Communicating after acceptance

[veggiez]

I recently received an acceptance earlier this week from a school without first having an interview. This means that I wasn't pressured before the acceptance to find out as much as possible about the program in order to ask intelligent questions. The problem is, they are now emailing me nearly everyday offering to provide more information, and have called me to answer my questions and see where I stand in terms of my decision. To be honest, I haven't even had time to read through the website, nor any of the articles they sent me after I was accepted. 

 

I know that the school just doesn't want me to reject them based on the fact that I haven't visited, but at the moment I am feeling so much pressure to make a decision, while still waiting to hear back from my top choice after an interview. If I get rejected, then of course I don't want to ruin anything at this school, but I don't want to be overly enthusiastic when I know an acceptance could be coming any day now. 

 

I completely understand where the school is coming from, and sent the best worded email I could explaining that I was still definitely considering them, but I haven't looked closely enough at the available information in order to generate any further questions, and that i would contact them as soon as I had done so. Has anyone else been in this situation?

[quick1]

I'm a bit confused. They accepted you without an interview? Did they require an interivew for the admissions process? I know most programs in Psych do but it's not clear whether or not yours does from what you are saying.

 

As far as I know students have until April 15th to submit their letters of intent and deposits accepting or declining a spot.

[veggiez]

I'm a bit confused. They accepted you without an interview? Did they require an interivew for the admissions process? I know most programs in Psych do but it's not clear whether or not yours does from what you are saying.

 

As far as I know students have until April 15th to submit their letters of intent and deposits accepting or declining a spot.

I assume that they didn't require an interview based on the fact that I was accepted without one. The website doesn't mention interviews, but neither did the ones that gave me interviews. I know that I have until April 15th, but I don't want to send the impression that I am not interested by never responding when they send me information. It's just a little overwhelming.

[veggiez]

Oh btw I am not applying to clinical programs, so the interviews are not necessarily expected for every school

[Guest |||]

Most experimental programs, as I am aware, do not require an interview.  Instead they require that at least one or more faculty members are interested in having you work in their lab.  This will typically though require meeting them, or at least emailing them, which you might consider as an "interview".

 

 

In either case, you are fine and they are likely just trying to be kind.

[DarwinAG]

Most experimental programs, as I am aware, do not require an interview.  Instead they require that at least one or more faculty members are interested in having you work in their lab.  This will typically though require meeting them, or at least emailing them, which you might consider as an "interview".

 

 

In either case, you are fine and they are likely just trying to be kind.

False. Most experimental psychology programs (social, cogntiive, etc) require an interview. It has been a recent trend in the field, but most of the programs that I applied too, with the exception of one, required an interview before an offer or acceptance. Terminal masters psychology programs typically do not require an interview process, but I think it is also moving in the direction of having one before acceptances.

[Guest |||]

False. Most experimental psychology programs (social, cogntiive, etc) require an interview. It has been a recent trend in the field, but most of the programs that I applied too, with the exception of one, required an interview before an offer or acceptance. Terminal masters psychology programs typically do not require an interview process, but I think it is also moving in the direction of having one before acceptances.

 

I feel like this will just become an argument of the schools I applied to vs. the schools you applied to.  I'm afraid I simply disagree on the same grounds of experience as you mentioned.

Edited February 24, 2013 by |||

[DarwinAG]

I feel like this will just become an argument of the schools I applied to vs. the schools you applied to.  I'm afraid I simply disagree on the same grounds of experience as you mentioned.

O but it's an easy issue to address empirically.

I assume your "film" focus in your profile is fake and that you applied to experimental psychology programs because I am restricting my claim to phd experimental psychology programs (mostly social and cognitive and clinical).

If we define most as a simple "majority of" and we look at the top 50 (or 100) phd experimental programs in psychology, I would best that most require some form of interview.

And we have access to most of the data in these forums in a different thread that posts the interview/recruitment weekends for many universities.

The rest of the data can be obtained easily other ways.

Haha we just need to find someone who wants to do that work because neither one of us Id imagine wants to.

[Guest |||]

Whatever you say

[Guest]

A year ago when I was going through rounds, I couldn't find a single canadian university that listed interviews as a requirement.

 

 

Though of course you were required to have faculty in mind you were interested in.

[lewin]

My impression is that it's a Canada/US difference. At UBC I had a phone interview before an offer, and University of Toronto also does interviews before offers. Or at least, they did in my application year.

[veggiez]

Yeah it was quite a shock to me that I got in without even interviewing, but it isn't a very well known school, so I think they may not have had many applicants. Like I said though, it has left me very uneducated about their program in comparison to the ones where I already had interviews.

[Guest |||]

My impression is that it's a Canada/US difference. At UBC I had a phone interview before an offer, and University of Toronto also does interviews before offers. Or at least, they did in my application year.

 

Im curious to who the professor was!

[beanpsych]

Yeah it was quite a shock to me that I got in without even interviewing, but it isn't a very well known school, so I think they may not have had many applicants. Like I said though, it has left me very uneducated about their program in comparison to the ones where I already had interviews.

 

I was accepted without an interview as well, but they also invited me up to visit and answer questions in person. Are you not planning to visit the school/did they not extend that offer?

[PhDreams]

I recently received an acceptance earlier this week from a school without first having an interview. This means that I wasn't pressured before the acceptance to find out as much as possible about the program in order to ask intelligent questions. The problem is, they are now emailing me nearly everyday offering to provide more information, and have called me to answer my questions and see where I stand in terms of my decision. To be honest, I haven't even had time to read through the website, nor any of the articles they sent me after I was accepted. 

 

I know that the school just doesn't want me to reject them based on the fact that I haven't visited, but at the moment I am feeling so much pressure to make a decision, while still waiting to hear back from my top choice after an interview. If I get rejected, then of course I don't want to ruin anything at this school, but I don't want to be overly enthusiastic when I know an acceptance could be coming any day now. 

 

I completely understand where the school is coming from, and sent the best worded email I could explaining that I was still definitely considering them, but I haven't looked closely enough at the available information in order to generate any further questions, and that i would contact them as soon as I had done so. Has anyone else been in this situation?

I'm sorry your thread got turned into a debate about interviews when you really wanted specific advice about communication. FWIW I have a great offer from a school that I may not be able to visit because of scheduling conflicts and I am in a similiar predicament with my top choice (still waiting). So, I've been doing the communication dance with a few schools.

 

I think you should continue your correspondence with your POI(s) etc. (I have done this and they have been amazing) and be very honest. These are your future colleagues and you dont want to start off on the wrong foot by burning bridges. I think it would be right to thank them for all of their information and tell them that you are in the process of reviewing the information to ensure that you find the best fit. You can tell them that you are strongly considering their offer and they are on the very top of the schools you are considering. However, you are still waiting on some schools to make sure that you have all of the information that you need to make the best decision possible. Schools know that other schools havent all notified yet. Schools also know that students like to wait until all of their offers come in. It just makes sense and as long as you are diplomatic and honest (the best you can), don't worry too much.

 

It will help if you have a good sense whether you want to go there as soon as possible though. If you really don't then you should give them the axe as soon as possible, as diplomatically as possible. Sometimes schools have waitlists and thats not fair to them (mine dont) but also, schools also have to figure out their cohorts as soon as possible. Take as much time as you need, be aware of any deadlines for fellowships that they may have given you(some schools have these... I have a March 1st one thats freaking me out), and be fair and honest. Remember not all schools or offers are tied to the April 15 deadline, so make sure you know all the details about your offers so that you dont lose your fellowship to someone else (if your funding works that way.. funding packages are cobbled together tons of different ways). Best of luck!!!!!! I'm sure you will make a great decision with school.

[veggiez]

I'm sorry your thread got turned into a debate about interviews when you really wanted specific advice about communication. FWIW I have a great offer from a school that I may not be able to visit because of scheduling conflicts and I am in a similiar predicament with my top choice (still waiting). So, I've been doing the communication dance with a few schools.

 

I think you should continue your correspondence with your POI(s) etc. (I have done this and they have been amazing) and be very honest. These are your future colleagues and you dont want to start off on the wrong foot by burning bridges. I think it would be right to thank them for all of their information and tell them that you are in the process of reviewing the information to ensure that you find the best fit. You can tell them that you are strongly considering their offer and they are on the very top of the schools you are considering. However, you are still waiting on some schools to make sure that you have all of the information that you need to make the best decision possible. Schools know that other schools havent all notified yet. Schools also know that students like to wait until all of their offers come in. It just makes sense and as long as you are diplomatic and honest (the best you can), don't worry too much.

 

It will help if you have a good sense whether you want to go there as soon as possible though. If you really don't then you should give them the axe as soon as possible, as diplomatically as possible. Sometimes schools have waitlists and thats not fair to them (mine dont) but also, schools also have to figure out their cohorts as soon as possible. Take as much time as you need, be aware of any deadlines for fellowships that they may have given you(some schools have these... I have a March 1st one thats freaking me out), and be fair and honest. Remember not all schools or offers are tied to the April 15 deadline, so make sure you know all the details about your offers so that you dont lose your fellowship to someone else (if your funding works that way.. funding packages are cobbled together tons of different ways). Best of luck!!!!!! I'm sure you will make a great decision with school.

Thank you so much! This is all good advice and mainly along the same lines I was thinking. I wish my other schools would let me know already so I can give a spot to someone on the waitlist at at least one school.

[Angua]

I recently received an acceptance earlier this week from a school without first having an interview. This means that I wasn't pressured before the acceptance to find out as much as possible about the program in order to ask intelligent questions. The problem is, they are now emailing me nearly everyday offering to provide more information, and have called me to answer my questions and see where I stand in terms of my decision. To be honest, I haven't even had time to read through the website, nor any of the articles they sent me after I was accepted. 

 

I know that the school just doesn't want me to reject them based on the fact that I haven't visited, but at the moment I am feeling so much pressure to make a decision, while still waiting to hear back from my top choice after an interview. If I get rejected, then of course I don't want to ruin anything at this school, but I don't want to be overly enthusiastic when I know an acceptance could be coming any day now. 

 

I completely understand where the school is coming from, and sent the best worded email I could explaining that I was still definitely considering them, but I haven't looked closely enough at the available information in order to generate any further questions, and that i would contact them as soon as I had done so. Has anyone else been in this situation?

 

I was in a similar situation - accepted without an interview to a place that wasn't my top choice, then aggressively recruited.  I totally sympathize with you -- I also felt very overwhelmed and pressured, even after I asked for some time to consider their offer.

 

Ultimately, I declined, even though I might have liked to get more information eventually.  For me, part of the question was how likely this place would be to say or do something that would put them above the other places I have been accepted -- this is the question I would suggest you start by asking yourself.  Consider the places you've gotten in already (I would strongly recommend setting aside places you haven't heard from officially yet, even if you interviewed already, until you hear officially).  Is this place a serious contender?  If, like me, you are simply unsure, you can certainly do more research, but also ask yourself: What could this place say or do that would make a difference?  Focus on those things in your research, and if the answer is really "nothing," take that to heart.  For me, the risk of being wrong about this question -- that is, the risk that there would actually be something that would make this place more appealing (or even equally appealing) -- was not enough to outweigh the peace of mind I got from declining the offer.  From your signature, it looks like you will have some tough decisions to make no matter what. 

 

If this place is a serious contender, then it might be worth making another effort to get them to back off.  Try being totally upfront -- you don't have much to lose.  Tell them that you are waiting to hear back from some other schools, and you would like some time to sort out all of the information you have been given.  But also keep in mind that: (1) you may be learning something valuable about them right now. If they can't respect your desire for time/space/etc., what does that suggest about how it will be to work with them?  Maybe not a lot, but it's worth keeping in mind.  (2) There may be other people who would be really excited about this program that they can move forward with if you decline.  This is, honestly, a minor consideration as long as they are a serious possibility for you, but once you get to the point that they are more "insurance" than anything else, I'd think about it.

 

Good luck to you. This is an overwhelming process, even when it goes very well.

[veggiez]

Well I got rejected from my top choice after the interview. I still have another interview next week, so I am going to take that one very seriously and maybe I will love it more than either of the two I have already and that will make the decision easier.