University of Washington Foster school

Which page is that? (link please)

Got an email from washington re: fafsa. Looks to say "we will send you somehting else. Please watch for that." Strange, I have never received so many warnings about what I *will* receive in my life. God bless the MBA.
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We have received your financial aid application for the 2008-09 year. If
you are a continuing student or are admitted to the UW, and are eligible
for aid, we will send you an award letter and information about process-
ing aid. Your application is subject to a review process. We may ask
you to provide information before or after we offer you aid. Please
respond promptly to any request and be sure to inform us of any change
of address. You will be notified of any adjustments made as a result of
our review.

If this message was sent to a non-UW email account, you should know that
we will not use this account for future communications. Instead, we
will send information on paper via the U.S. mail. For UW students who
have established UW NetIDs, some of our correspondence will be sent to
your UW NetID email account. Newly admitted students will receive
information about how to set up a UW Net ID. You are encouraged to
set up your UW Net ID and email account as soon as you are eligible.
The financial aid office (and other offices on campus) will use email
for some communication with you, including time sensitive messages.
Therefore, you are expected to check your U.W. email account frequently
in addition to responding to any requests sent via U.S. mail.

u r right westsider, UW seems to give a lot of people a lot of waiting time. M surprised as to how late they r generally in replying to mails and most of the time the replies r a bit short to my liking. They come across as a bit arrogant but i guess that is in line with this whole "soft sell" approach of theirs. I am surprised also as to how much time they take in sending out the mails. They waited for virtually the last minute to send out the admission notice, last minute virtually for the scholarship decision and I have still not received the scholarship details by post mail. I am guessing that will be last minute too. I guess UW will get on the nerves of a lot of people with all this and for people who have offers from other shcools n who frustrate them a little less than UW, UW loses out on a lotta good students!!!!!! Here's hopin someone from the UW adcom read this message n try 2 change their ways.

Do you have a comparison? Are they different from other schools?

Vanderbilt is a model of excellence in these matters. They are an especially good comparison because:
1) they rank around the same as UW
2) they also bill themselves as the "kinder, gentler" mba (not cut-throat)

My point is this: being a "low pressure MBA" doesn't mean they need to be flaky with getting information to students, or waiting until the last possible minute, and then sending out a placeholder that says "you will find out later".

I think Foster is an excellent school - one that I will most likely choose to attend (over other schools, such as vanderbilt). For students that are unable to take the time to come out and see the campus and meet the students, many will have the following train of thought:
-The application process is a chance for schools to put their BEST foot forward
-Most schools go out of their way to make applicants feel comfortable, and make themselves look good
-Therefore what I experience on a daily basis as a student will likely be the same, or worse than my applicant experience (since they no longer need to impress me)
-If Foster's applicant experience is sub-par, then why should I expect the school to be a good experience as a student.

Again, I know the last time i mentioned this people said "but UW is a low-pressure, collaborative school". Yes, it is. But there is nothing that says the "kinder, gentler" places need to be so lacking in how they represent themselves. Negative kudos for anyone that says being a "supportive" school means being flaky
Also, to repeat this: I think it is a great school - that I will probably choose to attend over other schools (Vandy,UNC) and they simply could improve how they showcase it!

Let me bring this one home:
Most people would agree that personality and competence are the most important factors at work. And yet, every one of you still shower regularly, brush your teeth, comb your hair, wear decent clothes, and just otherwise make yourself presentable for work. Face it. Presentation matters, and UW could use some improvement in this area!

westsider:

i'm not really following your train of thought. if you feel that way, why are you thinking of going to UW over Vand? Just bc ur in the 206?

my point is this: i feel that people are confusing adcom quality to faculty quality. i've had a great experience in my communication with adcom, but commonly have heard otherwise. likewise, i have two close friends attending foster: one had good experiences dealing with adcom, one with a less positive interview, etc. nonetheless, both agree that foster has worldclass professors and resources--and is an "excellent" institution.

thoughts?

I must not have explained myself well, because you just made my point ("i feel that people are confusing adcom quality to faculty quality")! I was trying to say that faculty/school quality are great, but adcom could use some work. So I am attending because I know this disctinction. I am just worried that some great potential classmates might get turned off by their experience in admissions process.

You can't judge a book by its cover, but that doesn't mean booksellers should neglect the cover entirely!

oops. Sorry!

well, hopefully we'll both be experiencing foster's quality faculty next year! (and pub club)

i still gotta get in!

I agree about the quality of the school, but I have nothing but good things to say about adcomm. I don't know about their financial aid process, but I don't think you can complain that they wait to inform people about getting in. Anyway, you should tell them about your concerns (after you get a y/n on scholarships). They make changes every year, and constructive criticism never hurt anyone.

I have also heard that they inform some people early in the process.

I am with hotdog, waiting to hear if I am in!

It sounds like at least three of us are from Seattle.

Who is living in the Seattle area now?

Indeed I do plan to make some suggestions when/if i matriculate. I think that improving the school can only help all of us!

I am in the metro area.

when i got loans for previous grad school, i did fafsa online. you may be able to start the process on your own.

I agree, improving the image of the school can only help students and alumni.

Yeah, I'm on Capitol Hill....recently moved from Wallingford!

westsider, have you narrowed it down to just foster and vandi?

llmmll: what about u? have you gotten in anywhere yet?

i'm waiting on nyu, gtown, but love the idea of sticking around local...

How's the weather right now? I'll be out there on monday/tuesday next week and am hoping to get a nice day to just drive around and check out seattle.

Cool and overcast, but the weather forecast says that you may get some sun on Tuesday. Don't hold your breath.