When Should I hear from Astro Schools?

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caff234
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat Nov 23, 2013 10:43 pm

When Should I hear from Astro Schools?

Post by caff234 » Mon Mar 03, 2014 11:19 pm

So I'm still waiting on a few grad schools to send me their decision. So far I have been accepted to just one school, waitlisted at UW Madison, and have received a small handful of rejections. The schools I have been rejected from weren't huge surprises, though I was a little surprised that I didn't get into one of them. But there is a big chunk of schools that were target schools which I'm surprised that I haven't heard from yet.

Is anyone else waitlisted at Madison? Would it be acceptable for me to inquire what position I am in on their wait list, and what my chances are now (when they e-mailed me about a month ago they said I was "highly-ranked" on the wait list)?

Also, should I assume that I will very likely get a rejection from UC Santa Cruz at this point? It's the only school among my very top/reach choices that I haven't been rejected from. I know that they asked a lot of people for interviews way back in late January according to the grad cafe. What does it mean exactly if you weren't selected for an interview?

I just hate this waiting game...

DathosPachy
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Jan 27, 2014 12:38 pm

Re: When Should I hear from Astro Schools?

Post by DathosPachy » Tue Mar 04, 2014 12:05 am

I've been at least notified somehow by everywhere now. Three acceptances, two waitlists, and three rejections. I'm thinking that if you haven't heard anything new from somewhere in the past three weeks, you might re-inquire. I've heard rumblings that if you haven't heard from somewhere by now, they might want you, with funding being the main issue. As for interviews, I get the sense that they are applied only where committees are unsure about a decision. So I wouldn't be too incredibly put off.

The first round of acceptances for Madison was about 11 people (I was one of them myself). I know for a fact that one guy was going to Caltech straight from the visit weekend. I think I remember hearing that they enroll ~4 grad students per year in astronomy.

May I ask where you're still waiting on? Maybe I can provide some insight...

I anticipate that students will start choosing their schools pretty soon (I think I'll probably end up deciding in the next 2 to 3 weeks), so there may be another wave of acceptances coming.

caff234
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat Nov 23, 2013 10:43 pm

Re: When Should I hear from Astro Schools?

Post by caff234 » Tue Mar 04, 2014 12:25 am

I still need to hear from Arizona State (I don't think anyone has heard from them yet, and I'm thinking I should probably withdraw my application anyway. It was kind of my back-up), Penn State, Rutgers, and UC Santa Cruz. And of course, I'm waitlisted at UW Madison.

The school I've been accepted to is UCLA; I was among the first wave. I would probably prefer UCLA over Penn State and Rutgers anyway, but I'm not quite sure about that so I definitely haven't ruled out Penn State or Rutgers assuming I have a chance of getting in. UCLA and UW Madison is somewhat of a toss-up in my mind. I would like a Madison visit to help decide, should I be accepted to Madison; but I'm not sure if that'll be possible if I get an acceptance too late.

stengah
Posts: 20
Joined: Thu Apr 05, 2012 4:07 am

Re: When Should I hear from Astro Schools?

Post by stengah » Tue Mar 04, 2014 12:49 am

You should definitely inquire to every school that you have not heard from. I did just recently and they promptly responded with rejections.

I visited Wisconsin a couple weeks ago and it is a great place, it should easily compete with UCLA.

TakeruK
Posts: 941
Joined: Mon Jan 02, 2012 3:05 pm

Re: When Should I hear from Astro Schools?

Post by TakeruK » Tue Mar 04, 2014 1:14 am

I agree that it won't hurt to inquire at schools that seem to already made some of its decision (i.e. sent out interview requests or acceptances from info here or on grad cafe). At this time in my application year, UCSC Astro already rejected me, which happened about 2 weeks after I saw people get interview invites (but I didn't). I would say that no interview invite for an astro school that generally does interviews isn't a good sign!

caff234
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat Nov 23, 2013 10:43 pm

Re: When Should I hear from Astro Schools?

Post by caff234 » Tue Mar 04, 2014 3:51 am

Thanks for the replies, I'll send inquiries to see where my applications stand.

Should I do the same for Wisconsin? They said in their e-mail that they'd let me know if they'd be able to offer me a spot or not as soon as possible. So I must still be in consideration. Would it hurt to ask roughly where I stand in the wait list, or should I just be patient?

TakeruK
Posts: 941
Joined: Mon Jan 02, 2012 3:05 pm

Re: When Should I hear from Astro Schools?

Post by TakeruK » Tue Mar 04, 2014 12:11 pm

caff234 wrote:Thanks for the replies, I'll send inquiries to see where my applications stand.

Should I do the same for Wisconsin? They said in their e-mail that they'd let me know if they'd be able to offer me a spot or not as soon as possible. So I must still be in consideration. Would it hurt to ask roughly where I stand in the wait list, or should I just be patient?
I think if you are visiting a school near Wisconsin and you are planning to combine visits, it might be worth asking them with that as your "excuse".

bfollinprm
Posts: 1203
Joined: Sat Nov 07, 2009 11:44 am

Re: When Should I hear from Astro Schools?

Post by bfollinprm » Tue Mar 04, 2014 12:38 pm

Exactly. Something like,
If the chances aren't too remote that I might eventually be accepted here at UW-Madison, I'm considering taking the trip up to visit the campus, so I can make the best decision in the event I do receive an acceptance. Do you have any information as to where I might lie on the waitlist?

caff234
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat Nov 23, 2013 10:43 pm

Re: When Should I hear from Astro Schools?

Post by caff234 » Tue Mar 04, 2014 2:37 pm

There are no schools near Wisconsin that I'd be visiting. And being a poor college student, paying for a flight/hotel myself would almost certainly be out of the question. So maybe I'll just wait on Madison for a week or two? They probably haven't been able to really add anyone from the wait list yet. I think it's still just a little bit too early for most who have been accepted to turn down their spot.

Meanwhile, I did e-mail Penn State. They responded letting me know that I'm on their wait-list and that most of their initial offers are still pending. So I guess I'm still in the running there. I haven't e-mailed the others yet. I don't why; maybe too afraid to get rejections from them all at once haha.



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