Fall 2017 Acceptances/Interviews/Rejections Thread

[c11m07]

4 minutes ago, WorldPeaceMaker2010 said:

Do you know how many people got off the waitlist? 

I'm not sure if anyone got off of the waitlist. They were very transparent and communicative about the process and their strategy, and essentially they kept saying that they didn't know how many people they were going to be able to accept if any... and then I received an email on April 15th from the DGS saying "I’m writing to you as someone on the UMass wait list to let you know that, unfortunately, we have filled our 2016 cohort and are not able to accept any more students for the coming year. I’m sorry to bring what may be disappointing news, but wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors." It was a generic email that seemed like it might have been sent to all who were waitlisted, but perhaps I'm wrong about that.

[soci]

Did anyone contact a POI at Princeton during the admissions process? Wondering if not contacting anyone will affect my chances (assuming they haven't sent out all their acceptances already)

[WorldPeaceMaker2010]

3 minutes ago, c11m07 said:

I'm not sure if anyone got off of the waitlist. They were very transparent and communicative about the process and their strategy, and essentially they kept saying that they didn't know how many people they were going to be able to accept if any... and then I received an email on April 15th from the DGS saying "I’m writing to you as someone on the UMass wait list to let you know that, unfortunately, we have filled our 2016 cohort and are not able to accept any more students for the coming year. I’m sorry to bring what may be disappointing news, but wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors." It was a generic email that seemed like it might have been sent to all who were waitlisted, but perhaps I'm wrong about that.

Did you apply there again this cycle? If so, have you heard anything?

[c11m07]

3 minutes ago, soci said:

Did anyone contact a POI at Princeton during the admissions process? Wondering if not contacting anyone will affect my chances (assuming they haven't sent out all their acceptances already)

I didn't contact anyone (and I haven't heard anything yet). I've read a lot of different perspectives about the pros and cons of reaching out ahead of time, and ultimately I decided not to do so (though I've regretted it off and on since sending in my apps). 

[inooradd]

6 minutes ago, c11m07 said:

I didn't contact anyone (and I haven't heard anything yet). I've read a lot of different perspectives about the pros and cons of reaching out ahead of time, and ultimately I decided not to do so (though I've regretted it off and on since sending in my apps). 

What types of cons are there? I imagine if you were considerate about it, it could either do nothing or benefit you. For example, I am dissatisfied with my mediocre GRE scores and, since I feel they are doing more a disservice than good, contacted a few universities to review my application regardless of the scores (e.g. GRE cut off numbers) because I have YEARS of grad school and research experience . I cant imagine they would give your application more negative weight because of this request.

Edited February 13, 2017 by inooradd

[c11m07]

3 minutes ago, WorldPeaceMaker2010 said:

Did you apply there again this cycle? If so, have you heard anything?

I chose to stay away from the four schools I applied to last cycle. There were better fits out there for me once I decided that I was willing to leave New England. Also, I got my undergrad across town (Amherst College), and I decided that I needed a fresh start, which factored into my decision not to reapply. It is early for them still, so I'd try to wait it out, but if time goes by and you're looking to reach out, Millie Thayer was always quick to respond and patient with my requests for information.

[soci]

8 minutes ago, inooradd said:

What types of cons are there? I imagine if you were considerate about it, it could either do nothing or benefit you. For example, I am dissatisfied with my mediocre GRE scores and, since I feel they are doing more a disservice than good, contacted a few universities to review my application regardless of the scores (e.g. GRE cut off numbers) because I have YEARS of grad school and research experience . I cant imagine they would give your application more negative weight because of this request.

I decided not to contact anyone at Princeton because their website was pretty intimidating about how professors are really busy at this time of year (in regards to visiting ahead of time). I also had contacted a professor at Northwestern and felt a little snubbed- she basically just redirected me to the department website and her personal website to get more information about her research. It deterred me from emailing anyone at Princeton because I didn't want to annoy anyone (as the professor at Northwestern seemed annoyed that I emailed her).

Edited February 13, 2017 by soci

[inooradd]

3 minutes ago, soci said:

I decided not to contact anyone at Princeton because their website was pretty intimidating about how professors are really busy at this time of year (in regards to visiting ahead of time). I also had contacted a professor at Northwestern and felt a little snubbed- she basically just redirected me to the department website and her personal website to get more information about her research. It deterred me from emailing anyone at Princeton.

Oh shit. Then yeah, that would definitely deter me too! Luckily all the professors kindly responded and assured me all aspects of the application were being reviewed, and that my application was not being overlooked.

But your experience is different, and I wouldve done the same thing! Thanks!

[WorldPeaceMaker2010]

10 minutes ago, c11m07 said:

I chose to stay away from the four schools I applied to last cycle. There were better fits out there for me once I decided that I was willing to leave New England. Also, I got my undergrad across town (Amherst College), and I decided that I needed a fresh start, which factored into my decision not to reapply. It is early for them still, so I'd try to wait it out, but if time goes by and you're looking to reach out, Millie Thayer was always quick to respond and patient with my requests for information.

Thank you. I go there now in a different dept. so I know they havent decided yet. No idea when though. 

[nbc21]

10 minutes ago, soci said:

I also had contacted a professor at Northwestern and felt a little snubbed- she basically just redirected me to the department website and her personal website to get more information about her research. It deterred me from emailing anyone at Princeton because I didn't want to annoy anyone (as the professor at Northwestern seemed annoyed that I emailed her).

Lol I think I know which professor you're talking about; she's actually really, really nice and helpful, just incredibly busy. If we're thinking about the same person, every time I've emailed her I've gotten a nice response, but I made sure that it was a directed email asking a specific thing.

[inooradd]

3 minutes ago, nbc21 said:

Lol I think I know which professor you're talking about; she's actually really, really nice and helpful, just incredibly busy. If we're thinking about the same person, every time I've emailed her I've gotten a nice response, but I made sure that it was a directed email asking a specific thing.

HAHAHAHA

[c11m07]

11 minutes ago, inooradd said:

What types of cons are there? I imagine if you were considerate about it, it could either do nothing or benefit you. For example, I am dissatisfied with my mediocre GRE scores and, since I feel they are doing more a disservice than good, contacted a few universities to review my application regardless of the scores (e.g. GRE cut off numbers) because I have YEARS of grad school and research experience . I cant imagine they would give your application more negative weight because of this request.

If you're interested in different perspectives about this, take a look at the discussion here. It can be interesting how people fall on different sides of this issue: https://www.quora.com/How-does-contacting-a-professor-before-applying-factor-into-graduate-admissions

I agree with your inclination that it wouldn't give your application significant negative weight in general (unless the email sent was remarkably offensive in some way I guess!), but for me a large part of it was my own pros/cons-- I knew that a generic email was oftentimes seen as annoying, I was scrambling to get my apps in and wanted to dedicate myself to polishing them, and I purposefully picked programs that were a good fit for my interests such that there were 3-5 professors per school that I could see myself working with (so it was less important that one or two professors in particular be available to work with). If you're applying to a small department or you have uncommon research interests or you have your heart set on working with a specific individual, then I think in those cases you have more of a reason to email. Again, I don't think it damages an applicant's chances, but for me I ultimately decided to try to really focus on individualizing my SOP for each school instead. 

[Aucitronvert]

Oh my gosh. Three rejections posted from Boston U and I've heard nothing, I keep checking my spam folder and all that lies there are Russian women and empty promises.  

[inooradd]

8 minutes ago, c11m07 said:

If you're interested in different perspectives about this, take a look at the discussion here. It can be interesting how people fall on different sides of this issue: https://www.quora.com/How-does-contacting-a-professor-before-applying-factor-into-graduate-admissions

 

Oh my god. Thank you so much for this. I didn't realize this was such a dense, thorough, holistic process. Although this is poster is from Stanford, I hope all universities are doing this,

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[songofgallifrey]

21 minutes ago, soci said:

I decided not to contact anyone at Princeton because their website was pretty intimidating about how professors are really busy at this time of year (in regards to visiting ahead of time). I also had contacted a professor at Northwestern and felt a little snubbed- she basically just redirected me to the department website and her personal website to get more information about her research. It deterred me from emailing anyone at Princeton because I didn't want to annoy anyone (as the professor at Northwestern seemed annoyed that I emailed her).

i reached out to one of my poi's at princeton before submitting and was sent a pretty generic "we get too many emails to reply individually but here's a list of the stuff i'm currently working on" in return. after having a similar experience with a poi at harvard who just forwarded my email to the department admin, i got intimidated too and stopped trying to touch base with them. my poi at minnesota was very happy to get an email from me, though, so it seems like it depends very much on the school.

i contacted a program admin at princeton about decision timing recently, and she just said all applications were under review and they would send decisions by march 15. so no new information there.

[chloens]

Hi! I am new to this. I applied to the Public Health Policy and Management PhD program at UNC on January 1, 2017. Haven't heard back yet.

Edited February 13, 2017 by chloens

[inooradd]

3 minutes ago, chloens said:

Hi! I am new to this. I applied to the Public Health Policy and Management PhD program at UNC on January 1, 2017. Haven't heard back yet.

@chloensWrong thread. I think this is for Sociology.

[oldacct]

9 minutes ago, songofgallifrey said:

i reached out to one of my poi's at princeton before submitting and was sent a pretty generic "we get too many emails to reply individually but here's a list of the stuff i'm currently working on" in return. after having a similar experience with a poi at harvard who just forwarded my email to the department admin, i got intimidated too and stopped trying to touch base with them. my poi at minnesota was very happy to get an email from me, though, so it seems like it depends very much on the school.

i contacted a program admin at princeton about decision timing recently, and she just said all applications were under review and they would send decisions by march 15. so no new information there.

To echo many of us here, I did not reach out to any POIs at Princeton either. Hoping for news soon... good news that is.  ?

[ccchezmereldaaa]

2 hours ago, inooradd said:

I am noticing a lot of people being either rejected or wait listed. Although I have encountered 3 rejections, I am not getting any wait lists. Do they notify you of when you are wait listed? I ask because I am assuming that my low rates rejections might imply I am potentially being considered. However, wouldnt a consideration imply some sort of wait list? But if i am not being notified of a wait list, does that mean I am not being considered? Perhaps the programs I applied to dont particularly wait list and this logic doesnt apply.

 

Applied 12/12

 

Brandeis, UT Austin, UC irvine, UMD, UVA, GMU, UPenn (Sociology)

 

Chicago, BC, and Commonwealth (Social Work)

 

UMD, Loyola Chicago (Research methods)

 

Interviewed 1/12 (Loyola Chicago)

 

Accepted 0/12

 

Declined 3/12 (UT Austin, UMD (MSE), UMD (Sociology))

 

I applied to UT Austin as well, but haven't had a single communication from them yet. Would you mind me asking when you heard back from them?

[inooradd]

17 minutes ago, ccchezmereldaaa said:

I applied to UT Austin as well, but haven't had a single communication from them yet. Would you mind me asking when you heard back from them?

Sure. I heard from them on Friday February 3 at 2am. However, this was for Sociology. You look you are from a different program, and perhaps they have a different procedure?

[nbc21]

NYU folks: looks like you guys were all emailed on Saturday by a professor. Was this a professor you'd identified in your statement/ had reached out to, or a member of the admissions committee?

[mcpphu]

If University of Michigan is sending out acceptances for joint soc. and social work today, doesn't that mean that they should send out the soc. acceptances today or tomorrow too?! Wishful thinking maybe...

[HighlyCaffeinated]

How common is news on weekends? I had always assumed I wouldn't hear anything on weekends, but the last two weekends seem to have been full of news for others. 

[theorynetworkculture]

1 hour ago, nbc21 said:

NYU folks: looks like you guys were all emailed on Saturday by a professor. Was this a professor you'd identified in your statement/ had reached out to, or a member of the admissions committee?

He was not someone I identified in my SOP, but his work is of tangential interest. I imagine he must have been on the admissions committee, but he wasn't the DGS.

[csot]

1 hour ago, HighlyCaffeinated said:

How common is news on weekends? I had always assumed I wouldn't hear anything on weekends, but the last two weekends seem to have been full of news for others. 

It's less common but still happens. A couple of schools sent out weekend notifications last year too.