Contacting Admissions

[Nat_Foot]

Hello, I'm Nat. @jacbarcan introduced the idea of contacting admissions in an attempt to find out information about admissions decisions. I would be in charge of this task. The aim would be to minimize contact between applicants and admissions committees while also alleviating some of our (the applicants') stress and uncertainty. Of course, this may not work. Admissions committees are notoriously ambiguous in answering any questions regarding decisions. Moreover, we do not want to pester them more by contacting them a day or two after the prediction date. I'm here to discuss ideas for how to get the most informative answers without annoying anyone in admissions. 

Some of the topics of debate are: 
(1) Email or phone? 
(2) Contact general admissions or graduate director?
(3) How much information should we give them? Should we let them know this information will be posted on grad cafe?
(4) Ground rules for posting, e.g. 
     (a) contact only 7 days after prediction date if no results have been posted yet 
     (b) contact only 5 days after acceptances/WLs have been posted to see if school is done with acceptances/WL (this applies to Berkeley, for example)

(5) Contact Leiter? 

Please discuss your ideas and concerns here. 

___________________________
Since I want to centralize the thread on this topic, I'll quote some of the discussion that's already taken place.

First, here's Jac's original post: 

@jacbarcan: "I've asked a fellow applicant to collaborate with me on the blog. This person's role would be to call universities at appropriate times and check on the status of decisions. We hope that by doing this we can alleviate some stress on the applicant side as well as on the side of professors, grad students, or administrators in philosophy departments, the latter by reducing the amount of applicants calling and emailing. We never before have done this and it is possible it won't work. If it seems to cause too much trouble, my collaborator may withdraw from the role. Please let us know how you feel about this and whether or not you think we should continue with this option."

And some discussion of the role(s) I should play:

@jacbarcan: "Maybe a job for my new blogger buddy could be to make sure [that results posts are legitimate] after a few days of crickets."

 

@jacbarcan: "Nat and I are still trying to figure out good ground rules for emailing/calling and I'm unsure what the consensus is on asking before anything has been sent out when they're still within their release date ranges. (Hopefully that all makes sense.)" 

@gughok: "I would be incredibly surprised but equally grateful if this succeeded. My impression is that admissions committees are not eager to make particularly unambiguous statements concerning where they are in the process, so I would predict that your calls might not get useful answers (and, if multiple calls are made, committee members might grow irritated). But I would appreciate someone at least trying, and if it works that would be all the better." 

@Abendstern: "Wouldn't it make more sense to email a DGS or the like than to call admins? The latter seems much more likely to give a canned response." "

"I would only add that it would be wise to pitch it as service that would benefit the admissions committee. E.g.: 'We understand you probably receive a large amount of emails from anxious applicants asking about when to expect results, so we wanted to reach out to you directly in order to help cut down on this. If you were able to give us a sense of when applicants might expect to hear back about rejections, etc., we could informally advertise that information on the GradCafe forum in a way that wouldn't require any official commitment from you.' Something like that?"

@philosophe: "If you call you don't have to identify yourself (whereas email obviously has your name). In my experience administrators are happy to let you know if all of the acceptances have gone out (or not), if they know. I think it might be worse to publicize that you're posting the results on Grad Cafe. Better to have a casual chat with the department administrator and schmooze to see if they're willing to mention what they know. 

EDIT: I just wanted to add, I wouldn't ask about when rejections will be sent out (because we can infer rejections from lack of news). I would ask about whether or not all offers have been made and whether or not there is a WL."

@Abendstern: "Don't we already have the information for when acceptances went out and whether there is a waitlist? I think the torturous part of this process is waiting for a rejection letter with the lingering hope that your rejection is being held back 'just in case' rather than due to the slow, lumbering process of the graduate school bureaucracy (which I believe is the entity that tends to process official rejections). Maybe it's just me, but I find the idea of 'presumed rejections' really appalling. They should say something like, "Yes, we have released all acceptances and WLs, you can expect the rest to be rejections, which usually arrive in early March."

As for you point about email: fine, but each of us could call the admins right now and do the same anyway. What's the point of doing this in a centralized way in that case? Also, there is such a thing as caller ID. I certainly have it on my work phone, and I imagine any admin or DGS would as well. And if you're concerned about them knowing who you are as an applicant, we could have people who aren't applying (or even ever planning to apply) to a particular department send emails to that department. Or, you know, make a fake email even...

Really, though, the wisdom of contacting departments at all in order to create a more centralized basis of knowledge is a question we might even consider requesting Leiter to ask on his blog. My guess is that a fair number of commenters would support the suggestion, even if they think GradCafe isn't necessarily a positive development in the admissions process. (Though, if that were their belief, then they should recognize the phenomenon as a result of their own departmental failings to send out acceptances, rejections, and WLs all at the same time.)" 

@jacbarcan: "1. Fake email: both Nat and I are under fake names and emails. 

2. Totally agree that it would be excellent to send to Leiter this question since most of the point is to alleviate the stress on both ends, including on the department's end. I'm sure some professor's don't care, but even from that post on the survey a couple of weeks ago some profs definitely feel harassed." 

 

[philosophe]

I don't think everyone's going to agree on each of these points, there are pros and cons for each. However, I do think if this is to be useful for this admissions cycle you should start contacting departments, as this will only be relevant for another threeish weeks. I think you should definitely try to ask for more information, especially for schools like Indiana, Brown, or USC. (Indiana and Brown have only posted 1 accept each and USC is doing the weird rejection thing). I think the main questions should be: have you made all of your offers? If you have a wait list, have you informed all of your waitlist candidates? If the answers to both questions are yes, all those who have not been contacted can know they've been rejected. If the answer is no, people will know to have hope. 

The worry that they'll be vague, etc. doesn't harm us in any way, so I don't see this as problematic or a reason not to try. As I've expressed before, I think that calling the department phone number is a nice way to meet in the middle -- I doubt people in the admissions office will have department specific information, and I think calling the DGS personally is too direct. Just my two cents, but I say phone or email, either way the sooner the better. 

Edited February 15, 2016 by philosophe

[jacbarcan]

Maybe also contact Princeton and Yale in the middle or late next week if there's no change in hearing from people. 

[Nat_Foot]

I agree with you @philosophe. I'll call a few places over the next few days and post the results. 

We should start compiling a list of places to call. Please add as you see fit. I'm including dates for when it seems appropriate to call, but feel free to suggest revisions. 

(1) Berkeley (2/15)
(2) Indiana (2/15)
(3) USC (2/16) -- I'll give them another day; maybe they'll release acceptances tomorrow. I really have no idea what they're doing. 
(4) Brown (2/16) -- Like someone pointed out, the person who posted an acceptance got a fellowship. Usually campus-wide fellowships come out earlier than general admissions. 
(5) Princeton (2/17) 
(6) Yale (2/17) 

 

[thatsjustsemantics]

Can we contact Wisconsin-Madison? There was one release last week, and then an insider posted to the forum saying that the person responsible for sending out admissions got sick. I'm wondering if applicants will hear back soon or not?

[AnotherKantFan]

I'd be really grateful if you guys contacted Princeton and Yale today.

[jjb919]

I don't know how much demand there is for this, but I would really like to hear from the Committee on Social Thought at Chicago. I had emailed and was told by their student assistant that they would be notifying people by the end of last week, but I have heard nothing and seen nothing on the results page (I'm fairly confident that sole rejection on the results page is a mistake). Thanks!

[machineghost]

I'd be interested to know Riverside's plan.

[SamStone]

38 minutes ago, jjb919 said:

I don't know how much demand there is for this, but I would really like to hear from the Committee on Social Thought at Chicago. I had emailed and was told by their student assistant that they would be notifying people by the end of last week, but I have heard nothing and seen nothing on the results page (I'm fairly confident that sole rejection on the results page is a mistake). Thanks!

Yea, I'm also wondering when their decision will be sent out. I really had no idea when to expect to hear from them...so its helpful to know you were told by someone there that it'd be the end of last week. I wonder if that means we weren't accepted? From what I have heard that program admits anywhere from 0-5 students a year (0 if they are excited about any of the apps), so it could be that those who got it are just not on gradcafe. But, of course, that speculation could be wrong. Anyway, it would be nice to know the status of that program.

[Nat_Foot]

6 hours ago, thatsjustsemantics said:

Can we contact Wisconsin-Madison? There was one release last week, and then an insider posted to the forum saying that the person responsible for sending out admissions got sick. I'm wondering if applicants will hear back soon or not?

Yes, I'll check if they're on holiday today; otherwise I'll call them today. 

1 hour ago, jjb919 said:

I don't know how much demand there is for this, but I would really like to hear from the Committee on Social Thought at Chicago. I had emailed and was told by their student assistant that they would be notifying people by the end of last week, but I have heard nothing and seen nothing on the results page (I'm fairly confident that sole rejection on the results page is a mistake). Thanks!

Same goes for them. 

2 hours ago, AnotherKantFan said:

I'd be really grateful if you guys contacted Princeton and Yale today.

I think I'm going to give it at least another few days for Yale. Yale is almost definitely a fraud, and the prediction isn't until Feb 22. Princeton is possibly a fraud, but I still want to give it one more day. Calls, if they were made, were made over the weekend. Even if they are legitimate, there's good reason to believe that they're not done sending out acceptances, given that only 3 acceptances were posted (fewer than in the past few years). I wouldn't worry too much about Princeton right now, and I'll try to get more information tomorrow. 

1 hour ago, machineghost said:

I'd be interested to know Riverside's plan.

Sure. I had almost included them on the list, but I wasn't sure if this info was already given. 

[sneakysombrero]

I'm not so sure Princeton is done sending out acceptances. Sure, 3 acceptance posts on GradCafe is lower than in years past, but not that much lower than the 4 acceptance posts from a couple of years ago. In any case, I am definitely on edge. 

[ZoliK]

Hello, I contacted the director of grad admissions at Wisconsin-Madison, asking her whether all admissions decisions have been made yet. She said that the "first round" of acceptances have been sent out, and they are now waiting for responses from those who have been admitted. Once the admitted start to respond, the department will send another wave of acceptances. Didn't ask what will happen after that.

[roundtwo]

On 2/14/2016 at 11:17 PM, Nat_Foot said:

I agree with you @philosophe. I'll call a few places over the next few days and post the results. 

We should start compiling a list of places to call. Please add as you see fit. I'm including dates for when it seems appropriate to call, but feel free to suggest revisions. 

(1) Berkeley (2/15)
(2) Indiana (2/15)
(3) USC (2/16) -- I'll give them another day; maybe they'll release acceptances tomorrow. I really have no idea what they're doing. 
(4) Brown (2/16) -- Like someone pointed out, the person who posted an acceptance got a fellowship. Usually campus-wide fellowships come out earlier than general admissions. 
(5) Princeton (2/17) 
(6) Yale (2/17) 

Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) seems like an important one missing from the list—although I might be basing that on selfish reasons. Their predicted date was 2/5, and it appears they've let one person in on a particular fellowship, but otherwise all is silent. 

[thatsjustsemantics]

14 minutes ago, ZoliK said:

Hello, I contacted the director of grad admissions at Wisconsin-Madison, asking her whether all admissions decisions have been made yet. She said that the "first round" of acceptances have been sent out, and they are now waiting for responses from those who have been admitted. Once the admitted start to respond, the department will send another wave of acceptances. Didn't ask what will happen after that.

Did the DGS mention how many people were initially notified? I don't see how that makes sense since some people will wait before April before they are ready to make a decision; in any case, thanks for asking!

[Nat_Foot]

As it turns out, USC and Berkeley are on holiday, so I have to wait to contact them until tomorrow. 

Here's the updated list. 

1. Indiana 
2. Berkeley 
3. USC 
4. Brown 
5. Princeton 
6. Yale 
7. Riverside 
8. Wisconsin-Madison (ask how many people were initially notified)
9. WUSTL (thanks @roundtwo)
10. U. Chicago Committee on Social Thought

Edited February 15, 2016 by Nat_Foot

[philosophe]

Just now, Nat_Foot said:

As it turns out, USC and Berkeley are on holiday, so I have to wait to contact them until tomorrow. 

Here's the updated list. 

1. Indiana 
2. Berkeley 
3. USC 
4. Brown 
5. Princeton 
6. Yale 
7. Riverside 
8. Wisconsin-Madison (ask how many people were initially notified)
9. WUSTL (thanks @roundtwo)

Looks great, you'll contact the other schools today? It would be so great to have that information. 

[Nat_Foot]

So, I haven't been able to get in touch with Indiana or Brown yet, despite calling a few times. I'll try calling again later, and if that doesn't work, I'll email them. 

But, good news about Princeton. I spoke to the graduate administrator, and she said that they "haven't made their decisions yet." I think it's safe to assume that the other ones were fake. I'm not going to contact Yale because I think it's too soon, and I have no good reason to believe that the postings were real. 

I'll call Princeton & Yale back after the predicted date has past. 

And, I forgot one to add one more school to call: (10) U Chicago Committee on Social Thought. I'll edit my other post accordingly. 

Edit: Riverside is also on holiday today. 
 

Edited February 15, 2016 by Nat_Foot

[machineghost]

Great! Thanks for the update.

[Nat_Foot]

Just spoke to the Graduate Program Coordinator at Wisconsin: "Not all offers have been made. We're not even halfway through the process. I don't know how people find out this information." I asked her about the first round of admissions and whether they're waiting to hear back, and she reaffirmed that there were some offers that have gone out but not all of them. 

Edited February 15, 2016 by Nat_Foot
Typo

[ZoliK]

51 minutes ago, thatsjustsemantics said:

Did the DGS mention how many people were initially notified? I don't see how that makes sense since some people will wait before April before they are ready to make a decision; in any case, thanks for asking!

Just going off of logic and not a detailed knowledge of how this stuff works: The maximum amount of people a department is willing to accept fluctuates year to year because of this kind of uncertainty. If every person to whom they offered admission in the first round accepted their offers, they might then offer no additional candidates admission in the next round, or if any maybe just one or two. But if, within a month or two, 1/2 of first rounders accept the offer, and half do not respond, they might then feel comfortable with giving offers to more people, even if that meant they might go over the minimum number of people they might take in as an incoming class.

[Cecinestpasunphilosophe]

34 minutes ago, Nat_Foot said:

So, I haven't been able to get in touch with Indiana or Brown yet, despite calling a few times. I'll try calling again later, and if that doesn't work, I'll email them. 

But, good news about Princeton. I spoke to the graduate administrator, and she said that they "haven't made their decisions yet." I think it's safe to assume that the other ones were fake. I'm not going to contact Yale because I think it's too soon, and I have no good reason to believe that the postings were real. 

I'll call Princeton & Yale back after the predicted date has past. 

And, I forgot one to add one more school to call: (10) U Chicago Committee on Social Thought. I'll edit my other post accordingly. 

Edit: Riverside is also on holiday today. 
 

@Nat_Foot, if you're ever in Toronto, let me know, and I'll make sure to buy you a drink.

Edited February 15, 2016 by Cecinestpasunphilosophe

[thatsjustsemantics]

17 minutes ago, Nat_Foot said:

Joke spoke to the Graduate Program Coordinator at Wisconsin: "Not all offers have been made. We're not even halfway through the process. I don't know how people find out this information." I asked her about the first round of admissions and whether they're waiting to hear back, and she reaffirmed that there were some offers that have gone out but not all of them. 

Thanks Nat! This is really helpful. I'm sure they're just testing the waters to see how their top choices would respond to an offer.

[Nat_Foot]

3 minutes ago, Cecinestpasunphilosophe said:

Nat, if you're ever in Toronto, let me know, and I'll make sure to buy you a drink.

 

3 minutes ago, thatsjustsemantics said:

Thanks Nat! This is really helpful. I'm sure they're just testing the waters to see how their top choices would respond to an offer.

No problem! Glad it's helpful. 

[ScaredyCat]

50 minutes ago, Nat_Foot said:

As it turns out, USC and Berkeley are on holiday, so I have to wait to contact them until tomorrow. 

Here's the updated list. 

1. Indiana 
2. Berkeley 
3. USC 
4. Brown 
5. Princeton 
6. Yale 
7. Riverside 
8. Wisconsin-Madison (ask how many people were initially notified)
9. WUSTL (thanks @roundtwo)
10. U. Chicago Committee on Social Thought

Can you contact Stony Brook? Contradictory information about their admissions decisions are going on. Thanks

[Nat_Foot]

1 minute ago, Hermione27 said:

Can you contact Stony Brook? Contradictory information about their admissions decisions are going on. Thanks

Yes, can do.