Fall 2014 Applicants

[levoyous]

My departing Columbia POI told me not to waste my money. Wish I'd listened.

[lateralus]

Looks like most of the major ones are in - UChicago, Harvard, Columbia. Anyone heard from Princeton as yet?

[czesc]

At what point should an admitted applicant start seeking outside funding? I'm not very well-versed in terms of the funding structure. My understanding has always been that I'm guaranteed five years of funding, but, around Year 3, should start thinking ahead and looking for funding for Year 6 onwards. How wildly wrong am I?

 

What I meant is this: A lot of offers for "guaranteed" funding are technically contingent on you making sure you at least apply for outside funding that could cover you when you are eligible. So if you go to Argentina or whatever for research in your fourth year and don't apply for a Fulbright and hope the university covers you when it wasn't a year they'd earmarked to pay you with a fellowship, but expected you to teach, you might not get automatic funding for your yearlong adventure. Likewise they might be pissed at you if you come looking for teaching jobs when you're taking Turkish and could very well get your whole year covered with a FLAS grant. Enforcement varies on this kind of thing and so might the terms of an offer (it will be clear in your offer letter whether or not this is an issue), but you should expect that they'll want you to relieve the department of the obligation to pay you in situations when you're highly eligible for an outside grant -- again, even during that five year "guarantee" period. (After five years, unis often still have some way to pay grad students, but things get iffier and there will be far more pressure to get outside funding.)

 

I wouldn't worry about it at all -- forcing grant applications without consequences for not winning them is actually win/win. People often still get some kind of extra funding "on top" from the university as an incentive even if they win a grant, or are at least exempt from teaching if it's a year they'd have to do that. If nothing else, these grants look really good on your CV. And if you don't win one, you at least tried -- and under these conditions, that's all departments are looking for.

Edited February 11, 2014 by czesc

[thedig13]

This is surprising. Schools that were good-not-great fits ended up admitting me, and Columbia, which was my strongest fit by a country mile, hasn't contacted me at all.

 

I am slightly shocked.

Edited February 11, 2014 by thedig13

[angelayar]

My departing Columbia POI told me not to waste my money. Wish I'd listened.

 

 

Really agree with this. I feel sad that I was stupid enough to apply to several schools where I was not a great fit and had little chance including COlumbia.

 

I would advise people to careful about the idea called "reach schools" If you have no chance or are a bad fit I would say (on my experience) forget about it. Just apply where you can get in. REally to spend 100$ for them to skim your file and toss it in the garbage can...you should think more about that.

[New England Nat]

And I'd advise you that you have no idea if you have "no chance of getting in".  I didn't think I would get into the place I ended up going because I didn't think I was a good fit.  The faculty thought I was a better fit than I did.  There is a very big difference between what levoyous describes (a POI telling him not to bother) and not believing in reach schools.

Edited February 11, 2014 by New England Nat

[A Finicky Bean]

Really agree with this. I feel sad that I was stupid enough to apply to several schools where I was not a great fit and had little chance including COlumbia.

 

I would advise people to careful about the idea called "reach schools" If you have no chance or are a bad fit I would say (on my experience) forget about it. Just apply where you can get in. REally to spend 100$ for them to skim your file and toss it in the garbage can...you should think more about that.

 

"Just apply where you can get in." Could you tell me the schools I can get in? I think it might be a bit harder than this.

Edited February 11, 2014 by A Finicky Bean

[djp2]

Just got an informal rejection e-mail from my POI at Columbia. Sounds like all the acceptances have definitely gone out already.

[zax]

Maybe someone here can help me! I applied to Tennessee and the website now says "decision made" and underneath it reads "admit term: Fall 2014." Does this mean I was accepted?

I'm in the exact same boat, still haven't gotten any emails.

[Kirialax]

Looks like most of the major ones are in - UChicago, Harvard, Columbia. Anyone heard from Princeton as yet?

 

Not yet. New England Nat would know more, but I'd expect it quite soon given how many of the other big ones have made offers. 

[New England Nat]

I would be surprised if it wasn't this week.  Though the prospective student days are later this year than normal by a week... so YMMV.

[Brisingamen]

One of my apps had a field that was basically "check here if you are independently wealthy; it will increase your chances of admission."

 

One of my apps asked me if I required funding to attend. I rolled my eyes, said "Duh!" aloud and indicated that this is the case. Though I did afterwards realize maybe it was also meant for people who have funding from an external source. 

 

I can't quite imagine being wealthy enough to attend a PhD on my own money, but if James Franco posts on TGC, he can perhaps weigh in on how this feels. Maybe Dr. Brian May too? 

[TL1234]

Can one of the Harvard admits fill us in on who emailed you?

My prospective advisor called me. Unofficial acceptance, pending dean's approval. 

[guineu]

Just got an informal rejection e-mail from my POI at Columbia. Sounds like all the acceptances have definitely gone out already.

I gave you a positive vote, not because I am glad you did not get in, but to thank you for sharing. It is good to have this information already, even though it is certainly not good news for me. That was very kind of your POI to spare you the two weeks of waiting.

[wiewanderlust]

I see that the next wave of Yale rejections has come through... and my inbox is still empty. Does anyone have any insight into Yale's process? I'm not real optimistic at this point, but it would be nice to have a better idea of where I stand. I applied for a joint program, so I was expecting that my answer would come through earlier, rather than later (be it positive or negative). 

 

Anyway, congrats to everyone who has had good news  

[djp2]

I gave you a positive vote, not because I am glad you did not get in, but to thank you for sharing. It is good to have this information already, even though it is certainly not good news for me. That was very kind of your POI to spare you the two weeks of waiting.

A definitive "no" definitely feels better than endless uncertainty! Glad I could pass on a bit of info about Columbia's process, even if it's bad news.

[ReallyNiceGuy]

I've become quite fascinated by levoyous's google doc. 

[levoyous]

I've become quite fascinated by levoyous's google doc. 

 

I've got a LOT of updating to do after today. 

[catsandscarves]

I've got a LOT of updating to do after today. 

You are going to be VERY busy for the next few weeks!

[New England Nat]

Just a heads up, we're expecting 6-10 inches of snow, but perhaps a lot more on Wes night and Thursday this week.  I'd still lay money on Princeton informing this week but Snowmagddon is really disruptive.  And it could really stop now.  Please.

[red4tribe]

It looks like Brown started sending out rejections. 

[AbbeyRoad]

Does the Illinois Urbana-Champaign admit have any other info?

[DCguy]

Sounds like a lot of you guys have applied to top tier and ivy league schools. I got some news so far (neutral and bad). I'm twentieth century US. so I guess theres probably a million of me out there.

American - NO

George Washington - NO

Catholic - NO

North Carolina Greensboro - WAITLIST (the waiting . . . it burns)

still waiting to hear back from some others.

I thought that last year it took me much longer to get rejected, like late february. I guess they really didn't like me this year. but I got my first waitlist. hopefully no one else wants to go there

[DCguy]

Sounds like a lot of you guys have applied to top tier and ivy league schools. I got some news so far (neutral and bad). I'm twentieth century US. so I guess theres probably a million of me out there.

American - NO

George Washington - NO

Catholic - NO

North Carolina Greensboro - WAITLIST (the waiting . . . it burns)

still waiting to hear back from some others.

I thought that last year it took me much longer to get rejected, like late february. I guess they really didn't like me this year. but I got my first waitlist. hopefully no one else wants to go there

and as a side note - I contacted POIs at all these schools. everyone of them seemed eager to talk to me and said that i seemed like a person they could work with. maybe none of them were on the grad admission committees

[tampopo ramen]

Just a heads up, we're expecting 6-10 inches of snow, but perhaps a lot more on Wes night and Thursday this week.  I'd still lay money on Princeton informing this week but Snowmagddon is really disruptive.  And it could really stop now.  Please.

 

Thanks for all your updates!