Welcome to the 2016-17 cycle!

[HermioneWannabe]

3 minutes ago, Comparativist said:

No. Stanford is all over the place. 

If I ever rule the world I'll declare that all grad schools must release decisions on the same day, so people know when to expect decisions and understand all of their options at one time.  Who's with me?

[gc_user]

5 minutes ago, sharklotte said:

Based on past results, can we safely assume that Stanford results won't come out until Wednesday or Thursday? 

I suspect Stanford will come later this week.

[Kenga]

7 minutes ago, RevTheory1126 said:

My personal favorite is still a response to rejection: "uncalled for!"

Yeah! That was a great one too. 
Like anybody "called" for their rejection?  

 

6 minutes ago, gc_user said:

I suspect Stanford will come later this week.

In the last few years, Stanford has been more towards the later weeks of February. Last year, they were around the 15th, but that was by far the earliest they send out acceptances. Usually, they are more around the 20th.

[VMcJ]

4 minutes ago, HermioneWannabe said:

If I ever rule the world I'll declare that all grad schools must release decisions on the same day, so people know when to expect decisions and understand all of their options at one time.  Who's with me?

You couldn't enforce it appropriately. And some side effects would be undesirable: higher costs for applying to more competitive programs, less space for negotiations, a ton of information dumped on yourself simultaneously, etc.

[tkid86]

I think UMD might come this week. Probably closer toward the end of the week.

[Monody]

How awful of an idea is it to ask a POI something along the lines of how do you compare your program with these others and why should I pick yours given these interests and goals?

[guest56436]

59 minutes ago, Kenga said:

In the last few years, Stanford has been more towards the later weeks of February. Last year, they were around the 15th, but that was by far the earliest they send out acceptances. Usually, they are more around the 20th.

I think you might be a bit confused.

Last year their results were on the 10th, the year before that the 28th of January. The year before that, Feb 20th.

So yeah, all over the place.

[HermioneWannabe]

52 minutes ago, Monody said:

How awful of an idea is it to ask a POI something along the lines of how do you compare your program with these others and why should I pick yours given these interests and goals?

I think you have every right to ask this question and it shows you're serious about your goals.

[terefere]

1 hour ago, Monody said:

How awful of an idea is it to ask a POI something along the lines of how do you compare your program with these others and why should I pick yours given these interests and goals?

This is a very good idea. I did that during my visits last year. In fact, I also specifically targeted professors who got their PhDs from the other school I was considering as these were the people who were most familiar with the relative strength and weaknesses of both programs. I got honest answers.

[BillyJoel182]

I am not so sure whether a Professor at Columbia would be understanding in case you asked her/him to explain to you what the comparative advantage of their PhD program vis a vis the one of Penn State (if I recall correctly) is. Some choices in life are tough, but this really is not one of them?

If both schools were in the same tier (or if there were a difference of one) it would be fine to ask, but Columbia vs. Penn State? Please elaborate for me why this would be a tough choice Of course, you could be asking the people at Penn State about the respective strengths of their PhD program. But from my experience, I would not count on getting "unbiased information". Anyways, I am really happy for you that you got in those programs!

Edited February 13, 2017 by BillyJoel182

[Kenga]

I would go with @BillyJoel182: don't expect unbiased information. Also, consider that the POI's might not know another program as well as theirs even if they went there for their PhD (that usually happened a long time ago). Rather focus on asking the POI on the strengths of his current program and grill the current grad students on the advantages and disadvantages of their program. Although disadvantages might be easier to talk about in person during the visit.
If you haven't been contacted/been put into contact with a current graduate student at the university, ask for it from the program director. Usually, they are more than happy to do so. The advantage is that you get the student's point of view and get insight that might actually affect you rather than potentially biased opinions from a POI who might not know all the aspects of a particular program. Students can also help you with getting a vibe of the program and whether it is a fit socially. POIs are rarely in the position to comment on that.

[Monody]

Well, I just asked (not at Columbia, but at PennState). Even though the answer may not be unbiased, I am nonetheless quite curious about their perspective in the case that I were to get an acceptance at MIT or Stanford and would have to decide between Columbia and one of them?

Edited February 13, 2017 by Monody

[sociology27]

Jesus when is this penn rejection gonna come? I got other shit to be disappointed about. Cmon people. It's almost Valentine's Day. 

And to Columbia and NYU. I know the answer is no, but let's just make it official. I just want this to be done. 

 

[RevTheory1126]

Claiming a Brown rejection, email sent to check the portal for decision.

Bummed, but not too worked up. Providence would have been fun.

[Mike_Novick]

1 hour ago, RevTheory1126 said:

Claiming a Brown rejection, email sent to check the portal for decision.

Bummed, but not too worked up. Providence would have been fun.

Same here. But I thought Brown was my best bet. Harsh letter, btw.

Having a fantastic performance so far. And what annoys me the most is that a have absolutely no idea why things are going so terribly wrong.

Edited February 13, 2017 by Mike_Novick

[jazzmintea]

51 minutes ago, RevTheory1126 said:

Claiming a Brown rejection, email sent to check the portal for decision.

Bummed, but not too worked up. Providence would have been fun.

Me too. Wasnt expecting to hear from Brown this soon.

[magicdonhuang]

What are we to make of the Irvine acceptance? The portal doesn't tell me anything at this point and they haven't sent out any emails?

[ugurcanevci]

32 minutes ago, magicdonhuang said:

What are we to make of the Irvine acceptance? The portal doesn't tell me anything at this point and they haven't sent out any emails?

Well the portal explicitly states that we'd receive an email in case of admission. So, seems like a troll. 

 

Have you had an interview and an invitation to March 3 meeting day?

Edited February 14, 2017 by ugurcanevci

[magicdonhuang]

8 minutes ago, ugurcanevci said:

Have you had an interview and an invitation to March 3 meeting day?

No interview and no invitation. I have had some contact with the DGA via email about my application which gave me some hope but I'm left to assume the worst since I haven't been invited to the meet at this time.

[RevTheory1126]

2 hours ago, Mike_Novick said:

Same here. But I thought Brown was my best bet. Harsh letter, btw.

Having a fantastic performance so far. And what annoys me the most is that a have absolutely no idea why things are going so terribly wrong.

Yeah, it was a bit mechanical, but I really didn't expect much from them... Pulling for you, @Mike_Novick.

[GradNYC]

2 hours ago, Mike_Novick said:

Same here. But I thought Brown was my best bet. Harsh letter, btw.

Having a fantastic performance so far. And what annoys me the most is that a have absolutely no idea why things are going so terribly wrong.

Whats the deal with Columbia? they sent out rejections to some but not others.. ahhhh 

[CarefreeWritingsontheWall]

On 2/13/2017 at 2:19 PM, Monody said:

Well, I just asked (not at Columbia, but at PennState). Even though the answer may not be unbiased, I am nonetheless quite curious about their perspective in the case that I were to get an acceptance at MIT or Stanford and would have to decide between Columbia and one of them?

I was in this boat last year actually (deciding between Princeton, UPenn, GWU and WashU). I think my perspective was a little different since I was less concerned with the overall ranking of the department/program, and far more concerned with the individual people I would be working with. My closest mentors said the decision was crystal clear, an absolute no contest but for me it wasn't immediately evident because GWU had amazing people I could work with, and their placement record in recent years has been fantastic. I also go along extremely well with everyone I met, as well as the graduate students. I also really loved DC. 

I was torn, because I wanted to go somewhere where I could write the best dissertation, and that stemmed first and foremost from mentorship. I asked every professor I met with, no matter the institution, very blunt questions. Who was leaving. What was funding like for fieldwork, or research on top of the stipend. What was their hiring strategy. What was their long run plan as a department in terms of goals. What was it like for women in the department there. What was the teaching load like. What were courses like. What research opportunities were there out of coursework, as an RA, or as a co-author with faculty. I asked the same of current graduate students and I was told very honest, unbiased information about the state of affairs, and some other surprising details about hiring strategies (or lack thereof...). Four months in, everything they said is true (for better or worse). 

Faculty genuinely don't want to "fool" you into picking their program because you're all the more likely to be miserable, less productive and reflect poorly on them if you find yourself in a situation you didn't expect. I did openly ask programs why I should pick them over a top 3 and they gave strong answers. Everyone was also open about why I shouldn't pick them (another good question to ask, albeit a blunt one).

I didn't decline offers until I was sure of where I wanted to go, which was admittedly quite close to the April 15th deadline but evident to me as soon as I was in the airport heading back after my last visit. Don't feel compelled to turn someone down. Consider your options carefully. Happy to talk more over PM as well. 

 

[deactivatedaccount]

3 hours ago, Mike_Novick said:

Same here. But I thought Brown was my best bet. Harsh letter, btw.

Having a fantastic performance so far. And what annoys me the most is that a have absolutely no idea why things are going so terribly wrong.

I also noticed how exceptionally harsh their letter was hahaha. Usually the wordier they are, the more they're trying to be gentle on people's feelings, but Brown's was wordy and still straight up mean.

[Mike_Novick]

26 minutes ago, RevTheory1126 said:

Yeah, it was a bit mechanical, but I really didn't expect much from them... Pulling for you, @Mike_Novick.

Thanks! Best of luck for you as well!

[magicdonhuang]

3 minutes ago, hyacinthus said:

I also noticed how exceptionally harsh their letter was hahaha. Usually the wordier they are, the more they're trying to be gentle on people's feelings, but Brown's was wordy and still straight up mean.

Could you elaborate? Not for any reason other than morbid curiosity.... Did they tell you that your "application" set of a round of continuous laughter in the admissions committee? Did they tell you they threw it in the trash while making jokes with each other about how this person could ever think their credentials qualified them to even apply to the illustrious Brown University?