scrwdbyuhouston Posted January 4, 2011 Posted January 4, 2011 The University of Houston's economics Phd program made me an offer of admission. AFTER I HAD ALREADY MOVED TO HOUSTON AND JUST A FEW DAYS BEFORE CLASSES WERE TO START IN FALL 2009 IT REVOKED THE OFFER OF ADMISSION. I COULD NOT START IN FALL 2009 BECAUSE IT REVOKED THE OFFER OF ADMISSION BUT I HAD ALREADY MOVED TO HOUSTON AND PASSED UP OTHER OFFERS. THE CLAIM WAS THAT THE DEPARTMENT HAD MISUNDERSTOOD THAT I HAD ATTENDED JOHNS HOPKINS ADVANCED STUDIES M.A. IN APPLIED ECONOMICS AS THE DOCTORAL TRACK ECONOMICS PHD COURSES. THE MISTAKE WAS COMPLETELY THE DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS SINCE I DID NOT MISREPRESENT MYSELF IN THE ADMISSIONS PROCESS. THEY DIDN'T CARE IF THE MISTAKE WAS THEIRS AND THAT I HAD ALREADY MOVED TO HOUSTON. IRdreams, coffeeplease, lewin and 29 others 7 25
eklavya Posted January 4, 2011 Posted January 4, 2011 what a misfortune! i really feel for you. those people should be ashamed for their downgrading and inhumane act. is the department not willing to settle this by negotiations? i mean, it's clearly their fault that this tragedy has happened! i hope things can be worked out here. but if things don't look, i still hope you will be able to pick pieces up and move on. but man, what a terrible thing to have happened! on another thought, probably getting a lawyer and suing them is the next best move. Hillary Emick, LabRat2012, enginerd and 3 others 6
shepardn7 Posted January 4, 2011 Posted January 4, 2011 Yikes. That's really awful. I, too, wonder if you can and should threaten legal action--at the very least I think they should pay the costs of moving, including your move from Houston to a new location, and including any rent you had already paid to your landlord. Fall 2009 was last year, though, so maybe you've already settled those matters...
Count de Monet Posted January 4, 2011 Posted January 4, 2011 You should sue them for your moving expenses and rent and cost to move back. Also, some states allow this but I believe you can sue for lost expected income. For example, if you had accepted an offer elsewhere for a stipend of 15K, you can sue for that 15K since you were denied the opportunity to make that income through fault of another party. It's just like with a business. If you agree to cater a party and then they call and cancel in a way that violates the contract you can sue for lost income that you would have made had you catered the party. dant.gwyrdd and Pleiades 2
new mexico Posted January 8, 2011 Posted January 8, 2011 You should sue them for your moving expenses and rent and cost to move back. Also, some states allow this but I believe you can sue for lost expected income. For example, if you had accepted an offer elsewhere for a stipend of 15K, you can sue for that 15K since you were denied the opportunity to make that income through fault of another party. It's just like with a business. If you agree to cater a party and then they call and cancel in a way that violates the contract you can sue for lost income that you would have made had you catered the party. sue 'em sounds like a dumb university to begin with ivyworm, thomasjames, Sigaba and 1 other 3 1
Strangefox Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 THEY DIDN'T CARE IF THE MISTAKE WAS THEIRS AND THAT I HAD ALREADY MOVED TO HOUSTON. So how did it end? Did you sue them??
MoJingly Posted January 13, 2011 Posted January 13, 2011 (edited) I second Strangefox. What happened? If this was the fall of 2009, something must have happened by now. Edited January 13, 2011 by MoJingly
Viking Posted January 13, 2011 Posted January 13, 2011 Legal action is rarely the best course of action. By the time legal expenses are paid, he'll be unlikely to make any money back. The university will also file motions that delay the process. OP will spend 2 years of his life fighting for no reason. As a repeat player, the university has more incentive to win this case than the OP does. Perhaps more importantly, a lawsuit will only get the OP a bad reputation in the field. caaats 1
Strangefox Posted January 14, 2011 Posted January 14, 2011 Legal action is rarely the best course of action. By the time legal expenses are paid, he'll be unlikely to make any money back. The university will also file motions that delay the process. OP will spend 2 years of his life fighting for no reason. As a repeat player, the university has more incentive to win this case than the OP does. Perhaps more importantly, a lawsuit will only get the OP a bad reputation in the field. That's so sad! It means they can do such things to you and you will not be able to do anything
anonacademic Posted January 14, 2011 Posted January 14, 2011 I second Strangefox. What happened? If this was the fall of 2009, something must have happened by now. Right, but the OP posted in 2011. Doesn't this seem a little fishy? I don't really understand the motives if it is - slander? Munchausen? - but I really don't understand why someone would post an honest rant, 2 years too late. Hopefully the OP will come back and clarify. dgobox, katieliz456 and psych21 3
MoJingly Posted January 14, 2011 Posted January 14, 2011 Right, but the OP posted in 2011. Doesn't this seem a little fishy? I don't really understand the motives if it is - slander? Munchausen? - but I really don't understand why someone would post an honest rant, 2 years too late. Hopefully the OP will come back and clarify. Yup. I'm not sure if I believe it. This might be a drive-by-posting.
qbtacoma Posted January 15, 2011 Posted January 15, 2011 Right, but the OP posted in 2011. Doesn't this seem a little fishy? I don't really understand the motives if it is - slander? Munchausen? - but I really don't understand why someone would post an honest rant, 2 years too late. Hopefully the OP will come back and clarify. Maybe this is the only thing the OP could do after realizing that legal action wasn't feasible. But the post definitely has a whiff of character assassination about it, which I feel bad about writing because what U of Houston really did screw them?
RockDenali Posted March 7, 2011 Posted March 7, 2011 DAMN IT, OP, I WANT TO KNOW HOW IT ENDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Zouzax 1
DamianD Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 Dude I've never even heard of that university so why do you wanna go there anyway? Given that you studied at Hopkins why go there, I say HOAX forumuser, siarabird, Bukharan and 14 others 5 12
Xanthan Posted March 9, 2011 Posted March 9, 2011 Dude I've never even heard of that university so why do you wanna go there anyway? Given that you studied at Hopkins why go there, I say HOAX Wait a sec... you've never heard of the University of Houston? (My mind, she is blown.) GreenePony, Xanthan, jblsmith and 3 others 5 1
DamianD Posted March 9, 2011 Posted March 9, 2011 Wait a sec... you've never heard of the University of Houston? (My mind, she is blown.) I'm not from the us and only know like top unis by name :-) FingersCrossedX, ivyworm, siarabird and 7 others 2 8
Poppet Posted March 9, 2011 Posted March 9, 2011 I'm not from the us and only know like top unis by name :-) Maybe you should refrain from making those kind of comments then. There are thousands of universities in the United States, and many of them are very specialized and prestigious in certain fields and unknown for others. It doesn't mean that they are not worth going to just because you haven't heard of them and because you don't know what their strengths are, especially when your knowledge is limited to so few US institutions in the first place. Your comment is unnecessary and irrelevant, and just comes across as ignorant and elitist. ivyworm, ArthChauc, cunninlynguist and 11 others 13 1
psych21 Posted March 9, 2011 Posted March 9, 2011 Fall 2009? Hi, we're in 2011. I don't believe you. flotsam, dgobox, YA_RLY and 1 other 4
whoknows Posted March 10, 2011 Posted March 10, 2011 I'm not from the us and only know like top unis by name :-) DamianD, you just got accepted to Rice and you never heard of UH??? and you're interested only in brand names?? wow, I'm just amazed at how people judge schools nowadays. Now, believe me that if you attend Rice, you will be seeing a lot of UH too.... Bukharan, Munashi, jblsmith and 3 others 6
jblsmith Posted March 10, 2011 Posted March 10, 2011 Shit, I have an application into that program right now! Definitely something to consider if they give me an offer. Andean Pat 1
lewin Posted March 11, 2011 Posted March 11, 2011 Shit, I have an application into that program right now! Definitely something to consider if they give me an offer. Keep in mind that the OP sounds crazy. If the story is true, it improves my impression of this university because they dodged a huge bullet. IRdreams and ZeeMore21 1 1
Pleiades Posted March 20, 2011 Posted March 20, 2011 What the hell, that sounds horrible! But for all those who are now freaking out about the University of Houston, let me just reassure you that despite this supposed incident, the institution is actually a great school to attend for both your undergrad and grad programs. I'm about to graduate from it with my BA and start a Ph.D. program elsewhere and though the university does tend to have ridiculous administrative issues, I still love the place! Their economics department also isn't as bad as the OP is making it out to be. I've taken a basic microecon class taught by a cool Ph.D. student and he seemed very positive about his experiences there. Also, one of my closest friends was an econ major at UH and she loved the program and the professors in the department. So take this complaint with a grain of salt - though it might be a good idea to double check that they read your application carefully enough to know what program you were in at your last university, lol. Just go to the visit weekend, talk to grad students and faculty, and make an educated decision. I'm sure you won't encounter similar problems of this proportion. jblsmith 1
dgobox Posted March 21, 2011 Posted March 21, 2011 This definitely seems dubious....as others have pointed out
Recommended Posts