AnomalousApplicant

Last week, I emailed them. I was told that I was on a waitlist and they are still trying to make decisions. This was for a sociology program.

I am waiting to hear about my application for a PhD program. The online portal says it's under review, but now it is April 15th, and I am not sure what is going on. I assuming that I am rejected but not certain. I emailed not long ago to inquire about my status but have not received a reply. Should I continue to bug them with emails or just wait? I would like to know something soon because I have other opportunities to pursue. Any advice would be appreciated.

I understand being nervous. I am, too. I am confused about how certain aspects of the admissions process works. I've applied to a PhD program. It is April 14th, and I don't know where I stand. I've heard that some graduate programs waitlist applicants without telling them, but is there any special reason why they do not want to tell people that they've been waitlisted? Ignore the schools listed in my signature: They are not up-to-date, and I cannot seem to edit.

I have not heard back from 4 schools... I don't know what to expect... probably rejection.

In January, Cornell told me they would not be making decisions for social psychology before the end of February. However, I still have not received a rejection or acceptance, so you are not the only one, at least.

I know how you feel. ^

For the one place that I was waitlisted for, I was notified by the department. Every website portal still says "under review." Those portals, for the most part, are useless in my case. I am still awaiting to hear from 6 more places...

Has anyone interviewed for UT-Austin's Evo program for this year(2015)--or received any word on decisions?

I certainly hope it works out for you That sort of surprises me that someone would suggest lying, but I do see the temptation when sitting directly across from a POI that one really respects. Should I be fortunate enough to receive an interview this late in the game, I will remember to be myself. As someone else said, I don't think faking it is worth it in the long-run

Good point. Early on in the process, I was just eager to get into school somewhere, so I was applying at places that, had I looked more closely, I would have realized that I was not a good fit. I also passed on a few places that would have been great fits, but non-academic reasons biased me to not apply. This is a little nugget of gold that I think many should consider. I, too, am first-gen and have had a rough schooling experience that may have helped me if I would have flushed that out more in my SOP. A good point, actually... I had never thought of this. Interesting posts so far. it looks like a lot of us would wish we could change GRE and SOP things for the most part. It's rough the first time around, though, because it's hard to know exactly what to expect until one has been through the process. I was fortunate to have some good advice going into this process from undergrad faculty, but it is still hard because many of them have not been through the process in years and do not take on grad students at my small school, so times have changed for them. If I get rejected across the board, I will certainly do things differently next round.

This post is by no means intended to make others feel bad their applications, but rather to learn more about the whole application process and possibly help some others out. Is there anything that you wish you could change now about your applications, or the process you went through? As it stands now, I have been rejected from 5 out of my 12 of the programs to which I applied and my chances are not looking too good for the rest. I wish I could change the following: My quant GRE score--It is incredibly low (I took the test twice). I was told by POIs at some of the prospective programs that the scores should be better or there is a chance that the rest my application will not even be considered. I do have a learning disability with math, but I should have worked more to get the score up, at least a little bit. 2. Apply to less PhD programs. My undergraduate psychology advisors told me that I have had a lot more experiences than most people coming out of undergrad, so I was a good candidate. After learning of Grad Café, I am realizing my research experiences (which has mostly been 3 years of data entry and conference presentations over someone else’s research) at my small university are not as competitive as many of the other applicants here. I am now being told that maybe aiming for the Master’s level to get more research experience, which, in turn, would help me get into doctoral programs. I wish I would have thought of this sooner. 3. Statements of Purpose. I thought they were awesome for each school back when I was writing them, but now I think that I talked too much about why I am good candidate for graduate school in general rather than why I am a great fit for the specific program. Other than these things, I feel happy with my applications. What about you?

I am waiting to hear from UT-Austin as well. The wait is painful.

Over the past few weeks, I have seen people posting results for UT-Austin's social psychology and counseling programs, but I have seen nothing about the evolutionary psychology program to which I applied. Has anyone heard anything about the evolutionary program there?

While I have heard back from 6 psychology programs already(all bad news), for the remaining ones I have left, it is painful. Hopefully, everyone hears something soon!

Will be 30 in Fall.