How will we be contacted?

[AaronM]

Is there a (semi)uniform way that departments contact applicants regarding admissions? Are decisions given out over the phone, via email, or admissions page update, or does it vary by department/advisor? Should I be constantly checking my phone, email, admissions page, or all three?

[TakeruK]

I think email was the most common way I was notified. 2 schools did call me before emailing (1 couldn't reach me since I was in class) but the phone call was just so they could say it in a more personal way, I guess? Of course, they asked if I had any questions about the program, but it's not like many people will be able to instantly have questions literally moments after getting the news. Email and snail mail would be the most important things to check, I think. Even the phone call that got through to me was followed by an email with a PDF of the official letter, and actual details about the offer.

 

Sometimes the admissions page might give you some "in-between" steps and it's useful to check to make sure they got all of your documents. 

 

All emailed offers also came via snail mail, weeks later. Sometimes they come with a glossy pamphlet too! I got rejections on very nice letterhead via snail mail as well. In my experience, snail mail without any prior emails ended up being rejection letters! Also, big envelopes tend to be good things while the small #10 white envelopes tend to be bad news. 

 

Of course, this "analysis" was done on very small sample sizes and through the haze of application anxiety and paranoia. I'd say don't freak out about it, but I know I was constantly checking all three, at least once a day during these months!

[OrangeSoc]

At the risk of appearing completely ignorant, I'll take AaronM's question a bit further. If some of the schools do call us, what in the world should we say? Obviously we are not going to immediately accept the offer because we'll want to compare offers. I know I should demonstrate enthusiasm and interest, but does anyone have any other suggestions?

 

Thinking "on the spot" is not one of my strengths, so I'd like to have a loose plan prepared in advance to avoid embarrassing myself!

[amlobo]

At the risk of appearing completely ignorant, I'll take AaronM's question a bit further. If some of the schools do call us, what in the world should we say? Obviously we are not going to immediately accept the offer because we'll want to compare offers. I know I should demonstrate enthusiasm and interest, but does anyone have any other suggestions?

 

Thinking "on the spot" is not one of my strengths, so I'd like to have a loose plan prepared in advance to avoid embarrassing myself!

 

I don't answer when it's a number I don't recognize, so I'm hoping I just get a voicemail if anyone calls.  Ha.  I guess that only delays a conversation, but it would at least give me time to collect myself (scream, jump, cry, etc.).  I hope they just spout off a ton of information on funding and visit weekends, etc. and tell me to contact them with any questions.  Then I can say, "Thank you so much for calling me to let me know.  Your program is one of my top choices, and I will definitely be in touch with any questions I have." 

 

I kind of figure that if I get ANY acceptance, I will be so beside myself I will probably act like a complete lunatic, but at that point, they've already accepted me, right?!  Lol.

[TakeruK]

I also usually do not answer the phone when it's an unrecognized number, especially when I was in Canada and it was a US unrecognized number (most of them are scammers anyways) but I broke that rule during applications! 

 

They definitely do not try to get an answer from you on the spot! Most graduate programs have agreed to the April 15 deadline thing (although this is not a binding convention) so like amlobo said, they will mostly tell you about their program, and info on funding they have and inform you if there is an upcoming visit weekend!

 

I was really shocked to get the acceptance phone call (it was later in the day due to time zone differences and my wife and I were just about to leave for a dinner) that I mostly sat in stunned silence as the prof told me about their program. I must have sounded really unexcited and lame even though it was one of my top choices!! I also hate talking on the phone! It might be better to "prepare yourself" for a phone call, but I think that would make it so much worse when a rejection came. Also, you never know when it would come, so that would have only increased anxiety for me.

 

Letting it go to voicemail is probably a good idea -- it could also give you a chance to refresh yourself about that program so that you can come in with questions!

[magicunicorn]

It was almost always first an e-mail - then followed up by a phone call, then a snail mail letter later (sometimes also with a the same letter in pdf form emailed in cased).  

 

Here's some advice -- don't be scared and pick up the phone and answer it.  The person on the other line wants to be your mentor and friend for the rest of your academic life -- the person/faculty who chooses to call you has a vested interest in getting you to their program.  Give them the respect to pick up the phone if you are free and then just talk to them at a one-on-one level like you would any professional conversation you would have.  They know you are probably super nervous on the other line - they were there many years before in that same spot.  You may say something stupid - they will forgive you.  

 

A big part of being successful in academia is presenting yourself and your research interests -- and here's a chance to just have a nice convo with someone on your side.  If you have a crazy stalker and don't pick up numbers you don't recognize, after getting into a program, look up the area code for the school so you know if the call is coming in from one of those areas.  If you are in class or whatever, call them back as soon as you can. 

 

Oh - if they ask what other programs you are considering, decide beforehand if you want to say anything.  I started off not telling anyone, then realized that was ineffective for me, so I was just honest about what programs I was deciding between.  It really helped actually in my case (since schools were all very competitive, but differed quite a bit in funding and methodology), but I know others who didn't want to say anything about what other programs they got into and stuck with this strategy.  

[magicunicorn]

One more thing -- I can't believe that its only January and people are posting about the decision process and etiquette etc -- but I want to really stress to just not be a jerk or be rude in this process (to both faculty, other grads and other admits).  There are SO many horror stories about admits among current graduate students and faculty.. and your reputation is important.  Don't worry about being smart -- your job in this process is not to convince people in the programs you are visiting that you are smart (you've already done that - they have admitted you already) -- but I think the most important thing is to be a nice and well-manered person with as little ego as possible.  If you were stuck on a deserted island (which sometimes characterizes graduate school), would you rather spend the 6-8 years stuck with someone trying to prove how smart they are, or someone who is fun and an overall nice person.  

 

So with the phone call - don't try to impress the professor, talk to them like a friend and be genuine.  Be gracious and polite, and relax.

 

Also, people remember things..  I heard this one story about how this one job candidate was invited to give a job talk at a certain school, and that the faculty remembered her from her admit visit -- luckily for her, they thought she was an incredible candidate 6 years earlier and really nice to be around at the visit, and it helped her in the process (I can only imagine the flip side of this if they remember you as the a**hole).

[jacib]

It was almost always first an e-mail - then followed up by a phone call, then a snail mail letter later (sometimes also with a the same letter in pdf form emailed in cased). 

I think it varies by program what's first.  I definitely got an email from a program first... telling me that they'd be trying to call me for two days and requesting a working phone number (I was in America while the phone number I gave them was my number in Turkey). They waited to give me details over the phone (it was a conference call with the head of the adcomm and the head of the deparmtnet).  So yeah, some programs definitely do call before emailing, but if they can't get ahold of you it's no big deal.

[gilbertrollins]

^I was picturing skinny white kid with stretched ears, a NOFX t-shirt, and a denim jacket.  God bless stereotypes.  

[ohgoodness]

^I was picturing skinny white kid with stretched ears, a NOFX t-shirt, and a denim jacket.  God bless stereotypes.  

Don't call me whiiiiiiiiiiiiite!

[jacib]

^I was picturing skinny white kid with stretched ears, a NOFX t-shirt, and a denim jacket.  God bless stereotypes.  

 

Haha, by that point it was all button down shirts with hardcore shirts carefully hidden underneath.  Turks are Caucausian (according to the census, etc. Persians and all Arabs), but yes, I am actually (non-Turkish) white. A single cartilage piercing (that many people don't notice), not gauges.  Also, always hardcore, never punk so hoodie, not denim (never a backpatch).  Also, gained a lot of weight in Turkey because I wasn't biking anymore.  So to be honest, wrong on almost every account, yet much more close than I'm eager to admit.  I feel like I look pretty "average white male academic" in my grooming habit, but you nailed a lot of the semi-hidden things.

 

Don't call me whiiiiiiiiiiiiite!

I've got pockets full of Kleenex and lint and holes where everything important to me just seems to fall right down my leg.

[gilbertrollins]

It's strange.  I listen to Cato Institute podcasts when I'm taking breaks from more serious work (which is too often), but I still listen to Earth Crisis and Dead Prez.  Every time I listen to reggae I think "all this stuff about burning Babylon down is the politics that keeps the Caribbean poor," but I still love it.

 

(Removed at Users Request)

Edited February 1, 2013 by Eigen

[gilbertrollins]

^Maybe a general courtesy.  Maybe a good sign.  It won't hurt you to take it as a good sign.