odannyboy
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« on: March 09, 2008, 05:22:42 PM » |
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I'm IN at my #1 top choice PhD program! Well, not exactly. I'm #1 on the waitlist. The prof I've been talking to said that they were very very impressed with my application, and that it was a very very difficult decision to make, but they had just one less spot than they had wished. He said that I'm definitely #1 on the list.
Is there a way to get myself off the waitlist (and into the program)? It's my #1 choice. Is there anything more I can do to impress the prof and the admissions committee? Or would that be a no-no?
Yes, I *can* wait until a spot opens up naturally. But I think anyone who's been waitlisted knows that it's very unlikely. Plus, this is a top school in the field, and only takes in 1-2 students a year. Very selective, but it's still my #1 dream school.
Any advice, great. Many thanks!!!!!
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odannyboy
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« Reply #1 on: March 09, 2008, 05:24:09 PM » |
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Oh, one friend of mine (last year) was on the waitlist at Stanford social psych (PhD). She asked for a campus visit, got it, and that ultimately got her into the program. Is this a strategy you would advise? Ask for a campus visit, and (hope to) make a strong in-person impression with the faculty?
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patsy_klein
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« Reply #2 on: March 10, 2008, 11:52:07 AM » |
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It wouldn't hurt to see if you could visit, but right now they probably want to put their efforts towards wooing the people they have accepted.
It's a fine line; make sure they know you are still interested, but don't contact them so much that you appear high maintenance or annoying. I got into my program off of the wait list on April 15th, and I got in the way most people on the wait list do - when someone who has been offered an acceptance declines. Unfortunately, you have no control over this, so all you can really do is be patient and wait. If the program offers funding, they can't magically make another spot appear.
Lots of people get in off the wait list. No matter how much it seems to you like no one could turn down the program in question, there are myriad reasons someone might.
Good luck!
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pink_
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« Reply #3 on: March 10, 2008, 02:26:08 PM » |
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I too got in off a wait-list, and I wasn't even #1 on the WL, I was something like #6. I was told by the grad advisor that they usually went 10 deep, but even so, I tried not to count my chickens . . . I got a call from them ion April 15 at like 6:30PM (I lived on the east coast, and the school was on the west).
There's nothing that you can do except wait. Well, depending on your connections, you might break a few kneecaps, but I'm a firm believer in karma). In English, the same people tend to get into the the top programs, and naturally, they can only attend one, so spots do tend to open up. I just would try to be patient.
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Horses don't have seatbelts. Listen to Pink, she's smart.
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canadatourismguy
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« Reply #4 on: March 10, 2008, 02:33:13 PM » |
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I was put on the wait list for my PhD program and everything worked out well. The good news is that being first on the wait list usually means you'll get in. The odds are that someone is going to decide to go somewhere else.
CTG
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On preview: Candadiantourismguy is a subversive of the first order.
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odannyboy
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« Reply #5 on: March 10, 2008, 03:08:55 PM » |
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Thanks for all of this. The only thing about my situation is that I asked, they only sent out 2 offers. (It's an extremely extremely extremely selective program). If there were 10 offers, it's easy to see a few people rejecting. But with 2, the statistics are somewhat less in my favor!!
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commcycle
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« Reply #6 on: March 10, 2008, 04:19:28 PM » |
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What kind of doctoral program only has two slots per year?
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euges116
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« Reply #7 on: March 10, 2008, 04:53:28 PM » |
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What kind of doctoral program only has two slots per year?
Actually, quite a few. I applied to various marketing programs, some schools admit just two students, some six. I also know that, for instance, in psychology programs like clinical or social, only 2-3 students get accepted every year. |
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hollow_man
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« Reply #8 on: March 10, 2008, 04:55:04 PM » |
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What kind of doctoral program only has two slots per year?
Our program is considered huge in our field for having three admissions lines. Many top schools have one. |
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"Suffer no thirst in the presence of beer!" -- Inscription of Nebnetjeru
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a_salika
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« Reply #9 on: March 10, 2008, 06:03:36 PM » |
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Many programs in the humanities have only one or two spots. One of the schools I got accepted to only has one spot a year and the one I am going to only has two spots a year. It's selective and funding is very very limited so they want to make sure the funding package is generous enough to attract the best students.
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commcycle
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« Reply #10 on: March 10, 2008, 06:53:45 PM » |
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What kind of doctoral program only has two slots per year?
Our program is considered huge in our field for having three admissions lines. Many top schools have one. Wow, this makes most Communication programs look enormous! |
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hollow_man
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« Reply #11 on: March 10, 2008, 06:56:03 PM » |
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What kind of doctoral program only has two slots per year?
Our program is considered huge in our field for having three admissions lines. Many top schools have one. Wow, this makes most Communication programs look enormous! Apparently there not as large a market for people to talk about ancient literature as for... um... whatever it is mass communications people do. |
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"Suffer no thirst in the presence of beer!" -- Inscription of Nebnetjeru
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lillybelle
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« Reply #12 on: March 11, 2008, 10:29:29 PM » |
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Is it normal for a school to have a ranked waitlist? I don't think it works that way at my institution. If we make additional offers, it will depends on who accepted. That is, if all the Yellow students accepted our offers but all the Blue students went somewhere else, we'd pull Blue students off the waitlist, and vice-versa.
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