Rejected from BU, but admitted to Harvard + UPenn..how does that make sense?

[gfl212]

I am SO confused. I don't really care about the rejection since I applied there as a safety and didn't plan to go there, but why would I get rejected from BU if I have been admitted to Harvard and UPenn? Now I am really nervous as I am waiting to hear back from my top choice which is Columbia..

Anyone care to enlighten me?

[cynder]

Its all about how you "fit" in the prospective graduate class that they have for the next year. How your research experience relates to what their faculty does etc.

That said, I have a pretty similar situation as you do. I applied to 3 schools, I got accepted in the 2 schools with the higher ranking in my field but I havent heard anything yet from the school that I initially thought would be most likely to accept me.

Finally, since its your safety, could it be that your SOP for that school was less strong? For me it was much easier to write a strong SOP for my top choice for example.

[cyberwulf]

And sometimes, admissions committees just make dumb decisions! Faculty members are human, too.

[Sigaba]

Another possibility is that BU sensed that you're a big fish who'd get offers from bigger ponds. So the program made an offer to a student who was more interested in attending than you conveyed in your application materials.

In any case, if you really want to know, call/write the Powers That Be at BU for a debriefing.

Most of all, enjoy what you have accomplished. Harvard and Penn! Congratulations!

[leahallegra]

Haha dont question it and just go! I had a similar experience in which I was rejected from my alma mater and safety school (Stony Brook) which is a great school but its not a top 20 but accepted at Cornell and waitlisted at a ton of other big names in the field. Go figure.

[svh]

I have interviews and acceptances from michigan, cornell, nyu, osu, and uva. but i was waitlisted at ohio u. weird, huh?

[welfareballer]

sick brags all around in this thread

[Hanyuye]

Pompous thread.

[splitends]

I don't think it's necessarily pompous-- it's a legitimately confusing thing that happens in the admissions process. A lot of people assume that graduate school admissions are similar to undergrad in that "the best" students have the best chance of getting in everywhere they apply, and that logically getting into a more competitive program seems to imply that you are going to be a more coveted applicant at a less competitive program.

But in reality the calculus of determining grad school admissions is much more complicated. Grad departments can only admit so many people, and have to hope that a decent percentage of those students will accept the admissions offer even though they likely have competing offers from other departments. When you look at things from that perspective, it doesn't make sense to admit students that seem highly unlikely to accept the offer. It doesn't necessarily mean that there was some hint in your application, or lack of enthusiasm in an SOP-- the admissions committee may just have to figure it out knowing what they know about the admissions field in general. I've mentioned this elsewhere in the forum, but when I was looking around at schools, a current grad student at Harvard told me that he had been rejected from every grad school he applied to, including several less competitive schools, except for Harvard.

Anyway, the point is that the whole mechanics of "safety schools" are just totally different in PhD programs.

[Sigaba]

I think that regardless of what you think of the phrasing of the OP, it raises a good question and ultimately reflects a very good mindset.

As you go through any process, the insights you gain from the how/why you did not achieve an objective can be more valuable than knowing why you succeeded.

Also, one of the two greatest shortcomings of this BB is that very few members find out definitively why they did or did not get admitted to a program. Consequently, each application season, there more speculation by people currently going through the process than hard solid information from those who went through it in prevoius seasons. This need is especially pressing when it comes to those who make it into top programs and/or elite institutions.

[Sigaba]

@glf212 It is on you to prove that you did not start this thread so that you can thump your chest while many of your peers are in misery. It is up to you to make things right.

I think getting a debriefing from BU and posting the useful information from that conversation will be a wise move for you at this point and time.

Edited March 12, 2012 by Sigaba

[gfl212]

@Sigaba

Wow... I am sorry. I really do not mean to seem pompous or thump my chest at anyone. It was a genuinely confusing thing to happen, and I turned to this forum for answers.

I understand how miserable this whole process is and I genuinely appreciate people's responses to my question. If anything, I wish Columbia would hurry up so that I can give my responses to Harvard + UPenn so that they can potentially get people off their respective wait lists.

I will not be contacting BU, because I can only imagine how busy their Admissions Office is at this time, and I think they have more important things to do than to try to explain to me why they rejected me.

Thanks for all your responses, I apologize if I've offended anyone by seeming pompous (it really was not my intention). Case closed.

[Muna]

Just put your feet up and chill .... CONGRATULATIONS...

[Andsowego]

I am SO confused. I don't really care about the rejection since I applied there as a safety and didn't plan to go there, but why would I get rejected from BU if I have been admitted to Harvard and UPenn? Now I am really nervous as I am waiting to hear back from my top choice which is Columbia..

Anyone care to enlighten me?

I concur with others, in that you probably got rejected due to lack of program/supervisory fit (since your grades and GRE were obviously good enough for Harvard!).

Also, I know others have commented that your post seems kind of pompous, but I think you've raised an interesting point. This kind of "reverse" rejection happens all the time in grad school. e.g., Why did my paper get accepted for this conference and not for that one? Or for this journal and not for that one? Or - the most confusing - why did I win this funding, but not that funding?!?!?! It can drive a person nuts. What I'd suggest is that unless you get rejected from a "top" choice (e.g., your number 1 journal, conference, school, award, etc.), don't worry about it. There's merit in knowing why a top choice anything would reject you, since there will likely be a learning opportunity in knowing the answers. Otherwise, chillax and count your blessings!

Edited March 12, 2012 by Andsowego

[splitends]

For the record, it wouldn't have crossed my mind to think there was anything pompous about this post and I'm kind of surprised that people jumped down your throat about it. If anything, I think the whole "OP, it is up to YOU to make this right!" thing is a little overblown...

Chillax guys. I know feelings can be a little delicate this time of year, but don't be so quick to assume the worst of other people.

[Sigaba]

If anything, I think the whole "OP, it is up to YOU to make this right!" thing is a little overblown...

In my experiences as a graduate student and from working in the private sector, I have found that if I unintentionally knock over someone's apple cart, putting things right is a good way to demonstrate good faith.

But then, you might be right. I should have just said "chillax" and used the voting buttons. Those two tactics are proven winners in academic settings.

[cynder]

sick brags all around in this thread

Pompous thread.

I think both of you completely missed the point of this thread. I really doubt that the OP wanted to brag annonymously to people he never met, and probably never will meet.

It raises a very legitimate issue, and looking at the replies, one that several other people were wondering about. Just because someone gets into a top ranking grad school doesnt mean that they should attend that school by default. For example, the OP indicates that there is another school which he would rather join and he is anxious to hear back from (Columbia).

Since his resume must have been good enough for getting admitted to several top ranking schools this shouldnt be the reason for his rejection from BU. So then the question of this thread is, what was the reason for rejection? And how to adress that in case you really want to go to a specific school (again regardless of school rank)? Apparantly just working on your GPA/GRE/etc. is not enough.

Edited March 13, 2012 by cynder

[ghanada]

I agree, this happens all the time. Also, on a personal note, I am attending BU currently for a Masters. And from an objective standpoint, I did my undergrad at a much more top ranked university than BU, but I can say that BU is an excellent grad school and highly underrated all around. I have no idea how the rankings fit within your area of study, but in general, BU is doing good work and has lots of top applicants in many of its programs.

[gfl212]

Random question, what does OP stand for? I am new to discussion forum life...

Oddly enough, I heard back from Columbia today and to my disappointment I was rejected. It was quite upsetting and confusing seeing as the admission from Harvard got my hopes up for Columbia. But also, I had applied to Columbia two years ago and was much less qualified than I am now, yet I was wait-listed then..

I contacted Columbia regarding my rejection, and as "Andsowego" mentions below, there's merit in knowing why a top choice rejected me. The person I emailed wrote back saying he forwarded my email to the Director of Admissions and that I should hear back directly from him. Hopefully he gives me a legitimate explanation that will help me make sense out of this whole process...

What I'd suggest is that unless you get rejected from a "top" choice (e.g., your number 1 journal, conference, school, award, etc.), don't worry about it. There's merit in knowing why a top choice anything would reject you, since there will likely be a learning opportunity in knowing the answers.

[RockStar]

It's fit over rank. Grad school admissions are really about fit. Right?

[splitends]

Also, there is a fair amount of randomness and dumb luck in this process.

It's not necessarily just about your qualifications-- it's also about who else applied that year, who happened to be on the admissions committee that year, and the status of any professors you would be working with at the prospective school (though I'm sure the impact of this one varies a bit from discipline to discipline-- I don't know how much it would affect an Ed.M. as compared to say a Physics PhD program, where it will matter a lot if the professor already has too many students in their lab, will be on sabbatical that year, doesn't have funding for additional students, etc.)

It could just be that the composition of the applicants is different from a few years ago (the recession has sent tons of what would have been jobseekers into grad school instead, after all) and the pool might be more competitive overall, or through random variation there were just more people applying in your particular area of specialty this year. It could also be that the composition of the admissions committee changed and someone who had been swayed by something in your application last time around was no longer there to advocate for it, or that the general inevitable biases of the committee members just moved them in a different direction.

Anyway, I'm sure it must have been a bit of a let down, but don't despair too much-- You still have amazing options!

[Andsowego]

Random question, what does OP stand for? I am new to discussion forum life...

OP = Original Poster

[lewin]

I want to chime in and say don't contact BU for a "debrief" of why you were rejected. That's sad, especially if it was a safety school. What's the point?

[rose1]

I would like to point out that I found this thread REASSURING because lower ranked schools often come out with admissions decisions first and if you were rejected from your safety school, I can see how you might fly into panic mode thinking there is no way you will get in ANYWHERE, when that is clearly not the case.

[washdc]

Do you know the ranks of the programs? It could be that Columbia is #1 and Harvard and UPenn are lower ranked.

In IR, for a Master's, Harvard is actually ranked 3rd, below Georgetown and below Johns Hopkins. So while someone might get an admit for Harvard and a rejection from Georgetown and JHU, it's really not confusing as to why. Rankings.

The application pool gets more competitive each year.. which might be why you were wait listed two years ago and rejected this time.