs (MAGES, SSP, etc) releasing decisions at different times. MSFS, however, does not appear to be releasing information in waves (a la SIPA). As you can see from the traffic on this site, no one has registered an admit since the initial March 15 email (or there abouts).

All of this said, I will not be taking my offer of admission at MSFS, so best of luck to all of you on the wait list!

[Kokobear]

What is email wave by the way?

[Sarahg]

Does anyone know GT's view on reapplicants? I got in last year but declined my offer bc I thought I would benefit from more work experience. Now, with a full year more working in intl development I think I am a more competitive candidate, but I still haven't heard back and I've had people tell me that Georgetown looks down upon people who "turned them down" the year before. Really really unfair if its true. Anyone have insights on this?

Edited March 25, 2010 by Sarahg

[quantic]

What is email wave by the way?

The "email wave" she was referring to was the set of MSFS acceptance letters released electronically on March 16. If you check the MSFS results page on this site, you will see a string of acceptances reported on March 16 and 17 (depending on whether one was awake when they received the email). I'm sure that the person you spoke to from Admissions was not lying when they said that "just because you did not receive an email does not mean that you had been rejected". A wait-list doth not a reject make

@DL2K10 - I feel your pain. This is a heinous way to go about the admissions process, particularly because it seemed clear from the tone of the admissions letters from March 16 that all decisions (regarding acceptance) had already been rendered by that point. The letter reads "The faculty, students, visiting scholars...who served on the MSFS Admissions Committee reviewed the academic and professional credentials of nearly 1,200 applicants..."). I'm sure this is why Georgetown receives such low marks on admission boards like this one with regard to their handling of the admissions process. Hope you are wait-listed and can take my spot

[La Voz]

Like quantic said, most of that are still waiting are likely only waiting for rejections. Unfortunately, I'm among those still waiting, heh. That's just how it works. I should know too, in 2009 I got rejected across the board.

[killerbees]

Like quantic said, most of that are still waiting are likely only waiting for rejections. Unfortunately, I'm among those still waiting, heh. That's just how it works. I should know too, in 2009 I got rejected across the board.

Well, congratulations. You seem to have done pretty well this year! What did you do in the interim that made such a difference?

[DL2K10]

@Quantic...thanks for the empathy I got into several programs and think I will be attending SAIS, which is exciting. More than anything, I just wanted to have all my cards on the table, to have closure and to move forward being excited and inspired by my upcoming opportunities. I know it was probably not the most pleasant of tasks providing all the gory accepted student details to those of us more than likely waiting in vain, but once again, it was exactly what I (and I am sure others) needed to hear. Good luck in whatever you endeavor to do, MSFS or not.

[nihs.j]

sure enough as quantic said, i received my waitlist letter in the mail today. but at least i can move on now and decide which school i want to attend. good luck to all of you on deciding.

Edited March 26, 2010 by nihs.j