Maryland (College Park)

[ProfLorax]

I miss the school-specific threads of the former years, so I thought I'd start up a Maryland one. Who else has been admitted? Are you thinking of going to the visit day? 

[kareneliz]

I'm a UMD hopeful, and am wondering if anyone has been waitlisted/rejected yet. I've heard nothing, and am wondering if others have heard/know more. Skybythelight mentioned in another thread that she'd emailed the department and they'd said they were still deliberating. So there's that. 

 

If I get accepted, proflorax, I'll gladly attend visit day!

[ProfLorax]

I'm a UMD hopeful, and am wondering if anyone has been waitlisted/rejected yet. I've heard nothing, and am wondering if others have heard/know more. Skybythelight mentioned in another thread that she'd emailed the department and they'd said they were still deliberating. So there's that. 

 

If I get accepted, proflorax, I'll gladly attend visit day!

Definitely don't give up hope! I got my phone call the day after a bunch of people posted acceptances to UMD. At that point, I had already assumed rejection, so imagine my surprise!  

[thebeatgoeson]

I'm a UMD hopeful, and am wondering if anyone has been waitlisted/rejected yet. I've heard nothing, and am wondering if others have heard/know more. Skybythelight mentioned in another thread that she'd emailed the department and they'd said they were still deliberating. So there's that. 

 

If I get accepted, proflorax, I'll gladly attend visit day!

 

Right there in that boat.  The one waitlist call I received came several days after acceptances went out.  Fingers nice and crossed.

[katja454]

I'm another of the Maryland admits! I would love to go visit, but I'm trying to manage other school visits with wanting to remain gainfully employed... It's hard to find subs at my school for personal days. Anyway, is anyone else looking to go to Maryland from the New York area? Dr. Ray mentioned the train when we spoke on the phone - does that seem like a good idea to anyone else who maybe knows the area better?

[kareneliz]

Definitely don't give up hope! I got my phone call the day after a bunch of people posted acceptances to UMD. At that point, I had already assumed rejection, so imagine my surprise!  

This is heartening indeed! Was your admit done via phone with a specific professor, or was it more like a DGS thing? I wondered at first if different professors are just calling folks on different days/when it's convenient for the professor. 

[ProfLorax]

This is heartening indeed! Was your admit done via phone with a specific professor, or was it more like a DGS thing? I wondered at first if different professors are just calling folks on different days/when it's convenient for the professor. 

The phone call was from Dr. Ray, the DGS. Still, talking on the phone is exhausting, so I wouldn't be surprised if she spread it out over a couple of days or longer. (I would, at least! I hate talking on the phone.)

 

Good luck!

 

 

I'm another of the Maryland admits! I would love to go visit, but I'm trying to manage other school visits with wanting to remain gainfully employed... It's hard to find subs at my school for personal days. Anyway, is anyone else looking to go to Maryland from the New York area? Dr. Ray mentioned the train when we spoke on the phone - does that seem like a good idea to anyone else who maybe knows the area better?

Congrats! I can't help you with transportation, as I am flying in from California then probably flying directly to Champaign for their visit days. Oy! So much travel. Like you, I still have the find subs and get my time off approved, which is why I am trying to squeeze in two schools into one trip! 

[ZacharyBinks]

I'm a UMD hopeful, and am wondering if anyone has been waitlisted/rejected yet. I've heard nothing, and am wondering if others have heard/know more. Skybythelight mentioned in another thread that she'd emailed the department and they'd said they were still deliberating. So there's that. 

 

If I get accepted, proflorax, I'll gladly attend visit day!

I'm the exact same boat: I've heard nothing either way. It's so stressful! I've received another great offer from a good school so I have no room to complain, but I just want to know one way or the other!

[blueberryscone]

Wishin' and hopin' here myself.  UMD would be fantastic for a lot of reasons--chief among them, I could stay in DC--and I could really, really use some good news.

[cicada123]

Hey, everyone! I'm a Maryland admit. I'll be purchasing a plane ticket today to make it out there for the visiting day. Looking forward to it!

Has Professor Ray mentioned anything to anyone about if they can put us up for two nights? It would be strange to fly in on March 12 and then fly out on the evening of March 13, right?

[blueberryscone]

Hey Ladies-and-Dudes-in-Waiting,

I just called UMD's English office to clear up an issue with my app, and asked about some things. So, info:

 

--They had over 200 applicants this year

--They have 9 spots to give

--They estimate they will be finished evaluating and accepting "within the next week or two"

 

Hope that helps!

[ZacharyBinks]

Hey Ladies-and-Dudes-in-Waiting,

I just called UMD's English office to clear up an issue with my app, and asked about some things. So, info:

 

--They had over 200 applicants this year

--They have 9 spots to give

--They estimate they will be finished evaluating and accepting "within the next week or two"

 

Hope that helps!

 

Thanks for being brave and calling! Fingers crossed for those of us in limbo.

[HHEoS]

Thanks, blueberryscone. I emailed about an hour ago-- no response. "The next week or two" is such a big timeframe. 

[kareneliz]

Hey Ladies-and-Dudes-in-Waiting,

I just called UMD's English office to clear up an issue with my app, and asked about some things. So, info:

 

--They had over 200 applicants this year

--They have 9 spots to give

--They estimate they will be finished evaluating and accepting "within the next week or two"

 

Hope that helps!

Thank you for calling! This news is all solid and is reassuring -- it means so much that you're willing to share your findings! Thank you thank you!

[kayrabbit]

Dr. Ray emailed me to say there is a very high chance I'll be accepted into the program, but no official admission yet as they're waiting to see what happens with the nine they've offered spots to. I did receive a tentative offer letter with funding and program details. So I guess for now I'm just hoping one of the nine admits will go elsewhere.

[ProfLorax]

Hey, everyone! I'm a Maryland admit. I'll be purchasing a plane ticket today to make it out there for the visiting day. Looking forward to it!

Has Professor Ray mentioned anything to anyone about if they can put us up for two nights? It would be strange to fly in on March 12 and then fly out on the evening of March 13, right?

I have a similar question. I emailed this morning asking for more information about the visit day, but I haven't heard back yet. If I do, I'll post it here! 

[cicada123]

I have a similar question. I emailed this morning asking for more information about the visit day, but I haven't heard back yet. If I do, I'll post it here! 

Hey! I ended up emailing, and Professor Ray said they would get back to me about putting me up somewhere for two nights. It sounded like they probably could. I hope they can. Worse case scenario is that I'd have to find a place just for one of those nights. Also, I realized that I didn't need to fly. I'm just a couple hours out of DC by train. For some reason, I didn't immediately realize I could take the Amtrack. The department is going to reimburse me for those tickets.

[cicada123]

A perhaps irrelevant question, but I'm curious. So, I know that there are nine required elective courses aside from the three required ones. Five of those have to be 700-level courses. There are at least three 700-level courses offered each semester that seem like MFA courses, but I'm not sure about that.... Does anyone know anything about this? Are those classes also for Ph.D. students?

[hpcowgirl]

Dr. Ray emailed me to say there is a very high chance I'll be accepted into the program, but no official admission yet as they're waiting to see what happens with the nine they've offered spots to. I did receive a tentative offer letter with funding and program details. So I guess for now I'm just hoping one of the nine admits will go elsewhere.

Hi! Same here for me. It was the "very high chance" and the "top of the list" that sounded so incredibly hopeful. I do wonder however, just how many of those Dr. Ray has sent out. Hmmmm. The email and attached offer sounded promising enough to buy a ticket to Maryland, and I sincerely hope that I didn't just give myself false hope! 

[kayrabbit]

Hi! Same here for me. It was the "very high chance" and the "top of the list" that sounded so incredibly hopeful. I do wonder however, just how many of those Dr. Ray has sent out. Hmmmm. The email and attached offer sounded promising enough to buy a ticket to Maryland, and I sincerely hope that I didn't just give myself false hope! 

Yes, that was my concern too. I wonder how many of those emails went out. It's quite likely that they're expecting a few of the nine they offered admission not to attend with good reason, but I hope there aren't more than a few of us who have been sent tentative offers. Here's hoping that we'll both end up in — I'm coming to the visit day as well.

[hpcowgirl]

Yes, that was my concern too. I wonder how many of those emails went out. It's quite likely that they're expecting a few of the nine they offered admission not to attend with good reason, but I hope there aren't more than a few of us who have been sent tentative offers. Here's hoping that we'll both end up in — I'm coming to the visit day as well.

That's great! Depending upon word from Dr. Ray, if we are able to get a hotel I was planning on staying in DC somewhere. Nothing has been confirmed but if you'd like to share a room, I'd be more than happy to give you my contact information. I will also be hoping for the both of us. The rest of the universities I have applied to have been quite reticent... so this appears to be the one shot I have. Good luck to us!

[kayrabbit]

That's great! Depending upon word from Dr. Ray, if we are able to get a hotel I was planning on staying in DC somewhere. Nothing has been confirmed but if you'd like to share a room, I'd be more than happy to give you my contact information. I will also be hoping for the both of us. The rest of the universities I have applied to have been quite reticent... so this appears to be the one shot I have. Good luck to us!

Sure, you can definitely message me so we can talk about this further. I'm arriving early morning on March 13, so I'll be staying the night on the 13th rather than the 12th — not sure if that's the case for you. I believe Dr. Ray is setting up accommodations for everyone, but I'm not sure what that entails yet.

 

This is the best news I've heard so far as well. I noticed that there were two posts on the results board about receiving this kind of email from Maryland. I posted one of them — was the other you? That would at least suggest that no others on GradCafe have had this result.

[hpcowgirl]

Sure, you can definitely message me so we can talk about this further. I'm arriving early morning on March 13, so I'll be staying the night on the 13th rather than the 12th — not sure if that's the case for you. I believe Dr. Ray is setting up accommodations for everyone, but I'm not sure what that entails yet.

 

This is the best news I've heard so far as well. I noticed that there were two posts on the results board about receiving this kind of email from Maryland. I posted one of them — was the other you? That would at least suggest that no others on GradCafe have had this result.

Ah, yes. I'll be arriving the evening of the 12th. We can figure something out once we get word from Dr. Ray. It's been eerily quiet since my last correspondence with her last week. This is also the best news that I have heard thus far. I'm still waiting on four other schools, but this would be the best bet by far. 

I did post on gradcafe; so if we are the only two, then that does feel rather good.  And if Dr. Ray doesn't get back to us by the end of the day, I'll send her an email on Monday requesting updated info. 

[Mercyhurst2010]

Just received a call from Professor Ray offering me admission off the wait list!

 

I'm really excited about this one. I had written it off as a rejection. Unfortunately, due to the late notice I can't get off work for the campus visit day next week. Whoever goes to that, please give the rest of us a detailed report when you get back! I'm really interested in learning more about the overall culture of the department, the (on the ground, vs on the website) sense among students about their job placement prospects, and I guess just how happy students currently in the program seem to be. I really wish I could visit...stupid temp job with no vacation time keeping me nailed firmly to Pittsburgh!

[kayrabbit]

Just received a call from Professor Ray offering me admission off the wait list!

 

I'm really excited about this one. I had written it off as a rejection. Unfortunately, due to the late notice I can't get off work for the campus visit day next week. Whoever goes to that, please give the rest of us a detailed report when you get back! I'm really interested in learning more about the overall culture of the department, the (on the ground, vs on the website) sense among students about their job placement prospects, and I guess just how happy students currently in the program seem to be. I really wish I could visit...stupid temp job with no vacation time keeping me nailed firmly to Pittsburgh!

Congratulations! It's crazy to think that at this point some of the schools that we're assuming are rejections could still pull a waitlist admission out. I almost hope that doesn't happen with my remaining programs so I don't have more decisions to make. I definitely sympathize with you about having to make your choice without visiting, but I'll be happy to share my experience there with you afterward.