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Re: So where is the sweat thread?

Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2015 1:18 am
by mathgirl9
Iamsluggy wrote:UIC has already sent out a first round. They had a visitation weekend a couple weeks ago. Boston College accepted 18, but they expect the class size to be around 5. Source: I go to UIC and I spoke with the DGS at BC.
UIC hasn't sent a waitlist..Is there any chance of a second round?How many students they admit this year?The gradcafe shows only 2 admits..

Re: So where is the sweat thread?

Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2015 5:04 pm
by xor
On a lighter note, "An honest college rejection letter" http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/an-h ... ion-letter

Re: So where is the sweat thread?

Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2015 6:26 pm
by 11235813
mathgirl9 wrote:
Iamsluggy wrote:UIC has already sent out a first round. They had a visitation weekend a couple weeks ago. Boston College accepted 18, but they expect the class size to be around 5. Source: I go to UIC and I spoke with the DGS at BC.
UIC hasn't sent a waitlist..Is there any chance of a second round?How many students they admit this year?The gradcafe shows only 2 admits..
I just visited UIC and was told by the Director of Grad Studies that they were not going to do 2nd round offers and that 1st offers had been send already.

Re: So where is the sweat thread?

Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2015 7:53 pm
by rsk
xor wrote:On a lighter note, "An honest college rejection letter" http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/an-h ... ion-letter
"The reality is that we are no longer looking for students who are remarkable candidates for college; we are looking for people who have already made a difference, so that we can grow our list of impressive alumni. Your value to our college depends solely on your ability to attract future applicants. Since you are no Emma Watson or James Franco, we urge you to consider your acceptance letters from state universities and equally expensive second-tier schools, and commence nursing an inferiority complex for the rest of your life."

Hahaha. So true, especially when it comes to PhD programs. Just replace Emma Watson and James Franco with John Nash and Terrance Tao, and you're in the math ballpark.

Re: So where is the sweat thread?

Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2015 10:36 am
by coffeeboy
Anyone still waiting to hear from caltech? No words whatsoever. No replies to my inquiry.

Re: So where is the sweat thread?

Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2015 12:31 pm
by mathbee
Has anyone heard from Purdue or USC? Purdue doesn't reply to mails. UFlorida and USC put me on the wait-list about a month ago. I don't know what to expect. Do they usually send out all the rejections in April or can I still be hopeful?

Re: So where is the sweat thread?

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2015 4:10 pm
by bernface
Will schools ever just NOT get in touch with you? I emailed UT Austin, Ohio State, and BU several days ago and have still heard nothing (also waiting for three others). Are schools obligated to actually contact you to let you know that you aren't admitted?


Also, what's with the April 15th thing? No school has told me that I need to accept their offer by April 15th. Is that a hard deadline?

Re: So where is the sweat thread?

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2015 4:29 pm
by Kilgore_Trout
I know some schools just dont respond back if you are rejected. Columbia doesnt tell you until the week after April 15. Curse you Columbia!!

For American schools April 15th is a hard deadline for about 95% of schools.

My question is do you need to send your decision by April 14 11:59 pm or April 15 11:59pm

Re: So where is the sweat thread?

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2015 4:41 pm
by mathgirl1016
I don't understand why programs just can't admit who they are going to admit, waitlist 10 students with a rank order, and decline the rest. Just so we know where we stand. I have an offer I will accept, but I would like to know all of my options. I feel waiting this long is unfair to other students and the schools who have acted in a timely fashion.

Re: So where is the sweat thread?

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2015 4:46 pm
by Kilgore_Trout
Well part of the problem is people sit on several acceptances. I think a better system is by April 1st every school must have sent out first offers and every applicant must pick a program from those they have been accepted to and reject the rest. Now as school send out more offers to fill their newly opened spots, a student can accept a new better offer and reject their old one. This way it frees up the spots and lets us know.

Also some schools have the mentality that if you arnt accepted you are scum and dont deserve to be treated like a person with ambitions and emotions.... Curse you Columbia!!

Re: So where is the sweat thread?

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2015 4:58 pm
by mathgirl1016
Kilgore_Trout wrote:Well part of the problem is people sit on several acceptances. I think a better system is by April 1st every school must have sent out first offers and every applicant must pick a program from those they have been accepted to and reject the rest. Now as school send out more offers to fill their newly opened spots, a student can accept a new better offer and reject their old one. This way it frees up the spots and lets us know.

Also some schools have the mentality that if you arnt accepted you are scum and dont deserve to be treated like a person with ambitions and emotions.... Curse you Columbia!!
I may be wrong, but I think you have some issues with Columbia?!?

Re: So where is the sweat thread?

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2015 5:11 pm
by bernface
Kilgore_Trout wrote:Well part of the problem is people sit on several acceptances. I think a better system is by April 1st every school must have sent out first offers and every applicant must pick a program from those they have been accepted to and reject the rest. Now as school send out more offers to fill their newly opened spots, a student can accept a new better offer and reject their old one. This way it frees up the spots and lets us know.

Also some schools have the mentality that if you arnt accepted you are scum and dont deserve to be treated like a person with ambitions and emotions.... Curse you Columbia!!

Hahahaha tell us how you really feel

Re: So where is the sweat thread?

Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2015 5:12 am
by rsk
For those of you deciding where to go (or already did), what do you see yourself realistically doing? Will you likely just go with the place that offers the most money, go with the place with the highest ranking, go where you "feel most comfortable" (whatever that means), go where you like a research advisor most, or something else? Weighing multiple offers with no clear favorite is a real bitch I'm learning. Haha.

Re: So where is the sweat thread?

Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2015 1:26 pm
by Kilgore_Trout
Yeah all those things matter, not just one.

I find things easier to narrow down my options. For example look at how much money they offer and look at how much rent is around there. If you are living near the poverty line your probably one like the experience much. So cut out those schools. Then look at research the schools are doing. If they dont have what you like cut them out. Do you hate/love cities, cut them out.... Eventually you will have you school.

Re: So where is the sweat thread?

Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2015 3:07 pm
by h0lomorphic
rsk wrote:For those of you deciding where to go (or already did), what do you see yourself realistically doing? Will you likely just go with the place that offers the most money, go with the place with the highest ranking, go where you "feel most comfortable" (whatever that means), go where you like a research advisor most, or something else? Weighing multiple offers with no clear favorite is a real bitch I'm learning. Haha.
I ended up picking the school that felt like a better fit for me (location, getting along with potential advisors, better for my research interests, and ~grad student culture~) over the one that offered more money and was higher ranked. I can see arguments for why this is the "wrong" choice, but essentially I figured that at one place I would be much much happier than the other, and that that would certainly reflect in my work.

Re: So where is the sweat thread?

Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2015 3:15 pm
by rsk
Kilgore_Trout wrote:Yeah all those things matter, not just one.

I find things easier to narrow down my options. For example look at how much money they offer and look at how much rent is around there. If you are living near the poverty line your probably one like the experience much. So cut out those schools. Then look at research the schools are doing. If they dont have what you like cut them out. Do you hate/love cities, cut them out.... Eventually you will have you school.
What's frustrating is that I've already done all those things haha. Every school left in consideration is ranked (roughly) comparably, pays about the same in funding, has about the same cost of living indexes, is in a city (not a city person, but it's where most research universities are, so I'd have been an idiot not to have applied to them), has the main area of research I'm interested in (dynamical systems), has plenty of other applied options just in case (statistics, scientific computing, mathematical biology, etc.). None of the researchers are spectacular that I can tell, but I'm planning to transfer up the ladder in after a masters anyway, so I can't be too picky about that I guess.

I'm being forced to be super nitpicky now. As a sad example, yesterday I was trying to talk myself out of one of the schools because their classes are taught in a different building than where their offices are, so I'd actually have to cross the street to go to class (first world problems). The struggle's getting real...
H0lomorphic wrote: I ended up picking the school that felt like a better fit for me (location, getting along with potential advisors, better for my research interests, and ~grad student culture~) over the one that offered more money and was higher ranked. I can see arguments for why this is the "wrong" choice, but essentially I figured that at one place I would be much much happier than the other, and that that would certainly reflect in my work.
Yeah that's what I'm going for ideally. Might just have to suck it up and drive across the Southeast next week trying to get a few campus visits in. Hard to tell much more than I already know without visiting the departments in person and breathing the air.

Re: So where is the sweat thread?

Posted: Sat Apr 04, 2015 9:47 pm
by MathCat
rsk wrote:For those of you deciding where to go (or already did), what do you see yourself realistically doing? Will you likely just go with the place that offers the most money, go with the place with the highest ranking, go where you "feel most comfortable" (whatever that means), go where you like a research advisor most, or something else? Weighing multiple offers with no clear favorite is a real bitch I'm learning. Haha.
It was actually very easy for me, because the place I chose is the one that offered me the most money, is tied for highest ranking, is where I felt most comfortable, and is the best in my subfield (of my options). But, if I had not liked it when I visited, I would not have attended. I'd have actually gone for the lowest ranked school I applied to, because it is the second best in my subfield.

Re: So where is the sweat thread?

Posted: Sat Apr 04, 2015 9:59 pm
by mathgirl1016
This process has been stressful. But having gone through this twice, once for my masters and now. Both times I was admitted to schools that were good fits for me. Yes, I would have liked to have been admitted to more schools and I would have really liked to have gotten into my top choice. In the end, I probably got into the best school that is going to allow me to succeed. And that is what counts. The competition is very high. Everyone that received offers should be proud.

Re: So where is the sweat thread?

Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2015 12:00 am
by kokopelli
rsk wrote: What's frustrating is that I've already done all those things haha. Every school left in consideration is ranked (roughly) comparably, pays about the same in funding, has about the same cost of living indexes, is in a city (not a city person, but it's where most research universities are, so I'd have been an idiot not to have applied to them), has the main area of research I'm interested in (dynamical systems), has plenty of other applied options just in case (statistics, scientific computing, mathematical biology, etc.). None of the researchers are spectacular that I can tell, but I'm planning to transfer up the ladder in after a masters anyway, so I can't be too picky about that I guess.

I'm being forced to be super nitpicky now. As a sad example, yesterday I was trying to talk myself out of one of the schools because their classes are taught in a different building than where their offices are, so I'd actually have to cross the street to go to class (first world problems). The struggle's getting real...
Maybe you've already done this, but I would suggest you take two of your schools and decide which you prefer. Then compare that one with the next school and choose one. Make it a one to one comparison vs many at once, which can be confusing.

Remember, it's a good problem to have.

Re: So where is the sweat thread?

Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2015 12:11 am
by MathCat
rsk wrote:
Kilgore_Trout wrote: Yeah that's what I'm going for ideally. Might just have to suck it up and drive across the Southeast next week trying to get a few campus visits in. Hard to tell much more than I already know without visiting the departments in person and breathing the air.
I would definitely suggest either visiting or talking with grad students and faculty on the phone or skype (or even email, if that's all that works).

Re: So where is the sweat thread?

Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2015 3:01 pm
by rsk
For those of y'all who've already done campus visits, what were the tell-tale things you learned to look for? What subtle indicators were you looking for in your visit to indicate how much you would or wouldn't like being a grad student there? I know observing the mood the grad students there is a good one, as is how they relate to each other and to the professors, but I'm sure there are other things worthy of note that I'm not thinking of.

My worry about talking with professors, especially the graduate director and other department administrators, is that you have to assume they're going to inflate the worth of their program and not give you an unbiased look inside their departments and their own research/teaching quality.

Re: So where is the sweat thread?

Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2015 9:28 pm
by toinfinityandbeyond
For those of y'all who've already done campus visits, what were the tell-tale things you learned to look for? What subtle indicators were you looking for in your visit to indicate how much you would or wouldn't like being a grad student there? I know observing the mood the grad students there is a good one, as is how they relate to each other and to the professors, but I'm sure there are other things worthy of note that I'm not thinking of.

My worry about talking with professors, especially the graduate director and other department administrators, is that you have to assume they're going to inflate the worth of their program and not give you an unbiased look inside their departments and their own research/teaching quality.
I had the same concerns during my visits. During my visit to School A it seemed obvious to me that the professors were trying to inflate the worth of their program. At my recent visit to School B the worth of the program and their faculty really spoke for itself. The programs I visited were all good but I didn't feel like I was being strung along at School B. One indicator of this was that the professors didn't have to convince me their research was important at School B. My potential adviser at School B was recently named a Fellow of SIAM (which speaks for the quality of their research). One factor I considered that you do not have listed is the success of recent graduates in your field from each program. Are those students securing jobs that you would like? Do they have publishable results from their dissertation? It is possible that you could do better than these students but it should give you a realistic view of what to expect if you graduate from that program. Just my two cents. Hope this helps.

Re: So where is the sweat thread?

Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2015 2:49 pm
by mathgirl1016
Any information on the University of Iowa's waitlist? The director emailed once saying decisions were going to be made in two weeks. And that was four weeks ago. I emailed for an update, no response. I am assuming it is a no. But it would be nice to know for sure.

Re: So where is the sweat thread?

Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2015 4:14 pm
by quinquenion
rsk wrote: My worry about talking with professors, especially the graduate director and other department administrators, is that you have to assume they're going to inflate the worth of their program and not give you an unbiased look inside their departments and their own research/teaching quality.
For what it's worth, each of the three times I applied to graduate programs in a couple different fields (long story), there's been at least one school I visited where faculty members told me point blank that they'd love to have me, but that I should probably go to one of the other programs I was accepted to instead. Of course, everyone is at least slightly biased towards their own institution, but professors also generally want future colleagues to be successful, and at least some of them are fairly honest about their institutions' strengths and weaknesses. I also found leaving post-docs and final year grad students to be good sources of unvarnished opinions, though you do have to take things with a slight grain of salt based on how well their own job searches went.

Re: So where is the sweat thread?

Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2015 9:01 am
by rsk
quinquenion wrote:
rsk wrote: My worry about talking with professors, especially the graduate director and other department administrators, is that you have to assume they're going to inflate the worth of their program and not give you an unbiased look inside their departments and their own research/teaching quality.
For what it's worth, each of the three times I applied to graduate programs in a couple different fields (long story), there's been at least one school I visited where faculty members told me point blank that they'd love to have me, but that I should probably go to one of the other programs I was accepted to instead. Of course, everyone is at least slightly biased towards their own institution, but professors also generally want future colleagues to be successful, and at least some of them are fairly honest about their institutions' strengths and weaknesses. I also found leaving post-docs and final year grad students to be good sources of unvarnished opinions, though you do have to take things with a slight grain of salt based on how well their own job searches went.
Interesting point about talking to final-year grad students. It certainly lends a perspective to why the graduate director at the school I visited yesterday had first-year grad students be the ones to show me around. First year grad students are still usually optimistic about the program and their own future, and are perhaps more likely to present a favorable view of the department.

Re: So where is the sweat thread?

Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2015 3:28 pm
by xor
Thankfully I did not waste Notre Dame's time and I accepted their offer within 2 weeks, cos I had nothing coming from the others. All rejections! Thanks to Notre Dame, I will not be homeless this Fall. :oops: Now I just need to get my severe impostor syndrome under control.

To everyone who is still waiting for decisions, I wish you the very best!

Re: So where is the sweat thread?

Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2015 8:15 pm
by Mathwhiz25
Is anyone still sweating or everyone has been accepted somewhere? I am still sweating and am about to throw in the towel.

Re: So where is the sweat thread?

Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2015 4:18 pm
by mathorphysics
Mathwhiz25 wrote:Is anyone still sweating or everyone has been accepted somewhere? I am still sweating and am about to throw in the towel.
Got my final rejection yesterday. 14/14 rejections. No more sweating, just a lot of tears.

Re: So where is the sweat thread?

Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2015 11:12 pm
by Lentes
I am so happy that I got into the University of Minnesota from the waitlist! Hope is the last thing to die, indeed!

Re: So where is the sweat thread?

Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2015 1:36 am
by MathCat
Lentes wrote:I am so happy that I got into the University of Minnesota from the waitlist! Hope is the last thing to die, indeed!
Congrats!

Re: So where is the sweat thread?

Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2015 11:26 pm
by Lentes
Thank you MathCat! Now I can stop worrying about this and get studying the mathematics! Good luck everyone in your futures!

Re: So where is the sweat thread?

Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2015 12:39 am
by rsk
Just realized that the place I'm attending has lower first-year course requirements than what I was expecting. As a result, I'm basically between one to two semesters ahead math-wise. Not going to skip the classes though since that would mean taking the qualifier a year early (this fall), but it's at least nice knowing I won't be behind haha. Worst case, I'll be that guy who looks bored in class, which I guess isn't a bad thing. Though, the book the abstract algebra professor's using (Aluffi) teaches the subject using categories, so at least I'll learn some category theory lol.

Re: So where is the sweat thread?

Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2015 2:10 am
by MathCat
rsk wrote:Just realized that the place I'm attending has lower first-year course requirements than what I was expecting. As a result, I'm basically between one to two semesters ahead math-wise. Not going to skip the classes though since that would mean taking the qualifier a year early (this fall), but it's at least nice knowing I won't be behind haha. Worst case, I'll be that guy who looks bored in class, which I guess isn't a bad thing. Though, the book the abstract algebra professor's using (Aluffi) teaches the subject using categories, so at least I'll learn some category theory lol.
You don't get to take something else if you've seen that material before?