Who Evaluates Applicants

At most schools, the admissions board includes professional admissions officers and/or faculty from the department to which you’re applying. At some schools, the authority to make admissions decisions lies with the graduate school itself—that is, with the central administration. At others, it lies with individual departments.

What Decisions Do They Make?

Upon reviewing your application, the admissions board may make any number of decisions, including the following:

• Admit: Congratulations, you’re in! But read the letter carefully. The board may recommend or, in some cases, require you to do some preparatory coursework to ensure that your quantitative or language skills are up to speed.
• Reject: At the top schools, there are far more qualified applicants than spaces in the class. Even though you were rejected, you can reapply at a later date. However, if you are considering reapplying, you need to understand why you were rejected and whether you have a reasonable chance of being admitted the next time around. Some schools will speak with you about your application, but they often wait until the end of the admissions season, by which time you may have accepted another offer.
• Waiting list: Schools use the waiting list to manage class size, leaving the applicant with a mixed message. The good news is that you are a strong enough candidate to have made the list. The bad news is there is no way to know with certainty whether you’ll be accepted. Take heart, though, that schools do tend to look kindly upon wait-listed candidates who reapply in a subsequent year. Similar to the waiting list is the provisional admit.  You may be asked to retake the GRE or resend another part of your application in order to gain admission to your desired school.
• Request for an interview: Schools at which an interview is not required may request that you interview prior to making their final decision. Your application may have raised some specific issues that you can address in an interview, or perhaps the board feels your personal statement did not give them a complete enough picture to render a decision. Look at this as a positive opportunity to strengthen your case.