2018-2019 Application Thread

[eggsalad14]

34 minutes ago, POC said:

What's going on with UMich? The results page shows several rejects but only one admit. If the decisions are out, where do those stand who have not heard by now? Any idea?

Maybe good news lies ahead? Departments generally are slower sending individual acceptance letters especially if they want to insert in your name and attach the funding package as a PDF. 

I can almost guarantee that the rejection letter for Michigan was sent all in one email and bcc'd to approx 384 of us: they didn't insert names or anything, just a "dear applicant." 

[Pillcopata]

I'm settling into the unpleasant realization that we have a long, *long* weekend of waiting ahead of us....

[sandmoon]

next week is UCLA, MIT, Cornell, Stanford? maybe?

[eggsalad14]

2 minutes ago, sandmoon said:

next week is UCLA, MIT, Cornell, Stanford? maybe?

Sounds around right. I'll dig into some historical times later this weekend but those are definitely on the radar

[sandmoon]

1 minute ago, eggsalad14 said:

Sounds around right. I'll dig into some historical times later this weekend but those are definitely on the radar

Have to say I'm impressed by the amount of time and effort you're putting in! If I had as many acceptances as you I'd just be watching Netflix all night haha.

[ana21]

3 hours ago, Gbrog said:

So, do you guys think that if haven't heard back from Notre Dame (not even to schedule an Interview) yet I should a abandon hope? I think I'll be admitted to another school (interview pending, but I got a very positive email from the committee), but I was hoping to be admitted in ND.

Comparative politics, by the way.

I applied there too, was hopeful until today, I mean we might still make it, I wish you the best of luck. (comparative politics too)

[eggsalad14]

Got an MIT email today, American/methods 

[eggsalad14]

13 minutes ago, sandmoon said:

Have to say I'm impressed by the amount of time and effort you're putting in! If I had as many acceptances as you I'd just be watching Netflix all night haha.

Hey, I like to have two chrome windows open at once - one for pleasure (great British bake off) and one for business (being really anxious about upcoming schools) 

[Theory007]

On 2/7/2019 at 9:11 AM, TheBunny said:

I have a feeling that we will get important results today...

What do you guys think it means if you have not yet heard anything from UNC or Brown at this point (theory)? Is that a rejection you think?

[upsy]

23 minutes ago, eggsalad14 said:

Sounds around right. I'll dig into some historical times later this weekend but those are definitely on the radar

Stanford was 2/15 last year, so next week would be about right. I don't know the others. MIT just now was a week ahead of last year though, so who knows!

Edited February 8, 2019 by upsy

[POC]

39 minutes ago, eggsalad14 said:

Maybe good news lies ahead? Departments generally are slower sending individual acceptance letters especially if they want to insert in your name and attach the funding package as a PDF. 

I can almost guarantee that the rejection letter for Michigan was sent all in one email and bcc'd to approx 384 of us: they didn't insert names or anything, just a "dear applicant." 

No unfortunately not. I found the rejection email in my junk folder. It is pretty disappointing. Good wishes for everyone who got acceptances and sympathies with the rejected.

[dvxyzijil]

4 hours ago, peggy.olson said:

Does anyone have advice on how (or even whether) to respond to a super short personalized email from a professor at an admitted program? (I went to a lax school and I've never addressed a prof by anything other than their first names — should I address them as "Professor Lastname" or "Dr. Lastname" or just "Professor"???) 

I vote for first name only. The first piece of advice I’ve been hearing from professors is that we should now think of ourselves as (very junior) colleagues. The one time I’ve responded to one of these friendly emails with “Professor,” the professor actually immediately shot back with “Please call me FirstName!” 

In my experience, undergrads uniformly use “Professor” while the vast majority of graduate students use first names. I’m from the West Coast and a state school, though. New Englanders, Southerners, and private school folks can weigh in – I always think of you guys as more formal.

And congratulations on your acceptances! That’s so exciting!

[TheBunny]

Rejected by MIT. It was my dream school. It hurts  

[IR1995]

1 minute ago, TheBunny said:

Rejected by MIT. It was my dream school. It hurts  

Same. I wouldn’t call it my dream school, but it was one I really thought was a good fit

[dvxyzijil]

Also claiming both an MIT and a Michigan rejection. Telling myself that it’s a good thing the process is finally wrapping up. Glad they released acceptances and rejections at the same time.

[TheBunny]

49 minutes ago, Theory007 said:

What do you guys think it means if you have not yet heard anything from UNC or Brown at this point (theory)? Is that a rejection you think?

Brown drives me crazy. They are so taciturn that they did not say anything

[IR1995]

At this point I’m more eagerly anticipating funding information for the schools I’m accepted to than decisions from the 3 schools I have left. It’s tough to start deciding where you want to go when you don’t know how the funding is going to vary 

[mliliu]

Still nothing from Brown (comparative politics) yet. It is driving me crazy. 

[taraeh]

49 minutes ago, dvxyzijil said:

I vote for first name only. The first piece of advice I’ve been hearing from professors is that we should now think of ourselves as (very junior) colleagues. The one time I’ve responded to one of these friendly emails with “Professor,” the professor actually immediately shot back with “Please call me FirstName!” 

In my experience, undergrads uniformly use “Professor” while the vast majority of graduate students use first names. I’m from the West Coast and a state school, though. New Englanders, Southerners, and private school folks can weigh in – I always think of you guys as more formal.

And congratulations on your acceptances! That’s so exciting!

I think this is very bad advice.  Please use Professor or Dr.  As someone who has worked in a professional work environment for many years it would be a big mistake to assume these professors are now your friends.  They just gave you the biggest opportunity of your life - now you have to earn your keep.

[IcedCovfefe]

When cold-emailing profs I tend to go for “Professor so-and-so,” but after that my rule of thumb is to address someone with whatever they signed their previous email with.  I find that really the preference for this varies by individual, but I agree with the comment above that mentions a collegial relationship rather than the undergrad/instructor one. 

[trinityshot]

Claiming an MIT acceptance, American/methods

[peggy.olson]

Thank you all for the thoughtful advice re: emails!!!!!!!

[doodlejump]

I received a personalized email from a professor at one of my admitted universities two days ago. He said he is interested in my research questions and wanted to discuss more. I am wondering how you guys would respond to such emails. Thank you!

[dvxyzijil]

1 hour ago, taraeh said:

I think this is very bad advice.  Please use Professor or Dr.  As someone who has worked in a professional work environment for many years it would be a big mistake to assume these professors are now your friends.  They just gave you the biggest opportunity of your life - now you have to earn your keep.

Your experience is a good counterexample. My West Coast instincts might be proving a little maladaptive here.

But my experience has been that colleagues (who work together regularly) call each other by their first names. That’s coming from think tanks, development NGO’s, and my undergrad institution.

I would say to keep an open mind about dropping titles, especially if you’re headed out west. Using titles in a more casual department might be seen as overly formal and even obsequious.

Edited February 9, 2019 by dvxyzijil

[taraeh]

11 minutes ago, dvxyzijil said:

Your experience is a good counterexample. My West Coast instincts might be proving a little maladaptive here.

But my experience has been that colleagues (who work together regularly) call each other by their first names. That’s coming from think tanks, development NGO’s, and my undergrad institution.

I would say to keep an open mind about dropping titles, especially if you’re headed out west. Using titles in a more casual department might be seen as overly formal and even obsequious.

Of course, if you are colleagues who work together regularly that is fine. I assume this person has never met the professor and is hoping to start off on the right foot. I am a current graduate student at Columbia and with faculty, first name basis must be earned or used only when expressly given permission. 

These professors don't owe you anything and although this is not undergrad anymore, being a graduate students doesn't change your student status. You will be working for them and learning from them. For now, be safe and treat them like your boss.  If they come back with "please call me ___" then great. Until then, do yourself a favor and call them the title they have worked really hard to earn.

Again... I have a lot of work experience in some very big organizations (think tanks, academia, IGO, etc) and it has been my experience that calling anybody by their first name, especially in this capacity, is presumptuous. 

Edited February 9, 2019 by taraeh