Why do they have to do this to us?!?!

[hedgequant]

Soooooooo....

I hate this waiting process/awkward admissions dance as much, if not more, than the rest of my fellow TGC-ers. I have 2 interviews and no formal offers so far. This weekend I received a personalized email from one of the schools I would rank in the middle of the pack in terms of my overall desire to attend (out of 13 applications, it is probably 5th or 6th on my list, and I have rejections from #1-3). It read essentially as follows:

Hi HedgeQuant:

My name is xxxxxx and I am the Phd program coordinator of the School XYZ Finance Department. I have read your application and am "extremely impressed" (his words). Do you mind if I ask if you have any other offers in-hand. yadda yadda.

============================================

I'm extremely pragmatic about this process, but this email made me feel really good, and confident that I could get an offer from this school. My honest reply to him was that although I had no formal offers, I planned on this week's interview process resulting in some. I also mentioned that it is always tough to know in advance, but that this school was in my top 2 or 3 choices, and that any offer made would receive very serious consideration.

he replied with a simple thank you and said that they hope to conclude their process in the next 2 weeks, and to keep him informed of any decisions, etc.

Now, my best interpretation of this exchange is that school XYZ does not want to extend offers to those who are not seriously considering accepting them (it is a good school, but not a top 10, so I can imagine some top 10 candidates using it as a safety option). Obviously without full knowledge on my part I cant say "make me an offer and I will accept it", so we have to do this awkward maneuvering. I really wish the conversation could be less cryptic so I could stress out less. I am married and this school would be an excellent location for my wife to keep her current job and career goals intact, so while it may be #2 on my overall list of schools remaining, it is #1 on our joint list, and that matters more.

I just needed to vent/de-stress to the kind folks at TGC. This process is really wearing on my psyche

[40 Rounds]

I received a very similar letter from William & Mary, down to the "very impressed" bit. (Maybe they use a template?) My undergraduate advisor suggested that I email them at the beginning of every week, letting them know I'm still interested.

[hedgequant]

Thanks...I am definitely trying to walk the line between too eager and not eager enough

[MoJingly]

"Weird pseudo-purgatory"

[hedgequant]

"Weird pseudo-purgatory"

a small attempt to salvage some sanity

[Behavioral]

a small attempt to salvage some sanity

I'm a fan of your verbiage.

I think this school actually thinks you may just be overqualified for them and are likely to pursue other higher offers (that's my impression; take it with a grain of salt), and they really are gauging how likely you are to consider their offer and not just take up space in their waitlist.

As someone else suggested, I'd e-mail once a week and report any news and use language implying that you really want an offer from them.

[angieray85]

I received a very similar letter from William & Mary, down to the "very impressed" bit. (Maybe they use a template?) My undergraduate advisor suggested that I email them at the beginning of every week, letting them know I'm still interested.

Email them EVERY WEEK?

[nyc waiting]

Email them EVERY WEEK?

I think that's unnecessary. If you don't hear from the school by almost the end of the time frame they told you they'd make the decision, then follow up. Yes, they're trying to gauge if you got into the top tier. The same happened to me (sociology), and thankfully I had gotten offers from others that I knew I would certainly prefer, so I told them that. You know this because by the time the school reaches you, the top tier decisions had already gone out. Good luck!

[hedgequant]

Just an update...after emailing me back to keep them informed of any and all progress with other programs, and after some soul-searching with my family, this school became my first choice. When I mentioned that to them, I got a response saying it was "unlikely" they would offer me admission. I was in the top 10 of their list, but they only admit 2 per year. So, basically they just wanted to know if I had any offers because they needed to use that information to tell me that I wasnt going to get one from them anyway.

Stay classy everyone. If I post how I really feel, I'll get kicked off these boards.