Decision Dates

heisenbergh23 · Post by **heisenbergh23** » Wed Mar 11, 2015 11:26 am

To the ones who are still waiting from CMU: they will send emails with final decision later this week or early next week. Sounded like they are sending wave of rejection this week.

Any update from Penn State?

Catria · Post by **Catria** » Wed Mar 11, 2015 11:29 am

For those still waiting on Columbia:

Michael Adan wrote:Unfortunately no decision can be confirmed at this time regarding your application. The program is still finalizing the process and I am told it will be complete within two weeks. An email will be sent to you with the details.

So we will get a decision in the next two weeks (acceptance or rejection) unless one is waitlisted.

Sats · Post by **Sats** » Wed Mar 11, 2015 1:20 pm

Finally heard back from MSU, er well, the website anyways. Maybe they're finally sending out rejections? Man this admit season ain't doing me any favors

djh101 · Post by **djh101** » Wed Mar 11, 2015 2:48 pm

Rejected from Boulder. Well, that's the end for me.

Catria · Post by **Catria** » Wed Mar 11, 2015 4:43 pm

Now, go claim your rejections from CU-Boulder if you haven't already...

mbgnjasb · Post by **mbgnjasb** » Thu Mar 12, 2015 4:34 am

Is there anybody here who has not heard back from Duke ?....

Catria · Post by **Catria** » Thu Mar 12, 2015 3:00 pm

Now, go claim your rejections from Berkeley if you haven't already...

Catria · Post by **Catria** » Thu Mar 12, 2015 8:28 pm

heisenbergh23 wrote:To the ones who are still waiting from CMU: they will send emails with final decision later this week or early next week. Sounded like they are sending wave of rejection this week.

Any update from Penn State?

And will CMU start admitting people off the waitlist in that timeframe?

heisenbergh23 · Post by **heisenbergh23** » Thu Mar 12, 2015 11:53 pm

Catria wrote:
heisenbergh23 wrote:To the ones who are still waiting from CMU: they will send emails with final decision later this week or early next week. Sounded like they are sending wave of rejection this week.

Any update from Penn State?
And will CMU start admitting people off the waitlist in that timeframe?

I have no idea. I was only told that emails with final decision will be sent out 'later this week', or early next week. We might receive an email either today, or on Monday.

Catria · Post by **Catria** » Fri Mar 13, 2015 11:14 am

Now the whole trio that I once thought to be the easiest ones (Tufts, Vanderbilt, Dartmouth) has rejected me... looks like their small departmental sizes did not help at all.

PathIntegrals92 · Post by **PathIntegrals92** » Sun Mar 15, 2015 10:09 pm

Would NOW be a good time to start emailing schools that have not given me a decision yet? I noticed many people already started doing that... but today is exactly a month from April 15th.

Two of the schools I have applied to have sent out acceptances as well as rejections.

So far I have three acceptances, and two of them are in physics. I'm waiting on 4 more physics schools and another application for non physics. I feel like just last week I was thinking "eff it, I'll just wait it out". Until one of my schools, which is apparently not a part of the council, needs me to make a decision in 2 weeks!

wompwomp · Post by **wompwomp** » Mon Mar 16, 2015 4:49 pm

PathIntegrals92 wrote:Would NOW be a good time to start emailing schools that have not given me a decision yet? I noticed many people already started doing that... but today is exactly a month from April 15th.

Two of the schools I have applied to have sent out acceptances as well as rejections.

So far I have three acceptances, and two of them are in physics. I'm waiting on 4 more physics schools and another application for non physics. I feel like just last week I was thinking "eff it, I'll just wait it out". Until one of my schools, which is apparently not a part of the council, needs me to make a decision in 2 weeks!

I'd like an answer to this too. Should I email the schools I haven't heard anything at all from? So far I have 7 rejections, and I'm waiting on 7 other schools...

In other news, UIUC seems to have sent out some more rejections. I'm still waiting with bated breath.

bfollinprm · Post by **bfollinprm** » Tue Mar 17, 2015 1:16 pm

It's totally fine to start contacting the admin at schools that haven't contacted you yet. It's clearly important to know how likely it is you'd get admitted, etc, and I'd imagine you'd like to visit the school(s) you would be admitted to. You'd have to plan those trips now-ish if you want them done before decision deadline.

I'd contact them and say something like

Dear <Front office staff person>,

I was wondering if I could get an update on the status of my application. While I'm excited about the opportunity to enroll at <school>, I've already received offers at <other schools>. Since grad school is an important life decision, I'd really like to be able to schedule a campus visit before deciding where I matriculate. Is it possible to find out if I'm likely to be accepted at this juncture?

Thanks for your time,
<name>

EDIT: and if you don't currently have any acceptances, it's a trickier thing to manage. You probably don't really want to tell them that, but your need to know is stronger. If you don't get any this admissions cycle, you have to find something else to do for a year, e.g. a job or lab research opportunity. That search needs to happen now-ish as well. Communicating that need without sounding desperate is probably a little tough, but some wordsmithing should get you there.

PathIntegrals92 · Post by **PathIntegrals92** » Tue Mar 17, 2015 3:30 pm

bfollinprm wrote:It's totally fine to start contacting the admin at schools that haven't contacted you yet. It's clearly important to know how likely it is you'd get admitted, etc, and I'd imagine you'd like to visit the school(s) you would be admitted to. You'd have to plan those trips now-ish if you want them done before decision deadline.

I'd contact them and say something like
Dear <Front office staff person>,

I was wondering if I could get an update on the status of my application. While I'm excited about the opportunity to enroll at <school>, I've already received offers at <other schools>. Since grad school is an important life decision, I'd really like to be able to schedule a campus visit before deciding where I matriculate. Is it possible to find out if I'm likely to be accepted at this juncture?

Thanks for your time,
<name>
EDIT: and if you don't currently have any acceptances, it's a trickier thing to manage. You probably don't really want to tell them that, but your need to know is stronger. If you don't get any this admissions cycle, you have to find something else to do for a year, e.g. a job or lab research opportunity. That search needs to happen now-ish as well. Communicating that need without sounding desperate is probably a little tough, but some wordsmithing should get you there.

Thank you for the response!! ALso, thanks for a template of an email. I have been wracking my brain for quite a while figuring out whether I should email or not/ what I should email.

wompwomp wrote:I'd like an answer to this too. Should I email the schools I haven't heard anything at all from? So far I have 7 rejections, and I'm waiting on 7 other schools...

In other news, UIUC seems to have sent out some more rejections. I'm still waiting with bated breath.

I got rejected from UIUC yesterday! Take it as good news that you have not heard from them =).

Catria · Post by **Catria** » Tue Mar 17, 2015 9:53 pm

Waitlist spots have started coming out of Columbia... it's not looking good for me (and for anyone who still have to hear from Columbia)

Catria · Post by **Catria** » Wed Mar 18, 2015 10:36 am

UPenn just rejected me (and a whole bunch of rejections to follow for other people)

PathIntegrals92 · Post by **PathIntegrals92** » Wed Mar 18, 2015 11:43 am

Catria wrote:UPenn just rejected me (and a whole bunch of rejections to follow for other people)

I'm sorry about the UPenn rejection. I don't think they have accepted many students in Hep-th since the past two years. Hep-th in general has become increasingly competitive these days that it so unpredictable... Good luck to you where ever you go.

blackmass · Post by **blackmass** » Wed Mar 18, 2015 1:53 pm

Curious if anyone has heard from Arizona State Astro? My profile still says "In Review."

irezumidragon · Post by **irezumidragon** » Wed Mar 18, 2015 5:17 pm

blackmass wrote:Curious if anyone has heard from Arizona State Astro? My profile still says "In Review."

I haven't heard anything either and still have the "in review" status. I called and they gave me an email address to send to. The person I emailed said: "We are still reviewing applications and will continue to do so through mid-April, probably. If you’d like, you can always contact the prospective faculty advisors you listed on your application to see if they are considering students for admission."

I didn't bother contacting faculty. It would be nice to hear from them one way or another, but I have an offer I'd probably pick over ASU, so I'm not terribly motivated to pester them since I clearly wasn't a first pick for them.

blackmass · Post by **blackmass** » Wed Mar 18, 2015 5:31 pm

irezumidragon wrote:
blackmass wrote:Curious if anyone has heard from Arizona State Astro? My profile still says "In Review."
I haven't heard anything either and still have the "in review" status. I called and they gave me an email address to send to. The person I emailed said: "We are still reviewing applications and will continue to do so through mid-April, probably. If you’d like, you can always contact the prospective faculty advisors you listed on your application to see if they are considering students for admission."

I didn't bother contacting faculty. It would be nice to hear from them one way or another, but I have an offer I'd probably pick over ASU, so I'm not terribly motivated to pester them since I clearly wasn't a first pick for them.

I hear you. That's sorta where I'm at. I haven't heard much from these boards about having heard from them one way or another, so I was just curious. Thanks for the info!

ssssspace · Post by **ssssspace** » Wed Mar 18, 2015 5:57 pm

irezumidragon wrote:
blackmass wrote:Curious if anyone has heard from Arizona State Astro? My profile still says "In Review."
I haven't heard anything either and still have the "in review" status. I called and they gave me an email address to send to. The person I emailed said: "We are still reviewing applications and will continue to do so through mid-April, probably. If you’d like, you can always contact the prospective faculty advisors you listed on your application to see if they are considering students for admission."

I didn't bother contacting faculty. It would be nice to hear from them one way or another, but I have an offer I'd probably pick over ASU, so I'm not terribly motivated to pester them since I clearly wasn't a first pick for them.

I emailed and got the same thing. Emailed prospective advisor (about two weeks ago) and haven't heard anything back. It's not a high priority for me either, but considering how early their application deadline was, it's irritating how they're just taking their sweet time to deliberate.

heisenbergh23 · Post by **heisenbergh23** » Thu Mar 19, 2015 7:31 am

Carnegie Mellon told me more than a week ago that I should get an email by last week's weekend or early this week. I haven't got any. Such a liars!

orion43 · Post by **orion43** » Sun Mar 22, 2015 10:20 pm

Does anyone know of UC Irvine has sent out all the offers for astronomy yet?

Catria · Post by **Catria** » Mon Mar 23, 2015 12:17 am

heisenbergh23 wrote:Carnegie Mellon told me more than a week ago that I should get an email by last week's weekend or early this week. I haven't got any. Such a liars!

Are they going to mix all the rejections off the waitlist with the regular rejects? Or there is still a chance you're on some hidden waitlist, with some nonzero chance of acceptance off it?

heisenbergh23 · Post by **heisenbergh23** » Mon Mar 23, 2015 2:27 am

Catria wrote:
heisenbergh23 wrote:Carnegie Mellon told me more than a week ago that I should get an email by last week's weekend or early this week. I haven't got any. Such a liars!
Are they going to mix all the rejections off the waitlist with the regular rejects? Or there is still a chance you're on some hidden waitlist, with some nonzero chance of acceptance off it?

I have no clue, and no hope anymore. I am tired of them. They don't even reply to my email now. Why the heck are they taking so much time to notify - their deadline was 15th of December?

Cho'bal · Post by **Cho'bal** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 1:32 am

I wonder what's taking Austin so long. Seems like my application is in review forever.

seeyouauntie · Post by **seeyouauntie** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 2:20 am

Cho'bal wrote:I wonder what's taking Austin so long. Seems like my application is in review forever.

I'm still waiting too. Applications were due December 1st. That was forever ago.

Cho'bal · Post by **Cho'bal** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 2:24 am

seeyouauntie wrote:
Cho'bal wrote:I wonder what's taking Austin so long. Seems like my application is in review forever.
I'm still waiting too. Applications were due December 1st. That was forever ago.

It's funny how this year's processes in many schools are taking longer than before. From last year's records of TGC I was naively expecting to hear back from everywhere around mid-March.

Catria · Post by **Catria** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 9:15 am

I think political uncertainty in civilian scientific policy may account for part of the delays...

heisenbergh23 · Post by **heisenbergh23** » Fri Mar 27, 2015 11:58 am

Has anyone recently heard from Carnegie Mellon or Penn State? They don't even reply to my email.

Catria · Post by **Catria** » Fri Mar 27, 2015 3:54 pm

Columbia rejections have been released...

orion43 · Post by **orion43** » Fri Mar 27, 2015 10:26 pm

I emailed CMU twice to check, and after the second email they told me there is little chance I get in.... they did not send any official rejections though... so rude!

Catria · Post by **Catria** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 11:30 am

Now, anyone who still haven't heard from McGill at this point: go claim your rejections!

EDIT: Some waitlistees at CMU had their decisions released...

flobadobadie · Post by **flobadobadie** » Mon Apr 06, 2015 11:54 am

Has anyone else heard nothing from UPenn? I applied for hep-th. Four months is the gestation period of a beaver, not a PhD decision.

Catria · Post by **Catria** » Mon Apr 06, 2015 1:25 pm

flobadobadie wrote:Has anyone else heard nothing from UPenn? I applied for hep-th. Four months is the gestation period of a beaver, not a PhD decision.

Now inquire about your application status to Mrs. Minnick, or even Mr. Trodden...

flobadobadie · Post by **flobadobadie** » Mon Apr 06, 2015 2:37 pm

Catria wrote:
flobadobadie wrote:Has anyone else heard nothing from UPenn? I applied for hep-th. Four months is the gestation period of a beaver, not a PhD decision.
Now inquire about your application status to Mrs. Minnick, or even Mr. Trodden...

I love the smell of rejection in the morning.

djh101 · Post by **djh101** » Mon Apr 06, 2015 4:05 pm

Rejected from Washington (after being waitlisted early March).

wompwomp · Post by **wompwomp** » Thu Apr 09, 2015 1:21 pm

Nothing new from UIUC?

This is freaking me out a little bit...

flobadobadie · Post by **flobadobadie** » Fri Apr 10, 2015 7:35 pm

21st rejection today. Was wank, Stony Brook would have been good. Haha 980 pgre, masters from Cambridge, two papers, so it goes. Brandeis or bust. Good luck to the poor sods with no offers.

shep23 · Post by **shep23** » Fri Apr 10, 2015 10:26 pm

Johns Hopkins Astronomy has decided to finally grace us with rejections 5 days before the deadline.

djh101 · Post by **djh101** » Sun Apr 12, 2015 10:13 pm

Officially attending USC! Good luck with your decisions, everyone!

Catria · Post by **Catria** » Wed Apr 15, 2015 12:05 pm

Now rejected off the waitlist at WUSTL

... then again it would have required Ferrer to take me on as a RA from day one to make me go to WUSTL over Minnesota

EDIT: Now rejected from the second waitlist, CMU, too

wompwomp · Post by **wompwomp** » Wed Apr 15, 2015 2:19 pm

11 rejections and counting. Waiting on 3 more schools. And it's April 15 already ~

seeyouauntie · Post by **seeyouauntie** » Thu Apr 16, 2015 10:38 am

Still nothing from UT Austin. The application deadline was December 1st. I submitted everything properly and they didn't even care to reject me or respond to the email I sent asking about my application status in mid March ( it was polite and I only sent one to avoid annoying them ). I felt like I had a realistic chance of being admitted (I have decent test scores and research experience so my application wasn't horrible or anything). Luckily I was admitted to another school that ended up being a good fit. I'm not bitter, just disappointed. Mostly making this post as a warning to future applicants, you may be ignored entirely for no obvious reason.

I've noticed a trend with a few schools (UT Austin included) that have very poor organization and/or communication throughout the application process. Maybe we should make a list of potentially problematic schools to inform future applicants.

PathIntegrals92 · Post by **PathIntegrals92** » Thu Apr 16, 2015 1:19 pm

USC and Rutgers did not bother to reject me...

Edit: I never got an email but I checked my status and I was rejected from Rutgers.

Sanhedrin · Post by **Sanhedrin** » Thu Apr 16, 2015 7:18 pm

seeyouauntie wrote:Still nothing from UT Austin. The application deadline was December 1st. I submitted everything properly and they didn't even care to reject me or respond to the email I sent asking about my application status in mid March ( it was polite and I only sent one to avoid annoying them ). I felt like I had a realistic chance of being admitted (I have decent test scores and research experience so my application wasn't horrible or anything).

I've also heard nothing and my one request for an update on my status didn't receive a reply. I understand that the committee's busy and all, and that schools will keep a waitlist right up until April 15 when all the acceptances are sorted out, but from the gradcafe postings it looks like UT Austin hasn't gotten back on the majority of applications. It looks like they were more on top of things in previous years.

loser2winner · Post by **loser2winner** » Fri Apr 17, 2015 2:23 am

Ne10 · Post by **Ne10** » Fri Apr 17, 2015 3:27 am

Does any one know when a university issues I20, or at least initiates the procedure towards an I20 ?

Catria · Post by **Catria** » Fri Apr 17, 2015 9:01 am

Ne10 wrote:Does any one know when a university issues I20, or at least initiates the procedure towards an I20 ?

It depends on when you submit the financial information; your offer letter, while necessary, is not sufficient.

Ne10 · Post by **Ne10** » Fri Apr 17, 2015 10:21 am

Catria wrote:
Ne10 wrote:Does any one know when a university issues I20, or at least initiates the procedure towards an I20 ?
It depends on when you submit the financial information; your offer letter, while necessary, is not sufficient.

Thanks.

Does the graduate department initiate this procedure or should I send them an email?