FCP

I have already executed my plan b. I went to an interview for an adjunct position at a US university's satellite school in my city. Will start teaching in June.

I'v
 
 
I obsessed for a bit, but I've forced myself to stop looking at search results. I realized that absolutely no good could come of it. At best I won't learn anything, but I'm likely to see that other people had gotten accepted or gotten interviews to my schools and it would just ruin my day. The experience that forced me to stop was that I had been obsessively checking results and after seeing one of my schools had sent out a bunch of interviews, I got seriously depressed for about a week. I had completely written the school off, as well as my chances at any other school. Then out of the blue I got a phone interview request from this school, and now I'm invited to visit. Yeah, I don't want to have that experience again. Having the information is not worth the anxiety. I'll find out when they've made MY decision.

Hello.  My handle is wemayet, and I am a GradCafe "search results" junkie.
 
It all started in the fall, when I was looking for application advice.  I figured a little wouldn't hurt, you know?  It didn't take long before I was spending most, then all, of my spare time reading forums.  It didn't seem like a bad trade off for all the good feelings I was getting from what I was taking in.  I grew to rely upon it.  I needed it to get through applications.  But even when applications were over, I still needed.  I tried to quit cold turkey, but found myself going back for more.  I think on purpose at some level, I had even lost my login for a while, hoping I'd forget.  Then one day, I saw it.  The first indication that someone from one of my schools had gotten an interview.  That taste brought me back.  Worse than before.  A great hunger inside of me, I needed the information.  On my tower, on my ipad, on my laptop... all browsers had a GradCafe tab.  I'd hit that refresh button... dozens of times... sometime dozens of times in one hour.  When I wake up, I reach for the nearest computerized device and hit refresh again and again.  I'm hoping to make it an hour without, for this first attempt to stop.
 
My handle is wemayet, and I am a GradCafe "search results" junkie. 

Letters came at anytime, could be from any angles, directly or indirectly to my mailbox. Like ninjas in the dark attacking their targets with shuriken.
 
It's just hard to predict. But as far as I can recall, I never received an e-mail after 7 or 8 pm PST regarding my admission decision.

Um... I think the OP was just having an online vent.  We shouldn't assume this is how the OP presented themselves at interview, or that the vent is indicative of deep psychological problems.  Four rejections in one day is enough to upset anyone.

Here is a few replies I came up with from other topics in the Interviews forum:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Hello everyone, 
 
Has anyone heard from Psychology programs in Brock (developmental) or Ryerson ( psychological science)? 
Also, did someone apply to Western's educational psychology?
Waiting is definitely becomes harder and harder, for me it's especially because i'm an international student (well I hope to be), so I would really like to know if I will be leaving my country in a few moths! 
And on a more sentimental note- just reading through everybody's "freak-outs" really helps, since no one around me really know what I'm going through. 
 
 
Good luck to everyone! 

I can appreciate your sentiment but it is important to remember that not everyone copes the same way.  For some, it is entirely unhelpful to say, 'stop freaking out' as it does not minimize the anxiety at all and may actually make them end up feeling worse.

Waiting is difficult when you are not 'already attending' like your profile states you are.  For a lot of people, this is a HUGE deal so instead of slamming people for 'freaking out', perhaps you could offer some empathy or at least offer some ideas on how to manage the wait.

People on GradCafe have said in the past, it is only over when it is officially over.

At the MA level its about 95-99% chance of winning because the universities are given a quota, so when they send on their A-list applicants, it's to FILL that quota - no more no less.  The only way you don't win at the MA level is if SSHRC changes the quota due to budget cuts - then people at the end of the A-list get bumped down to the alternate list.  

Yes, it is possible to get a SSHRC and not into grad school.  If you've been placed on the A-list you should tell the schools you've applied to for grad school, because they too know that it's a 95-99% chance of winning. 

I am losing my mind, I can't wait any longer.... I know, I know, I am suppose to be a psych major and have some composure to myself, but this process is making me lose my hair!!
 
 
Thanks for letting me vent gradcafe

Remember to talk about your interests, and try to find a way to connect it with your POI's work. Ask good questions about your POI's research. Be prepared to talk about your current work and future goals. Know the program and as much as possible about your POI's current and past research. Be prepared to talk to a lot of different people.
Good luck!

The best advice I can give (based on 2 in person interviews and 2 semi-phone interviews) is CONFIDENCE. You can't possibly prepare for every single question you'll get asked. Of course, know your stuff (if there's something on your CV you can't at least say a few sentences about, it probably should't be on there in the first place) and know their stuff peripherally (they won't grill you on their work). But on top of that, come in with confidence. I come in with an attitude of "I may not know everything, but I can definitely learn." 
 
Another thing is to make sure you have questions. I prepared a page+ of questions per school, and didn't get to really ask most of them. Most of my questions stemmed from the conversation itself. With that said, be prepared with some initial questions. Don't ask anything that is already on the website (i.e. match rates), don't ask anything to shows you didn't do your homework either. 
 
I got asked a ridiculously out there question from 2 people during my interviews, but the biggest thing is knowing how to take a step back, think, and answer to the best of your ability. I also had another interview with the director where I was asking all the questions. I even asked him if he had any questions for me and the answer was pretty much no. So be prepared to have a discussion and to be able to lead that discussion if need be.
 
Lastly, even though the advice I received and read is that you don't need to know other faculty who are not your POI's work, I find that having a brief understanding of their work helps. It helps as a conversation starter if anything. Plus, by the end of the day after meeting with 5 people, you do get tired of repeating the same thing over and over. 
 
Good luck to all of us!

Is it possible to get a SSHRC award, and still be rejected from a graduate school?
 
I've been told that my application has been forwarded to the SSHRC people. I am a fourth year undergrad, and I have only applied to one school for clinical psychology (fall 2013). I have a strong GPA, and positive research experience (both thesis and working in a lab). 
 
Anyone know how schools look on applicants that have received awards?

I'm in a similar situation, but at the PhD level. I am finishing my MA and got MA SSHRC, my PhD SSHRC app was sent to Ottawa (maybe 50% chance I will get funding?) and I have been waitlisted for the PhD program at the school/program that forwarded my PhD SSHRC, and am still waiting to hear back about my other PhD app to a dif school (will hear sometime in March). My plan is, if I get SSHRC and don't get accepted, to then call those schools and see if that makes a difference. Mostly though, I'm hoping to get into the program I'm still waiting to hear back from and if I get SSHRC on top of that it would be amazing

Does anyone know if PhD SSHRC's can be deferred a year if you don't get accepted anywhere?

Psychgirl1, I felt the exact same way last year.  It was either Valentines day or the day after that I remember I completely broke down.  I just started crying, feeling miserable about myself and my life and that I was worthless.  I think it was the combination of Valentines Day, receiving my first few rejections in the mail, and at that time I was working on a publication and I had just gotten back a review and the revision suggestions made me feel so inadequate.  It's like it all came together at that moment that, I was fooling myself if I could think I would get into a Ph.D. program, and I wasn't smart enough for anything.  It was a dark few days.  I really felt like I didn't know what to do with my life.  But you know what, even though I got rejected last season I ultimately knew I wanted to pursue research and the clouds did pass.  I got my publication accepted, I reapplied to school this year and now I'm sitting with 2 offers and interview invites.  So don't give up hope!  Just remember what you're fighting for, because it is so worth it in the end!  I'm actually grateful for having gone through my second application season, it's changed my character and appreciation for it all.  I can't say anything that will make the nervousness away, because it's inevitable though.  Just remember it's not the end of the world if you don't get in this time.  That's the best I got...lol.

This will not sound intellectual, but I am watching real housewives to help relieve my stress.

@flattsfan1216, sounds like we should be best friends forever, since we basically have the exact same life.
 
@FCP i never got into real housewives, but i do watch teen mom 2 and jersey shore. i'm not sure which is worse...
 
I got about 20,000 calories of food in my tummy along with two beers, so I'm feeling infinitely better about life. But I'm pretty sure the whole cycle is going to start again tomorrow...
 
I also forgot to mention that my phone rang from a blocked number today while I was brushing my teeth. I legit was about to have a panic attack and almost dropped my phone in the toilet. I calmed myself down (took a lot of effort) and answered the phone in a very professional manner. Then the automated CVS system was like, "Your prescription is ready! Come pick it up".
 
I was pissed.

This will not sound intellectual, but I am watching real housewives to help relieve my stress.

Admissions committees spend all their time trying to find SOMETHING wrong with every applicant, because they get their jollies from doing the rejecting.  They are drunk with power!  So even if you have great grades, a super SoP, and awesome LoRs, they will hunt for that C you got in first year, that unexplained 5 month gap in your resume (which TOTALLY means you were in prison, not just working at Starbucks while you looked for your first career job), or if you bugged the program secretary too much while you were preparing your application, or if they didn't like the cut of your jib at interview.  You CANNOT put a single foot wrong or you will be TOAST.  Admissions committees love nothing better than crushing your hopes and dreams!

Buahahaha THANKS, OBAMA. Anyone else seen that video?
 
I have this paranoid visual of someone accidentally dropping my application down an elevator shaft and then shrugging it off like "eh..."
 
Given that everything is electronic now, I don't know why this idea haunts me.

Obama is responsible for ALL rejections.

Stop checking the application status everyday. The rejection is not the end of the world. I was also rejected last year and this is my second application year.
 
I realized that the thing that kills people is to check the application website everyday. Please stop it, do whatever you want, you will learn the final decision sooner or later. I hope that you be accepted...

It seems to vary form school to school. I've only had two interviews so far: SFU and Saskatchewan. Both were phone interviews (SFU has an in-person interview day but I couldn't go because of work). In my interview for Saskatchewan I was asked a lot of questions about my research, mostly about my thesis project for undergrad (I had a fairly unique project, so they wanted to know more about it). They also asked me what unique quality I had that would make me stand out from other applicants, and what qualities I had that would make me a good clinican/researcher (standard interview stuff really, I had easy answers because I've been asked those same questions in job interviews before). And then questions like why you applied, why did you pick those researchers to work with, etc.
 
SFU had similar types of questions (it wasn't focused as much on my research as Saskatchewan). They also had a bunch of ethics scenario questions that I had to answer (these were scary). It didn't really feel the same as the Saskatchewan one did (the interviewer had the TV on in the background and it was distracting!), and it was my first interview so I felt really unprepared.
 
At the end of each interview, they gave me a chance to ask some questions, and then said that they would be in touch soon.
 
Good luck!