2020 Applicants

[caeiro]

9 hours ago, Starbuck420 said:

frankly, guys, I am planning not to attend in person classes in the fall. I work at the world’s main STM publisher, and hearing that bosses expect 18 months of telework 

18 months would mean telelearning throughout the first year  

[Starbuck420]

48 minutes ago, caeiro said:

18 months would mean telelearning throughout the first year

Right, but I think this is their worst case scenario planning, so am optimistic it will only be half of that? I think it's about to get really bad, so we'll have to see

[The Hoosier Oxonian]

1 hour ago, caeiro said:

18 months would mean telelearning throughout the first year  

There's also some talk that this will come in waves, which is almost more worrying - I could imagine a scenario where everything is sort of back to "normal" in time for everyone to move and start school in August, only for another wave to hit and the world to do this whole shutdown thing again in November. (Though I'm always one to catastrophize, so anything I say should be interpreted with that in mind.)

[xyz14]

Hi everyone! I'm new to this forum because I've been googling some questions and just found out it exists! Wish I had known about it earlier. I am currently doing a one-year UK MA and accepted a PhD offer in the US starting fall 2020, and as is standard they need my transcripts from both undergrad and my MA to confirm my matriculation. But because of how my UK institution does grading, I literally have no grades available (they do two rounds of marking for everything and the second round isn't until the end of my degree), and I won't have a result from my dissertation until November which is months after I'll start the PhD. I've emailed the graduate admissions office and they've been very unhelpful because they just keep asking for an official transcript, but my official transcript is empty! The UK office is also closed because of coronavirus and isn't processing transcripts until further notice anyway. Has anyone gone through this/heard of others who have? 

(Also, congrats to everyone who has offers and solidarity with those still waiting for waitlists—this was such a brutal experience, not to mention the excruciating uncertainty of coronavirus! I actually only got into what was luckily my top choice program, and waitlisted at a few others.)

[meghan_sparkle]

1 hour ago, xyz14 said:

Hi everyone! I'm new to this forum because I've been googling some questions and just found out it exists! Wish I had known about it earlier. I am currently doing a one-year UK MA and accepted a PhD offer in the US starting fall 2020, and as is standard they need my transcripts from both undergrad and my MA to confirm my matriculation. But because of how my UK institution does grading, I literally have no grades available (they do two rounds of marking for everything and the second round isn't until the end of my degree), and I won't have a result from my dissertation until November which is months after I'll start the PhD. I've emailed the graduate admissions office and they've been very unhelpful because they just keep asking for an official transcript, but my official transcript is empty! The UK office is also closed because of coronavirus and isn't processing transcripts until further notice anyway. Has anyone gone through this/heard of others who have? 

(Also, congrats to everyone who has offers and solidarity with those still waiting for waitlists—this was such a brutal experience, not to mention the excruciating uncertainty of coronavirus! I actually only got into what was luckily my top choice program, and waitlisted at a few others.)

You can probably get an on-course transcript from your institution that shows the names of the courses/exams and "pending"? I know when I applied for my masters and I only had grades for my 1st year exams (it was January and I wasn't going to sit final exams til June and get marks in July) and the transcript just had "--" for the pending ones, but I still had to submit that and then send the completed one later, annoyingly!

[Jetpacked]

2 hours ago, xyz14 said:

Hi everyone! I'm new to this forum because I've been googling some questions and just found out it exists! Wish I had known about it earlier. I am currently doing a one-year UK MA and accepted a PhD offer in the US starting fall 2020, and as is standard they need my transcripts from both undergrad and my MA to confirm my matriculation. But because of how my UK institution does grading, I literally have no grades available (they do two rounds of marking for everything and the second round isn't until the end of my degree), and I won't have a result from my dissertation until November which is months after I'll start the PhD. I've emailed the graduate admissions office and they've been very unhelpful because they just keep asking for an official transcript, but my official transcript is empty! The UK office is also closed because of coronavirus and isn't processing transcripts until further notice anyway. Has anyone gone through this/heard of others who have? 

(Also, congrats to everyone who has offers and solidarity with those still waiting for waitlists—this was such a brutal experience, not to mention the excruciating uncertainty of coronavirus! I actually only got into what was luckily my top choice program, and waitlisted at a few others.)

Fellow UK student here — failing official transcripts of any sort (which is what happened to me, not due to coronavirus but just regular old administrative delays at my university), I asked my referee to vouch for my achieved grades so far on official letterhead. He was also the course director. I confirmed this with admissions for my PhD programmes in the UK and they were okay with it as a temporary measure until official transcripts could be provided, whenever that might be. Could be worth suggesting if you’re getting nowhere with other options, though I’m not sure how amenable US programmes will be to it! First and foremost I’d try for the interim transcripts suggested above, though, which should be accessible.

Edited March 20, 2020 by Jetpacked

[iamaperson]

On 3/19/2020 at 2:24 PM, Starbuck420 said:

Do folks think it's appropriate to ask Professors whether or not their Department is planning for the possibility that in-person classes might not take place in the fall? We'll see what happens, but it seems like this is a definite possibility, so it doesn't feel outrageous to ask imo, but want to get others' thoughts if possible.

Also, anyone else getting nervous about leaving their job as this global recession (possible depression, tbh) looms? I sure am

As someone currently in a program, I don't think it's inappropriate at all to ask - I would just say that it's unlikely they'll have any kind of real answer, both because they're not the ones making the decision, and also because everyone, at least in my dept., is essentially taking things week by week, or even day by day, right now just to keep up with changes to normal business -- it's really been basically all hands on deck to respond to the immediate chaos of moving (or choosing not to move) classes online, managing reimbursements & cancelled events, phasing down research, moving all work to remote as campus buildings are closed, figuring out ways to continue grad recruitment amidst all that while many grad students are either leaving campus or helping their students figure out how to do the same, etc., etc. Maybe in the next week or so, when the first wave of disruption is past, profs, DGS's, and dept. admins, will be able to give you a better sense of what the fall semester looks like, but until then, I think a lot of programs are just as in the dark as anyone else, unfortunately.

Edited March 21, 2020 by iamaperson
grammar....

[merry night wanderer]

For one of my visit days, the dept administration sent an email that everything was still on thirty minutes before the sent another, announcing that the university was having them cancel. The depts definitely aren't always in the loop, and I'd guess the university proper would just give you a really vague, conservative answer if asked...

[Kapol-in]

Off-topic, but does anybody know how detrimental pass/fails on your transcripts are to your application?

[xyz14]

5 hours ago, meghan_sparkle said:

You can probably get an on-course transcript from your institution that shows the names of the courses/exams and "pending"? I know when I applied for my masters and I only had grades for my 1st year exams (it was January and I wasn't going to sit final exams til June and get marks in July) and the transcript just had "--" for the pending ones, but I still had to submit that and then send the completed one later, annoyingly!

 

4 hours ago, Jetpacked said:

Fellow UK student here — failing official transcripts of any sort (which is what happened to me, not due to coronavirus but just regular old administrative delays at my university), I asked my referee to vouch for my achieved grades so far on official letterhead. He was also the course director. I confirmed this with admissions for my PhD programmes in the UK and they were okay with it as a temporary measure until official transcripts could be provided, whenever that might be. Could be worth suggesting if you’re getting nowhere with other options, though I’m not sure how amenable US programmes will be to it! First and foremost I’d try for the interim transcripts suggested above, though, which should be accessible.

Thank you both so much! I'll definitely check out these options, this is really helpful. I totally get needing the official confirmation before I enroll, it just seems so strange since there's not a single grade available yet... but alas, bureaucracy never dies 

[gooniesneversaydie]

So, we're just over 3 weeks away from the April 15th deadline. The silence has become absolute. I'm reminded of the episode of Spongebob where he visits Glove World and gets stranded in Rock Bottom.

"This isn't your average everyday darkness. This is...advanced darkness."

[tinymica]

6 hours ago, gooniesneversaydie said:

So, we're just over 3 weeks away from the April 15th deadline.

This knowledge is the beast behind my stress dreams

[gooniesneversaydie]

Are we at a point yet in society where we can start leveraging our toilet paper supply for acceptances? Or maybe even reconsiderations?? Would Brown rethink my application for 6 rolls of 2-ply? 12? Okay, okay, 15. 

[karamazov]

A little bit of good news came to me a few days ago in the midst of all this craziness and uncertainty: I've successfully leveraged one of my offers to increase my stipend at another institution! I got word that the college's dean approved an increase, and I should receive further details this week. I really wasn't expecting them to bite, so this is a very nice surprise! 

[gooniesneversaydie]

In my attempt to spread humor during this tumultuous time, I finally figured out how to add photos. At long last, here is Coraline (and Charli too!). May they bring a hopeful smile and a reminder that we never had actual control over anything anyway, because cats are our supreme overlords and we exist solely to do their bidding. Grad school wasn't even my idea, it was theirs.

[triplebreakpt]

hey guys, new here.

holding offers from Princeton and Cambridge, but entirely unsure what to choose given the state of the world right now. does anyone think asking for an extension to Princeton's April 15 deadline would be a good idea? I have no idea if they're likely to move it or anything, but it's approaching quickly and I definitely need more time. also considering deferring, should I email my department? thank you for any advice you can give!

[Brown_Bear]

Anyone heard of schools wanting applicants to accept/decline offers before Apr. 15? Anyone had to accept an offer before hearing back from all programs?

Edited March 23, 2020 by Puurple

[WildeThing]

They can try to nudge you but if they’re members of the organization that oversees the April 15 deadline then they can’t make you decide before then. But schools want to know ASAP (just like we do, yet we wait for twice as long at least).

[ccab4670]

32 minutes ago, Puurple said:

Anyone heard of schools wanting applicants to accept/decline offers before Apr. 15? Anyone had to accept an offer before hearing back from all programs?

I just had a zoom meeting with folks at Boston College today, and the Director of Grad Studies personally told us on the call that it's fine if the decision to enroll comes after April 15 at this point. They stressed only letting the department know in advance so that they can in turn notify the graduate school. If BC is being lenient like this, I'm sure other schools might be as well!

[Byssche]

Hi! New here; a question on waitlists: I’ve been accepted at 3 programs and waitlisted at one that I most wish to go to. The DGS said that they hope to offer me admission and asked I tell him before I made a decision elsewhere...do people know why he would want this info? would that possibly expedite an acceptance? I already feel wary of the condescending “we love your work so much we wish we could accept you” thing, and I don’t want to get played by them if I wait it all the way out

[karamazov]

2 hours ago, Byssche said:

The DGS said that they hope to offer me admission and asked I tell him before I made a decision elsewhere...do people know why he would want this info? would that possibly expedite an acceptance?

Welcome to the forum!

So, I'm thinking that it's possible that the DGS may want to avoid a situation where you accept an offer elsewhere when he had just been about to contact you with the news that you've been accepted off the waitlist. Like, it's possible that at some point he will find out that he can accept you, but then he may take a day or two to put together your offer, and in the intervening time if you decide to accept elsewhere without contacting him you might miss a chance that otherwise would have been available to you. Does that make sense? Basically, like, he might be asking you to check in before you commit elsewhere just in case he's about to send you good news. This is 100% conjecture, though. I really have no idea. But I would say that if you're already feeling wary of the vibe you're getting from them, and if you see his messages as condescending, maybe you should listen to that gut feeling? 

[Glasperlenspieler]

13 hours ago, Byssche said:

Hi! New here; a question on waitlists: I’ve been accepted at 3 programs and waitlisted at one that I most wish to go to. The DGS said that they hope to offer me admission and asked I tell him before I made a decision elsewhere...do people know why he would want this info? would that possibly expedite an acceptance? I already feel wary of the condescending “we love your work so much we wish we could accept you” thing, and I don’t want to get played by them if I wait it all the way out

I'd agree with @karamazov. At this point, you should decide which of the three programs to which you've been accepted you'd most like to attend and decline the offers from the other two. Wait to accept the offer from your favorite of the three until the last minute in case your wait list pans out. It would probably make sense to email the department where you're waitlisted a few days before the April 15th deadline informing them that you would like to attend if accepted but are planning on accepting another offer if you don't hear anything further from them. 

[Byssche]

10 hours ago, karamazov said:

Welcome to the forum!

So, I'm thinking that it's possible that the DGS may want to avoid a situation where you accept an offer elsewhere when he had just been about to contact you with the news that you've been accepted off the waitlist. Like, it's possible that at some point he will find out that he can accept you, but then he may take a day or two to put together your offer, and in the intervening time if you decide to accept elsewhere without contacting him you might miss a chance that otherwise would have been available to you. Does that make sense? Basically, like, he might be asking you to check in before you commit elsewhere just in case he's about to send you good news. This is 100% conjecture, though. I really have no idea. But I would say that if you're already feeling wary of the vibe you're getting from them, and if you see his messages as condescending, maybe you should listen to that gut feeling? 

 

29 minutes ago, Glasperlenspieler said:

I'd agree with @karamazov. At this point, you should decide which of the three programs to which you've been accepted you'd most like to attend and decline the offers from the other two. Wait to accept the offer from your favorite of the three until the last minute in case your wait list pans out. It would probably make sense to email the department where you're waitlisted a few days before the April 15th deadline informing them that you would like to attend if accepted but are planning on accepting another offer if you don't hear anything further from them. 

Thank you both! Yes, I’m definitely planning to choose between my three in the next week: hopefully that can help people on those waitlists. As far as the condescension goes, it may just be me being too sensitive (as I’m oft to be given how damaging to self confidence the application process is.) Another question for the folks out here: do people ever feel like they get in off a waitlist and feel like an outsider in the cohort? Since professors work so hard to recruit the original acceptees, I’ve worried that my second-choice status would be conspicuous if I decided to go. Maybe this is once again my own anxiety...

[onerepublic96]

Waiting for BU’s Rejection Diary: Day 325,100,563

I’m now at a point at which the entire application cycle just feels fake. None of it happened. It was just a dream. I applied to grad school last year? Fake. Notifications still pending? Definitely fake. 

Edited March 24, 2020 by onerepublic96

[LilyNags]

Hi all-- finally posting because the waitlist pressure has got to me. Will schools at which you are waitlisted notify you regardless of their decision?