Is it a bad sign that I got my rejection letter this early?

[peter_emrys]

Got my first decision for grad school bacl today, and it's a big fat rejection. I applied for was Ph.D in Near East Languages and Civilizations (Egypt) at UChicago, which is the school I heard back from, Penn, Johns Hopkins, and Brown. Now, I thought February through March is when they send acceptance letters and letters saying you're on the wait list and then don't send rejections until late march through April. So does the fact that I recieved my rejection that quickly mean they thought I was extremely unqualified for the program? If that's the case, then I need to work on my back up plan for next year when the other rejections come in.

[Bibica]

Nope. Some schools send out rejections earlier/at the same time as their acceptances. It sucks that your first notification was a rejection, but it's important to keep your head up. Good luck

[redikulus]

Would it be better if you had gotten it later? You confuse me.

I would love to have had my rejections two months ago so I wouldn't be thinking about it anymore.

[TakeruK]

In my field at least, this is the time for top schools to send rejections (most top schools send acceptances about 1 month ago to early Feb). So, it's an entirely normal time to receive them

[peter_emrys]

Update: just recieved rejection letter from Brown. Starting to panic now...

Edited February 20, 2017 by peter_emrys

[Kamari]

14 minutes ago, peter_emrys said:

Update: just recieved rejection letter from Brown. Starting to panic now...

I know it's much easier said than done, but have faith and keep your head up! You've still got some other institutions to wait on and I'm sure good news is on the way.

[peter_emrys]

4 minutes ago, Kamari said:

I know it's much easier said than done, but have faith and keep your head up! You've still got some other institutions to wait on and I'm sure good news is on the way.

And if it isn't? I only have 2 shots left, Penn, which is about as competetive as Chicago, and Johns Hopkins, which is about as competetive as Brown.

[Kamari]

1 minute ago, peter_emrys said:

And if it isn't? I only have 2 shots left, Penn, which is about as competetive as Chicago, and Johns Hopkins, which is about as competetive as Brown.

Well I'll tell ya one thing. cynicism will make things much more difficult. The whole application process is out of our hands if we're going to speak honestly so at the very least we can wishfully muster faith and believe in the very best. Whatever happens, has happened for a reason; and try not to count yourself out. 

[meep95]

On 2/20/2017 at 4:33 PM, peter_emrys said:

And if it isn't? I only have 2 shots left, Penn, which is about as competetive as Chicago, and Johns Hopkins, which is about as competetive as Brown.

 

Any updates? Thinking happy thoughts your way! 

[peter_emrys]

Just got rejected from Penn, the school I considered most likely to accept me, so I'm going to go ahead and call it. I'm not going to grad school, I'm not going to be an academic, I'm going to be stuck behind a desk for the rest of my life in best case scenario or on minimum wage in the worst, I'm done for.

[hj2012]

2 hours ago, peter_emrys said:

Just got rejected from Penn, the school I considered most likely to accept me, so I'm going to go ahead and call it. I'm not going to grad school, I'm not going to be an academic, I'm going to be stuck behind a desk for the rest of my life in best case scenario or on minimum wage in the worst, I'm done for.

 I understand rejection sucks, but don't descend into self-loathing. The fact of the matter is that graduate school (and academia in general!) is absolutely structured by rejection of all types, and this rejection has nothing to do with your self-worth or value as an intelligent human being.

You only applied to four grad programs which is very few, especially in the humanities. PhD programs are a crapshoot: I know lots of people (very smart and successful people!) who applied multiple times before getting in. If this is absolutely what you want to do, I'm sure that you can improve your application and cast a wider net in the following year. 

[I also just want to say that our choices in life are hardly ever as binary as you've presented. There are lots of amazing, fulfilling career paths that academic tunnel vision might prevent us from seeing. This is not only unhealthy but also perpetuates some of the hierarchies and inequalities within the academic system itself. I think if this is really what you want to do, learning how to handle rejection and gain a critical distance from academia as an institution will make your journey more bearable.]