Fall 2017 applicants

[a.n.d]

7 minutes ago, sreagin1 said:

I didn't mean to make you nervous! Let me qualify my post. It was a personalized e-mail from the DGS - not a copy/paste kind of e-mail, so they're probably taking their time going through each candidate. DO NOT give up just yet!

lol I think I've been nervous for like an entire three months at this point, but that does make me feel better! Thank you!

[SarahBethSortino]

Does anyone have legitimate intel on either Umass Amherst or Boston College. Based on prior years it seems they would have released more info. I asked a few weeks ago on the board and only received info on a couple of acceptances. At least for Umass, with such a big program, I thought there would be more information out there. I emailed both departments and have not received an answer. Thanks

[ThisGreatFolly]

7 minutes ago, SarahBethSortino said:

Does anyone have legitimate intel on either Umass Amherst or Boston College. Based on prior years it seems they would have released more info. I asked a few weeks ago on the board and only received info on a couple of acceptances. At least for Umass, with such a big program, I thought there would be more information out there. I emailed both departments and have not received an answer. Thanks

I was waitlisted for BC on 01/31, but have heard nothing since then. 

[SarahBethSortino]

8 minutes ago, ThisGreatFolly said:

I was waitlisted for BC on 01/31, but have heard nothing since then. 

That is an awfully long time with no contact. Have you reached out to them to see where you stand?

[ThisGreatFolly]

2 minutes ago, SarahBethSortino said:

That is an awfully long time with no contact. Have you reached out to them to see where you stand?

I haven't yet, but will reach out tonight. I'll let you know if they give me any sense of what's going on with decisions. 

[SarahBethSortino]

5 minutes ago, ThisGreatFolly said:

I haven't yet, but will reach out tonight. I'll let you know if they give me any sense of what's going on with decisions. 

Thanks. They have been very unresponsive throughout the entire process. Emailed them about a year ago for information on the program - nothing. Emailed some POIs for potential visits and correspondence - nothing. It strikes me as very odd.

[Sigaba]

7 hours ago, SarahBethSortino said:

Does anyone have legitimate intel on either Umass Amherst or Boston College. Based on prior years it seems they would have released more info. I asked a few weeks ago on the board and only received info on a couple of acceptances. At least for Umass, with such a big program, I thought there would be more information out there. I emailed both departments and have not received an answer. Thanks

 

7 hours ago, SarahBethSortino said:

Thanks. They have been very unresponsive throughout the entire process. Emailed them about a year ago for information on the program - nothing. Emailed some POIs for potential visits and correspondence - nothing. It strikes me as very odd.

 

FWIW, the following document was created in February, 2013. 

http://www.umass.edu/history/sites/default/files/assets/graduateapplicationfaq_feb_13.docx

When can I expect to hear if I’ve been accepted to the Graduate Program?

Review of applications begins after the January deadline passes; in the first weeks, members of the admissions committee begin reviewing and evaluating materials.  The committee typically meets for the first time during the first week of classes--that is, the last week of January.  Deliberations usually take about a month.  So the earliest people should expect to hear any result is the end of February or early March.

PhD students are guaranteed funding packages with admissions, but for MA candidates, admission and funding decisions are made separately.  Top applicants may be offered a funding package simultaneously with admission, but more often, Master's applicants are offered admission earlier in the Spring semester, and hear about funding packages later in the Spring semester. While we try to make funding offers in advance of the April 15th notification deadline, the department often obtains additional funding after that date; some students learn that they will be offered funding later in the Spring and even into the summer.
 

Boston College http://www.bc.edu/schools/gsas/admissions/faq.html#expect to receive decision

 

 

[SarahBethSortino]

9 hours ago, Sigaba said:

 

 

FWIW, the following document was created in February, 2013. 

http://www.umass.edu/history/sites/default/files/assets/graduateapplicationfaq_feb_13.docx

When can I expect to hear if I’ve been accepted to the Graduate Program?

Review of applications begins after the January deadline passes; in the first weeks, members of the admissions committee begin reviewing and evaluating materials.  The committee typically meets for the first time during the first week of classes--that is, the last week of January.  Deliberations usually take about a month.  So the earliest people should expect to hear any result is the end of February or early March.

PhD students are guaranteed funding packages with admissions, but for MA candidates, admission and funding decisions are made separately.  Top applicants may be offered a funding package simultaneously with admission, but more often, Master's applicants are offered admission earlier in the Spring semester, and hear about funding packages later in the Spring semester. While we try to make funding offers in advance of the April 15th notification deadline, the department often obtains additional funding after that date; some students learn that they will be offered funding later in the Spring and even into the summer.
 

Boston College http://www.bc.edu/schools/gsas/admissions/faq.html#expect to receive decision

 

 

Thanks. I did see the FAQs on the websites for both programs. I was reaching out more for information on direct contact with the department.

The inquiry about BC is a moot point anyway. Received my rejection notice yesterday.

[russianblue]

Finally broke down and emailed NYU and just received a response. Admissions go out by snail mail, and unfortunately the email is no more precise than saying that admissions are made at the end of February and that decisions go out in mid-to-late March.

[SarahBethSortino]

Emailed UMass today. As I suspected, the lateness of their notification is due to rolling admissions. They have already sent out the first round of acceptances and will be making additional offers based on how many people accept from the first round. Was informed I'm near the top of the waitlist. So, another waitlist and four rejections rounds the season out for me.

[SarahBethSortino]

Anyone have any opinions on how much or how little to follow up with wait listed schools. I'm walking the line between showing continued interest and trying not to be annoying. I've been making a weekly follow up...not sure if that is too much or too little. Thoughts?

[Calgacus]

1 hour ago, SarahBethSortino said:

Anyone have any opinions on how much or how little to follow up with wait listed schools. I'm walking the line between showing continued interest and trying not to be annoying. I've been making a weekly follow up...not sure if that is too much or too little. Thoughts?

When I was waitlisted at one of my top choices, I exchanged several emails with DGS and POI who reached out to me after first being notified. I was in touch again about two weeks before April 15, and the DGS encouraged me to email again to check in during the final week before making my decisions. If you've been emailing them every week I'm sure they know you're very interested. There's not much to be done either on your part or from their end in waitlist situations. It just depends one when the people who were offered first-round admission make their decisions. I know it's torture waiting, but I'd just sit tight for a few weeks if I were you, perhaps until April 1, unless they've explicitly told you to keep checking in.

[Gotya64]

How common are PhD offers that ask you to TA all five years?

[TMP]

26 minutes ago, Gotya64 said:

How common are PhD offers that ask you to TA all five years?

Fairly.  This is especially common at public institutions.  

Check out the Funding Spreadsheet thread to see variations in funding offers..

[Owly01]

21 minutes ago, Gotya64 said:

How common are PhD offers that ask you to TA all five years?

I received my final PhD admit last week, but I'd have to TA as a part-time employee for a required twenty hours per week. Even though I'm interested in working with several of the faculty members, I feel like this could diminish the overall quality of my research.

[betwixt&between]

1 hour ago, Calgacus said:

When I was waitlisted at one of my top choices, I exchanged several emails with DGS and POI who reached out to me after first being notified. I was in touch again about two weeks before April 15, and the DGS encouraged me to email again to check in during the final week before making my decisions. If you've been emailing them every week I'm sure they know you're very interested. There's not much to be done either on your part or from their end in waitlist situations. It just depends one when the people who were offered first-round admission make their decisions. I know it's torture waiting, but I'd just sit tight for a few weeks if I were you, perhaps until April 1, unless they've explicitly told you to keep checking in.

I have been waitlisted at my top choice, and invited to the Welcome Weekend. I responded to let the DGA know I was still interested, and would be attending the Welcome Weekend. Do you think it would be considered out of sorts to ask what the waitlist looks like, or what the department waitlist procedures are? Or should I just suck it up and hope they address it during the Welcome Weekend?

[dr. t]

18 minutes ago, Owly01 said:

I received my final PhD admit last week, but I'd have to TA as a part-time employee for a required twenty hours per week. Even though I'm interested in working with several of the faculty members, I feel like this could diminish the overall quality of my research.

That's a good feeling. Listen to your feelings.

[KLZ]

17 minutes ago, Owly01 said:

I received my final PhD admit last week, but I'd have to TA as a part-time employee for a required twenty hours per week. Even though I'm interested in working with several of the faculty members, I feel like this could diminish the overall quality of my research.

20 hours is a common way for the graduate school to classify your employee status for payroll purposes. It does not necessarily mean that you will be working 20 hours every week. The amount of work you will have will likely vary by week, with weeks in which they take an exam or turn in a paper being heavier workload weeks, since you will likely be doing most or all of the grading. 

[Sigaba]

 

2 hours ago, Calgacus said:

When I was waitlisted at one of my top choices, I exchanged several emails with DGS and POI who reached out to me after first being notified. I was in touch again about two weeks before April 15, and the DGS encouraged me to email again to check in during the final week before making my decisions. If you've been emailing them every week I'm sure they know you're very interested. There's not much to be done either on your part or from their end in waitlist situations. It just depends one when the people who were offered first-round admission make their decisions. I know it's torture waiting, but I'd just sit tight for a few weeks if I were you, perhaps until April 1, unless they've explicitly told you to keep checking in.

Agreed. If one thinks that one's persistence may be annoying people, it's likely that others have had the same thought, if not actually reached that conclusion.

[SarahBethSortino]

24 minutes ago, Sigaba said:

 

Agreed. If one thinks that one's persistence may be annoying people, it's likely that others have had the same thought, if not actually reached that conclusion.

For the first of two waitlisted programs, the director specifically asked that I keep in contact with him regarding other acceptances. He also invited me to come up and visit. Plan to go up there in a couple of weeks and probably will out again until then.

[TMP]

1 hour ago, betwixt&between said:

I have been waitlisted at my top choice, and invited to the Welcome Weekend. I responded to let the DGA know I was still interested, and would be attending the Welcome Weekend. Do you think it would be considered out of sorts to ask what the waitlist looks like, or what the department waitlist procedures are? Or should I just suck it up and hope they address it during the Welcome Weekend?

@betwixt&between

Go ahead and ask how the procedure works.  Keep your communication simple-- they know you're interested already.  Ask if there's a clear set ranked waitlist and if so, whre you stand on it.

[Owly01]

4 hours ago, KLZ said:

20 hours is a common way for the graduate school to classify your employee status for payroll purposes. It does not necessarily mean that you will be working 20 hours every week. The amount of work you will have will likely vary by week, with weeks in which they take an exam or turn in a paper being heavier workload weeks, since you will likely be doing most or all of the grading. 

Thank you for the info, KLZ. It sounds like you have some experience with this.

[OHSP]

On 3/10/2017 at 4:42 AM, russianblue said:

Finally broke down and emailed NYU and just received a response. Admissions go out by snail mail, and unfortunately the email is no more precise than saying that admissions are made at the end of February and that decisions go out in mid-to-late March.

I'm not sure of your specific situation but I attended the NYU admitted students visit last weekend -- I received my acceptance by phone in early Feb and then an email followed shortly after, so the email you received seems a bit strange :/ Hopefully there's a waitlist!

[MikeTheFronterizo]

How common is it that universities do not offer tuition remission? I really want to go to my top choice but they take tuition out of my stipend. My stipend is $19500 a year and after tuition it will be $14500. The standard of living is pretty low: rent will be about $500 with utilities included leaving about 950$ for other necessaties. 

I have tried to negotiate with the department and they where only able to give a few thousand dollars extra as a one time award during my fist year. 

Has anyone ever encountered this? 

[Sigaba]

10 hours ago, MikeTheFronterizo said:

How common is it that universities do not offer tuition remission? I really want to go to my top choice but they take tuition out of my stipend. My stipend is $19500 a year and after tuition it will be $14500. The standard of living is pretty low: rent will be about $500 with utilities included leaving about 950$ for other necessaties. 

I have tried to negotiate with the department and they where only able to give a few thousand dollars extra as a one time award during my fist year. 

Has anyone ever encountered this? 

@MikeTheFronterizo I think that you would greatly benefit from rephrasing your question. How common is it that aspiring graduate students get offered a stipend to attend their top choice?

IRT programming your budget, I think you should divide $14,5k by 12, not 10.

$500/month for rent will go farther if you find a roommate/house mate. $708/month for everything else will be enough if you buy a rice cooker, a good fry pan, a coffee machine, and familiarize yourself with all the benefits you get as a graduate student.

Also, I again recommend that you start working on how you phrase things. Most of the communicating you will do as a graduate student will through the written word.  I believe you meant to say that the cost of living is low, not that the standard of living is low.