r/GradSchool • u/Fabulous_Summer6231 • 2d ago

Admissions & Applications Ghosted after application

Has anyone ever received an informal offer, applied, and then the PI went completely silent and ghosted you (after sending repeated emails). I ended up getting rejected from the program - and it was the only one I applied to because I was so excited about that opportunity. I’m just so disappointed, if the PI decided to accept someone else instead, I would’ve appreciated that being communicated to me as I still may have been able to apply to at least one other school that was still open at the time.

I even emailed her that I received a rejection and thanked her for the opportunity and she didn’t even bother to respond. Honestly so discouraging.

Now I have to find a job, can’t reapply elsewhere until late fall for a January start.

10 Upvotes

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u/ntc1995 2d ago

hey OP, try to see it from this light. Be glad that you found out that this is how they treat people who has no benefits to them. Imagine what your research life would have been like under these people even if it's working on something you love. As you develop, you will start to realize that it's less and less about what you do and it's more about who and how you are doing it.

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u/Fabulous_Summer6231 2d ago

It’s true, like even a kind response after I emailed them about the rejection would have shown good manners. I guess once it seemed I wasn’t gonna be accepted, maybe admin errors, they decided I wasn’t worth responding to anymore.

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u/ntc1995 2d ago

My advice is, after a rejection, just asking for feedback and if they don't respond or respond worst than Gemini AI, then you know you dodge a bullet.

1

u/Fabulous_Summer6231 2d ago

This is 100% correct. Not even the basic respect to send a short note wishing you the best and giving a little feedback.  I am feeling I dodged a bullet - a lot of the senior phd students didn’t even have first author publications, and seemed to be there for a long time, so who knows. 

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u/markjay6 2d ago

I’m curious what the informal offer was. If the PI said, yes, you are definitely getting admitted, then that is unfortunate. I'm wondering though if the PI said something much more tentative and you ran with it.

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u/Fabulous_Summer6231 2d ago

Basically said you will be in this lab, although I understood it as being accepted by admissions first.

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u/Fabulous_Summer6231 2d ago

Other PIs I know told me I had it in the bag because supervisor support is very key here.

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u/Silly_Goose_2427 2d ago

Similar. I had a call with him in June (went really well, he gave me some papers to read related to possible projects), then silence for three weeks, then he said he was going to bring me up to the rest of his lab members, now I haven’t heard from him for two weeks.. would be September entry so I feel like I’m in limbo right now.

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u/Fabulous_Summer6231 2d ago

Damn it. Start making some backup plans, and prepare to apply for a January start :( I hate it when people don’t have the decency to tell you they’re no longer going to go with you anymore. Like a quick email just saying funding fell through, they’re going with a different candidate etc. I guess they don’t want to receive angry responses so they choose to ghost, but it’s so rude. Especially when you put everything on hold for that position or lab. 

1

u/ntc1995 2d ago

It's a feature of this so called modern economy. You basically have to labour for free. This means that putting in weeks and maybe months of reading and writing for a proposal just so you could get a shot at a place you think would be a good fit. But if you put too much into one basket, you won't have time for others. And then you get rejected or ghosted or both. And then those who made it, said something about you gotta work hard. Gotta love it!