Overanalyzing emails..... and other interactions

[montanaquick]

Yes you are in!!

Whew! I hoped so, it is nice to hear it from someone else though. Thanks!

[isilya]

Whew! I hoped so, it is nice to hear it from someone else though. Thanks!

Congrats

[montanaquick]

Congrats

Thanks! Best of luck to you!

[MathCat]

Yes you are in!!

It means you're most likely in. It is still subject to the final approval of the school, but I think it is usually just a formality. I believe somebody recommended by the department for admission usually only gets rejected at this stage if there is some school cut-off that they do not meet (e.g. TOEFL score too low).

[montanaquick]

It means you're most likely in. It is still subject to the final approval of the school, but I think it is usually just a formality. I believe somebody recommended by the department for admission usually only gets rejected at this stage if there is some school cut-off that they do not meet (e.g. TOEFL score too low).

 

Thanks for the info! Definitely puts my mind at ease a bit.

[Dawnbreaker]

Folks, need your perspective. I got this email from my top choice POI today.

 

"Thank you for submitting your PhD application to xxx University. After reviewing your documents, I have recommended you for admission with full financial aid. You will receive the official offer very soon.

Congratulations!

Best regards,

Prof Name "

 

The email was from a professor whom I had mentioned in my SOP and not the admissions committee. I did not email anyone in the department before submitting my app, so getting a mail from a POI was kind of surprising. I am really anxious at the moment, since its my top choice school. The prof is simply saying he has recommended me but has also put in a congratulation. I don't know what to make out of this. Thanks for the help.

[rising_star]

Arav_Dawnbreaker, that means you're in. That whole "You will receive the official offer very soon" means that you will be receiving an official acceptance very soon.

[gradchaser]

I had a Skype interview (before applying) with a POI. At the end of the interview, he told me to apply, and then went through a whole timeline of the application process... "the committee meets around mid-January, so you can expect to hear about the interview weekend later in the month. The weekend is in mid-February, so make sure you keep your schedule clear." Does that mean I'm his top candidate for his lab?

This also happened to me at three of my schools. I actually just got rejected from one of them with a very nice note from the POI. I think that you can't bank on what happens, especially before they read the other applications coming through. The POI that rejected me really liked my application and interests, but someone who applied after we spoke ended up being a better fit. One the other hand, I had a professor tell me that she could not officially offer me an interview, but to keep my schedule clear for the interview weekend. And I did end up getting an invite from that school. There are a lot of factors, and although you definitely have a great chance I wouldn't count it as inevitable! That way, when you get the invite you will be even more excited!

Edited January 10, 2015 by gradchaser

[jujubea]

This process is detailed in one of the other threads, but what happens is:

 

The Department itself decides they want you and like you and want to give you XYZ package.

They send their "recommendation" to a greater school-wide Grad Office (hence the phrasing some of you have been getting, such as "You are being recommended for admission.") 

The greater school-wide Grad Office apparently almost always agrees with recommendations, but occasionally does not.

Once they agree, they notify the Department, and then you get officially notified of acceptance.

[travelgirl125]

After a promising email exchange and Skype conversation, my POI said "I'm not sure you will even need to do a formal interview."

There are SO many things that could mean and I've spent a month thinking about that line. Shoot me now. Ha.

 

I had a bit of an opposite experience...after applying for a program (for which there was no interview requirement, at least, no requirement that I could find on their website), I received an email asking for an in-person interview with the head of the department.  I ended up doing it on Skype due to bad weather, and my interviewer said that it was more of an informal interview to gauge my research interests.  I had no idea whether being asked for an interview was a good or bad thing, and then I of course wondered if the interview went well or not.  Thankfully, about a month later, I found out I was accepted!

 

If I were you, I would take that as a good sign if you have been in contact with that person for a while!

[jujubea]

One of my awesomest POI's emailed today saying they are "eagerly awaiting" my application!!! Yay

[madbiochemist]

So, I worked with a POI a couple of summers ago and we have a pretty good relationship (he also wrote one of my LORs), but I received this email the other day:

"Did you apply just to Bioengineering at UCSD or also the BMS program?"

And that was basically it. Is he saying that I'm probably not going to get into Bioengineering, so hopefully I applied to another program as well?

Ah, I hate waiting. 

[Shep2789]

Is he saying that I'm probably not going to get into Bioengineering, so hopefully I applied to another program as well?

 

Classic overanalyzing. He's probably just curious.

[crayoncrawler]

I got really excited when my POI contacted me for an interview, but it turns out he made a mistake since interviews are only for PhD applicants. (I'm applying for MS)

 

He just wished me good luck after that

Edited January 13, 2015 by crayoncrawler

[FoggyAnhinga]

I am still over-analyzing the email I received from my POI for one of the schools I applied to back in December haha (after I submitted my application I notified him of my submission as a courtesy, and he thanked me for keeping him posted, and confirmed that the gradcom received all of my supplemental materials: yep, that short email is the one I'm still over-analyzing) - although I had a great interview with him prior to applying and he said I would be a great asset to the program (which makes me feel confident about my prospects, though I have to wait until the graduate committee's final decision to be sure), I am still VERY nervous... after all, the POI and the gradcom have all the power to make last minute changes on their admission decisions, regardless of how much they loved your first impression... 

[Yuanyang]

Is it advisable to e-mail POI at this point? I've gotten one interview request very early on, but the letter was so vague;I didn't know what he meant by "If you are visiting campus, I would like to talk with you". I actually went to the university and was snubbed by the secretary saying that the PI meant during the interview process later on. Its been 3 months and I don't know if I should have replied to clarify. It certainly doesn't help that I never got any interview requests from any school, period.

Edited January 14, 2015 by Yuanyang

[HistoryMystery]

Is it advisable to e-mail POI at this point? I've gotten one interview request very early on, but the letter was so vague;I didn't know what he meant by "If you are visiting campus, I would like to talk with you". I actually went to the university and was snubbed by the secretary saying that the PI meant during the interview process later on. Its been 3 months and I don't know if I should have replied to clarify. It certainly doesn't help that I never got any interview requests from any school, period.

 

I don't know what it's like for neuroscience, but my POIs actually seemed pretty thrilled to get e-mails from me a couple weeks back. Can't hurt!

Edited January 14, 2015 by HistoryMystery