How do I do this?

[MemphisMeli]

So, I've seen that some of the applicants for University of Memphis have begun receiving phone calls for interviews. I currently attend UofM and have only applied there for grad school due to not being able to relocate. Here's my problem, I am currently an RA with one of my POI's and will see them on Thursday. They are NOT the type of person that you simply ask "so... hey, what about me?" But I also know I have ZERO poker face. How do I get through the lab meeting without potentially destroying my chances? Technically I do not have to be at the meeting since classes have not started, but I have been trying to make a good impression by attending all the meetings I have been in town for, including tomorrows. 

 

Any suggestions? With ANY amount of luck, someone will call me today and I won't have to worry about it, but I'm not holding my breath. Please help!

Edited January 11, 2017 by MemphisMeli

[GeorgeC07]

Don't ask anything then, just be yourself like usual. In many schools, the admission committee is made up of professor emeriti and retired tenure professors, since they know almost anything in their fields. Usually the professors who can recruit graduate students have little say in admitting which applicant, so even if you ask your POI, he or she probably can't give you any concrete response. But they know you've applied, and they know how good you are, so that's your advantage. Just be yourself, and don't appear to be pushy. It's gonna be fine if you just treat this group meeting just like previous meetings.

[koutlilor]

@GeorgeC07 I'm very confident that admissions committees are not made up of exclusively retired or emeriti professors. There also will probably be a senior graduate student or two on the committee and multiple current professors. Also, the POI you want to work with will have immense sway in the decision to admit you or not. If he/she/they wants to work with you, they will make sure you are admitted. Maybe that is not so in your field, but in the Liberal Arts/Social Sciences/Fine Arts, that is how the process works.

[GeorgeC07]

1 hour ago, koutlilor said:

@GeorgeC07 I'm very confident that admissions committees are not made up of exclusively retired or emeriti professors. There also will probably be a senior graduate student or two on the committee and multiple current professors. Also, the POI you want to work with will have immense sway in the decision to admit you or not. If he/she/they wants to work with you, they will make sure you are admitted. Maybe that is not so in your field, but in the Liberal Arts/Social Sciences/Fine Arts, that is how the process works.

Yeah I found the decision making process quite puzzling. My friend at MIT told me what I posted above and suggested that I not bother contacting the professors in advance. And then other phd students told me to keep on with emailing the POIs even after submitting the applications. And then I found out that one school simply let the professors make the decisions and told me if one of them offers me GRA, I would be admitted. It seems that it's not just due to different fields, even the same programs at different schools have different mechanisms. But I don't bother myself with these anymore, I'm already so anxious.  

BTW, do you know whether UT Austin have sent out their admissions? Then again, this question is more or less meaningless since different programs have different dates. 

[rising_star]

Just pretend like you weren't on thegradcafe at all. That is, that you know nothing about whether other applicants have heard anything or not. It's at most a month since applications were submitted, which isn't really a lot of time at all. Go to the meeting and behave as you typically would, whether that's being silent, asking questions, providing an update on whatever it is you're working on, etc.

[koutlilor]

@GeorgeC07 I actually have no idea. I'm in anthropology, not engineering. But I also have been back at work at UT since January 2nd and it feels like no one has been back on campus yet...

[GeorgeC07]

2 minutes ago, koutlilor said:

@GeorgeC07 I actually have no idea. I'm in anthropology, not engineering. But I also have been back at work at UT since January 2nd and it feels like no one has been back on campus yet...

Ah it's been so long since I submitted the application to UT, and no news at all. They have the earliest deadline and it makes me wonder how many applicants on earth they have.