Still on Waitlist

[Whitley]

Hi guys, the waiting game is still there. I am waiting listed  in a Finance PhD program and the coordinator just informed me that they haven't heard anything from the applicants whom they sent offers to at this moment. The program only sent out two offers and neither of those two students make a decision yet. I didn't apply for too many programs this year. Two rejected me in late match, I withdrew one, and now I am waiting for the last one to either accept or deny me.

The coordinator is extremely nice and provided me much information about the program but I was told the only chance I could be removed from the waitlist is one student declining the offer. The coordinator promised to notify me as soon as they got any information from the students. I was quite depressed in February. Now I got two job offers and it really eases my stress. So I am not really worry about my life in September. But do a phd is still me first choice.

I am wondering why those students haven't made any decisions at this moment. I know the deadline is April 15th, so theoretically, nobody can force them to make a decision now. They may want to wait for their top choices, but I believe most programs have already settled down, especially top programs. I'll wait until April 15 and contact the program again. Who can tell me what is my possibility to get on board this year based on my situation?

For those who have more than two offers in hand and haven't decided where to go now. Please at least decline one offer and give some hope to the students on waitlists.

 

You all, please stay safe and healthy in the pandemic at this very moment.

[zephyrdoo]

Whitley, I'm with you - I've been on the waitlist for my top-choice PhD program since early March, and have been waiting it out since then. They told me that they only admit two per year, and I've spent a lot of time wondering why those people wouldn't have replied yet. I also wonder if I'm not first on the waitlist (they told me that there were a handful of others), and so others might have been offered a spot before me. In short, I get what you're saying, and it's frustrating to wait and wonder. I'm going to call on April 15 if I don't hear anything by then. 

Best of luck to you!

[sad pepe]

It's a vicious cycle: everyone is waiting for everyone else to accept/decline, leaving those on the waitlist wondering what in the world is going on. There's not much we can really do besides waiting for those with offers to make a decision, while they themselves wait for still others if they are also on waitlists. That's just how it works, and it's not rare at all to receive results after the 15th. But it's good to know that you have other options on the table, especially during these tough times.

It's also very common to apply a second time around or even third time. Grad school applications are very tough, and the decisions are to some extent very arbitrary. Many people have ended up doing very well with applications after failing to get in anywhere in their first try. So even if it doesn't work out in the end, you can always try again later!

Something to keep in mind though, given the economic impact of the coronavirus, grad school admissions will likely become very competitive in the coming years, with increase in the number of applicants and decrease in cohort sizes and funding. So if you have an offer this year, it's probably the best.

[Whitley]

On 4/10/2020 at 4:26 PM, zephyrdoo said:

Whitley, I'm with you - I've been on the waitlist for my top-choice PhD program since early March, and have been waiting it out since then. They told me that they only admit two per year, and I've spent a lot of time wondering why those people wouldn't have replied yet. I also wonder if I'm not first on the waitlist (they told me that there were a handful of others), and so others might have been offered a spot before me. In short, I get what you're saying, and it's frustrating to wait and wonder. I'm going to call on April 15 if I don't hear anything by then. 

Best of luck to you!

I totally feel you! It's April 15th today. I am not sure if I need to call them or just wait for their notification. I'll see what will happen today.

 

I wish you the best luck on your application.

[Whitley]

On 4/11/2020 at 4:24 AM, jonliu said:

It's a vicious cycle: everyone is waiting for everyone else to accept/decline, leaving those on the waitlist wondering what in the world is going on. There's not much we can really do besides waiting for those with offers to make a decision, while they themselves wait for still others if they are also on waitlists. That's just how it works, and it's not rare at all to receive results after the 15th. But it's good to know that you have other options on the table, especially during these tough times.

It's also very common to apply a second time around or even third time. Grad school applications are very tough, and the decisions are to some extent very arbitrary. Many people have ended up doing very well with applications after failing to get in anywhere in their first try. So even if it doesn't work out in the end, you can always try again later!

Something to keep in mind though, given the economic impact of the coronavirus, grad school admissions will likely become very competitive in the coming years, with increase in the number of applicants and decrease in cohort sizes and funding. So if you have an offer this year, it's probably the best.

Yep! It is a vicious cycle. Probably there's a large chance I will be unsuccessful this year. But anyway, today is April 15th, I will see what will happen.

 

I wish you the best luck for your application this year.