Do you choose a school based upon your admissions exp Part 2

[GraduateSchoolNut]

Before, someone had written about how the people along in the admissions process weren't the nicest. Now, I am wondering... I received an offer from a university I was quite excited to receive an offer from.

The problem is that every single part of the process has been riddled with errors. It's a very respected institution, but I think it's quite embarrassing, especially if I end up going there and they continue to make this many errors.

I understand we're all human, but it does seem awfully disorganized over there. It's bordering on slightly ridiculous. I know the graduate admissions office is separate from the department I will be working with, but ... any thoughts?

[miratrix]

If you can, try contacting current grad students and asking if this is typical of the school's bureaucracy that they have to deal with as students, or if the headaches were over after admission. I think trying to get a feel for whether the administrative offices at a school tend to make life easier or harder is important for any school.

[hornedfrogmeg]

This is what I'm somewhat fighting with myself with. I applied for a program a few weeks after the deadline after I contacted the school and they said it wasn't too late to apply. So I figured why not? It's not a place I think I would like to go to, but the school has been great in emailing me. Today I received an email from them saying that since they had not received the rest of my application if I wanted to personally email it to the graduate admissions director. Now this seems like the greatest thing I have encountered in the whole application process. This school seems to be friendly, helpful, etc etc. So do I consider them if I am accepted, though it is only a summer program and will take 3-4 years to complete a masters and may not be the best program? It's just a nice breath of fresh air from the other programs I have applied to that refuse to be helpful in anyway.

[GraduateSchoolNut]

It could be a breath of fresh air, but it could also mean that that there are no good candidates at that school, which indicates other things.

I wouldn't go somewhere just because they are friendly and helpful. I WOULD consider NOT going somewhere that was the opposite.

[sonnyday]

It could be a breath of fresh air, but it could also mean that that there are no good candidates at that school, which indicates other things.

I wouldn't go somewhere just because they are friendly and helpful. I WOULD consider NOT going somewhere that was the opposite.

Me too. But if people are really nice and the process is smooth, website is easy to navigate, they give timely responses, etc., I can't help that it would have a good impression on me overall. So it probably would indirectly influence the decisions I make, even if I try hard to appear "rational".

[mo7aisen]

I feel that this kind of things happen only when applying for public schools. I've applied, in two sessions of admission, for several public and private schools and had some of naughty treatment mostly from public schools. I don't want to generalize but that was the case with me. any feedback?