Worried about admission results!!!!

chrho

chrho

O.G.
Feb 1, 2007
916
2
#1
I am applying for the PhD program in Mathematics for the fall semester. So far I have only been accepted to University of Washington(Seattle). Today I got a call from the chairman at Rice telling me that he will fully recommend me to the graduate school, but I still don't know if that means that I'm in for sure!!! Besides applying to Washington and Rice, I've also applied to North Carolina State University, but I'm only on the waiting list and so far there are no news!!! If I do get accepted to all at the end, I don't know which one to choose!!! Anyway, have any of you have had the experience of applying to graduate school? :confused1:Also, please have your fingers crossed for me for both Rice and NC State!!!
 
#3
I went to Rice for my undergrad, go Owls!

...but enough about me. PhD in math? That's scary smart! I'm sure you won't have any trouble getting in. Good luck and remember to thank TPF when you win the Nobel prize!
 
#5
I'm applying to grad school for electrical engineering right now. I got the whole "recommend you for admission" thing from one of the schools too. I *think* that means you're in. I got rejected from two and I'm waiting on my last one without much hope.

Don't stress, stay focused on what you're doing right now and you'll be fine. Good luck to both of us.
 
#6
I know how you feel! I have applied to Loyola, St. Louis Uni, and Washington University for transfer. So far, I have gotten into Loyola and St. Louis University with scholarships. I am leaning towards Loyola, but if I get into Washington... I might have to go there depending if I get a scholarship.

Good luck with your applications!
 
#9
Good luck!

I start the application process this summer. I have 12 months left on my Masters, then (hopefully) onto a PhD at Emory. Let us know how it turns out!!
 
#10
Good luck, chrho!!!

A "recommendation" for admission is a very stong sentiment from a member of the admissions committee and bodes well for you.

When considering your university, I strongly recommend you look beyond the university name to investigate your professors...it's a very small world in academia, and your professors and their professional research and reputations do tons more for you in getting a post-doc or full-time job once you complete your PhD than does the name of the university.

DBF has a PhD in Chemical Engineering and when he was selecting PhD programs, who his professors were and their reputations in his field were his # 1 decision factors. The prof that was his PhD advisor is one of the top people in the field in the US and DBF has always had good luck in job interviews, etc. because he was a student of this top professor.
 
#12
oh my goodness chrho I know exactly how you're feeling. I need to decide on a phd program in the life sciences by 4/15 (D-day). I am a constant ball of stress these days.

Regarding your choices for schools, I would pick UW even if you get into all the programs. Its a great place and the seattle area is amazing! Congrats on being accepted!

I've talked to a lot of people around me (professors, students) and the advice from graduate students has all been the same: pick a graduate school based on where you want to live. After all, you'll be stuck there for 5 years!

From the professors I've spoken to: If you want to stay in academia, pick your advisor wisely. Like a previous poster mentioned, a famous advisor would open lots of doors for you when you graduate. However, if your goal is to work in industry (consulting, finance, etc), where you went to school would be the first thing recruiters look at.
 
#13
Hey ladies, I have officially been admitted to Rice! Now I'm only waiting on North Carolina State!

redney: Thanks for your suggestion! I have actually found somes professors from each university that I'm interested in working with before I apply to the schools. All of them are very good at their fields and that's why it's such a tough choice for me! But I think I may eliminate the choice of going to North Carolina State as I am only being considered as a second choice.

guccimamma: I haven't been to Seattle and Houston before, so I don't know where I would want to go more. But I am planning to make a trip to both of these cities and check them out myself.

angel2434: Thanks for your words of wisdom! I agree 5 years is a long time to be stuck in the same place. I will definitely have to think hard about where I end up choosing. By the way, do you have a school that you're tending to go with?
 
#14
Yay for math! I almost doubled in that as an undergrad but by my 5th calc class I was done :smile:

I'm dreading the grad school application process as well, I've been working for a few years and still trying to muster up the energy for the GRE.

Only suggestion I can make is to make sure you like the town. I would choose Seattle over Houston but that's just me. Not sure how a math program compares to chemistry but for me it's all about connections despite the school.

Good luck!
 
#15
angel2434 said:
From the professors I've spoken to: If you want to stay in academia, pick your advisor wisely. Like a previous poster mentioned, a famous advisor would open lots of doors for you when you graduate. However, if your goal is to work in industry (consulting, finance, etc), where you went to school would be the first thing recruiters look at.
Click to expand...

This is so true to some extent. Academia requires a good advisory and lots of publications to get a faculty job. Industry though I find it's more experience, "what have you done" and good referrals by people in the industry rather than the schools. I work with PhDs from Harvard, Stanford, and Cal and some of (actually most of them) aren't the sharpest tools in the shed when it comes to science or life. People are starting to move away from this ranked school notion.
 
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