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PSA: As acceptances start to roll in, this is just a friendly reminder to everyone from someone with lots of contract experience, NEVER ACCEPT A POSITION UNTIL YOU HAVE YOUR FUNDING PACKAGE IN WRITING (unless, of course, you are not expecting funding). Even if it is your top choice and you've been dying to go for the last 20 years... I cannot stress enough; get that s**t in writing.

I got an acceptance today and cried. I'm going to grad school, y'all ? Sharing this process with all of you has definitely helped make this crazy application process a lot more bearable. Wishing acceptances on everyone!

I emailed my POI from the interview I had last week at UN-Lincoln. She responded and apologized for the delay and cited the polar vortex-- but she said I am IN!! This is my first acceptance and I am over the moon!

I would very much like to know where/if I am going to graduate school !!

Memes are my only solace from this nightmare

Hello! This is the Ghost of Waitlists Past! As someone who was waitlisted and ultimately admitted, I wanted to share a few reflections from my experience. Being waitlisted is the worst. Your application cycle has been dragged out even further. You feel a weird mix of joy and defeat. My inner saboteur kept telling me, "I was good, but not good enough." At the end of the day, you may not get admitted despite all this added anxiety. These steps, though, made me feel like I had done everything I could do. 1. If you want to be on the waitlist, re-affirm your interest. I do not just mean replying to the DGS's waitlist email saying, "Yes! Keep me on it!" (Though you should do that ASAP.) A week or two later, I also sent a formal letter to the DGS, i.e. 2 short paragraphs in an email with a Dear XXX and Sincerely XXX, re-affirming that the program was one of my top choices. Keep it concise and do not repeat anything from your SOP. This might only be one short paragraph. However, here are a few other things you might want to mention: 1a. If this program is your first choice, say it. When I submitted my PhD applications, I was fairly confident this program was my first choice, but after having a few more months to reflect, I was now certain. In my letter, I said that and stated that I could confirm my attendance if admitted before the April 15th national deadline. This is a big commitment, so only say this if you are going to commit to that. When April 15th barrels down on the adcom, they want to offer admission to students on the waitlist that will accept their offer. Some adcoms will have a ranked list of waitlisted students, and this gesture may not do much. However, if your program's adcom does not have a ranked list, this may help. 1b. Tell them about any admissions you have received. Some DGSs will ask for this, but either way, be sure to mention which programs admitted you! This makes you a more attractive candidate, and if those acceptances are from impressive programs, it could spur them to review your file to see what they might have missed. Plus, it also alerts them that you will need to know before April 15th since you have an offer on the table. 1c. Any updates to your CV since you applied? After submitting my application, I had a few CV additions. I had a paper accepted for a conference, I was awarded a competitive grant, and I had another line of employment to add. I included those in my letter since those, like admissions to other programs, could spur some review of my application. Even if you do not have updates like that, you can still tell them about other things. Still in school and finished your fall semester with a 4.0? Tell them. Was that conference paper or publication listed as "forthcoming" on your last CV now given/published? Tell them. Did you finish a project at your job that seems relevant to the program? Tell them. The point here is not to brag, but to affirm that you are a hardworking candidate that could bring something special to the cohort. 2. Ask the DGS what the waitlist procedure is. Some will tell you up front and in detail how they select students and how frequently they will update you about your progress. Some will be more opaque. Either way, you have the right to ask questions like, "How does the committee select students for admission from the waitlist?" and "Are waitlisted students able to visit the department, either at the open house or individually?" 3. After you send the letter of interest, keep in contact with the DGS, but do not overwhelm them. This is where it is hard to be prescriptive. You will have to judge what is too much or too little contact. My suggestion is to err on the side of too little contact since you do not want to overstep. I would especially refrain from asking for updates. Instead, restrict yourself to major CV additions, i.e. other admissions, publications, professional conference presentations, or awards. I received my waitlist notice in late February/early March, and after I sent my letter of interest, I sent a total of two other emails: the first informing the DGS about two awards I had won, and the second – two weeks before that big April 15th deadline – asking for an update/re-affirming my interest. 4. Update your LOR writers about your waitlist status. You should be keeping them in the loop about your application cycle anyway, but if not, tell them about your waitlist status. When I told them, one of my letter writers was very generous and offered to write to a faculty member on my behalf. Not everyone is going to have that reaction, nor should you ask it or even expect it. (I didn't!) However, informing them gives them the opportunity to take more action if they can. You can also ask them if there are any steps they think you should take. During the application cycle, I ran the suggestions in this list by my letter writers, and they approved of them, giving me more confidence to do them. 5. If you have been admitted to other programs, evaluate those offers. Go ahead and start narrowing down any admittances you have. For now, treat the waitlist as an admittance. As you evaluate your options, you might decide the waitlisted program is not your first choice. If, however, you feel like the waitlisted program is your first choice, then hold on to it and decide which of your current offers is your first choice. Once you have selected your top admitted program, decline your other offers. Then inform the DGS at the top admitted program that you have been waitlisted at another, especially if you plan to wait until the April 15th deadline. When contacting the DGS, I affirmed that I was impressed by their program and would be excited to attend, but that I was waitlisted for a program that was a better fit for me and intended to wait. The DGS appreciated my transparency and that she could prepare for potentially notifying people on their waitlist. Remember, you are not the only one on a waitlist! 6. Be patient. The hardest thing to do on this list! In order to offer admission to students on the waitlist, the program has to wait for enough admitted students to decline their offers. Programs often admit more students than they expect to take, so even if one or two students decline their offers, the program may already have a fully realized cohort. Programs usually see major movement in late March/early April when students admitted to multiple programs have attended their open houses and have reflected on their experiences. Then, the DGS will begin sending out other acceptances. You could receive an offer of admission before then! You could also receive your acceptance after April 15th. I did not receive my acceptance until the day before the April 15th deadline. In the moment, it was nerve-wracking. However, because I had not officially accepted another offer, things went more smoothly for me and the two DGSs. If push comes to shove on April 15th and you still have not heard from the waitlisted program, you have to make a choice. It is your choice, but if you are seeking advice, I would strongly recommend taking the admission you already have. You truly do not know if you will be admitted until you get an official letter. 7. In short, always be passionate, courteous, and brief. Each email you send matters and reflects what it would be like to work with you. Now that I am on the other side, I know at least one reason I was admitted was because I was determined and respectful. Proofread everything you send. Keep your emails short. Sound enthusiastic and professional. Good luck, my fellow waitlist survivors!

In at Chicago..........

Woah!! Unexpected timing! AHHHH School: Simon Fraser University Concentration: Clinical Child Psychology Type: MA Date of acceptance: informal acceptance - Feb 11, 2019 Notified by: Personal e-mail from POI

Just got word that I got into Duke! It's my first choice, and I'm so incredibly excited!! So if you see that admit on the results page, it's mine. I'm a bit shy about sharing my focus/POI on here because anonymity etc, but if you've applied to Duke and you're curious, feel free to PM me!

I was rejected by Princeton, Berkeley, Duke, and Wisconsin-Madison. My first acceptance came today, and all I can say is that the process is extremely arbitrary provided that you meet the minimum requirements. People on this forum have talked about math, SOP, research experience, GPA, etc being important factors in the admissions process. But my experience tells me that even if you excel in all these areas, it's still not sufficient. (N=1, so take my words with a grain of salt.) I took advanced math and programming classes and graduated with a minor in computer science. I worked as a research assistant for two CHYMPS political science professors and got recommendation letters from both of them. My GRE scores are in the 95% percentile for all three subsections, and my GPA is in the top 20% of my class at a top 20 university. I wrote my undergraduate thesis on political economy, and the project involved a lot of heavy programming. The two CHYMPS political science professors read my SOP and said it was good. I wrote two paragraphs for each school emphasizing research fit. All that is to say that I still got rejected almost everywhere despite these credentials. I honestly do not know what I would do differently to improve my chances. I would think it's the same for a lot of great applicants, like @acmnny and @Chronicoverthinker. Also, I think research fit is too subjective to be a useful topic of discussion. I met with another CHYMPS professor recently, and he said my research idea was "uninteresting" and "did not speak to any larger issue in political science." But the two professors I worked with both liked my proposal and one said he hired me because I wrote it in my job application. I think a more productive approach to rejections is simply accepting the arbitrariness of life. If you meet the minimum standards (90% GRE, okay GPA at a known university, good letters from people who do research, some research experience), there's no use faulting yourself for rejections or thinking you could've done things differently to improve your chances. The process is simply just random, like job searches and the search for a romantic partner or a true friend. Finally, there's a lot of reporting bias on this forum. I wouldn't have created an account to share my experience had I not received an acceptance today. So when you see people getting multiple acceptances, know that they are hundreds of others who have been rejected everywhere or who have only gotten into one school. Please don't think less of yourself as a person or as a political scientist just because there are two or three people getting accepted everywhere. TLDR: The process is random. Pedigree definitely matters, especially when it comes down to picking two people out of the final ten. Research fit is super subjective, so don't worry about it if you've said what you wanted to study in your SOP. And if you don't think there's anything you can change, either apply again next year or find a job! The application process says nothing about you as a scholar let alone a person.

uh i had pretty much accepted that i'd be shut-out, but i'm admitted at UCSD too...

ANOTHER DAY ANOTHER 1000 PEEKS AT MY EMAIL

The MFA grad advisor attempted to call me, but instead received a UT Austin Painting acceptance via email! Nominated for a recruitment fellowship through the University, which includes a full scholarship, free health insurance, and a more than a generous living stipend. The email goes on to mention that their decision was unanimous, which make me feel truly wanted at their program.

Just wanted to drop in and say good luck to everyone. With grad school in my rearview mirror, I can now appreciate this forum from a different perspective. Wait a minute...am I like that guy who graduated high school and still hangs out at the football games?

Long time lurker here:) Just writing to claim the UChicago Comparative Literature acceptance on the board. Received an email from the head of the Admission Committee a couple of hours ago welcoming me to the program. Excited as this is one of my top choices!

The BEST pup

UW-Madison!!!! I received an acceptance today via email!

Geez—I just got into Berkeley. Did not think that would happen. What even.

I WAS JUST ACCEPTED AT YALE!!!! Crying with happiness.

Posting a picture of my newly adopted puppy since today is tough for some of us (and to congratulate today's acceptances):

Got my first acceptance letter today!!! Can’t believe I’m definitely headed to grad school next year, it’s such an enormous relief and I can’t stop smiling! Thanks so much for all the guidance and support here, it played a big role in my apps and interviews this year for sure.

I have no idea how this happened but I got into University of Washington. I got the email at 12:30am EST after a few glasses of wine and was incredibly confused but so excited. The good news continued this morning with an acceptance from UCLA. This is gonna be tough. UW was like my number one school but my wife realllly wants to be in southern California..

Can confirm that Chicago has probably made most of its decisions. I just got an informal email from a POI telling me about this fellowship they're offering me and I confusedly asked whether that meant I was accepted! She said yes and added that she was surprised that the administrative gears were turning so slowly. Anyway, I'm beyond excited and hope everyone will be released from this agony soon!!

1) Be OVERPREPARED! Read the program handbook multiple times, familiarize yourself with the research of your POI but also with the research their students are currently doing, look at their lab website and student/professor bios. Pro tip: search all the government funding databases (NIH, NIMH, etc.) to see what projects are currently funded for the POI you're interviewing with; in my experience, professors are always impressed if you know about projects they haven't published yet. Also check out "Mitch's uncensored advice to applying to graduate school in clinical psychology" (http://mitch.web.unc.edu/files/2017/02/MitchGradSchoolAdvice.pdf), specifically Section 3 about interviews. 2) Be yourself. The best way to stand out is by being authentic and honest about your experiences/interests. If you don't have experience with a certain method or analysis technique, say so, and do not misrepresent your interests or abilities. Personally, I don't try to tailor my research proposals to specific PI's because I want to show that I would research that topic even if I wasn't in their lab, that it's something I'm passionate about and committed to researching. It shows you've developed your interests enough to have a solid direction you want to embark on (and hopefully the professors you applied to work with are already a good match for your interests, without you needing to tailor yours to match theirs). Additionally, some professors will ask you very specific questions about your research interests or potential projects you would want to work on and if it isn't something you've already spent a lot of time thinking about or researching, you would likely be unprepared for those types of questions. 3) Make it more of a conversation than an interview. Professors are not only interested in your knowledge of the field and match with their projects, but they want to know that they would enjoy working with you closely for many years and that you would make a good addition to their lab, from a social/cultural perspective. My mentors repeatedly refer to interviews as "the a--hole test"; just demonstrate that you have good social skills and that you're not afraid to speak your mind or ask questions (read: DONT BE AN A--HOLE). 4) Weave your answers into your experiences. Instead of giving a direct answer to a question, demonstrate your answer by talking about an experience you've had or an opportunity that exemplifies your answer. (Example: If asked to "Describe your work ethic", instead of saying "I'm responsible, hard-working and dedicated", talk about how you took on additional responsibilities for a certain project or some professional development that you've done to build healthy work habits). This kind of response answers the question while also giving more information about your interests/experiences. These kinds of answers also help to make the interview seem like more of a conversation than a "formal interview". If you have a TON of past experience, try to pick your 2-3 most relevant experiences to elaborate on for the interview instead of attempting to give an overview of your complete work experience, and refer back to these experiences as often as possible! (interviews are usually relatively short, an hour max, so you don't want to run out of time talking about everything you did 5 years ago before getting to your more recent/relevant experiences). Stay calm, be confident in your responses and tone of voice, and I'm sure you will do GREAT! GOOD LUCK