Professor decided to move | Should/Can I follow?

[compscian]

Guys, I am freaking out. I just heard from my potential adviser that he is moving to another university. The irony is that I was actually admitted to the university he is moving to, but I decided to accept UW's offer because I wanted to work with him. My understanding is that he got the offer and accepted it after April 15th.

Can I write to the new university asking them if they can give me the offer again, and explain that I will accept and come because of my adviser moving there. Would they hold it against me for rejecting their offer earlier? Also, if I do this, and I don't get a positive response, I'll feel miserable going to the other university. They will obviously know that I tried to move, and am not very happy here. I am very interested in working with this professor - he was very enthusiastic while recruiting me. I have also been doing some work with him (reading assignments and some exercises) from May, and he has been giving me constant feedback every two weeks or so.

I'm really torn as to how to proceed. As a city and department in general, I like both the places. The only differentiating factor was my adviser. I'll feel gutted if I don't get back the offer  

Edited June 21, 2016 by compscian

[fuzzylogician]

I would talk to your potential advisor about this and see if you can recruit him to help you with moving to this other school. I also think that you have nothing to lose by contacting that school to ask if there is any chance that you could still accept their offer, even though you rejected it previously, because the fact that this professor is moving there (which you were not aware of at the time of making the decision) has made them now your top choice. At some schools this may still be possible, but none of us here can tell you. If you do this, it's better to have this professor's support. Either way, there should be a way to do this discreetly in such a way that the current school whose offer you accepted does not need to know. If and when you have this other acceptance and you choose to go to your advisor's new school, then you can politely let the old school know and explain that it's all about this professor. If done in a professional manner, any reasonable person should understand. 

Edit: If I remember correctly, at my old PhD school July 1 was an important deadline for some fiscal matters. I'd see if you can look into as soon as you can, in case some budgets are finalized over the summer and can't be changed later (or at least, it would be easier to change them now than later). 

Edited June 21, 2016 by fuzzylogician

[compscian]

@fuzzylogician @TakeruK Thank you so much for the response.

The professor is currently attending a premiere conference and wants to talk this Saturday. I'll bring up these issues when we talk.

There are a few issues I am very anxious about. Firstly, if I contact the new school, and even if the current one doesn't know about it, I will personally know that the new place is a better fit for me. This will definitely affect my performance if I am not allowed to accept again and have to go with the old school. The new school is actually more reputed overall (but same in my field). I went with the lower ranked school specifically for a better research fit. Now, this school isn't the best fit for me, and I have also let go of a stronger department (esp with the move of this prof).

Also, I'm an international student, and have completed a good chunk of the visa process. If I switch places now, it might lead to a bureaucratic mess or very long processing time. The stress is going to kill me.. But this is less of an issue compared to the above. I feel devastated and hesitant to discuss this with anyone. My parents have a number of health issues already, and I'm really scared of what might happen to them if I break this suddenly. This just puts a lot more pressure on me to somehow make it work

I understand that you can't make accurate predictions. But, have you seen situations like these before? Will universities make offers open again under circumstances like these? I'm really anxious and have already asked for a week of leave. This might just be the worst week of my life yet!

[TakeruK]

7 hours ago, compscian said:

@fuzzylogician @TakeruK Thank you so much for the response.

The professor is currently attending a premiere conference and wants to talk this Saturday. I'll bring up these issues when we talk.

There are a few issues I am very anxious about. Firstly, if I contact the new school, and even if the current one doesn't know about it, I will personally know that the new place is a better fit for me. This will definitely affect my performance if I am not allowed to accept again and have to go with the old school. The new school is actually more reputed overall (but same in my field). I went with the lower ranked school specifically for a better research fit. Now, this school isn't the best fit for me, and I have also let go of a stronger department (esp with the move of this prof).

Also, I'm an international student, and have completed a good chunk of the visa process. If I switch places now, it might lead to a bureaucratic mess or very long processing time. The stress is going to kill me.. But this is less of an issue compared to the above. I feel devastated and hesitant to discuss this with anyone. My parents have a number of health issues already, and I'm really scared of what might happen to them if I break this suddenly. This just puts a lot more pressure on me to somehow make it work

I understand that you can't make accurate predictions. But, have you seen situations like these before? Will universities make offers open again under circumstances like these? I'm really anxious and have already asked for a week of leave. This might just be the worst week of my life yet!

Hi there (I don't think I responded originally, but I do second everything fuzzy said).

I understand your anxiety but it is worth it, trust me. In Canada, it is normal to attend different schools for a Masters and PhD and while the research fit at my Masters was great, the school itself lacked many opportunities and now that I am at a PhD program in the US, I am a lot happier in every way!

For your first issue, I think you know that what you are worried about does not make a lot of sense, right? You are saying that you are worried about failing to get into a place that is a better fit for you? If you follow that logic all the way through, you should never apply to any schools that interest you, you should never apply for fellowships, grants, or postdocs, or even jobs that you might want because of the risk of not getting it. I understand that it's scary to try for something and then not achieve it.

That said, I can sympathize! Honestly, I'm feeling a little bit of it myself....I will be applying for jobs this fall and I've been procrastinating looking deeper into the fellowships I want to apply to for similar reasons. But, we all know that in the end, we have to take risks in order to get what we want. 

Second, about the visa process, it's just red tape and bureaucracy. You are going to be a little bit more stressed over the summer, but it will really be worth it for you to have a chance at being at a school that sounds like the superior fit in all ways.

Third, yes, I have seen situations like this before. It happens more often than you might think! I know that at my current US school, all admission offers are actually valid for up to 1 year, even if you already turned them down. 

So, I highly highly encourage you to contact this other school and see what can be done. Do it today!! As fuzzy said, time is of the essence because budgets and plans for the next year may be closing soon. However, even if it's too late to switch schools for Fall 2016, you can and should ask about Fall 2017. Maybe they don't have space this year but they can make their previous offer to you valid for next year. I would say it is well worth it to wait a year for the right school than to go to a less ideal school for you. If they can't reserve a spot for you, maybe it's better to just apply again for next fall. 

I think you have a lot of factors that indicate that there is a good chance that something good will happen for you if you ask about it. If you don't ask then you have zero chance of it  working out. So, go and do it

[rising_star]

Yes, I've seen situations like this. It's entirely up to the new school and will probably depend on what funding they still have available. They may have given your offer and funding to someone on their waiting list already. Were I in your shoes, I would not contact the new school yet. Rather, I'd wait to talk to your prospective advisor because they may have inside information on the funding situation at the new school and whether it would be possible for you to join. Until then, I wouldn't worry about it (though I realize that's easier said than done!).

[compscian]

@TakeruK and @rising_star Thanks for your comments.

I am planning to wait till we talk (Saturday) before contacting the university (on Monday). I hope it won't be too late. If this conference were not around, I am sure we would have talked sooner. What really bugs me is that this professor was very interested in recruiting me, and I'd attribute his presence as the factor that swayed my decision towards UW.

I'm just praying he doesn't leave me stranded. We had a good rapport, and in fact even started laying down the foundations for my project through reading assignments and implementations of published results. But I can sympathize with his decision - he got his PhD from this univ, went out and made a name for himself, and is returning back to his alma mater. At times like this, you can't help but feel that world works in mysterious ways to screw you over backwards  

[compscian]

@TakeruK and @rising_star Thought I should update you.

I talked to the professor, and he is supportive of me moving. However, the department would be unable to process my offer for this Fall due to administrative issues. After considering all possibilities, I am sticking with my original plan. I will be working with this professor remotely -- he has made the same arrangement for a few of his current students. I'll have a co-adviser in this university (there are 2 others who do related work). He has also agreed to the possibility that if I really want to work with him, and if the project in the first year works out well, I can transfer to the other program.

[TakeruK]

It's nice when people come back with updates Thanks for doing that!

It sounds like there is a good middle ground solution and I hope it works out for you. It sounds like the advisor was the only difference between the two programs and this solution removes that difference! Good luck on your first year!

[rising_star]

Thanks for the update, @compscian. I'm glad you've found a workable solution. Good luck!