So, Let's Discuss Good & Bad Experiences With Admissions Forum

[j.wellington]

The Good:

Colorado: I received a quick response despite not being above both medians. The admissions officers politely let me make a critical update to my application and every time I've e-mailed them I've gotten a response that same day. When I went to visit, they actively sought to set up appointments with professors in my line of interest and knowledgeably answered even the most minute questions. My award for admissions office of the year.

Indiana: It took a while for my application to process, but once I was accepted, the outreach was top-notch. The admissions dean sent me a handwritten note and had clearly read my personal statement, which made me feel like more than a number. They also put me in touch with a current student that came from my UG, and who I happened to know somewhat. And they extended my decision deadline without questions. They do well with the personal touch.

Berkeley: I never had a shot here, but that rejection letter had heart.

The Bad:

U of Washington: I applied pretty early, yet I didn't even go into review until March and a decision was not rendered until last Tuesday. I'm still waiting on the actual letter, but I can assume I got rejected, because they sent an e-mail about admitted students day to all the acceptances that I then found out about on these forums. Also, they require a dean's certification as part of the initial application, which is pointless and just annoying. It sounds like sour grapes, but after this experience, I probably wouldn't have gone even if I'd been admitted.

UNC: I actually got a surprisingly quick and positive response, but I've been lurking their decision board, and the stuff reported by those still waiting is completely unprofessional and unacceptable.

The Whatever:

Minnesota, Hastings and BC: They do their job.

[ViIIager]

University of Richmond: AMAZING amount of time and effort they spent on outreach once I got accepted. I don't think there was a day I didn't get a letter or email from them, and they had multiple free lunches/dinners up in the northern Virginia area where I live. They responded to my emails quickly and sent personalized responses. Though its not a highly ranked school, their exceptional communication/outreach put them into consideration (heck, they even sent a really nice personalized response to my "sorry, going to a different school" email).

William & Mary: Blah. I mean, c'mon, hand out decisions even if they're waitlists.

Mason, Catholic, American, W&L, others: Didn't do anything fancy that I noticed, just sent out the acceptances and open house notifications. Nothing extraordinary. Honestly, I'm a little disappointed in them given the level of effort UoR put in.

[ec2xs]

This thread had already been made. The best I dealt with were WUSTL, UlUC, SMU, Tulsa, and Santa Clara.

I also agree with Villager that U Richmond was amazing. I actually felt guilty when withdrawing.

[umichgrad]

Can only really comment on the vast chasm separating the Admissions Offices at GULC and GW, but here goes: at GULC, you're lucky to be able to jam your foot in the door before they slam it on you, and beyond that, if you get to speak to a student admissions rep you're luckier than most. At GW, I wandered in to tour on my own on a Saturday morning, and Dean Richard invited me in to her office to sit down and talk. The Admissions staff clearly recalled my application when I said my name (though there was nothing extraordiary about it) and were happy to talk and answer questions.

[webbylu87]

The Good
- UIUC: Dean Pless runs a great admissions office. Everyone is friendly, courteous, and the whole process with UIUC has been transparent. Love it.
- WUSTL: Despite dinging me (this is the only one I was genuinely really disappointed about), they were always very helpful and upfront. Ms. Clifford told me upfront at the Chicago law school forum that because of my LSAT/GPA I most likely wouldn't be hearing until late-March or early-April. I hate that I didn't get in and other than their blatant number gaming, I have nothing really negative to say.

The Bad
- UNC: By far the worst. Slow, rude, and flat-out uncooperative.
- IUB: Screwed up my app. Told me I was complete, called 3 months later to get an update, found out I wasn't in fact complete and that they were waiting for me to send in a document. Still waiting for a decision. Lame.

The Meh
- Cardozo: Communicative, but not really helpfully so.
- Iowa: Their whole scholarship fiasco this year has really turned me off. It seems like there's little to no communication between Admissions and Financial Aid.

[OperaSoprano]

.

The staff isn't rude, they have just been mistreated a lot. I know no one on here w ould act that way, but you would seriously be surprised at what other prospective students have said and done. I am still in and out of that office frequently, and I acknowledge how hard they work, and what they have to deal with. The people I know who work in our admissions office are extremely gracious. I'm betting I'd run out. of patience and become a horrible person if Fordham gave me a job as admissions receptionist.

I 'm about to spend 100000$, she could at least be polite, I work fast food in a touristy area... I would never act the way that receptionist did.

I have never personally seen them be rude to anyone. I'm not saying it hasn't happened, just that you and I both know that customer service positions can suck. I used to be a hostess at a restaurant with- how to put this politely- demanding clientele. I was expected to serve customers well and look and dress a certain way while doing it, so I absolutely feel for everyone with a job like this. You are right that people shouldn't act rudely, but I definitely think I would understand if someone had an off day. I'm with you about the big spend, FTR. It's a lot of debt, and it took me time to get comfortable with what it's going to mean in the future.

[holydonkey]

Good:
Michigan
UVA
Vanderbilt
Illinois
Notre Dame
Washington & Lee

OK:
Duke
Cornell
WashU
Indiana
George Washington

Bad:
Penn
Georgetown
Texas
Emory
William & Mary

[akili]

I've been pretty impressed with Wake Forest. They got back to me super fast, were really welcoming at the Open House and have been regularly following up with me. If only that full-ride scholarship had been for real....

[Sogui]

Going to list NYU under "bad" because of the games they played with their Dean's Scholarships, trying to benefit from all the uncertainty surrounding this cycle.

[Veyron]

Going to list NYU under "bad" because of the games they played with their Dean's Scholarships, trying to benefit from all the uncertainty surrounding this cycle.

Games?

[blue5385]

I didn't see CLS on here, but I had a good experience when I called their office about housing. The person I spoke to was friendly, helpful, and informative. They also get points from me for good post-acceptance outreach and a great ASW.

[joeshmo39]

UVA was good. I called them to ask about my ED letter getting there because I sent it from London and the tracking shipped. I get the admissions rep (I assume) on the phone and say "Hey I'm calling because I sent and ED letter and was wondering if you received it yet?" She says "are you *my name*?" She may have been psychic. They admitted me 4 hours later.

[jlnoa0915]

UNC and UF are both pretty heinous, after a 4 month unresponsive wait at UF finally accepted; check the UNC board to see them keeping it classy.

Wake, Temple, Villanova and FSU have all been amazing and super helpful

[Sogui]

Going to list NYU under "bad" because of the games they played with their Dean's Scholarships, trying to benefit from all the uncertainty surrounding this cycle.

Games?

People might disagree with me, but if a school hands out scholarships with an "enrollment decision deadline" that is one week before their biggest competitor (CLS) hands out financial aid, they are pretty much playing a game of chicken with 0Ls and causing a lot of undue anxiety.

[Veyron]

Going to list NYU under "bad" because of the games they played with their Dean's Scholarships, trying to benefit from all the uncertainty surrounding this cycle.

Games?

People might disagree with me, but if a school hands out scholarships with an "enrollment decision deadline" that is one week before their biggest competitor (CLS) hands out financial aid, they are pretty much playing a game of chicken with 0Ls and causing a lot of undue anxiety.

LOL, this is hillarious.

[statuscheckerssuck]

Good: Wake, W&L

Bad: UNC, Texas

I live about an hour from UNC and it could have easily been one of my top choices, but instead I didn't even bother visiting after the rudeness of the email interactions I have had with their office. If they keep arrogantly acting like they have the NC market on lock they may be surprised when the friendly people over at Wake overtake them.

[roundabout]

No comments on UCLA? They've been awesome in every interaction I've had with them.

More generally, I wish schools would send out "You are not getting any money, so stop praying to whatever deity you've latched on to for this admissions cycle" e-mails so I don't have to wait or send tentative and awkward negotiation emails.

[maximus32]

GREAT
Michigan is a lock for great if not best.


GOOD
Minnesota- prompt and really friendly. Midwestern nice I suppose.
UVA- Also prompt and friendly.


BAD
BC= sucks and is not responsive. I wasn't strong on them to begin with but after e-mailing them twice with no response either time, I'm over them.
UNC= From what I've read on their board, they should get sanctioned for doing such a sh%$ty job.
BU

[FlightoftheEarls]

In early April (when I applied last year) I received a large envelope containing a letter from USC. Turns out it was a Waitlist. I wasn't crushed since I was between NYU and Michigan at the time, but I remember thinking that I couldn't imagine how disappointing that would be for students where USC was their top choice. There was something so disturbing about the fact that this admissions office would send a full letter like this to WL students, who I can only imagine would get their hopes up the second they saw the size of the letter. What about all of those kids who have the mail sent to their permanent addresses, and their parents see the mail they've received and call to tell them that "there's a large letter here from USC!" Needless to say, I still remember that a year later and USC's image has dropped considerably in my eyes following that incident. I know it's a little thing, but the little things say a whole lot.

[Neelio]

UW told me to wait until mid-Jan to submit as "they don't even start looking until then." Well, that didn't work out, as now I'm looking from the outside in. Stats above the 75th %.

[jeeptiger09]

Not T14 material, but...

Great: Tennessee, Alabama

Good: UGA, Wake Forest, Michigan State, Kansas, LSU, Marquette

Poor: UNC, Louisville, Miami, DePaul, SMU, Georgia State

Awful: Baylor, Kentucky, South Carolina, Mercer

[firebreathingliberal]

Case Western - Asked a question via email once. I got an answer the same day. The next day, someone else from the office called to answer the same question.

When I went for a visit there, which I had scheduled a week in advance, they had no idea who I was, even though they had accepted me months prior and given me 20k/year.

In contrast, when I went to visit Buffalo, the Vice-Dean sat down with me in her office and had my file out ahead of time and we never missed a beat.

[17ShortFuse]

USC- Bad just because they sent me an e-mail addressed to the wrong applicant. If you expect not to get a Why UCLA PS, I expect not to get an e-mail addressed to Nancy.

[firebreathingliberal]

USC- Bad just because they sent me an e-mail addressed to the wrong applicant. If you expect not to get a Why UCLA PS, I expect not to get an e-mail addressed to Nancy.

Did Nancy get dinged? I might feel a little better after reading that I was dinged to find out at the end of the email that it wasn't mine... or maybe they are just telling you what they really thing about you.. Nancy boy

also USC and UCLA are not the same, maybe they were pissed because you sent USC a "I really want to attend UCLA" PS

[pugalicious]

Not T14 material, but...

Great: Tennessee, Alabama

Good: UGA, Wake Forest, Michigan State, Kansas, LSU, Marquette

Poor: UNC, Louisville, Miami, DePaul, SMU, Georgia State

Awful: Baylor, Kentucky, South Carolina, Mercer

Agreed on Baylor! About 5 months after my application went complete, they sent out a large, thick envelope. Turns out it was just another "Why you should apply to Baylor" ad!

Good experiences: Florida State, Washington and Lee, Brooklyn

Bad: Baylor, and any who have yet to respond, many of which I'd forgotten I ever applied to... (ASU being the main offender)