adstatus Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 How frustrating is this? The contact person they give you for follow up etc. won't return your email or answer your questions! When I was in the process of applying to the program, she was very responsive and was eager to provide me with information. Now that I've applied, I've sent three emails since the first of the year (not like I'm "pestering" her or anything), and she has yet to respond to any of them!! Following is the text of my last email. Am I being unreasonable to expect a response???? ARRRGGGGGHHH!!!! :evil: Dr. XXX, I know the PhD committee is probably still finalizing its decision on the PhD applicants for Fall 2008. I just wanted to drop you a note to say that I am still very much interested in the program and hope to be among those accepted for next year. Would it be possible for you to share with me your timeline for sending out notices? Also, will those notices be sent via mail or electronically? Thanks for your time and I look forward to hearing from you soon. Regards, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
engguy Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 The note looks fine, but you may be barking up the wrong tree. This person may be occupied wining and dining and wooing the school's top choices, or with some other school-related stuff. Try someone else. And try calling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minnesotan Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 If I was really that worried, I would look up the telephone numbers of all of the secretarial staff, and just go down the list calling each in turn, until I found a human being to speak to. =) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adstatus Posted March 29, 2008 Author Share Posted March 29, 2008 The note looks fine, but you may be barking up the wrong tree. This person may be occupied wining and dining and wooing the school's top choices, or with some other school-related stuff. Try someone else. And try calling. Thanks for the feedback. The contact I have IS the chair of the PhD committee, so if anyone would know, she's the one. If I don't hear anything next week, I'll pick up the phone.... it just ticks me off when people don't bother to respond. A simple "sometime next week/month etc." would do... Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4givn1 Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 I applied to a program where I haven't heard anything yet. I needed to find out something last week so I could make visit plans during my Spring break in a week (the only week I can), tried e-mailing twice (with no response), and tried calling, also with no response--and the lady's voicemail was full. At this point I'm not sure I'd want to go there anyway (this is how they treat their students?) But I did spend a bucket of time and money, and would like some closure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minnesotan Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 Haha! It says a lot about a university when they turn off their ringers when their potential grad students want help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adstatus Posted March 30, 2008 Author Share Posted March 30, 2008 Haha! It says a lot about a university when they turn off their ringers when their potential grad students want help. My sentiments exactly. Makes me wonder what the he11 I'm getting myself into. Fortunately, the prof in question has more of a sales management research focus and I'm looking more towards consumer behavior and database marketing - so I won't have to work with her much (I hope). Unfortunately for me, I really don't have another option. Wife, kids in private school, mortgage, current visiting assistant prof position at the university I applied to and a consulting business. Moving away to be a full-time student just wouldn't make sense. Gotta wait till I can get that tenure track position before its financially feasible to pick up and move. At any rate, I should "officially" know something in the next week or two -- for better or worse! It's in His hands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeNea Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 I applied to a program where I haven't heard anything yet. I needed to find out something last week so I could make visit plans during my Spring break in a week (the only week I can), tried e-mailing twice (with no response), and tried calling, also with no response--and the lady's voicemail was full. So to clarify, last week -you sent two emails -found a full voicemail box Sounds like someone's at a conference or meeting. I think 3/4 of my department has been out of town for at least one week this month - which I am sure is an absolute blast to whoever is trying to schedule those last few admissions meetings. Chair of committee goes out of town -> everyone not admitted yet is trying to track her down -> full voicemail box. If you want to believe that this professor is malicious and neglectful and you don't want to go to that school anymore, fine. I know you're frustrated, but have you tried believing the best out of people? It is a graduate school survival skill. No, your committee is not evil to ask xyz of you - they are simply trying to help you become your best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4givn1 Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 It was the graduate coordinator. The e-mails I sent were a week apart, and I've tried to call multiple times over multiple weeks as well. I'm not going there for other entirely different reasons (and wouldn't make a decision based on that anyway). I do understand that they may be at conferences, dealing with a family emergency, etc. I don't believe they're ill-intentioned. It does make me wonder about their accessibility--if they're in conferences all the time and not accessible, or if this year is just not one that they are accessible, or if they are just overwhelmed and would be too busy to be accessible. All are understandable and may be good things in and of themselves but they do have implications. I do know about graduate school and survival--I had a 4.0 when I graduated with a Master's degree a year ago. I was grateful for my committee's guidance and of course didn't think them evil for telling me to do things. Nor do I think evil about all my evals or whatever now that I'm teaching. I'm not sure what brought about your somewhat condescending reply (that was also based on a lot of assumptions) but I still also believe the best out of you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
santana Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 Haha! It says a lot about a university when they turn off their ringers when their potential grad students want help. I am afraid not much, it says only about importance of one's own application, nothing more. In fact many elite schools behave that way since they do not care much about tons of applicants they get. In either case if I would be receiving all the emails asking about a particular admission, I would ignore it as well. Whoever thinks that applicants are somehow important to somebody as human beings that one is misguided. It is all a job function. If your application is important or if you belong to the elite you might get attention, if not you won't. Mediocre applicants are like leaves in a forest, you need them only as a compost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adstatus Posted March 31, 2008 Author Share Posted March 31, 2008 Mediocre applicants are like leaves in a forest, you need them only as a compost. Compost indeed. Received word today -- rejected. Now, I not only feel like 5hit, I AM 5hit. Thanks. :cry: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
santana Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 Take it easy, rejection is a part of life, we all go through that. No self-flagellation, the small time university jerks are not worth it. They themselves are rejects, if not they would not be working for educational salaries. Miley Cyrus earns probably more than the whole department of the place that rejected you. This is their own chance for once in life, to decide something in your life, to play a god. Once that is over, they will skin each other for meager funds they have to fight about. It is not worth wasting your time thinking, let go, move on. :wink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ukiitm Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 Take it easy, rejection is a part of life, we all go through that. No self-flagellation, the small time university jerks are not worth it. They themselves are rejects, if not they would not be working for educational salaries. Miley Cyrus earns probably more than the whole department of the place that rejected you. This is their own chance for once in life, to decide something in your life, to play a god. Once that is over, they will skin each other for meager funds they have to fight about. It is not worth wasting your time thinking, let go, move on. :wink: Wow ... if not for that winky, I'd have thought you'd have to be a really bitter person to have commented on the scientific community like that. :wink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hannah Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 My idea is if that if your application is still alive, you get an e-mail back. If you application is dead, you don't. That was what happened to me anyway. When I was still alive at Columbia, I got the most cheerful upbeat note, and an invitation to write back soon. In a couple of days, I did write back to the same cheerful guy, and heard nothing back. Well, I knew then--I didn't have to wait the official word. Same at a couple of other places. They don't need to write to you anymore because you are no longer a person of interest. I believe it is some form of social darwinism, either in reverse or sideways. Anyway, they need to concentrate on courting the applicants they still want. That's how it seems to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
santana Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 He said he got rejected. Anyway, there is really nothing to feel bad about. There are so many business schools around this country, one can surely get in one. It may not be the best choice but nothing is perfect in life. I feel sorry for folks in computer science, it is sooo competetive out there like law or medicine yet the jobs are not nearly as rewarding. But as for business school I do not see there is a problem of getting in somewhere. Sure it is hard to get in Wharton or Harvard but there are many, many more. Cheer up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adstatus Posted April 1, 2008 Author Share Posted April 1, 2008 Thanks for the encouragement. I was really just being over dramatic. I only applied to one program and put nowhere near the effort into the application process as many on this forum have. Heck, my GRE scores were from 5 years ago (and not that good, either!). I have since (yesterday) regrouped and applied to the Professional MBA program at the same university. This way, I can take until August to prep for the GMAT (and score well), and get some of the core business courses under my belt before I reapply to several programs. Let's call this time a "trial run". Thanks again for the words of encouragement. :wink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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