so i have heard from all my grad schools now except for one (UNC). is not hearing anything at this point a sign that i am not going to get in?

3/10/2006 7:30:19 PM

My roommate heard back from all his places early, got in at the vast majority of them with really nice aid packages.

I heard from all mine fairly late in the game, and haven’t got in anywhere yet. I still have my back up school to hear from.

Although we applied to different programs so it could just be a program by program sort of thing. But UNC has already gotten back to their first tier classics & philosophy students atleast.

3/10/2006 7:42:16 PM

unc is slow as hell. don't give up hope yet. they have a bunch of idiots in their administration offices (and financial aid... etc)
~skip~

3/10/2006 9:43:22 PM

and even more in their classrooms and dorms!

3/11/2006 2:08:49 AM

Not hearing anything isn't a sign of anything. It could be the individual department, the college it is in, or any facet of the univeristy itself which is slowing down the process. I didn't hear back from NC State when I applied until the first week in May ... largely due to the individual department.

Try calling and hunting down where exactly your application is, whether its been reviewed, etc. etc.

[Edited on March 11, 2006 at 7:27 AM. Reason : .]

3/11/2006 7:26:46 AM

^yes. it can take some time depending on the process the department uses and how fast (or not) the faculty review the applications, the volume of applications, all sorts of reasons it could be taking some time. Check up on it, find out where it is, is a good idea.

3/11/2006 8:52:12 AM

im kinda in the same boat. I'm already into a good school so I'm gonna be happy either way, but I'm waiting on this one school, and they've already sent out two different waves of acceptance emails so I'm kinda like ahhhhhhhh

3/11/2006 2:45:17 PM

I got my rejection from the english program awhile ago.

3/11/2006 7:04:22 PM

yeah i am expecting a rejection - i just want to know either way so i can accept at the school i did get in. but i guess i will email someone in the dept. at unc on monday or something and find out if they can tell me anything. congrats to all who got in somewhere and to all those who got rejection letters, i know your pain-i got several of those too

3/11/2006 7:09:12 PM

I didn't get into my top choices until April or May. Oddly, I got my only rejection (Duke) before I got accepted anywhere. I didn't hear about fellowships until later.

good luck, don't stress about the wait.

3/11/2006 9:15:56 PM

Not responding to you until may seems unreasonable. I need to have job interviews being set up around then if all my grad schools have either not responded or said no. I need to decide what apartment leasing stuff to do, where to move, and other plans... May seems totally unreasonable when so many schools can get back to you in Feb.

3/11/2006 9:30:32 PM

Don't be afraid to contact the grad schools and ask, wtf?

I got in several grad programs by writing a polite letter basically stating that I was interested in the grad program
and had not heard from them.

3/12/2006 1:56:20 AM

Call them ... don't email them. Email can get lost, misplaced, ignored, etc. etc. If you call and get somebody on the phone, they'll have to tell you SOMETHING, even if its still "under review".

3/12/2006 11:02:44 AM

Defiantely call. I did not hear from NCSU for a long time, it turned out they were missing parts of my application (their fault). It took a week to work it out but graduate schools WILL NOT let you know anything.

Secondly it is also a matter of graduate advisors stepping up and saying that yes they will take you on, so if someone is debating or deciding they want to take you on it can delay things.

3/12/2006 11:05:40 AM

I had some issues with schools losing stuff but that was eventually straightened out. One place ended up having a letter of recommendation being submitted 3 times online and 1 time by fax before they were able not to lose it. I hope OSU didn't do anything like that, but they don't have any means of me checking whether or not they received my materials (which is kind of annoying b/c they had the longest most in depth and repetitive application of all)… but I figure if OSU has lost my stuff and already accepted other students, then its probably too late for full consideration.

Most likely its just a bureaucratic nightmare dealing with all the applications and I expect to hear back within a week or two.

3/12/2006 11:14:09 AM

How early do schools start making their decisions? I just submitted my PhD application for State last week.

3/12/2006 7:06:42 PM

When do they start making decisions? Depends on the program and school. I got interview offers (and my one rejection letter) the first two weeks of January (PhD, cell & molecular biology programs). At the same time, I keep meeting people on interviews applying to the same sorts of programs, and some haven't heard from several schools as of yet. One guy had heard just last week from one of the schools. Don't give up hope, but definately start making follow-up contacts.

[Edited on March 13, 2006 at 5:23 PM. Reason : .]

3/13/2006 5:22:30 PM

thanks for all those with good advice, i contacted the office today and they said they will tell me something at the end of the week probably. to everyone else still waiting to hear -good luck

3/13/2006 5:57:54 PM