Decision Dates

gradapp2015 · Post by **gradapp2015** » Thu Dec 25, 2014 4:40 pm

Anyone know what the earliest people tend to hear back from PhD programs would be? I've applied to places like Harvard, Berkeley, and the rest of the top 10, along with places like Wisconsin, Maryland, Colorado, UCLA, etc. I assume the end of January would be if the schools really want me, what is the general rule of thumb here? It's very hard to tell from past acceptance threads, since the information there is so spread out.

seeyouauntie · Post by **seeyouauntie** » Thu Dec 25, 2014 5:01 pm

From what I've seen, late January/early February is the earliest time people start getting acceptances. After that I think acceptances go out in waves to insure that the universities don't admit too many people. I think that lasts for maybe two months and then they send out rejections. Of course every school is different, but that seems to be what most universities tend to do.

flobadobadie · Post by **flobadobadie** » Thu Dec 25, 2014 5:02 pm

You can find out on gradcafe

TakeruK · Post by **TakeruK** » Thu Dec 25, 2014 6:57 pm

The profile threads provide some information but as you said, there is no easy way to see them all for one school together. GradCafe's "Results Search" is a very handy tool and allows you to see trends from years past too.

gradapp2015 · Post by **gradapp2015** » Tue Dec 30, 2014 5:55 pm

It looks like some chemistry PhD candidates have been receiving acceptances, according to The Grad Cafe. Any chance physics programs might start accepting people very early in January?

blackmass · Post by **blackmass** » Tue Dec 30, 2014 6:24 pm

gradapp2015 wrote:It looks like some chemistry PhD candidates have been receiving acceptances, according to The Grad Cafe. Any chance physics programs might start accepting people very early in January?

According to gradcafe, Ohio State has already sent out an acceptance. That's for astronomy, though. And from last year, it looks like people were hearing back with acceptances as early as mid-January for some places.

gradapp2015 · Post by **gradapp2015** » Thu Jan 01, 2015 7:05 pm

Looks like Chemistry PhD programs are getting back to lots of people right now (source: grad cafe)... Wish physics would follow suit.

gradapp2015 · Post by **gradapp2015** » Sat Jan 03, 2015 8:04 pm

And now Ohio State astrophysics! Anyone know if that's technically the same department as physics, or separate?

kangaroo · Post by **kangaroo** » Sun Jan 04, 2015 10:59 am

It's too early now, you'll have to be patient. The start of results season is probably the last week of Jan. East coast admissions typically peak by middle of Feb, and West coast admissions typically around 1st week of March as a general rule of thumb.

RonaldoMcDonaldo · Post by **RonaldoMcDonaldo** » Sun Jan 04, 2015 2:01 pm

Calm your ***. You likely won't hear anything back from any of the universities in January. If you are a particularly strong candidate and you applied to a school with an extremely early deadline then you might hear something as early as Jan 15th but, for the most part, the earliest notifications will come in early to mid February.

gradapp2015 · Post by **gradapp2015** » Sun Jan 04, 2015 2:24 pm

I'm just trying to make this year's "Acceptances 2015" thread, so you guys should calm down. It's a huge resource to have this all compiled in one place as a historical record for future years.

RonaldoMcDonaldo · Post by **RonaldoMcDonaldo** » Sun Jan 04, 2015 4:29 pm

gradapp2015 wrote:I'm just trying to make this year's "Acceptances 2015" thread, so you guys should calm down. It's a huge resource to have this all compiled in one place as a historical record for future years.

I think you need to calm down.

gradapp2015 · Post by **gradapp2015** » Sun Jan 04, 2015 5:33 pm

There is a precedent for starting the thread around very early January (see the 2012 thread as an exaple of this). Before I discovered that, I was curious and thus jumped the gun by a week, but I don't think that is unreasonable.

basik156 · Post by **basik156** » Fri Jan 09, 2015 2:58 pm

RonaldoMcDonaldo wrote:Calm your ***. You likely won't hear anything back from any of the universities in January. If you are a particularly strong candidate and you applied to a school with an extremely early deadline then you might hear something as early as Jan 15th but, for the most part, the earliest notifications will come in early to mid February.

This is simply not true. I know someone who has heard back from Kansas State University, and their deadline was the normal Dec 15.

RonaldoMcDonaldo · Post by **RonaldoMcDonaldo** » Fri Jan 09, 2015 3:16 pm

basik156 wrote:
RonaldoMcDonaldo wrote:Calm your ***. You likely won't hear anything back from any of the universities in January. If you are a particularly strong candidate and you applied to a school with an extremely early deadline then you might hear something as early as Jan 15th but, for the most part, the earliest notifications will come in early to mid February.
This is simply not true. I know someone who has heard back from Kansas State University, and their deadline was the normal Dec 15.

Did you miss the part about an early deadline? Also, Dec 15 is not a particularly common deadline. If gradschoolshopper is to be believed, a little under 10 programs have a Dec 15th deadline or earlier.

Besides, I agreed that there might be some instances of early acceptances (i.e. in January) but that it wouldn't be the norm. One person getting into Kansas in January doesn't disprove with what I said.

seeyouauntie · Post by **seeyouauntie** » Fri Jan 09, 2015 5:09 pm

Two of the three schools I applied to had deadlines on or before December 15th. I know three isn't a large sample size, but I was under the impression that early December deadlines aren't too uncommon.

gradapp2015 · Post by **gradapp2015** » Fri Jan 09, 2015 5:16 pm

Of 12-13 schools I applied to, at least 9 or 10 had December 15th (and one 16th) deadlines... I do think that is a very common one.

gradapp2015 · Post by **gradapp2015** » Sat Jan 10, 2015 11:53 am

University of Washington and University of Toronto have sent out first round acceptances.

djh101 · Post by **djh101** » Sat Jan 10, 2015 10:02 pm

Does anyone know anything about Colorado State? They claim that their departmental pre-applications act on a rolling application basis.

RonaldoMcDonaldo · Post by **RonaldoMcDonaldo** » Sat Jan 10, 2015 10:28 pm

djh101 wrote:Does anyone know anything about Colorado State? They claim that their departmental pre-applications act on a rolling application basis.

On their webpage they say:

The application deadline for full consideration for Fall 2014 admissions is Feb. 1, 2014. Applications received after the deadline will be considered as they come in until all positions are filled.

And if you look at thegradcafe.com, acceptances are all over the place. Some as early as January 15th and some as late March 5th.

What I suspect is that they have a deadline in the traditional sense set as Feb 1st but that they call it "rolling" application because they will gladly consider students who apply late but are exceptional.

djh101 · Post by **djh101** » Sun Jan 11, 2015 12:24 am

On their FAQ they have the following:

Code: Select all

We offer admissions on a “rolling” basis. What this means is that at any given meeting of the graduate admissions committee, we consider all complete applications that are on file and decide to accept, decline, or defer the application.

I'm hoping the February deadline is with respect to the preapplication because they tell you not to submit the general application until they give you their preapplication decision. I'll probably email them next week.

RonaldoMcDonaldo · Post by **RonaldoMcDonaldo** » Sun Jan 11, 2015 11:32 pm

djh101 wrote:On their FAQ they have the following:
Code: Select all
We offer admissions on a “rolling” basis. What this means is that at any given meeting of the graduate admissions committee, we consider all complete applications that are on file and decide to accept, decline, or defer the application.
I'm hoping the February deadline is with respect to the preapplication because they tell you not to submit the general application until they give you their preapplication decision. I'll probably email them next week.

I'm fairly certain that what they call the "pre-application" is really just the same thing as the "application" as every other school calls it. You provide them all your grades, letters of recommendation, etc in the pre-application. They say in their "How do I Apply" section that if you are recommended for admission then you submit the "Official Graduate School Application". So basically, fill out the "pre-application" and provide all the materials prior to February 1st. If you get in then they'll let you know and have you fill out another set of forms which they call the "Official" application.

blackmass · Post by **blackmass** » Tue Jan 13, 2015 1:13 pm

UC Berkeley has sent out at least one interview offer for astro, according to grad cafe.

gradapp2015 · Post by **gradapp2015** » Tue Jan 13, 2015 2:09 pm

According to GradCafe records, last year's first big set of acceptances for physics was 1/16-1/17, and if the same pattern is followed this year, those days correspond to the 15th and 16th of this week (ie, the Thursday/ Friday of the second full week of January). Chicago and Michigan were pretty early last year.

shep23 · Post by **shep23** » Tue Jan 13, 2015 5:42 pm

Stop dude you're making me nervous. Let me live in blissful ignorance

flobadobadie · Post by **flobadobadie** » Wed Jan 14, 2015 7:23 pm

People have minor panic attacks because they realise they haven't checked their emails for half an hour. I do feel that whatever is coming, is imminent. Panic mortals, panic.

gradapp2015 · Post by **gradapp2015** » Wed Jan 14, 2015 8:29 pm

Michigan has sent out first round of acceptances.

djh101 · Post by **djh101** » Thu Jan 15, 2015 4:47 am

How does Washington get their responses out so quickly? Their deadline is January 5 but it seems like they're one of the earliest responders (lots of mid-late January responses).

Catria · Post by **Catria** » Thu Jan 15, 2015 1:30 pm

Wouldn't the "no-brainer rejects" also be sent out with the first round of acceptances? I would then be glad not to be one of those rejects...

astro_orion · Post by **astro_orion** » Thu Jan 15, 2015 6:08 pm

Catria wrote:Wouldn't the "no-brainer rejects" also be sent out with the first round of acceptances? I would then be glad not to be one of those rejects...

unfortunately I think the standard is to hold off all rejections until after at least the first round

TakeruK · Post by **TakeruK** » Fri Jan 16, 2015 2:23 am

I would say that it gives the University almost no benefit to notifying obvious rejections early. I think this is because 1) rejections take time and effort to send so it makes more sense to just do them all at once and 2) they might get responses from the rejected candidates asking for reasons etc. and at this stage of the application process, their time and effort is better spent on coordinating interviews and/or visits for those accepted. I think the most common time for the rejections is shortly after the visit/interview dates are planned, then they can reject everyone that is not likely to make it on a waitlist at least. But some schools do not reject anyone until they actually fill the class, just in case. And yet still more schools never give you a decision at all, or not until well after April 15.

djh101 · Post by **djh101** » Fri Jan 16, 2015 3:07 pm

Accepted to New Mexico! I don't care what U.S. News ranks them, it's still one of my top picks.

wompwomp · Post by **wompwomp** » Fri Jan 16, 2015 3:37 pm

djh101 wrote:Accepted to New Mexico! I don't care what U.S. News ranks them, it's still one of my top picks.

Congratulations!

djh101 · Post by **djh101** » Fri Jan 16, 2015 3:41 pm

wompwomp wrote:Congratulations!

Thanks!

djh101 · Post by **djh101** » Fri Jan 16, 2015 8:18 pm

And Colorado State.

PathIntegrals92 · Post by **PathIntegrals92** » Mon Jan 26, 2015 7:23 pm

UIUC's deadline was January 15th and they already sent out a couple of offers. They are pretty fast!

slowdweller · Post by **slowdweller** » Mon Jan 26, 2015 11:49 pm

PathIntegrals92 wrote:UIUC's deadline was January 15th and they already sent out a couple of offers. They are pretty fast!

Stony Brook had the same deadline, but they sent out offers starting the 16th! I thought that was unfair, since clearly people who applied earlier were given preference, but no such warning was given. My recs weren't even in by that time...

shep23 · Post by **shep23** » Tue Jan 27, 2015 12:15 am

Moving my other posts into this thread, this is all for astronomy:

I was waitlisted at Ohio State super early (1/4)
Interview with UT-Austin 1/23
Acceptance for Penn State 1/24!

Waiting to hear back from many...I'll update when I hear from others

instrument.santosh · Post by **instrument.santosh** » Tue Jan 27, 2015 12:55 am

penn state and hawaii have started giving out their admissions ! waiting for both !! waiting is hell !

and seems like many have applied to penn state this year ! being an international, that scares me !

gradapp2015 · Post by **gradapp2015** » Wed Jan 28, 2015 7:53 pm

Seems like schools are relatively slow to get decisions out this year... Michigan, UCSB, UCSD, Wisconsin all have. But I would have expected people to hear from places like Rochester, Maryland, Chicago, etc. earlier than now, given the past trends on The Grad Cafe site.

gradapp2015 · Post by **gradapp2015** » Thu Jan 29, 2015 12:11 am

Harvard has sent out at least one acceptance.

shep23 · Post by **shep23** » Thu Jan 29, 2015 12:18 am

Are these all for Physics?

Strange_Beauty · Post by **Strange_Beauty** » Thu Jan 29, 2015 2:54 am

slowdweller wrote:
Stony Brook had the same deadline, but they sent out offers starting the 16th! I thought that was unfair, since clearly people who applied earlier were given preference, but no such warning was given. My recs weren't even in by that time...

not true, I applied 2 days before the deadline - not early at all, and got an offer one week later

flobadobadie · Post by **flobadobadie** » Thu Jan 29, 2015 8:50 am

Is it just me or have nearly all the offers so far been from public universities?

Catria · Post by **Catria** » Thu Jan 29, 2015 10:53 am

Minnesota has started sending out acceptances...

slowdweller · Post by **slowdweller** » Thu Jan 29, 2015 12:35 pm

gradapp2015 wrote:Harvard has sent out at least one acceptance.

Are you talking about the guy from gradcafe? I think his was suspicious. He had nonsensical stats (a GPA above 4, GGRE above 170, abnormally low PGRE) and his entry got removed from gradcafe.

shep23 · Post by **shep23** » Thu Jan 29, 2015 1:14 pm

flobadobadie wrote:Is it just me or have nearly all the offers so far been from public universities?

I think you're right. I haven't heard of a private university sending out acceptances yet. Anyone received any information from a private university?

physicsisphun · Post by **physicsisphun** » Thu Jan 29, 2015 1:18 pm

shep23 wrote:
flobadobadie wrote:Is it just me or have nearly all the offers so far been from public universities?

I think you're right. I haven't heard of a private university sending out acceptances yet. Anyone received any information from a private university?

Rice has sent out a few but I know at least a few were REU members.

YodaT · Post by **YodaT** » Thu Jan 29, 2015 3:01 pm

Has anybody gotten funding offers? I got a phone call from UChicago's astro dept this monday saying they'd send extra info via email later on. Montana State physics dept just sent me an email to check the website, was accepted with no info on funding.

djh101 · Post by **djh101** » Thu Jan 29, 2015 3:11 pm

YodaT wrote:Has anybody gotten funding offers? I got a phone call from UChicago's astro dept this monday saying they'd send extra info via email later on. Montana State physics dept just sent me an email to check the website, was accepted with no info on funding.

New Mexico and Colorado State both included the stipend given for TAing and the number of months it covered in their emails.