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When are you guys planning to decide?

Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2015 10:13 pm
by algebraicallyminded
Right on time or slightly before? And why?

Re: When are you guys planning to decide?

Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2015 10:28 pm
by Kilgore_Trout
As soon as you know!!

For the schools your rejecting, they need to fill those spots. Also the students waiting for these schools are prolly ripping their hair outs.

Also telling the school you want to go there makes it less stressful for them too. Thats one less spot they have to worry about.

Re: When are you guys planning to decide?

Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2015 10:32 pm
by MathCat
I went on my final campus visit last week, and that's when I decided (I accepted that offer). If I had not liked that program, there's a fair chance I'd still be thinking about it, and maybe I'd have just had to flip a coin on April 15.... I'm really glad I liked the last department I visited, because the rest all had some significant negatives.

If you are seriously still trying to decide, you don't owe it to anybody to rush it. But, if you know where you want to go already, you should accept it now. If you have even narrowed down your options, you should decline those you are no longer considering.

Re: When are you guys planning to decide?

Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2015 11:18 pm
by Kilgore_Trout
Yeah exactly. Thank you for stating it a bit nicer.

It is okay to be struggling with a decision between multiple schools.

I also know people who got accepted to many amazing schools. Visited them all back in March and now wont even think about where to go until May 10th.

Re: When are you guys planning to decide?

Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2015 10:39 am
by rsk
I'm so bad about being super nitpicky with campus visits. So good at finding the one or two things I don't like about the place and convincing myself to reevaluate. This is coming down to the wire. Ugh.

What makes it worse is not having what I want to research very well defined at this point. All I know is applied math, probably related to physics somehow. Numerical or theoretical? Don't know. Continuous or discrete? Don't know. Continuum mechanics or quantum mechanics or relativity? No idea. Statistics? Maybe.

Because of this, I'll likely go to the place that keeps the most options open, even if there are better faculty in the field I end up in at another place I could've picked.

Re: When are you guys planning to decide?

Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2015 10:04 pm
by algebraicallyminded
I will decline all the other offers than my current favorite offer tonight. Still have two programs that have me on their waitlists. This is sort of nerve-rocking.

Re: When are you guys planning to decide?

Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2015 2:54 am
by hodgetheater
rsk wrote:I'm so bad about being super nitpicky with campus visits. So good at finding the one or two things I don't like about the place and convincing myself to reevaluate. This is coming down to the wire. Ugh.

What makes it worse is not having what I want to research very well defined at this point. All I know is applied math, probably related to physics somehow. Numerical or theoretical? Don't know. Continuous or discrete? Don't know. Continuum mechanics or quantum mechanics or relativity? No idea. Statistics? Maybe.

Because of this, I'll likely go to the place that keeps the most options open, even if there are better faculty in the field I end up in at another place I could've picked.
This really baffles me. Who in their right mind would accept a student that does not have a well defined research subject? Aren't you supposed to state in you SOP your intended area of study? The fact that you were accepted to multiple universities is not fair for current waitlisted students that do have research experience and a well defined research area. Please make up your mind soon.

Thanks.

Re: When are you guys planning to decide?

Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2015 3:22 am
by joga
hodgetheater wrote:
rsk wrote:I'm so bad about being super nitpicky with campus visits. So good at finding the one or two things I don't like about the place and convincing myself to reevaluate. This is coming down to the wire. Ugh.

What makes it worse is not having what I want to research very well defined at this point. All I know is applied math, probably related to physics somehow. Numerical or theoretical? Don't know. Continuous or discrete? Don't know. Continuum mechanics or quantum mechanics or relativity? No idea. Statistics? Maybe.

Because of this, I'll likely go to the place that keeps the most options open, even if there are better faculty in the field I end up in at another place I could've picked.
This really baffles me. Who in their right mind would accept a student that does not have a well defined research subject? Aren't you supposed to state in you SOP your intended area of study? The fact that you were accepted to multiple universities is not fair for current waitlisted students that do have research experience and a well defined research area. Please make up your mind soon.

Thanks.
That is so rude. People have been accepted to various programs upon their individual merit and the selection committee. It is totally upon the person to make a decision. Many people usually enter graduate school with a vague idea of what they want to study, This can change during their course of time. Many people write an open ended SOP and get into TOP places, primarily because they don't want to commit and are not sure. And it is fair if they are confused because they are allotted time till 15th. If a person sits on an admit not declining it even after he has decided can be termed unethical but it is fair still as he has the right to do so. The person states he has not been able to make his mind up owing to various reasons - which totally belong to him. It is his or her prerogative. It baffles me even more that you think it is fair to bully and demean people. They have earned their admit by the selection committee and you have had no part to play in it. I found that extremely repulsive. You are not going to cover his back if he is unhappy with his choice later. So please refrain from demeaning others. One can and should only request because the selected people have been selected because they are considered worthy by the universities admitting them

Re: When are you guys planning to decide?

Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2015 3:27 am
by blitzer6266
joga wrote:
hodgetheater wrote:
rsk wrote:I'm so bad about being super nitpicky with campus visits. So good at finding the one or two things I don't like about the place and convincing myself to reevaluate. This is coming down to the wire. Ugh.

What makes it worse is not having what I want to research very well defined at this point. All I know is applied math, probably related to physics somehow. Numerical or theoretical? Don't know. Continuous or discrete? Don't know. Continuum mechanics or quantum mechanics or relativity? No idea. Statistics? Maybe.

Because of this, I'll likely go to the place that keeps the most options open, even if there are better faculty in the field I end up in at another place I could've picked.
This really baffles me. Who in their right mind would accept a student that does not have a well defined research subject? Aren't you supposed to state in you SOP your intended area of study? The fact that you were accepted to multiple universities is not fair for current waitlisted students that do have research experience and a well defined research area. Please make up your mind soon.

Thanks.
That is so rude. People have been accepted to various programs upon their individual merit and the selection committee. It is totally upon the person to make a decision. Many people usually enter graduate school with a vague idea of what they want to study, This can change during their course of time. Many people write an open ended SOP and get into TOP places, primarily because they don't want to commit and are not sure. And it is fair if they are confused because they are allotted time till 15th. If a person sits on an admit not declining it even after he has decided can be termed unethical but it is fair still as he has the right to do so. The person states he has not been able to make his mind up owing to various reasons - which totally belong to him. It is his or her prerogative. It baffles me even more that you think it is fair to bully and demean people. They have earned their admit by the selection committee and you have had no part to play in it. I found that extremely repulsive. You are not going to cover his back if he is unhappy with his choice later. So please refrain from demeaning others. One can and should only request because the selected people have been selected because they are considered worthy by the universities admitting them
Agree completely joga. Thanks for putting it eloquently.

Re: When are you guys planning to decide?

Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2015 4:15 am
by MathCat
hodgetheater wrote:
rsk wrote:I'm so bad about being super nitpicky with campus visits. So good at finding the one or two things I don't like about the place and convincing myself to reevaluate. This is coming down to the wire. Ugh.

What makes it worse is not having what I want to research very well defined at this point. All I know is applied math, probably related to physics somehow. Numerical or theoretical? Don't know. Continuous or discrete? Don't know. Continuum mechanics or quantum mechanics or relativity? No idea. Statistics? Maybe.

Because of this, I'll likely go to the place that keeps the most options open, even if there are better faculty in the field I end up in at another place I could've picked.
This really baffles me. Who in their right mind would accept a student that does not have a well defined research subject? Aren't you supposed to state in you SOP your intended area of study? The fact that you were accepted to multiple universities is not fair for current waitlisted students that do have research experience and a well defined research area. Please make up your mind soon.

Thanks.
Most people being admitted to math PhDs change their interests. Nobody takes it that seriously if you say you absolutely want to study some precise area/problem, unless you already have extensive background in that area (and most applicants are nowhere near this stage). Indeed, on my visits, faculty seemed to like that I recognized my interests might change and was taking that into account. Saying "applied math" as an intended area of study is sufficient for a SOP.

And yes, as others have said, this is an incredibly rude thing to say. It's not like any program owes you an admission, so how is somebody else's success not "fair" to others? Just because you really want to go to program X doesn't mean you 'deserve' to go - and somebody chosen above you obviously had something more that they were looking for (though being waitlisted is still an expression of interest). You came across as entitled and childish in this post.

Re: When are you guys planning to decide?

Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2015 6:57 am
by algebraicallyminded
Please do not ask people to hurry! I understand from experience that waiting is extremely difficult, but it is also important for others to have sufficient time to decide because it is a very important decision in their lives.

However, I still think that it would be nice if folks tell the schools as soon as they decide not to go. I personally think that having two more days would not change my decision, so I decided to hold only one offer till the end.

This, however, may not apply to the people who do not have strong preference in particular subjects. I would say general US news ranking is also a good measure in this case. Of course, anyone reading this does not need to take my opinions too seriously. It is just a thought.