2018-2019 Application Thread

[IcedCovfefe]

16 minutes ago, eggsalad14 said:

Yes, so much. I have a trillion emails that I haven't answered yet because I don't know what to say. I'm thinking a "I look forward to meeting with you during the visitation weekend." Honestly what I really want to ask them is about what faculty are going to move/retire and what faculty will be joining them soon, but I feel this may only be appropriate to ask in-person. 

This 100%, as well as most of the things I want to know are about departmental culture which seems like something to be observed rather than asked about.  Additionally there are questions for current students like "what's it like working with Professor XYZ" where facial expression and intonation could tell you a lot more than a carefully typed out email.  

[calvinssy]

On 2/9/2019 at 2:21 AM, eggsalad14 said:

Howdy y'all, welcome to another episode of "What Big Name Schools are Going to Drop Some Decisions This Next Week?" ???

 

Standard caveat (to be read aloud super quickly) : There are always reasons why things aren't the same year-to-year, like new having a new DGS, someone being out on vacation or an emergency, or conference timings. It is way above my paygrade to verify whether or not any of these things are at play. I do not and cannot guarantee that any results will come when they are predicted to off of historical data -- and frankly, if I could, I would be monetizing the heck out of it. 

 

These are ordered pretty much by when I expect to hear things back and that could possibly be next week:

UCLA: Since 2011, results have always come by the first week of February. By all estimates, this year is on the late side for an otherwise pretty consistent school. Forecast: Very soon

UC Davis: Same deal as UCLA. 

Wash U St. Louis: I've seen as late as Feb 15, which as you would know it, is indeed next week.  Forecast: some point next week. There's more variance across years for WUSTL, so don't put more money on it coming out on Monday versus Friday. 

UNC for those outside of the American subfield: Not sure if any of these have come out yet? The results page only indicates the American subfield. I haven't seen anything come later than about Feb 13 historically. Forecast: some point next week, possibly divided by subfield

Cornell: Another high variance school. Have come out as late as Feb 26 but more often than not in about the second week of Feb. Forecast: you can get your hopes up but please not too much that we'll know by the end of the week

Stanford: Looks like they try to stick around the mid-point of February give or take a few days, but have historically been as late as Feb 20th and as early as late January. Forecast: I don't know about anyone else, but I am ready to have one of my greatest hopes and dreams crushed pretty likely by Friday of this week as the Stanford math department announces that they have discovered the smallest non-zero number, and that number happens to be the same number as the Political Science department acceptance rate

University of Pennsylvania: Looks like they try to keep it approximately around Feb 15-20. There's a bit of variance though. Forecast: More likely around the 18th, but possible late this next week.

Columbia: More variance in more recent years, but looking at the historical release record as a whole, they seem to aim for mid-February. Forecast: We could be getting this as early as Monday next week but also maybe not for two more weeks, who knows. 

Vanderbilt: I believe interview requests have already gone out, and conventional wisdom is that at Vandy, no interview=rejection. They have been as early as next week but I think the interviews aren't until next week (it could be cool if someone confirmed this, I didn't apply to Vanderbilt) edit started earlier this week, so decisions probably won't come until later. Forecast: The last three years point to Feb 20-something, this is probably something worth asking in your interview if you want a better answer than this magic 8 ball I'm using an official answer

Georgetown:  These went out Feb 17 this year and last year. Previously they've been a trickle starting around now. Forecast: probably not until the week of Feb 17, though if we get any notification of like only 1 or 2 people hearing back, don't freak out too much

 

Notably missing: Harvard (will almost definitely make us wait two more weeks) and Yale (has released as early as about 2/14 but that does not seem to be the recent trend. It seems like they like 2/20 more these days). 

 

FYI, my friend got wait listed by Harvard Government on Feb 1st... IR subfield...Good luck to myself and everyone who is waiting for Harvard

[PolisciappDZ]

10 minutes ago, calvinssy said:

FYI, my friend got wait listed by Harvard Government on Feb 1st... IR subfield...Good luck to myself and everyone who is waiting for Harvard

How did he hear?

[TheBunny]

24 minutes ago, PolisciappDZ said:

How did he hear?

I have the same question as well. It is very unlikely people hear from Harvard before Feb 15 sometimes before Feb 22. You need to be an absolute star to hear back early. Harvard IR is the only one I am waiting right now. 

[IcedCovfefe]

Seems odd that an early decision would be waitlist rather than something definitive too. 

[amyvt98]

1 hour ago, IcedCovfefe said:

This 100%, as well as most of the things I want to know are about departmental culture which seems like something to be observed rather than asked about.  Additionally there are questions for current students like "what's it like working with Professor XYZ" where facial expression and intonation could tell you a lot more than a carefully typed out email.  

I haven't been in the position to ask/answer questions at this stage in the process (haven't heard from any schools yet,except one wait list), but I'm am executive at a political consulting firm, so I field a lot of questions from people who are looking to go into the field and I interview a lot of people for jobs. One question that I think translates well to email is "what is something that I should know about your school that I can't tell from reading about it?" Or something to that extent. That type of question is open-ended enough that people can answer the questions any way they want. Their answer often ends up telling me more about the question answerer than the institution itself, which can be informative if the professor is someone that you might work with. 

[sandmoon]

1 hour ago, amyvt98 said:

I haven't been in the position to ask/answer questions at this stage in the process (haven't heard from any schools yet,except one wait list), but I'm am executive at a political consulting firm, so I field a lot of questions from people who are looking to go into the field and I interview a lot of people for jobs. One question that I think translates well to email is "what is something that I should know about your school that I can't tell from reading about it?" Or something to that extent. That type of question is open-ended enough that people can answer the questions any way they want. Their answer often ends up telling me more about the question answerer than the institution itself, which can be informative if the professor is someone that you might work with. 

Thanks for the suggestion! I agree with the OP though. It's hard to imagine that a professor would say something over email that he or the department is not making available online.

[ana21]

On 2/9/2019 at 3:58 PM, Gbrog said:

I talked to one ND professor at the beginning of the week (who is not in the committee this year) and of course he doesn't know the particulars of what's going on but he said there is still hope up until the end of the 15th or so.

Of course, then a couple days later they started to admit CP applicants, so I don't know. Did they call you for an Interview?

Thanks and best of luck for you too.

Honestly ND and Pitt were my top choices, given my research interests and all of that, but well I guess waiting is all I can do, im honestly trying to stay positive throughout this whole process which is not as easy as I thought 

[IcedCovfefe]

I’m about to be really jumpy whenever my phone buzzes this week.  Hoping for that call from California ?

Edited February 10, 2019 by IcedCovfefe

[plzuniverse]

5 hours ago, quesadilla said:

Whoever was asking about ND theory admits, I have a friend who got accepted for theory the same day I did for CP. I feel like you see less theory acceptance reports because there are less theory applicants and maybe they’re less likely to post online.

Thanks for the info and congrats to your friend! Did your friend say how the news came? Was it an official acceptance letter, an email from the POI or else? 

[quesadilla]

20 minutes ago, plzuniverse said:

Thanks for the info and congrats to your friend! Did your friend say how the news came? Was it an official acceptance letter, an email from the POI or else? 

I think it was the official acceptance letter because he also mentioned the same funding info I had, but I could be wrong.

[yubs89]

1 hour ago, IcedCovfefe said:

I’m about to be really jumpy whenever my phone buzzes this week.  Hoping for that call from California ?

Where in Cali? Good luck!

[TiKei]

14 hours ago, IcedCovfefe said:

People from programs keep asking if I have any questions.  In most cases, I either don't have questions yet or I'd rather ask them in person on a campus visit, but I feel stupid just telling people "nope I'm good" when they're reaching out.  Anyone else struggling with this?

In short:

https://academicpositions.com/career-advice/the-best-questions-to-ask-during-a-phd-interview?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=organic+post&fbclid=IwAR1zF2QfWxME9pjfmO7azSLLVgNTtmB6vzUkr2cg8ypV3zZxKHkSqQDXI6Y

[Onwarrdz]

Anyone have any insight about when Columbia might be? It seems they're much later than last year. 

[at281]

To those admitted to Rochester: can you PM me so that we all get to know one another, share our info and perspectives on the program, discuss our fields of interest, expectations. etc.? Thanks!

[amyvt98]

Claiming a Maryland admit. Funding was included in the offer letter. I'm so excited and relieved!

[ijustwantin]

Also claiming a Maryland admit - American subfield

[Larm]

Does anyone have neews from Pittsburgh?

[arctic_ice]

9 minutes ago, Larm said:

Does anyone have neews from Pittsburgh?

The first wave of offers of admission went out the previous week. However, the waitlist has not been finished yet. (according to the graduate administrator from U Pitt)

If not a secret, what is the subfield of your research interest? 

[Marius G]

UMD admits, have your status on the online platform changed? And have you received a personalized email?

[humanpinata]

Still haven't heard anything from Chapel Hill or Vanderbilt, so probably safe to assume rejections at this point... Anyone have some secret personal insight into when to expect Georgetown? I'm pretty sure they don't do interviews, right?

[ijustwantin]

Just now, Marius G said:

UMD admits, have your status on the online platform changed? And have you received a personalized email?

My status online hasn't changed, I think it said that it had to be fully approved by DGS before it would change online.  The email seemed generic but it was from the Director of Graduate Studies and had a personalized letter describing my funding package.  

[Larm]

7 minutes ago, arctic_ice said:

The first wave of offers of admission went out the previous week. However, the waitlist has not been finished yet. (according to the graduate administrator from U Pitt)

If not a secret, what is the subfield of your research interest? 

CP

[amyvt98]

2 minutes ago, ijustwantin said:

My status online hasn't changed, I think it said that it had to be fully approved by DGS before it would change online.  The email seemed generic but it was from the Director of Graduate Studies and had a personalized letter describing my funding package.  

My note from the grad director was personalized (we've met before, and he referenced that in the note). I'm guessing he's sending them out one by one. No update to the portal yet. 

[supertitiz]

55 minutes ago, Larm said:

Does anyone have neews from Pittsburgh?

I had an interview last week and got admission today. IR.