PhD application thread Fall 2023

[waitinglikeits99]

2 hours ago, Dreams said:

 

Penn told me that final decisions were going to be made last week.  They didn’t specify whether that meant that decisions would have been sent to applicants last week, or that announcements were to come beginning this week onward.

 

 

Interesting... the plot thickens. Thanks for sharing the latest info!

[magnamater]

I interviewed with Penn at the end of January, but haven't had any communications from them since then (despite foolishly refreshing ApplyWeb every 2 hours). In the interview I was told that decisions were going to be released around the middle or end of February, but that that was only an estimate and it could be earlier or later. It's the only program I haven't heard from, however.

[aik257]

has anyone heard from University of Maryland, Stony Brook or Penn State?

[Dreams]

1 hour ago, aik257 said:

has anyone heard from University of Maryland, Stony Brook or Penn State?

Maryland already released admit decisions a few weeks ago and had an admitted students event last week.  

Edited March 8, 2023 by Dreams

[anonymous_crazy_cat-lady]

2 hours ago, aik257 said:

has anyone heard from University of Maryland, Stony Brook or Penn State?

I applied and was accepted to Penn State's MA program for Art History. Still waiting to hear back about funding.

[staxdo_21]

4 hours ago, Dreams said:

Maryland already released admit decisions a few weeks ago and had an admitted students event last week.  

I didn't apply to U of M but find that to be a bit callous on their part not to inform students before their admitted students event. 

[PhDApplicant23]

Has anyone heard anything from the HTC program at MIT? Other than that results will go out between March 15 and April 1, I don't know anything.

[aik257]

19 hours ago, Dreams said:

Maryland already released admit decisions a few weeks ago and had an admitted students event last week.  

 

14 hours ago, staxdo_21 said:

I didn't apply to U of M but find that to be a bit callous on their part not to inform students before their admitted students event. 

Yeah that makes no sense that UMD would do that. To the person who posted about the admitted students day, did you go or did you hear about this through others?

[waitinglikeits99]

On 3/7/2023 at 11:10 PM, magnamater said:

I interviewed with Penn at the end of January, but haven't had any communications from them since then (despite foolishly refreshing ApplyWeb every 2 hours). In the interview I was told that decisions were going to be released around the middle or end of February, but that that was only an estimate and it could be earlier or later. It's the only program I haven't heard from, however.

Still waiting... Not to worry, in perma-refresh mode! ApplyWeb has now infiltrated my dreams (nightmares). Shoutout to everyone who has made it this far - buying you all a (virtual) drink!

Edited March 10, 2023 by waitinglikeits99

[23567898]

Has anyone been rejected from CUNY? I haven't heard anything and am assuming it's a rejection but would like some closure! 

[aik257]

On 3/13/2023 at 4:36 PM, 23567898 said:

Has anyone been rejected from CUNY? I haven't heard anything and am assuming it's a rejection but would like some closure! 

I am also waiting. I saw on the admissions page of this website that people in previous years have complained that they ghost you and don’t give an answer until the last minute even for rejections. They may just be really disorganized. 

Edited March 17, 2023 by aik257

[staxdo_21]

Has anyone heard from UCSC? There was an acceptance post on the results board all the way back in early February. I've received radio silence so far. I even emailed the department and my POI with some news about a recent project, with the hopes that they'd share something, and I heard nothing back. I'd love some closure!

[staxdo_21]

I am in a weird position. I was accepted to a fully-funded Ph.D. program, but I have yet to speak to my POI. They weren't on the interview panel and so I emailed them right after, and then again after I was accepted. I then reached out to the department Chair and haven't received a response from them about the situation. I was leaning towards accepting the offer but now I'm really concerned.... I was advised to reach out one more time, which I will do, but I'm worried that there are some background politics that might impact my experience as a Ph.D. student.

[Peter Kandinsky]

That's somewhat alarming, and I’m sorry you’re dealing with that. Have you been able to get in touch with any of their students at least?

[staxdo_21]

6 hours ago, Peter Kandinsky said:

That's somewhat alarming, and I’m sorry you’re dealing with that. Have you been able to get in touch with any of their students at least?

Thank you. It's definitely stressing me out big time. 

Yes, I talked to two students, and I am meeting more on Friday. The other weird thing is when I mentioned that I was having an issue getting in touch with my POI (whom I've emailed three times since mid-February), the student seemed confused by my anxiety. It turns out that my POI has been ill, but no one from the faculty let me know that, and none of them have responded to my separate request for a chat. I know they are busy but this is a huge life decision for me. 

[ZF1763]

On 3/17/2023 at 11:17 AM, aik257 said:

I am also waiting. I saw on the admissions page of this website that people in previous years have complained that they ghost you and don’t give an answer until the last minute even for rejections. They may just be really disorganized. 

I recently declined my offer from CUNY, so perhaps you will hear something soon. I do know from the Open House day I attended that both accepted and waitlisted students were invited and attended. Based on my own experience (recognizing prospective students from multiple Open House events in the area) I would expect some movement on the waitlist soon. Best of luck to you both!

[34672]

On 3/8/2023 at 8:41 PM, PhDApplicant23 said:

Has anyone heard anything from the HTC program at MIT? Other than that results will go out between March 15 and April 1, I don't know anything.

any updates for you? i was informed of my waitlist status on march 22nd but am still waiting.

[PhDApplicant23]

48 minutes ago, 34672 said:

any updates for you? i was informed of my waitlist status on march 22nd but am still waiting.

I was rejected a while ago

[anonymous_crazy_cat-lady]

On 3/8/2023 at 10:50 AM, aik257 said:

has anyone heard from University of Maryland, Stony Brook or Penn State?

Did you get into Penn State? Hoping to connect with others in the program. Their funding is good.

[aik257]

40 minutes ago, anonymous_crazy_cat-lady said:

Did you get into Penn State? Hoping to connect with others in the program. Their funding is good.

So far still radio silence from them 🥲 really hoping to get in but who knows what the answer will be this late in the season. 

[venusofwillendork]

On 4/5/2023 at 10:22 PM, staxdo_21 said:

Yes, I talked to two students, and I am meeting more on Friday. The other weird thing is when I mentioned that I was having an issue getting in touch with my POI (whom I've emailed three times since mid-February), the student seemed confused by my anxiety. It turns out that my POI has been ill, but no one from the faculty let me know that, and none of them have responded to my separate request for a chat. I know they are busy but this is a huge life decision for me. 

Definitely a stressful decision! Do you feel like there are questions that only your PI would be able to answer? Or is your concern more that they're just not being responsive, and that could be indicative of what they will be like in the future? It's possible that slow responses to messages may be how this faculty member engages typically... which may or may not be a comfortable environment for you to begin study in.

[staxdo_21]

3 hours ago, venusofwillendork said:

Definitely a stressful decision! Do you feel like there are questions that only your PI would be able to answer? Or is your concern more that they're just not being responsive, and that could be indicative of what they will be like in the future? It's possible that slow responses to messages may be how this faculty member engages typically... which may or may not be a comfortable environment for you to begin study in.

I mostly just wanted face time with the person I would tentatively be working with over the course of many years in the program. I was worried that the silence or delays I encountered reflected what I might experience in the program. I ended up learning some other behind the scenes happenings through the course of some other conversations with current students and a faculty member, which was helpful. 

I ended up declining the offer, but still feel sad and upset because I did want to go there. I ended up enrolling at an MA program, and will consider reapplying to this Ph.D. program after, with the hopes that some of the behind the scene issues are resolved in the meantime. I am worried that I won't be accepted again, but its a risk I took. 

[venusofwillendork]

1 hour ago, staxdo_21 said:

I mostly just wanted face time with the person I would tentatively be working with over the course of many years in the program. I was worried that the silence or delays I encountered reflected what I might experience in the program. I ended up learning some other behind the scenes happenings through the course of some other conversations with current students and a faculty member, which was helpful. 

I ended up declining the offer, but still feel sad and upset because I did want to go there. I ended up enrolling at an MA program, and will consider reapplying to this Ph.D. program after, with the hopes that some of the behind the scene issues are resolved in the meantime. I am worried that I won't be accepted again, but its a risk I took. 

It sounds like you've made the right call -- and getting the MA will give you the opportunity to develop more connections that may help with PhD apps in the future.  It does sound like you made the right call wrt your advisor: the period between your being accepted & your accepting their decision is a time when they *should* be most responsive, because they should be eager to please/convince you that they're the right program. If you're facing communication difficulties during that time... that's a red flag for how they'll be when you're trying to get chapter feedback down the line. 

As for risking your acceptance in the future, I think communicating well about your decision now, pitching it as wanting to get the experience of a different program/an MA before pursuing your PhD/wanting to cultivate your career -- all of that will help protect your potential admission in the future. Good luck!

[staxdo_21]

3 hours ago, venusofwillendork said:

It sounds like you've made the right call -- and getting the MA will give you the opportunity to develop more connections that may help with PhD apps in the future.  It does sound like you made the right call wrt your advisor: the period between your being accepted & your accepting their decision is a time when they *should* be most responsive, because they should be eager to please/convince you that they're the right program. If you're facing communication difficulties during that time... that's a red flag for how they'll be when you're trying to get chapter feedback down the line. 

As for risking your acceptance in the future, I think communicating well about your decision now, pitching it as wanting to get the experience of a different program/an MA before pursuing your PhD/wanting to cultivate your career -- all of that will help protect your potential admission in the future. Good luck!

Thank you so much for your support! It was very hard to choose between different offers and I am old enough to understand that ay choices comes with its risks. Some people I talked with in the field thought I needed more conviction around my goals but from my experience, life will only let you plan so far before you get thrown a loop.