Waitlisted - waiting for your school AND everyone else's

[Cesare]

Haha me too! Although my WL letter said "April at the earliest" for notifications so I'm trying not to hold my breath. Is it bad that I secretly feel a little more hopeful/happy when I see on the thread for my WL school that someone is declining their offer?

Not bad at all! I feel the same way. I keep on checking the political science forum hoping that someone will decline their offers. 

[sweetpearl16]

No one on the site seems to have any information about my WL school. No one on the results boards or in the forum has reported getting into my  school in my subfield or knowing anyone who has been accepted or waitlisted. I kind of feel in the dark and on edge about the whole situation. 

[SLPjmar]

I was accepted from my waitlist via phone this morning. I am very excited, but very torn. They also only gave me until FRIDAY to make a decision. Rough. 

[Dark-Helmed]

I was accepted from my waitlist via phone this morning. I am very excited, but very torn. They also only gave me until FRIDAY to make a decision. Rough. 

 

Congratulations! 

[Dingbatty]

No one on the site seems to have any information about my WL school. No one on the results boards or in the forum has reported getting into my  school in my subfield or knowing anyone who has been accepted or waitlisted. I kind of feel in the dark and on edge about the whole situation. 

I'm right there with you. Only one person has posted that they got rejected from my top choice...but no acceptances and I'm the only one who has posted that I'm waitlisted. I don't know if this is a good thing because maybe people aren't very excited about the program and have other top chices, or because there are so few acceptances that none of them are even on this site. Ugh.......

[acdelco]

I was accepted from my waitlist via phone this morning. I am very excited, but very torn. They also only gave me until FRIDAY to make a decision. Rough. 

congrats! good luck making a decision

[Guest HEPhD13]

Feeling a little dejected-- I was told that I would hear in late March since applicants were given until mid-March to decide. Ugh-- I guess just need to wait for a no from my top choice and hope that my last waitlist is successful!

 

Good luck to everyone!

[Emdave]

Feeling a little dejected-- I was told that I would hear in late March since applicants were given until mid-March to decide. Ugh-- I guess just need to wait for a no from my top choice and hope that my last waitlist is successful!

 

Good luck to everyone!

 

DO NOT ASSUME DEFEAT! Don't give in to the temptation to give up. Never say die! There is yet hope!

[Emdave]

I was waitlisted last year, and it almost physically HURT. I got on the waitlist of my (at the time, #1 program) on April 4th. Yes. I remember the day, and the sour weekend following that. I was happy thinking "Hey, they kind of liked me. Almost there!" Then by that Saturday, April 7th, my thought turned dark "Why?" "How long will I have to wait?" etc. I finally decided to email them on Monday April 9th. They (secretary/coordinator) CALLED me back saying that they definitely wanted me -- funding issues -- my POI was running a crowded lab but may try to take me on etc. Now starts the most painful rollercoaster ride of my life. April 10th, this time the department chair emails me a super sympathetic email. "I know how hard it it to wait, but good news is there is a high possibility that someone will come off the waitlist, and it has happened in recent years.." and a similar vein. It was also obviously not a form email (in different font/style from previous form emails he had sent before). April 11th. The secretary confirms with me that I am on the waitlist through email. I shoot back an email replying Yes, and asking "why" she lets slip that one/two of their accepted students show hesitancy, and that again this is a good sign for me. April 12th. Radio silence. I'm letting myself feel happy around this point. "Maybe.. there's a chance!" April 13th. The Department chair and secretary sent me emails saying that one spot was vacated and the waiting list's first person got accepted. At this point they inferred that I was the second position on the list -- well now the first. Then April 14th. Keep in mind, this was a SATURDAY. I received a call saying that "I regret to inform you.." My heart dropped, and I really couldn't hear what he had said and had to ask for him to repeat. He said that "We will be unable to offer you admission to our PhD program this year. I'm sorry to disappoint you, but this year had an extremely competitive applicant pool." I thanked him and sort of phoned it in that day. I was planning to set up lesson plans for my TAing gig, and run some analyses for my thesis project. I did not have the functioning capabilities to do that. Instead, I indulged in comfort foods. I recall calling my mother and sister crying, but I can't remember what I said. I was devastated. I had been rejected everywhere else, except for one school that was way down the list, and I was considering saying No to regardless of the results. 

 

This school had raised my hopes and then brought it crashing back down on reality. I would have been happier not being in almost daily communication with them (though granted, they initiated it on some days. But I got the ball rolling). I really am not the sort of person to just fall apart like that, but the emotional rollercoaster just made it happen. I really think now I would have been happier if I had been flat-out rejected. I WISH I had been rejected. 

 

I am absolutely terrified that this is about to happen to me. I had an interview back in January, was waitlisted shortly thereafter and have been hearing nothing but good news so far..... yet, I have this aching, gnawing dejected feeling in my gut that somehow, despite people telling me that they declined their offer to work with my specific adviser.... it will all be for naught. I'm just afraid that I've gotten my hopes up so high about this school that, if I don't get in, I'll be too upset and frustrated by the process to apply again next year.

 

I feel like I'm being followed around by a pack of Dementors.

[Goobah]

I was accepted from my waitlist via phone this morning. I am very excited, but very torn. They also only gave me until FRIDAY to make a decision. Rough. 

Congrats! It's good to have choices

[acquablu]

I was accepted from my waitlist via phone this morning. I am very excited, but very torn. They also only gave me until FRIDAY to make a decision. Rough. 

 

Congratulations!  Good luck with your decision.

[Isi]

I am absolutely terrified that this is about to happen to me. I had an interview back in January, was waitlisted shortly thereafter and have been hearing nothing but good news so far..... yet, I have this aching, gnawing dejected feeling in my gut that somehow, despite people telling me that they declined their offer to work with my specific adviser.... it will all be for naught. I'm just afraid that I've gotten my hopes up so high about this school that, if I don't get in, I'll be too upset and frustrated by the process to apply again next year.

 

I feel like I'm being followed around by a pack of Dementors.

 

Same for me! Interviews went great and then I got the mail: "We are confident that you would do well in our program. However, ...."

I have the feeling the later it gets the lower the chance that I get accepted..this is my only shot and absolutely my dream school.

Good luck to you all, two weeks left!

[Isi]

OMG, just got the mail that I am accepted from waitlist! I am super excited and relieved :-)

 

Good luck to you all!! I hope it works out for you

[lemony]

OMG, just got the mail that I am accepted from waitlist! I am super excited and relieved :-)

Good luck to you all!! I hope it works out for you

Congrats!

[Dingbatty]

OMG, just got the mail that I am accepted from waitlist! I am super excited and relieved :-)

 

Good luck to you all!! I hope it works out for you

Congrats!

[jhslp13]

If we are on the wait list shouldn't we hear back from the school either way if we get declined off the wait list, or accepted? So far I have 2 rejections, 1 wait list, and waiting to receive an initial decision from 3 other schools. I think that it is insane that it is April 2 and I still have 3 schools that have not contacted me with any answers on acceptance, denial, or wait list. Also for the wait list, how long should I wait before I contact the department back? I emailed the person in charge for the graduate admissions for the program I applied to and she actually called me to explain the wait list to me. She said that she could not really tell me where I stood because they did not know who was going to be accepting/declining their offer and then the people from the wait list she didn't know if they would be accepted to another school while on the wait list, so then she didn't know how far down the wait list they would actually go in order to fill all of their slots. Does this sound any promising for me? I feel like I am slowly pulling my hair out because I am so anxious to hear from programs. 

[Emdave]

Email I just got from the senior professor who would be on my committee:

 

"XXX and I were very impressed by your application and enthusiastic about the prospect of working with you.  We were disappointed when you were put on the wait list by the admissions committee.  That was not a qualitative judgment and I will explain more about that in a minute.  It now looks as if we may be going to the wait list, so I wanted to find out if you’ve accepted admission elsewhere and, if not, whether you would be interested in Hopkins.

                Here’s the story behind the wait list.  We probably use it more than most other institutions because we can only enroll a class of 11 to 12 grad students a year.  That is the level at which we can afford to give everyone full stipend and full tuition for 5 of the first 6 years.  Admissions committees also want to have some balance in terms of geographic and topical areas.  That puts a special squeeze on American applicants.

                In any event, I hope you are still interested and, if so, I will tell the Grad Committee and give it my strongest endorsement.  I haven’t caught up with XXXXXX yet, but from our prior conversations am sure he feels the same.

                              

  Best, XXXXX"

 

 

I responded that I was still VERY much interested and would an accept an offer from their school over the offer I currently have. Then,

"XXXX: I’m happy to hear that and have already forwarded it to our wonderful Graduate Administrator."

 

 

BAHHHHHHH! I am dying of anticipation right now!

Edited April 2, 2013 by Emdave

[Cesare]

OMG, just got the mail that I am accepted from waitlist! I am super excited and relieved :-)

 

Good luck to you all!! I hope it works out for you

 

CONGRATS!!

 

If we are on the wait list shouldn't we hear back from the school either way if we get declined off the wait list, or accepted? So far I have 2 rejections, 1 wait list, and waiting to receive an initial decision from 3 other schools. I think that it is insane that it is April 2 and I still have 3 schools that have not contacted me with any answers on acceptance, denial, or wait list. Also for the wait list, how long should I wait before I contact the department back? I emailed the person in charge for the graduate admissions for the program I applied to and she actually called me to explain the wait list to me. She said that she could not really tell me where I stood because they did not know who was going to be accepting/declining their offer and then the people from the wait list she didn't know if they would be accepted to another school while on the wait list, so then she didn't know how far down the wait list they would actually go in order to fill all of their slots. Does this sound any promising for me? I feel like I am slowly pulling my hair out because I am so anxious to hear from programs. 

 

1) you will hear back from the school irrelevant if it is positive or negative news. 

2) I contacted them immediately after receiving the notice (unless the email stressed to contact them under certain conditions) and then about a month after. I probably won't be contacting them anymore considering how close April 15th is.

3) It is hard to tell whether it is promising or not. I totally read into the emails I get from the schools that I am waitlisted at, but in reality they are VERY vague and polite. 

[Cesare]

Email I just got from the senior professor who would be on my committee:

 

"XXX and I were very impressed by your application and enthusiastic about the prospect of working with you.  We were disappointed when you were put on the wait list by the admissions committee.  That was not a qualitative judgment and I will explain more about that in a minute.  It now looks as if we may be going to the wait list, so I wanted to find out if you’ve accepted admission elsewhere and, if not, whether you would be interested in Hopkins.

                Here’s the story behind the wait list.  We probably use it more than most other institutions because we can only enroll a class of 11 to 12 grad students a year.  That is the level at which we can afford to give everyone full stipend and full tuition for 5 of the first 6 years.  Admissions committees also want to have some balance in terms of geographic and topical areas.  That puts a special squeeze on American applicants.

                In any event, I hope you are still interested and, if so, I will tell the Grad Committee and give it my strongest endorsement.  I haven’t caught up with XXXXXX yet, but from our prior conversations am sure he feels the same.

                              

  Best, XXXXX"

 

 

I responded that I was still VERY much interested and would an accept an offer from their school over the offer I currently have. Then,

"XXXX: I’m happy to hear that and have already forwarded it to our wonderful Graduate Administrator."

 

 

BAHHHHHHH! I am dying of anticipation right now!

AWESOME news!! I wish I would receive an email like that in my inbox soon!

[jhslp13]

Email I just got from the senior professor who would be on my committee:

 

"XXX and I were very impressed by your application and enthusiastic about the prospect of working with you.  We were disappointed when you were put on the wait list by the admissions committee.  That was not a qualitative judgment and I will explain more about that in a minute.  It now looks as if we may be going to the wait list, so I wanted to find out if you’ve accepted admission elsewhere and, if not, whether you would be interested in Hopkins.

                Here’s the story behind the wait list.  We probably use it more than most other institutions because we can only enroll a class of 11 to 12 grad students a year.  That is the level at which we can afford to give everyone full stipend and full tuition for 5 of the first 6 years.  Admissions committees also want to have some balance in terms of geographic and topical areas.  That puts a special squeeze on American applicants.

                In any event, I hope you are still interested and, if so, I will tell the Grad Committee and give it my strongest endorsement.  I haven’t caught up with XXXXXX yet, but from our prior conversations am sure he feels the same.

                              

  Best, XXXXX"

 

 

I responded that I was still VERY much interested and would an accept an offer from their school over the offer I currently have. Then,

"XXXX: I’m happy to hear that and have already forwarded it to our wonderful Graduate Administrator."

 

 

BAHHHHHHH! I am dying of anticipation right now!

That is wonderful news!!! Congrats! I would be dying of anticipation as well, but it sounds very promising if you ask me. Keep us posted!!

[jhslp13]

CONGRATS!!

 

 

1) you will hear back from the school irrelevant if it is positive or negative news. 

2) I contacted them immediately after receiving the notice (unless the email stressed to contact them under certain conditions) and then about a month after. I probably won't be contacting them anymore considering how close April 15th is.

3) It is hard to tell whether it is promising or not. I totally read into the emails I get from the schools that I am waitlisted at, but in reality they are VERY vague and polite. 

Ok- thank you for your help/advice anxiousphd! I did contact them immediately after I received my wait list letter in the mail. The only thing that is a downfall is that they do not do online applications, everything is still a hard copy. With that being said, maybe it is a good thing that I cannot log on to check my application status because I already do that about a billion times a day for my other schools I am waiting to hear from. I just hope I get in somewhere!! :/

[Dark-Helmed]

Email I just got from the senior professor who would be on my committee:

 

"XXX and I were very impressed by your application and enthusiastic about the prospect of working with you.  We were disappointed when you were put on the wait list by the admissions committee.  That was not a qualitative judgment and I will explain more about that in a minute.  It now looks as if we may be going to the wait list, so I wanted to find out if you’ve accepted admission elsewhere and, if not, whether you would be interested in Hopkins.

                Here’s the story behind the wait list.  We probably use it more than most other institutions because we can only enroll a class of 11 to 12 grad students a year.  That is the level at which we can afford to give everyone full stipend and full tuition for 5 of the first 6 years.  Admissions committees also want to have some balance in terms of geographic and topical areas.  That puts a special squeeze on American applicants.

                In any event, I hope you are still interested and, if so, I will tell the Grad Committee and give it my strongest endorsement.  I haven’t caught up with XXXXXX yet, but from our prior conversations am sure he feels the same.

                              

  Best, XXXXX"

 

 

I responded that I was still VERY much interested and would an accept an offer from their school over the offer I currently have. Then,

"XXXX: I’m happy to hear that and have already forwarded it to our wonderful Graduate Administrator."

 

 

BAHHHHHHH! I am dying of anticipation right now!

 

Ahh, so exciting! Congratulations! I hope it pans out

[Dark-Helmed]

Every time I get an e-mail notification on my phone my heart jumps, but it ALWAYS ends up being something stupid like Groupon notifications. 

 

Yep. I keep thinking that if i was smart, I would have made an email account just for applications and configured my smartphone to assign a unique light to incoming messages from it. That way I could know, for example, that I am waiting for the gold light and seriously cut down on the signal: noise problem.

[sweetpearl16]

This may sound stupid, but what exactly does cautiously optimistic mean. My POI told me he was cautiously optimistic that the school would be able to extend an offer to me, and I am trying to figure out how to interpret that.

[zebura]

Email I just got from the senior professor who would be on my committee:

 

"XXX and I were very impressed by your application and enthusiastic about the prospect of working with you.  We were disappointed when you were put on the wait list by the admissions committee.  That was not a qualitative judgment and I will explain more about that in a minute.  It now looks as if we may be going to the wait list, so I wanted to find out if you’ve accepted admission elsewhere and, if not, whether you would be interested in Hopkins.

                Here’s the story behind the wait list.  We probably use it more than most other institutions because we can only enroll a class of 11 to 12 grad students a year.  That is the level at which we can afford to give everyone full stipend and full tuition for 5 of the first 6 years.  Admissions committees also want to have some balance in terms of geographic and topical areas.  That puts a special squeeze on American applicants.

                In any event, I hope you are still interested and, if so, I will tell the Grad Committee and give it my strongest endorsement.  I haven’t caught up with XXXXXX yet, but from our prior conversations am sure he feels the same.

                              

  Best, XXXXX"

 

 

I responded that I was still VERY much interested and would an accept an offer from their school over the offer I currently have. Then,

"XXXX: I’m happy to hear that and have already forwarded it to our wonderful Graduate Administrator."

 

 

BAHHHHHHH! I am dying of anticipation right now!

Just want to ask you have you e-mail to your POI about your situation? Because I am also in waiting list right now and I really want to get into graduate school. Can you give me some advice?

 

Thanks