Spring Apps- Money back if no space?

[nanokid]

Hi everyone,

Hate to be a cheapskate, but this is roughly $100/application. I'm looking at applying to about 8 schools for Materials Science MS/PhD programs. I only want to be considered for Spring '16 admission, and at basically all of these schools they only accept people on a space-available basis, meaning there may not be any spots for Spring in the first place. I really don't want to send in applications to places where I can't even have a chance of being accommodated, so do I get my money back if I send an app and there was no space? Should I directly contact department heads or office ladies to figure out whether there's space? I know this is partially contingent on individual professors' funding, but how am I supposed to know this in my current position.

I haven't settled on the exact 8 schools, but probably Rice, Duke, UT Austin, GA Tech, Tennessee, Ohio State, U of Illinois, and VCU (safety). This is in relative order of preference for what it's worth.

Thanks for the help! 

 

Edited September 7, 2015 by nanokid

[TakeruK]

1. No, unless the applications state otherwise, you do not get your money back if there is no space.

2. Yes, you should ask the professors you are interested in and/or the department head, but only after checking the website to ensure the information isn't already there.

3. Generally, not a good idea to assume that the admin staff are "office ladies".

4. You should also contact the schools for information on fee waivers if the cost of the application is a concern for you.

[nanokid]

Thanks for your reply...yeah, I definitely won't go around being so unprofessional as to assume "office ladies" haha.

I worded it terribly, but I was more so wondering whether it's a better idea to contact a department head or the administrative office regarding such matters? Who could provide a better answer regarding the funding opportunities for incoming students? Is it too bold/direct to ask the department head as opposed to the office?

[rising_star]

The Director of Graduate Studies is probably best positioned to answer your questions about funding and if space is available. In most programs, the answer for spring 2016 is going to be no. You're really limiting your options by only considering spring admission.

[TakeruK]

Thanks for your reply...yeah, I definitely won't go around being so unprofessional as to assume "office ladies" haha.

I worded it terribly, but I was more so wondering whether it's a better idea to contact a department head or the administrative office regarding such matters? Who could provide a better answer regarding the funding opportunities for incoming students? Is it too bold/direct to ask the department head as opposed to the office?

I didn't think you were purposely trying to cause any harm by that statement, which was why I just wrote a gentle reminder! However, I think many of us, sometimes myself included, make these casual assumptions that don't really contribute to our goal of an equitable environment. So I think it's something worth pointing out when I see it.

To get back to your question, if you are just trying to find out, in general, "Does program X plan to take students for Spring 2016?", I agree that rising_star's suggestion of the Director of Graduate Studies is probably the best faculty member to contact, rather than the department head. Other people you can contact are people with titles that might sound like "Graduate Coordinator", "Admissions Assistant", "Academic Assistant", etc. Depending on each school, sometimes they are faculty and sometimes they are administrative staff. It doesn't matter though because they both should be able to answer your question. I don't think it's "too bold/direct" to ask a faculty member vs. the office staff member as both will be very busy, however, questions like this are part of both the faculty member's and the office staff member's job. If the first person you contact doesn't respond, then try another person with a similar sounding title.

You will probably get one of three replies: "Yes, we will consider applications for Spring 2016", "Although we do consider applications, spots are very limited" or "No, please apply for Fall 2016". If it's one of the first two, I think it's probably a good idea to contact individual professors you are interested in as well. Find out if these professors themselves have spots open and/or are interested in taking a student in Spring. Most programs do not admit very many (if any) students in Spring, so I would want to know if my professors of interest are admitting students, not just that the department will admit some students.