anxious2151 Posted January 8, 2014 Posted January 8, 2014 I believe UCLA, Madison, UCSD, and Columbia are all making offers before the 31st. For Columbia, I think a few lucky people will get phone calls before February, while most have to wait until the first or second week in February. long time lurker, but had to register to ask about this. Is this info you have about this year in particular?? Seems like they have all generally made offers after the 31st in previous years, so I was really hoping for a less nerve-wracking january TheGnome and silver_lining 2
veritaserum Posted January 8, 2014 Posted January 8, 2014 Also curious about whether the tidbit about UCLA, Madison, UCSD, and Columbia making offers before the 31st is verified information for this year? So that common adage about how no news is good news? Gauging from past years acceptance/rejection data, there's a negative correlation between time elapsed (since notification of the first acceptance) and chances of acceptance... no news would be probably the worst news. Ack.
silver_lining Posted January 8, 2014 Posted January 8, 2014 Even though I know we shouldn't be hearing anything for at least two weeks (and historically none of my schools announce before Jan 31) I'm developing the obsessive checking disorder... Do not forget to check the spam folder! o.j. 1
veritaserum Posted January 8, 2014 Posted January 8, 2014 Do not forget to check the spam folder! Make sure to answer phone calls from unknown numbers as well! silver_lining, o.j. and ajaxp91 3
mv0027 Posted January 8, 2014 Posted January 8, 2014 I believe UCLA, Madison, UCSD, and Columbia are all making offers before the 31st. For Columbia, I think a few lucky people will get phone calls before February, while most have to wait until the first or second wee Statements like this blow my mind. I mean, even if you had some type of inside info, I would believe it for one school, but four schools? I dunno. Maybe I'm totally clueless... Zahar Berkut and ajaxp91 2
silver_lining Posted January 8, 2014 Posted January 8, 2014 Statements like this blow my mind. I mean, even if you had some type of inside info, I would believe it for one school, but four schools? I dunno. Maybe I'm totally clueless... He/she may have gotten the info from POIs, which makes me feel like "asldkfjasdf." I didn't really contact POIs and now I am regretting that decision.
Neocon Posted January 8, 2014 Posted January 8, 2014 The notion you have to contact a POI as part to get admitted is a myth. In reality, you're not expected to pick an advisor you'll work with for four years or more based a few contacts as part of the application process. Every department knows students interest may change. They are admitting on potential and fit with the overall program, and not just a connection to one professor who is not guaranteed to be around.
mv0027 Posted January 8, 2014 Posted January 8, 2014 Coolio. I was able to convince my mind there is no chance I would hear in the first half of January. I plan to start watching my phone and e-mail closely next week and then obsessively after that
TheGnome Posted January 9, 2014 Posted January 9, 2014 Folks, resist the urge to mentally starting the waiting out process earlier than its due time. We will all suffer from anxiety attacks soon enough, why spoil the calm before the storm? I am telling myself that the season starts when the first PhD acceptance is posted on the results page, not before. Right now we only have about a week and a half where we can all enjoy the possibility that we will all get into our top choices. Let's do that while we can . silver_lining 1
polisci12345 Posted January 9, 2014 Posted January 9, 2014 If you want some idea about when you can expect to hear, my first tip would be to check the school's academic calendar. If the semester hasn't started, it is unlikely that committees are meeting. For places with a longer winter break, that is one of the peak times for productivity because of the lack of class and administrative work. I have no special information, but I would be astonished if Columbia was making offers by the end of January. They don't start their spring term until the 21st and and offers come through GSAS which means they have to get from the admissions committee through any sort of department wide approval and a GSAS rubber stamp. I just don't see that happening in 10 days. No idea when the other schools listed above start(ed) but that is a decent place to look when trying to estimate timing for offers. TheGnome and ajaxp91 1 1
CGMJ Posted January 9, 2014 Posted January 9, 2014 (edited) If you want some idea about when you can expect to hear, my first tip would be to check the school's academic calendar. If the semester hasn't started, it is unlikely that committees are meeting. For places with a longer winter break, that is one of the peak times for productivity because of the lack of class and administrative work. I have no special information, but I would be astonished if Columbia was making offers by the end of January. They don't start their spring term until the 21st and and offers come through GSAS which means they have to get from the admissions committee through any sort of department wide approval and a GSAS rubber stamp. I just don't see that happening in 10 days. No idea when the other schools listed above start(ed) but that is a decent place to look when trying to estimate timing for offers. This is a great tip. Also in case it's helpful, last year I (somewhat psychotically) compiled this data on the 2012 and 2013 Grad Cafe results postings for the schools that I applied to. I make no guarantees about accuracy (and looking at the file, it seems I never updated the final results of two of the schools), but perhaps it's a good approximation. Polisci PhD results data.xlsx Last year results for these schools started to come out the first week of February---if the pattern holds, you have a few more weeks of sanity! I know it's crazy and anxiety-ridden (I lost about a month of productivity at work last year hitting command-R on Grad Cafe a thousand times a day) but I wish you all the best of luck. Once notifications come out, I'm also happy to talk with anyone about UCSD. Edited January 9, 2014 by CGMJ Longtime Lurker 1
aecp Posted January 9, 2014 Posted January 9, 2014 This is a great tip. Also in case it's helpful, last year I (somewhat psychotically) compiled this data on the 2012 and 2013 Grad Cafe results postings for the schools that I applied to. I make no guarantees about accuracy (and looking at the file, it seems I never updated the final results of two of the schools), but perhaps it's a good approximation. Polisci PhD results data.xlsx Last year results for these schools started to come out the first week of February---if the pattern holds, you have a few more weeks of sanity! I know it's crazy and anxiety-ridden (I lost about a month of productivity at work last year hitting command-R on Grad Cafe a thousand times a day) but I wish you all the best of luck. Once notifications come out, I'm also happy to talk with anyone about UCSD. Many thanks for this. I feel better knowing I am not the only one hitting refresh like a mad man! How's the weather in San Diego?
CGMJ Posted January 9, 2014 Posted January 9, 2014 (edited) Many thanks for this. I feel better knowing I am not the only one hitting refresh like a mad man! How's the weather in San Diego? Sure! I kept neurotically going back to check when things had been posted in 2012, so it seemed easier to put it in a spreadsheet and then neurotically update that... It was so cold today that I almost regretted wearing sandals Edited January 9, 2014 by CGMJ Longtime Lurker 1
jazzrap Posted January 9, 2014 Posted January 9, 2014 He/she may have gotten the info from POIs, which makes me feel like "asldkfjasdf." I didn't really contact POIs and now I am regretting that decision. Hi Guys, I did not contact my POIs, because it is pointless. For Columbia, if you check the results page, two people got admission letters in late January, actually January 21st. This is why I said "a few lucky people will be noticed in late January". For UCLA, I apologize! The results page indicate February 3rd, NOT January, as the date of first admission notification. For Madison, the results page shows that there were folks who got acceptance letters through mail on January 28th. For UCSD, the results page shows that the first acceptance was early February. My friend who is currently a master student at UCSD told me, however, that it is probably going to be late January this year. So I should amend my statement. My speculation is purely based on results search on last year's candidates. I should not have sound so sure. SORRY! My apologies for making us more anxious. Best of luck to all of us:)
CGMJ Posted January 9, 2014 Posted January 9, 2014 FYI, if I remember correctly, the early Columbia postings from last year were deemed to be trolling (and thus aren't on the spreadsheet). No one here claimed them and I believe we got some inside info that Columbia hadn't started notifying yet.
jazzrap Posted January 9, 2014 Posted January 9, 2014 Sure! I kept neurotically going back to check when things had been posted in 2012, so it seemed easier to put it in a spreadsheet and then neurotically update that... It was so cold today that I almost regretted wearing sandals I have been to San Diego once. What a place! In my place, I never dare to think about sandals in winter:)
jazzrap Posted January 9, 2014 Posted January 9, 2014 (edited) FYI, if I remember correctly, the early Columbia postings from last year were deemed to be trolling (and thus aren't on the spreadsheet). No one here claimed them and I believe we got some inside info that Columbia hadn't started notifying yet. Thanks. So I was only partially right about Madison I guess. What about UCSD? One time I was chatting with my UCSD friend about programs, and he basically said something like " UCSD probably going to start making offers in late January." Edited January 9, 2014 by jazzrap
CGMJ Posted January 9, 2014 Posted January 9, 2014 Thanks. So I was only partially right about Madison I guess. What about UCSD? One time I was chatting with my UCSD friend about programs, and he basically said something like " UCSD probably going to start making offers in late January." Is your friend a PhD student in polisci? I personally have no idea, but it's quite possible someone else does. We are still in the first week of classes, so I wouldn't be surprised if that the adcom is just getting into the swing of things. Good luck!
jazzrap Posted January 9, 2014 Posted January 9, 2014 Is your friend a PhD student in polisci? I personally have no idea, but it's quite possible someone else does. We are still in the first week of classes, so I wouldn't be surprised if that the adcom is just getting into the swing of things. Good luck! I do not want to disclose any further as he is also an applicant. Thanks, though!
TakeMyCoffeeBlack Posted January 9, 2014 Posted January 9, 2014 Having my girlfriend in Germany the past month has been beyond helpful with keeping my mind on the important things in the present. Dropped her off at the airport today, and so that's over... I'm all the more eager, too, because any acceptances I may (or may not) get will mean that we get to start scoping out apartments sooner. Best of luck to everyone! Hopefully I can get myself into the research groove over the next few weeks and keep my mind off grad school.
silver_lining Posted January 9, 2014 Posted January 9, 2014 Best of luck to everyone! Hopefully I can get myself into the research groove over the next few weeks and keep my mind off grad school. Because of my situation I can avoid research, which I am thankful for. I am avoiding any article (academic and non-academic), blogs, etc., that is related to my research. I don't want to go into the next few weeks deeply in love with my research topic (more so than I am now) and only to get rejections. Strangely, I find math to be relaxing during high periods of anxiety and stress, so I will be going through the book Mathematics for Economists by Blume and Simon. On another topic, all of the graduate secretaries that I have interacted with have been very professional and kind.
TakeMyCoffeeBlack Posted January 9, 2014 Posted January 9, 2014 On another topic, all of the graduate secretaries that I have interacted with have been very professional and kind. I've only had one that really bothers me of all the schools I've interacted with. She's just as nasty on the phone as in e-mail (if she responds to an e-mail)...
cane14 Posted January 9, 2014 Posted January 9, 2014 Has anyone received an email from Madison? I received a seemingly personal email telling me my application is complete, but it has been complete on the website for weeks...
silver_lining Posted January 9, 2014 Posted January 9, 2014 Has anyone received an email from Madison? I received a seemingly personal email telling me my application is complete, but it has been complete on the website for weeks... Yes. Unfortunately, no acceptance letter came with it! I think we can safely assume that they have started reviewing applications. I've only had one that really bothers me of all the schools I've interacted with. She's just as nasty on the phone as in e-mail (if she responds to an e-mail)... I had an encounter with an unprofessional professor, so I decided to not apply there. I have a low tolerance for rude people and the fit wasn't the strongest, so no real loss.
cane14 Posted January 9, 2014 Posted January 9, 2014 Thank you! I think I'm reading waaaay too far into everything related to the process! Not so patiently waiting for decisions haha.
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