Geo1993 Posted February 9, 2015 Posted February 9, 2015 To some not all hopefully ! I'm an undergrad at UT, I wonder if they would even invite me out even if I was accepted.
columbia09 Posted February 9, 2015 Posted February 9, 2015 I feel like calling Phil up and asking what's going on with my application? lol
GeoMex Posted February 9, 2015 Posted February 9, 2015 I feel like calling Phil up and asking what's going on with my application? lol Why don't you?
columbia09 Posted February 9, 2015 Posted February 9, 2015 Why don't you? I don't know should I ? I feel like he wouldn't know/can't tell me
sjoh197 Posted February 9, 2015 Posted February 9, 2015 Has anyone heard anything from LSU, A&M or OU? I also applied to Colorado School of Mines and I understand that they've accepted a few people. Likewise I applied to UT and I understand they've already sent out emails for prospective student weekend. LSU will take a long time to respond... Can I ask who you are trying to work with?
Geo1993 Posted February 9, 2015 Posted February 9, 2015 LSU will take a long time to respond... Can I ask who you are trying to work with? Messaged
columbia09 Posted February 9, 2015 Posted February 9, 2015 Why don't you? Plus since it's an application status page, he's probably just going to tell me to keep checking it or at least that's what his recorder says
teddybrosevelt Posted February 9, 2015 Posted February 9, 2015 Plus since it's an application status page, he's probably just going to tell me to keep checking it or at least that's what his recorder says I actually spoke with him this morning. He told me that contrary to popular belief the faculty to which you have indicated your interest gets the first look at your application. If the hydro group or Dr. X is the petrology group wants you he/she recommends you to the Adcom, who apparently has the final say on your decision. He said offers will be made in to March. He also said if you haven't hear back yet it could be for a number of reasons; they received over 600 apps this year... sjoh197 1
sjoh197 Posted February 9, 2015 Posted February 9, 2015 I actually spoke with him this morning. He told me that contrary to popular belief the faculty to which you have indicated your interest gets the first look at your application. If the hydro group or Dr. X is the petrology group wants you he/she recommends you to the Adcom, who apparently has the final say on your decision. He said offers will be made in to March. He also said if you haven't hear back yet it could be for a number of reasons; they received over 600 apps this year... I wonder if its like that at most places?
teddybrosevelt Posted February 9, 2015 Posted February 9, 2015 Not sure. Indiana does evaluates candidates in a similar fashion. Applicants are seperated based on interest and then ranked.
GeoDUDE! Posted February 9, 2015 Posted February 9, 2015 (edited) I wonder if its like that at most places? Most places the adcom does not look at every applicant, only ones recommend by Faculty. That being said, there are some programs that fund all first year students through department funds (like fellowship) and try and get the best applicants regardless of interest. I think there is some of that at every program (focusing on building a balanced incoming class in terms of interests) but most programs have a large focus on who has money to accept what student. Its an interesting way to look at things. Edited February 9, 2015 by GeoDUDE!
columbia09 Posted February 9, 2015 Posted February 9, 2015 Phil said that if you haven't heard anything then a decision hasn't been made on you yet. They send out rejections and acceptances as soon as they are made. That's interesting that the advisor recommends that student and not the other way around.
idiochromatic Posted February 9, 2015 Posted February 9, 2015 Phil said that if you haven't heard anything then a decision hasn't been made on you yet. They send out rejections and acceptances as soon as they are made. That's interesting that the advisor recommends that student and not the other way around. I've never heard of it working any other way. This could just be due to lack of exposure on my part, as I am focused on programs that tend to graduate academicians rather than industry folks. Anybody know of a program where the committee is more important than the POI? Generally, the road to admittance is something like this (at least as I've heard it): 1. First your future PI decides whether or not they want you after reviewing your application and they essentially vouch for you in the next step. They have the earliest and most absolute yes/no on your application, which is why it's critical to be in touch with them well in advance of your application submission. 2. Internal department committee decides if they are interested in you. If your PI is sufficiently senior/funded/needs a student/whatever, they cosign your application. On occasion, the internal dept will come across an application from somebody who hasn't been in touch with a PI, but this is fairly rare, and they mostly cosign PI's choices and ensure funding is distributed well, along with issues of representation across demographics and interest areas 3. The internal committee then submits a list of students for acceptance and waitlisting to the central grad school admissions group. At this point, the central administrators make sure GREs/GPAs are up to snuff because they want their stats to look good/make sure departments are making sensible decisions about the qualifications of applicants. PIs and departments can go to bat for applicants with unusually low scores at this stage, but it can be a fight sometimes. University-wide fellowship selection may also occur at this stage. 4. Campus visit may happen at some point in here, although often it happens after formal acceptance and serves as a sell weekend. While nobody should take a campus visit lightly, it is a very positive sign about your application. 5. You receive an anxiety-inducing email that you can't open fast enough
GeoDUDE! Posted February 9, 2015 Posted February 9, 2015 On 2/9/2015 at 5:06 PM, idiochromatic said: I've never heard of it working any other way. This could just be due to lack of exposure on my part, as I am focused on programs that tend to graduate academicians rather than industry folks. Anybody know of a program where the committee is more important than the POI? Actually, and I might be wrong, LEDO, WashU and Uni of Chicago both put a lot of emphasis on balance of interests when admitting students. From what I know (and again, I could be wrong, because I haven't been in any of their meetings) is that they actually rank students before the POIs even see your application, and then, encourage POIs to nominate students from the top of their rankings. Again, I don't think there is a program where the POI is not important, especially when the have an open grant, but you can bet that POIs have MUCH less say than the consensus of the committee when its a department funded or TA spot open.
idiochromatic Posted February 9, 2015 Posted February 9, 2015 On 2/9/2015 at 5:35 PM, GeoDUDE! said: Actually, and I might be wrong, LEDO, WashU and Uni of Chicago both put a lot of emphasis on balance of interests when admitting students. From what I know (and again, I could be wrong, because I haven't been in any of their meetings) is that they actually rank students before the POIs even see your application, and then, encourage POIs to nominate students from the top of their rankings. Again, I don't think there is a program where the POI is not important, especially when the have an open grant, but you can bet that POIs have MUCH less say than the consensus of the committee when its a department funded or TA spot open. Yeah, now that you say it, I have heard from a faculty member at Lamont say that LDEO's admissions process is a bit unusual in a few ways, including this one. And I think everywhere there is some sort of ranking of the applicant pool that affects admissions; it's not as simple as "if POI likes you, and they have money, you're in," although I do think that works as some sort of first-order approximation. But my understanding is that, even if your application is quite good, if no POI wants to pull you in at any institution, you are very unlikely to be admitted. Watching applications this cycle, it seems that my friends who are most successful are those who have specific connections to particular professors--even excellent students are getting rejected from places if they didn't develop a relationship with their intended adviser.
columbia09 Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 (edited) Usually it's the admissions committee that recommends the student to the POI and not the other way around Edited February 10, 2015 by columbia09
AKGeo Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 The visit weekend for top candidates (who have not yet been accepted) and already accepted students isn't until the last week of February so I wouldn't expect to hear much until after that's over and students start accepting/turning down their offers. Also, just for some perspective: in 2012 the geo program at UT had 487 applicants and only 92 were accepted. That's an acceptance rate of <19% so statistically speaking it's entirely possible that none of the three people from your school get accepted. Grad acceptances come down to research fit and available funding and a million other factors. Well qualified candidates get wait listed or rejected all the time even if they look great on paper. The seemingly random and unfair nature of it all can make the whole process extremely stressful, but it is what it is. At this point in time it's just a waiting game, and worrying about it won't change the outcome. Sit back, relax, and try to stay busy with other things! Are you sure the visit weekend for top candidates isn't the 2nd to last weekend in February? I got invited out to UT Feb 21st- 23rd, and am hoping it's their number 1 weekend, but I'm not sure why the weekend for top candidates wouldn't be the first visit.
GeoDUDE! Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 Does UT pay for all these students to come out? If they have THAT many weekends for students who are not yet accepted..... that must mean they invite 100+ students.
moochie Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 Are you sure the visit weekend for top candidates isn't the 2nd to last weekend in February? I got invited out to UT Feb 21st- 23rd, and am hoping it's their number 1 weekend, but I'm not sure why the weekend for top candidates wouldn't be the first visit. Yeah that's when it is. I said last week (not weekend) in feb cause it runs like saturday-tuesday. When I requested time off work, I requested it in the last week of feb so that's just how I have the visit labeled in my mind. Sorry for any confusion! As far as I know there is only one weekend for the official open house.
portacup Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 This is probably a dumb question, Is it to late to try and contact a new POI? I've contacted some people at some schools but not anyone at other schools I've applied to. Guess I didn't fully appreciate how important having a POI is.
Deepwater Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 This is probably a dumb question, Is it to late to try and contact a new POI? I've contacted some people at some schools but not anyone at other schools I've applied to. Guess I didn't fully appreciate how important having a POI is. I guess it is alright to contact people if the acceptances are not already out for many people. Example, if a school had the application deadline like 2nd Feb or so, it might be a good idea to contact people.
Deepwater Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 I just received an e-mail from the UT, I've been recommended for admission. I'm extremely happy. Congrats GeoMex and everyone else who got in. Was following the discussion for few days but did not registered being naturally lazy. Hope the wait gets over soon for everyone, running out of patience!
GeoMex Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 Congrats GeoMex and everyone else who got in. Was following the discussion for few days but did not registered being naturally lazy. Hope the wait gets over soon for everyone, running out of patience! Thank you and welcome!
GeoMex Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 I have a questions regarding credits and semester hours, I'm a little doubtful since the system is different from what we have here, specially in undergrad because we couldn't choose any courses, we just had them. The requirement in the UT is 24 semester hours, each course averages in 3 lecture hours, so I'm guessing I will have around 8 courses per semester, is that right?
mtnman20 Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 (edited) I have a questions regarding credits and semester hours, I'm a little doubtful since the system is different from what we have here, specially in undergrad because we couldn't choose any courses, we just had them. The requirement in the UT is 24 semester hours, each course averages in 3 lecture hours, so I'm guessing I will have around 8 courses per semester, is that right? prob 8-9 credit hours a semester (~3 courses a semester or 1-2 courses and research hours). Definitely not 8 courses a semester. Edited February 10, 2015 by mtnman20
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