So…I just got a bomb message from my PI. She told me that she tried everything, but she failed to acquire fund to grant me RA position for next 4 years. Obviously, that means I can’t go there anymore. I can’t believe that they let me hanging like this! My mom and sister will be so sad…
Do you think it’s possible to contact other schools that accepted me, explain the situations to them and ask if they could re-consider me? I am freaking out. I need help…
Screw you, UMD.
You committed to UMD and withdrew other applications before you knew about the funding???
You need to contact your other schools right away to see if any spots are open. Good luck.
Sorry to hear. You need to get on the phone with the other programs ASAP. Best of luck.
@momofsenior1 Well, the PI told me not to worry about it…and now I regret it. I have been contacting other schools, o hope things work out. Now I feel so stupid. For alabama, they didn’t give me extra time t consider, so I had to decline that one.
I haven’t withdrawn Columbia and Wisconsin yet.
Contact the other schools immediately. Do you have schools you haven’t heard from? I recall that many schools for PhD programs have deadlines in the December timeframe - not the very top schools, but definitely schools with funded programs. So maybe you can add a couple to your list, too.
My kid then went through visits before committing - why would you have withdrawn from anyplace at this point?
Good luck OP! I hope one of the other schools still has openings.
@intparent My school schedule doesn’t really allow me to make trips due to some classes mandating attendance no matter what.
My kid’s schools didn’t require a decision until after the formal visit days were done anyway. I don’t know what they would have done if a student wasn’t going to visit. Your profs really would ding you for grad school visits? That is pretty crappy of them.
Update: The program coordinator at BAMA told me that they already gave out the position to 2nd person, so that’s gone.
Good news!:I explained this clustercrap to NCSU, and the coordinator/PI said they would revert my offer decline so that I can accept it officially. They were very clear that I will receive 18K stipend, tuition waiver and insurance coverage.
I am so relieved…it was also a luck that I applied way too early in the application process. NCSU originally wasn’t going to review applications until mid-November but I got my decision quick.
So glad that it worked out @paul2752!
Yup, all they need to do is to re-open my application.
I know it was my fault to decline offers too early, but darn, that UMD pulled some crazy crap on me. God.
Paul, don’t feel too bad about yourself. Being a prospective graduate student is one of the few times in life when important people will try really hard to make you feel wanted, and you feel flattered, inevitably it happens that you’ll be a little blind to the reality of the situation. I didn’t know any better than you when I was applying for graduate school. The way money/grants works in academia is not exactly fair or intuitive. It happens all the time that professors exaggerate or talk up their research program to try to get good graduate students to join their lab.
NC State is a great location to be doing science in. In the research triangle area, there’s a healthy number of science and innovation-related jobs which means you’ll have a good chance of getting exposure to industry collaborations, internships, entrepreneurship meetups, etc.
I believe advice was given on other threads to not assume everything was good until you had the offer in hand for the financial support. I personally am not super surprised at this. But I’m glad it worked out. (And yay that they give you health insurance, not all programs will!).
@intparent that was after I already declined the offer ;p. So yes, I learned my lesson in a painful way.
That is good news, you will do fine at NCSU.
Important thing is, you took action, now. That’s a life skill. Take everything you’re learning from this and keep it. Get that NCSU offer confirmed and keep moving forward.
We never know why crap hits us. Bends in the road. How we take action, rebound, and keep moving matters. Believe that each twist is for good reasons.
We’re with you, Paul.
Sigh of relief.
Good lesson: if they want you, see what you can negotiate and get it in writing. Even more important for job offers.
So glad you got that offer reinstated at NCSU!!
Had not realized you didn’t have the financial offer in writing. 
That was rotten but unfortunately common for grad students to be seen as disposable ‘hands’. Hopefully your PI at NCSU will be decent.
Will you have a research only position or will it include some teaching?
NCSU tod me that they have a mix of TA and RA, so I will do both teaching and research. I am so excited…hope nothing crazy happens again, but the PI at NCSU was very clear about funding.