Welcome to the 2015-2016 Cycle!

[joseon4th]

13 minutes ago, needavacation said:

Me too! Congrats!

What subfield are you in? I'm in AP.

Congrats all! Looking at IR. 

[Straussian Dogmatist]

Congratulations to all for the UC Davis acceptances! Was just notified of my waitlist status - not so bad after freaking out, thinking I'd be rejected once everyone received their good news. Any idea on how long the waitlist might be? The wording of the letter was sort of strange - "Wait List status indicates that your application has met the minimum admission criteria and that the graduate program has expressed interest in recommending admission but does not currently have available space in your area of focus. " Happy for all that have been admitted and hopeful for all still waiting! 

 

BTW, my subfield is theory. 

Edited January 23, 2016 by JulianMorrisMiller

[ultraultra]

I'm also in at Stony Brook 

[Eobard Thawne]

1 minute ago, ultraultra said:

I'm also in at Stony Brook 

Nice! Congratulations 

[Bubandis]

Congratulations to everyone on their early acceptances!

Also, to those waitlisted, chances are reasonably good that you will get some action at some point--especially if you show your keen interest in their program over the coming weeks (in appropriate intervals, of course)--this is not the time to be coy in that regard, assuming the program is one you strongly desire to be apart of.

[bhudson]

Congrats to all those admitted! I was accepted somewhere as well and would like to know the proper etiquette moving forward. Does one wait until all decisions are in to begin speaking with programs? Wait for program/POI to contact me or set up visit? Or should I try to initiate contact? Seems like profs are busy and don't want to be troubled, especially by someone who may not end up there.

 

thanks all

[ultraultra]

Just now, bhudson said:

Congrats to all those admitted! I was accepted somewhere as well and would like to know the proper etiquette moving forward. Does one wait until all decisions are in to begin speaking with programs? Wait for program/POI to contact me or set up visit? Or should I try to initiate contact? Seems like profs are busy and don't want to be troubled, especially by someone who may not end up there.

 

thanks all

I don't think there's any set-in-stone best practice, besides 'do what you feel you need to'. Most schools have a visitation weekend, where they cover your travel expenses, and at that point you can meet all your POIs and get a feel for the school. But I don't see any harm in initiating contact with your POIs now, if you have questions about the program or just want to see what they're like / what you could expect from them in the future. I don't think you should worry about bugging your POI now that you're in - it's in their interest to try and get you to attend the program, so in most cases I'd expect they would be friendly and accommodating. After all, it's in both your interests to ensure you make an informed decision about where to spend the next five years of your life! 

Anyways, congrats! Where did you get in?

[terefere]

Strangest thing just happened to me. I logged in to one of my applications that uses the applyyourself.com platform and I noticed that in the list of recommendation letters, where the usual format is "Name_of_referee (Online): Submitted on date_of_submission" there is a 4th position "name_of_professor (Offline): Received (Official)"

The thing is - I haven't requested this professor to be my referee!!! He taught me a course in undergrad and I worked for him as well, so I know who he is. I think his name was in my CV, along with other professors who I worked for. But I am now in a Master's program.

Anyway - I can't really figure out what's going on!!! Does that mean they've reached out to him to get additional info on me?

[ultraultra]

1 hour ago, terefere said:

Strangest thing just happened to me. I logged in to one of my applications that uses the applyyourself.com platform and I noticed that in the list of recommendation letters, where the usual format is "Name_of_referee (Online): Submitted on date_of_submission" there is a 4th position "name_of_professor (Offline): Received (Official)"

The thing is - I haven't requested this professor to be my referee!!! He taught me a course in undergrad and I worked for him as well, so I know who he is. I think his name was in my CV, along with other professors who I worked for. But I am now in a Master's program.

Anyway - I can't really figure out what's going on!!! Does that mean they've reached out to him to get additional info on me?

"you're getting my reference whether you want it or not!!!"

[Straightoutta]

Is it frowned upon to call and check how decisions around coming along? lol. I'm getting anxious waiting for my decisions after seeing all these other schools release their decisions.

 

[Determinedandnervous]

Congrats to all OSU, UIUC, Stony Brook and UC Davis admits! To all else who haven't received an acceptance - hang in there, this is only the beginning!

[IndEnth]

Got a rejection from GW. It's sad, was one of my top choices, and I thought a really good fit. Luckily I at least have one offer already, so can take it with a bit more grace

[bhudson]

13 hours ago, ultraultra said:

I don't think there's any set-in-stone best practice, besides 'do what you feel you need to'. Most schools have a visitation weekend, where they cover your travel expenses, and at that point you can meet all your POIs and get a feel for the school. But I don't see any harm in initiating contact with your POIs now, if you have questions about the program or just want to see what they're like / what you could expect from them in the future. I don't think you should worry about bugging your POI now that you're in - it's in their interest to try and get you to attend the program, so in most cases I'd expect they would be friendly and accommodating. After all, it's in both your interests to ensure you make an informed decision about where to spend the next five years of your life! 

Anyways, congrats! Where did you get in?

Thanks! In at UCD- love the program/location but do have other apps out. I think I'll at least touch base with the department. 

Hope everyone has good luck next week! They'll start coming in quick!

[Midwest_PoliNERD]

Admitted to Ohio State and Stony Brook. Probably going to go to Stony Brook. Anybody else going to Stony Brook in fall? 

[s1994]

15 hours ago, terefere said:

Strangest thing just happened to me. I logged in to one of my applications that uses the applyyourself.com platform and I noticed that in the list of recommendation letters, where the usual format is "Name_of_referee (Online): Submitted on date_of_submission" there is a 4th position "name_of_professor (Offline): Received (Official)"

The thing is - I haven't requested this professor to be my referee!!! He taught me a course in undergrad and I worked for him as well, so I know who he is. I think his name was in my CV, along with other professors who I worked for. But I am now in a Master's program.

Anyway - I can't really figure out what's going on!!! Does that mean they've reached out to him to get additional info on me?

 I think it's a good thing because that means the committee is interested in your application! 

[ultraultra]

1 hour ago, mwcain said:

Admitted to Ohio State and Stony Brook. Probably going to go to Stony Brook. Anybody else going to Stony Brook in fall? 

Congrats on your acceptances! 

Personally, I'm not making any decisions until I've heard from all the schools and visited. But I'll almost definitely see you at the SB open house, whenever that may be.

[elw]

2 hours ago, mwcain said:

Admitted to Ohio State and Stony Brook. Probably going to go to Stony Brook. Anybody else going to Stony Brook in fall? 

Agree with ultraultra that it's too soon to say for certain — but Stony Brook does top my list for myriad reasons.

15 hours ago, Straightoutta said:

Is it frowned upon to call and check how decisions around coming along? lol. I'm getting anxious waiting for my decisions after seeing all these other schools release their decisions.

 

It's certainly not frowned upon and you might get a better idea of when a decision can be expected — just make sure to query an appropriate person (admissions director, or coordinator) and remember it's arguably still early on in the admissions process.

[Midwest_PoliNERD]

Great! Hope to see you all there too. 

[terefere]

On 23/01/2016 at 2:14 PM, shane94 said:

 I think it's a good thing because that means the committee is interested in your application! 

I hope you're right!! I'm actually thinking about e-mailing the department and asking them about it...

[needavacation]

Is this the calm before the storm? Hoping for a big week for everyone here!

[Determinedandnervous]

Does anyone know when UW-Madison is going to be releasing decisions?

[needavacation]

4 minutes ago, Determinedandnervous said:

Does anyone know when UW-Madison is going to be releasing decisions?

I bet tomorrow!

[Determinedandnervous]

Just now, needavacation said:

I bet tomorrow!

I hope - I noticed 2013-2015 acceptances are sent out the last monday of the month. However, I don't know if that means they'll wait until the 31st or if they will treat it like Thanksgiving (i.e. Thanksgiving is celebrated on the last Thursday of November, except if it's the last day of November) and release results tomorrow.

[needavacation]

Just now, Determinedandnervous said:

I hope - I noticed 2013-2015 acceptances are sent out the last monday of the month. However, I don't know if that means they'll wait until the 31st or if they will treat it like Thanksgiving (i.e. Thanksgiving is celebrated on the last Thursday of November, except if it's the last day of November) and release results tomorrow.

Ahh. That's a good point. I didn't even realize that.

I'm really anxious so it better be tomorrow, ha.

[ultraultra]

50 minutes ago, Determinedandnervous said:

I hope - I noticed 2013-2015 acceptances are sent out the last monday of the month. However, I don't know if that means they'll wait until the 31st or if they will treat it like Thanksgiving (i.e. Thanksgiving is celebrated on the last Thursday of November, except if it's the last day of November) and release results tomorrow.

I'd be very surprised if it was intentionally that systematic... my understanding from talking to faculty at my current and previous institution is that the ad comms have rough ideas of when they should be finished and generally try to finish as quickly as possible. Besides that its sort of idiosyncratic/a crapshoot, the only sticking point being that lower ranked schools have an incentive to give out offers early (so that applicants keep them in mind and/or are persuaded early) whereas highly ranked schools know they'll get a full cohort no matter what so there's less of a rush (e.g. Harvard releasing their results in mid-March the past few years)