POI Leaving... Try to Defer Accepted Offer?

[intrastellar]

The day after I accepted an offer, I was emailed by my POI stating that they were leaving for a position at another university. (We had been in touch a lot before, and so this was something that they decided to reveal recently, not that I didn't bother to contact them.) That's fine and all, but they were the number one reason for choosing this school and our interests were really well-matched. There are only a handful of other departments that have more than one advisor with similar research interests to mine, and even then they may not offer a wide variety of classes that would benefit my research background. While I like the program and would have another prof as an advisor option, I am now on the fence about having accepted my offer. Even if the department hires another person, even one with similar research interests, I have no idea if they're planning on hiring them for this coming year and as a prof who can advise graduate students. It's only a 2-year program, so I have a feeling that the advisor option I'm left with would be my only option due to the length of the program.

My question is:
Now that I am feeling uneasy and, quite frankly, disappointed about the prof leaving, should I try to defer my offer for a year? I figured I would then have the option to apply to other schools (again) in order to try and get into a program where the people I really want to work with stay while I'm in the program. I also figured I could see if they hire a new person and if that person would be a reasonable advisor. Or, because I like the classes offered and have a prof that could work as an advisor should I just bite the bullet and stay true to the accepted offer?

Thanks for any insight into this or any other ways to look at it.

[TakeruK]

Wow that is a crappy thing to happen. I hope that the fact you found out 1 day after you made your decision was just an unlucky coincidence rather than the POI waiting until you accepted their department's offer before telling you (because, in my opinion, the latter is an unethical act, especially if they have been communicating with you and know about your interest in working with them). 

Do you have an option of going to the new school with this POI? I am guessing not, or they would have already mentioned it. 

The question is whether or not this school will still meet your post-degree goals after this POI leaves. (If this is a 2 year program, are you applying to PhD programs next? or something else?). If the school can still give you what you want after 2 years and the potential opportunities at other schools are not worth waiting another year to start, then take the offer. But don't feel like you are obligated to "stay true" to the offer, since the circumstances have now changed.

[intrastellar]

The prof is moving to an immensely competitive top-name school. So unfortunately I probably would not be able to go with them (frankly, I'm not sure my application would be THAT competitive). Would it be rude to ask, though? Like an... "Are there any opportunities for me to still work with you in any capacity?" kind of way?

There was a line in the POI's email that made me think they sent it because they heard I did commit- I originally thought that committing reminded them to tell me, but I think you have a good point that it could be they wanted to wait. Anyway.

I think you have a good point. I had been accepted at this school to two depts where I could work with the same profs. I committed to the MA program with plans to apply to the PhD track in the other dept, but still working with the same people... My ultimate goal is still to get a PhD. And I guess the MA would make me more competitive to apply anywhere for PhD programs, but a lot of my discipline is about who you worked with, not only the rep of the dept. So I'm frustrated because the person who was supposed to be an up and coming person in the field left. While the program would STRICTLY meet my needs to apply to a PhD program, is it worth the risk to do the MA without saying I worked with so-and-so?

Edited April 15, 2016 by intrastellar

[rising_star]

32 minutes ago, intrastellar said:

While the program would STRICTLY meet my needs to apply to a PhD program, is it worth the risk to do the MA without saying I worked with so-and-so?

For me, this wouldn't bother me but I didn't care at all about the name of my MA advisor and it totally worked out for me when I applied for PhD programs. Maybe your field is super prestige oriented but often the MA is more about what you do (publications, presentations, research, etc.) and the skills you learn which will enable you to jump right into things in a PhD program.

I would contact the original POI and inquire about the possibility that they might be willing to serve as an outside committee member for your MA thesis. It's not unheard of at most programs

[intrastellar]

3 minutes ago, rising_star said:

For me, this wouldn't bother me but I didn't care at all about the name of my MA advisor and it totally worked out for me when I applied for PhD programs. Maybe your field is super prestige oriented but often the MA is more about what you do (publications, presentations, research, etc.) and the skills you learn which will enable you to jump right into things in a PhD program.

Good point- one of the reasons I was so excited to work with this prof was because they had an excellent track record of publishing in all the top journals in my field, organizing panels at our major conference, is just finishing up an NSF grant, etc etc. they're young and I was hoping they could teach me a LOT of those skills to make myself competitive for PhD programs and beyond. The other POI is not as strong in this- they are a better teacher in classes and they are slower at releasing articles/research. So although I still will get those skills in the program, I fear I will be less competitive than I had hoped down the line because I lost the opportunity to work with someone who has honed those skills specifically to become competitive in the market today (hence the switch to a top notch school).

I plan on contacting the program tomorrow to ask if I can have more time to think about the decision considering the change in circumstances. I will also ask if it would be possible to have that external committee member.

I emailed the original POI and asked about being a member, so thank you for mentioning that.

[intrastellar]

An update.... The original POI that I emailed asking about any opportunities replied and said, "there's the second advisor you could work with at the university, so the program would still suit your needs. That said, you could apply to this other university, but it's extremely competitive. Might be worth a try."

is this prof just blowing me off? Is this even worth trying to make it so I work with them? It doesn't even sound like they would be willing to support my application even if I DID apply.

[dr. t]

No way to sugar coat it - your once and future POI sounds like a real piece of work. I would not apply to work with them elsewhere.

[TakeruK]

To me, it sounds like the POI has no vested interest in you at all. This doesn't necessarily make them a bad person, since after all, you are not currently their student and they probably have little motivation or desire to go "to bat" for you at their new school. While I would still think poorly of them for "leading you on", so to speak, at their old school (in my experience, profs who plan to move purposely avoid all contact with prospective students), it's probably best to leave it in the past and forget about this person. 

I feel like you might be putting more emphasis on advisor name than typical (but as rising_star says, you might be in a field where it's more important than most fields). And to be honest, if there is a school where there is only one person that has the "star name recognition" and that person is leaving, then it's likely the school's brand name itself isn't going to be that great. So, if the only reason you had applied to this school was this professor, it might make sense to wait a year and apply elsewhere to places that are better fits. But if you were also interested in other work at this school, then I'd probably stay at the school. In the end, your PhD advisor will be more important anyways.

[intrastellar]

Thank you all for your help.

I have asked for additional time to consider the MA offer in light of new developments and the pieces of information you all gave. We'll see if it is granted, or, I still might be going in the fall and have my decision made for me! Ha ha. Maybe I won't have anything to worry about at all.

Also, thanks for not sugar coating it. I think it's important to hear and will help me get over it.

[TakeruK]

2 hours ago, intrastellar said:

Thank you all for your help.

I have asked for additional time to consider the MA offer in light of new developments and the pieces of information you all gave. We'll see if it is granted, or, I still might be going in the fall and have my decision made for me! Ha ha. Maybe I won't have anything to worry about at all.

Also, thanks for not sugar coating it. I think it's important to hear and will help me get over it.

I mean, they can't force you to attend their program lol. So if your final decision is to try to apply at other schools instead of attending this fall, the school's only decision is only whether or not they will hold a place for you for Fall 2017.