When your top cluster says no...

[TheMercySeat]

So I'm bracing myself and playing the waiting game. I have some offers on hand and I'm very concerned about regret if I act on them.

Does anybody else have this dilemma? Or have friends who have been in this position and either had it work out for them or blow up?

This seems like a supportive place and I'm curious to gain insight on reconciling this issue.

***note when I reference my 'top cluster,' I mean in terms of fit.

[yellowmint]

In the same boat. Trying to decide whether to act on an offer from No Where University, while I'm anxiously waiting it out on the Waiting List at a school.

Edited March 19, 2015 by yellowmint

[VulpesZerda]

Yeah, I'm kind of stuck waiting for the last 3 programs to make their decisions about me. So I can assume either 1. I'm on a secret waiting list or 2. They haven't yet gotten around to rejecting me. For the record, the program I care about the most pretty much stonewalled me when I politely asked about a timeline. Meanwhile, I have an awesome offer pending, and they really want to know my answer. It just would feel wrong to make a decision before hearing back from every single program.

[tha1ne]

Yeah, I'm kind of stuck waiting for the last 3 programs to make their decisions about me. So I can assume either 1. I'm on a secret waiting list or 2. They haven't yet gotten around to rejecting me. For the record, the program I care about the most pretty much stonewalled me when I politely asked about a timeline. Meanwhile, I have an awesome offer pending, and they really want to know my answer. It just would feel wrong to make a decision before hearing back from every single program.

 

I hear ya VZ, I applied to 9 schools and 6 of them have straight up stonewall jacksoned me!

[briarcliff]

Why did you apply to schools that you wouldn't go to?

[TheMercySeat]

Why did you apply to schools that you wouldn't go to?

Because (to reference one program I got into) their website didn't show how dysfunctional the department is and how unhappy the students are?

Larger elements of fit (culture and values) can't really be communicated via a website, either.

I was extremely picky/limited with POIs, and so I blantantly disregarded other factors when applying to programs.

Perhaps your experiences were different, but I learned A LOT from site visits and interviews that were not communicated on the program's website. I even had one POI badmouth another program and other professors without prompting.

I can keep the reasons coming, if you'd like.

Edited March 19, 2015 by TheMercySeat

[tha1ne]

Because (to reference one program I got into) their website didn't show how dysfunctional the department is and how unhappy the students are?

Larger elements of fit (culture and values) can't really be communicated via a website, either.

I was extremely picky/limited with POIs, and so I blantantly disregarded other factors when applying to programs.

Perhaps your experiences were different, but I learned A LOT from site visits and interviews that were not communicated on the program's website. I even had one POI badmouth another program and other professors without prompting.

I can keep the reasons coming, if you'd like.

 

If you're comfortable, can you PM me the school you're referring to? I'm just curious, I knew a school like that but I doubt it's the same...

[briarcliff]

If you feel like it's that bad of a fit, then I guess I would recommend reapplying next year. To me the whole process is such a crap shoot (not to mention expensive) that I'd rather take an offer (as long as it's funded and has a good APA match rate - I only applied to programs that met this criteria) of any kind rather than wait and reapply next year.

Edited March 19, 2015 by briarcliff