western87 Posted March 7, 2011 Posted March 7, 2011 Hello, long time lurker here. I interviewed at one of my top choices back in January. About 5 weeks ago, I received an email from my POI at the school telling me I was her top choice, asking how interested I was in the program, that my interview went great, that she hope they are my top choice too etc. etc. Although I knew better than to think of this email as an offer, but it was worded pretty strongly...in order to make me think I was in. She said she would be able to get back to me with official word within the next couple of weeks. Fast-forward a month: still no word from the POI! I finally broke down and emailed a week ago, politely and briefly asking for an update. NO REPLY. Wtf?? I understand the process. She could have wanted me, but that doesn't necessarily mean the adcom will agree. There are many possible scenarios. A couple of things to keep in mind: Yes, she was definitely taking a student. The graduate coordinator from the dept. has said that all decisions have been made and people are being notified. This school generally sends snail mail official notifications, but I think most people are told unofficially by email or phone first. Although I have not received anything yet by mail or otherwise, I can gather from the length of time and lack of response from my POI that I have been rejected. I am extremely disappointed, but the worst part is that I can't believe the POI didnt respond to my email last week. For me to be interviewed, and then told pretty much that I was her top choice, I think she should at least take 30 secs. to email me and say "im sorry but we decided to go with another applicant". Put me out of my misery!!! The mailman just came - - nothing again!!!! I can't believe I am being left to wonder what happened . I understand that not all applicants can be given a personal notification, but I think in this case one was warranted. Am I crazy for feeling so frustrated? Is all hope lost? Thanks!
neuropsych76 Posted March 7, 2011 Posted March 7, 2011 Hello, long time lurker here. I interviewed at one of my top choices back in January. About 5 weeks ago, I received an email from my POI at the school telling me I was her top choice, asking how interested I was in the program, that my interview went great, that she hope they are my top choice too etc. etc. Although I knew better than to think of this email as an offer, but it was worded pretty strongly...in order to make me think I was in. She said she would be able to get back to me with official word within the next couple of weeks. Fast-forward a month: still no word from the POI! I finally broke down and emailed a week ago, politely and briefly asking for an update. NO REPLY. Wtf?? I understand the process. She could have wanted me, but that doesn't necessarily mean the adcom will agree. There are many possible scenarios. A couple of things to keep in mind: Yes, she was definitely taking a student. The graduate coordinator from the dept. has said that all decisions have been made and people are being notified. This school generally sends snail mail official notifications, but I think most people are told unofficially by email or phone first. Although I have not received anything yet by mail or otherwise, I can gather from the length of time and lack of response from my POI that I have been rejected. I am extremely disappointed, but the worst part is that I can't believe the POI didnt respond to my email last week. For me to be interviewed, and then told pretty much that I was her top choice, I think she should at least take 30 secs. to email me and say "im sorry but we decided to go with another applicant". Put me out of my misery!!! The mailman just came - - nothing again!!!! I can't believe I am being left to wonder what happened . I understand that not all applicants can be given a personal notification, but I think in this case one was warranted. Am I crazy for feeling so frustrated? Is all hope lost? Thanks! I think it is normal to feel frustrated after a situation like that. The whole grad school admit process is a business and can be pretty cut throat sometimes but to be interviewed and then have a follow up email from the POI expressing interest does seem to be leading on a bit. However, you still might get in so don't be too hard on yourself yet!! A similar thing happened to me, I went to the interview, it went very well and the POI said he wanted to talk on the phone more afterward. He had to cancel the phone call and said he'd get back to me. After waiting a couple weeks, I emailed him and he told me he wasn't taking any grad students this year. It happens.
dendrogirl Posted March 7, 2011 Posted March 7, 2011 Professors are often forgetful and bad about responding to email (probably because their inboxes usually have hundreds of unread emails). I would try giving him/her a call.
Matilda_Tone Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 It sounds like there is still a bit of hope. Hang in there- these things always seem to take longer than expected!
Eigen Posted March 10, 2011 Posted March 10, 2011 Professors are often forgetful and bad about responding to email (probably because their inboxes usually have hundreds of unread emails). I would try giving him/her a call. This. I know my boss gets somewhere between 50-75 e-mails each day that he needs to respond to- it's very easy for them to get lost in the shuffle.
western87 Posted March 10, 2011 Author Posted March 10, 2011 Thanks for all of the responses. Update: I received my rejection today via postal mail. Still no email from the POI. I understand they are busy blah blah blah. But in this case I really felt like she could have put me out of my misery, especially after reaching out to me over a month ago. I would never expect a personal response for every application I've submitted, but for those that I've interviewed for and pretty much made through to the last round I don;t think one sentence in an email could hurt. Moving on......Good luck to everyone! Still waiting on a few schools so hopefully I'll get some good news!
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