rejected from all schools but one ...

[kobe36]

hi all:

I am sitting here and I am totally freaking out. I have been rejected from all the schools except for one (which is also the highest ranked schools out of all the one I applied). The problem is it was an unofficial letter of acceptance via email and the official letter is not supposed to come for another week or 2. But I received the last decision an hour ago (from an STATE school) that rejected me because I didn't meet the minimum requirement for GPA> and so now I am freaking out that the school that accepted me (ranked #4 out of my major) might have sent me a false acceptance letter, maybe it was the wrong person or they read my GPA wrong or something.

Has this happened to anyone?? rejected by all that they have applied to except the highest ranked one?? received a false acceptance letter???

maybe sharing stories will keep my mind off of this until next week when the letter is in my hands ...

[res2135]

If it helps, I was waitlisted at all of the schools I applied to and then accepted to the 2nd highest ranked one (ranked #5 for Speech Pathology). I really wouldn't worry too much about your other rejections- who knows what each adcom wants?

[fuzzylogician]

In general it is possible to be rejected by lower ranked schools and accepted to higher ranked ones. It's all about fit. And to some extent the luck of the draw. Don't worry about this too much.

In your specific case, I'd suggest you contact whoever sent you the unofficial acceptance email and check with them what's going on. Usually the department will make its recommendations to the graduate school, and it's then the graduate school's responsibility to make sure that all the applicants meet the university-wide acceptance requirements (including GPA) and to send out the official acceptance letters. This process can take some time, and in the vast majority of the cases the graduate school approves everyone that the department recommended (probably in large part because departments don't recommend students who don't meet the basic requirements). However, if for some reason someone doesn't get approved by the graduate school but had already gotten an unofficial email from the department, that would probably count as a case of what you called "a false acceptance letter," and those cases do unfortunately exist. They are extremely rare so you shouldn't be losing sleep over this possibility, but as I suggested, it might ease your mind to write the department again and inquire as to your status. Good luck!

[zerolife]

I wouldn't be too worried. My understanding is that most schools do not have a minimum GPA. Instead, they are looking for the overall package. Sure, you might have a low GPA but you probably also have something else the highest ranked school values more than the other schools.

[kobe36]

thanks for all the advice.... i contacted the dept but did not give them my name and i asked when the official acceptance letter will get here and she says in 1 or 2 week and she also says that the graduate school will not deny you if u have a low GPA but only if your degree isn't real ... so I think I am just going to sit tight and wait until the letter comes. i read on here that someone did get an acceptance and the school retracted it that same week saying it was a mistake. so i guess it does happen more often than we think. however, i got my unofficial acceptance 3 weeks ago and if it was a mistake, they must have caught it by now, right???

[digits2006]

You could just email your POI and ask them directly. Then, when they say it was meant for you, you can accept. After accepting, you can start planning trips there and looking for housing. So much easier to ask.

[kobe36]

this is for a master's program in social work. But you are right, it is so much easier to call the admissions and just ask. I think that I am just scared if they say oh we did make a mistake or something along those lines.

[Abeja]

If it helps, I was waitlisted at all of the schools I applied to and then accepted to the 2nd highest ranked one (ranked #5 for Speech Pathology). I really wouldn't worry too much about your other rejections- who knows what each adcom wants?

Hey there- looks like you're up in my dream school- Vanderbilt? i'm hoping to get into their speech path program, but I'm thinking my GPA is too low @ 3.6. (3.7+ in my major). may i ask if you had a pretty stellar GPA?