When are you guys planning to decide?
Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2015 10:13 pm
Right on time or slightly before? And why?
for current and prospective graduate students in mathematics
https://mathematicsgre.com/
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.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.
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 themhodgetheater wrote: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.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.
Thanks.
Agree completely joga. Thanks for putting it eloquently.joga wrote: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 themhodgetheater wrote: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.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.
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.hodgetheater wrote: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.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.
Thanks.