Alabama PhD Experience

[Tiddles]

Hello,

I am just sharing my experience with applying for the Alabama Economics PhD program so others can avoid having the same problems. In November I found out that my two year masters program would be a one year program because of the amount of credits I was taking. Around December I submitted my application to around 10 PhD programs with Alabama being my top choice. I submitted my application and once all of my materials were in my status was "awaiting graduate school evaluation." My materials were in by the January 15th deadline. 

I was awaiting a result when I saw that some people had received offers from Alabama. My status was still awaiting graduate school evaluation so I emailed the department to check my status. They said that there was something wrong with my account so they could no evaluate my application. I reached out to the graduate school and they said they just hadn't bothered to approve me yet. I asked what I needed to do to get approved and they said they'll get to me whenever they get to me. They said that if I had wanted to ensure I was considered I should have applied before November to ensure they had plenty of time. Eventually I was approved and I asked the program contact if there was anything I could do to be considered at this point. She then said the whole ordeal was my fault because I was no asking for updates constantly and that I should have known there was an issue. She could see that there was an issue, I could not. In addition to this I have had a program reach out when there was an issue with another school so it feels more like they just don't care. 

To anyone considering Alabama be warned that the real deadline is early November. After that you will only be considered if they feel like looking at your application. If you can apply for free got for it but since they make you pay to apply I would recommend that you avoid Alabama. There have been some school that I was denied from that I have nothing but good things to say about them, Alabama was simply unprofessional and they showed they don't care about their applicants. There are some schools my department tells applicants to avoid and we will be adding Alabama to that list.