Lulubelle

I'm in agreement with everyone else. Showing respect and moderate interest at the interviews should definitely not be that difficult. If you haven't already, then surely you'll encounter other situations in the future in which you've got to show enthusiasm for something that you don't find that exciting.

Yep. My mom says variations of that all the time. When I told her about my first couple rejections, she was like, "Well, if I were in charge there, I would have accepted you!" Yes, Mom, and luckily you're not.

Unless you said something horribly offensive, then I'd tend to agree with the others. Most interviews don't hinge on one single question. And I wonder if they'd even take your new answer into consideration. It would sort of defeat the purpose of holding an interview and not just emailing you a set of questions to fill out.

Maybe there are organizations on campus that hold various one-day events that you could volunteer at? Or other short-term opportunities? I know for some groups I was a part of, we might volunteer an hour or two to staff some sort of speaker visit or some kind of recruitment table. Or can you look for a job that will give you more related experience?

Depends on the school and the program. Some do, and some don't. You might want to check back on your programs' websites to see what they require or check out the "results search" section of this site to see if anyone else has heard/when people normally hear back.

All of my friends who went to grad school went straight out of undergrad and were 21 or 22. None of them seemed to have any problems or had any concerns over their age. If the program didn't take you seriously, then they wouldn't accept you, and once you're in, I assume their opinion of you is going to be based on your own performance.

Yeah, I feel like she just really isn't thinking that far into it. She's probably just carrying out her own duties of setting up a visit, and assuming that you'll take care of the stuff on your end (like determining whether it's smart to book a flight, etc.). Good luck!

Hahaha. I love it. I had a couple of friends like that, too.

What about any U. of Iowa people? Edit: I realize that the deadline was just the 1st, but I can't help but be impatient!

I'm 26, will be 27 when I start school. I expect a good chunk of people in my program will be straight out of undergrad. And I also expect that they will probably have more direct experience than I will, so I'll be happy to learn from their experiences.

Ahhhh, I hate that, too -- here people list how awesome they are to imply that it's completely absurd that they were rejected. It makes me wonder if they had an interview where they gave off that sense of entitlement and that's why they didn't get in.

I told an acquaintance today that I'd applied to master's programs and explained to her what I'd be studying and what I wanted to do after. Then, at the end, she says, "Oh, well, have you thought about getting an internship with some kind of company?" Uh...what? What sort of internship with what sort of company? Considering that I've already booked flights to go out to interviews, it's a little late for that. Not to mention that I've been out of college for quite awhile, so most internships are generally not open to me This already sort of happened to me months ago when my roommate's friend suggested that I look into public health programs instead, even though I'd just told her I'd submitted all my higher ed applications.

I think it's a good thing that you contacted them to ask, and I'd probably email again or even call. I had a school (none of the ones I listed in my signature, btw) tell me they wanted me to meet with an adviser to plan my course schedule within a month of getting accepted. I thought this was a little excessive because I had yet to hear from any other schools and was likely not going there. When I asked them about it, they backed off and just said that they just want to make sure students are ready for course registration and that maybe it would help me make a decision. So, who knows, it might be wishful thinking on their part that they're trying to pass off as a rule...

Me too! I got a rejection by mail and couldn't help but think it would have been so much faster just to email me. It's not like I need the paper copy for a scrapbook or something...

One of mine was months in advance (rolling admissions), but the other two were about a month before.

So frustrating! I had a school tell me I'd hear back within two weeks after an interview, and I think it probably ended up being a month instead. It's not necessarily a bad sign ... just means they're up to their eyeballs in work and applications!

Sorry to hear about that! I got two rejections in a row a few weeks ago and started thinking that meant no one was going to want me. I started looking at what sorts of jobs I'd apply to and deciding what to do with all the money I'd save from not going to interviews (that part was actually sort of nice). But then I got some acceptances and realized that it was just bad timing. Don't let this one get you down!

I thought some of my crazy would dissipate after getting some acceptances, but now it's taking a new form. I have a flight scheduled for a GA interview "weekend" one morning and was planning to work remotely that afternoon and evening. (The interviews start the next day.) While I have a little bit of buffer time, it's still a rather precariously scheduled travel plan. So, of course, I've started looking at the 15-day forecast to see if it'll be good weather so I can avoid delays and was dismayed to see a forecast of "moderate snow." I know that it's not accurate at all at this point, but it's still feeding my crazy...

I totally feel the same way. I think part of it, for me anyway, is that I'm starting to realize that it's not always about what school was your top choice when you applied. All the schools I've applied to have great opportunities and seem like nice places to live and study, so it makes me feel good to know that I'll likely be happy at any of them. (Though I certainly still plan to do my research to find the best fit!)

Sort of. None of mine overlap at this point, but I'm only allowed to take off so many days from work, which is complicated by a co-worker taking a two-week trip overseas. I ended up dumping the days I'd reserved for my top choice based on my chances of getting in (especially now that lots of people have heard back and I haven't)... Good luck on making your choice!

I haven't been to any interviews yet this year, but of the campuses I've been on in the past, UNC was gorgeous. Very green, lots of trees, lots of old buildings.

You know, I was thinking about this just now because I was looking up flights for an interview this month, after already having purchased tickets for two other trips (and I have a wedding to go to in April). I did sort of expect it, but now when I'm actually shelling out the money, it's kind of scary. Especially because this last one is much shorter notice (mostly my own fault, though, because I hadn't decided whether to go or not). Luckily, all my interviews offer the chance to stay with a grad student, so if that works out, at least I won't be paying for hotels. I've been working full-time for the past five years, though, so I have a good bit of savings and have specifically been saving for these trips, so it's somewhat manageable for that reason. Still not fun. Iampheng, I think the difference might be between doctoral and master's programs? Because my programs (and other master's ones, I believe) don't reimburse any travel expenses.

If it helps, I saw one week that someone had been invited to interview at a school I'd applied at, so I assumed I just missed the boat. But I got my own invite the next week. Sometimes they do spread them out!

I applied to seven schools, and when I told people, their eyes would bug out. However, very few of them had ever applied to grad school, so it's nice to find that I'm in a normal range in terms of number of applications. Now that interviews and visit weekends are starting, though, I see even more how stressful it is applying to a bunch of schools. Right now, I'm trying to weigh the odds of getting an interview at my top choice because I have to change some PTO around at work in order to go the visit weekend at one of my backups. Either way, this stuff is getting expensive!

I also see that there were interview invites for UVM's HESA master's program. Congrats, guys! Do we know if they send them all out in a bunch? I didn't get one, which I expected, but I have some other travel plans I want to make and don't want to jump the gun about making them...