Invited for a visit in December, still no word.

[ldh]

After I submitted my application to RPI in December, I emailed my POI to make contact, etc, and received a very positive response with a promise that she'd put a good word in for me. Literally an hour later, I received an email from the graduate director, inviting me to visit the campus in February or early March, so that we could meet and hopefully secure funding. He said he'd look into travel allowances. I emailed him back and said that I would love to come out, and any financial support would be appreciated.

I haven't heard anything since. Should I wait for him to get back to me with a formal invitation, dates, funding, etc? Does this mean they've changed their mind (after seeing my application) and don't want me to come out after all? I don't want to bombard him, as they're probably sorting through a ton of applications. Thoughts? Suggestions? Has this happened to anyone else?

[eklavya]

you should definitely email them and ask what's happening. the people to contact would be your PoI and/or graduate director and/or the graduate secretary. while it could be true that they are sorting through the applications to come up with a final list of interviewees, it doesn't hurt to drop a line or two. because the communication between you two has dropped, maybe they are assuming you are not interested anymore? so, emailing shows that you have them on/around the top of your list and are interested in their work.

good luck!

[ldh]

Thanks for the advice. I just sent them both (the POI and the graduate director) an email just letting them know that I'm still interested. We'll see what happens next.