Cesare

Right here. At least one of them.

Does anyone else have a mini heart attack every time they go the Minnesota application status page and see the "decision made" in bold at the top only to be relieved (?) a few seconds later by seeing the "awaiting program decision" a few lines underneath it?

If you find out anything, let us know. I would e-mail/call them, but if you done so already then I don't want to bombard them.

It seems to be the "it" thing to do in the midwest. If we compare what is going on at other schools in the area (for example, there are still tons of people who haven't heard from Minnesota or Chicago despite the fact that acceptances and rejections have been sent out), it is completely normal.

Looking at previous cycles, Northwestern has a tendency of sending out rejections over a few days...

Some costs are not measurable, but then I've always been more of a poststructuralist (my IR nerds will understand me here). If you get rejected the first time around and you don't want to apply again, then it is a sure sign that you do not belong in academia. Getting into a PhD program is tough and the difficulties do not end there (for example, everyone can expect to have their articles rejected from journals). However, most of us are well aware of the downsides of doing a PhD and we accept it and continue with our studies. To get through a PhD program, and life in general, does not only require being smart, but persistent.

Unfortunately, I feel the same way. I think if we don't hear anything from them by the end of this week, we can assume the worse (though there is always hope until you receive the official rejection).

I don't mean to change the topic, but today has been a very quiet day (in terms of the results board not this thread). What schools do you think we will hear from next? Are we done with Washington, Indiana, Minnesota, and Northwestern (i.e. does anyone have any insider information)?

I agree with giving people slack because these are tough times on all of us, but for those reading this forum here is a word of advice - do not identify yourself as a Uchicago undergrad or whatever school you came from. It not only looks bad for the school you came from (it probably doesn't help that a few pages back a Uchicago person blatantly said that prospective students were laughed at), but your own Professors can identify you (I am fairly sure that Professors do read this thread). If you want to vent, that is fine because I am all for venting, but be smart about it.

I noticed that as well. Young and immature. Was probably told his/her entire life how wonderful they are by their parents/professors. Wait until they enter the real world. They are in for a shock, but will hopefully grow up quickly.

I agree with this. I have experienced some wonderful and some not so great people. "...make them laugh..." that is a bit cruel. Good to know that prospective students make them laugh (I didn't apply to U of Chicago), but great to know if I decide to apply there next cycle.

I contacted two professors at two different universities, despite my very polite e-mail, they responded very rudely. One copied and pasted text from her personal website and the other essentially told me not to contact him anymore. After this I didn't contact anyone else. Needless to say, I got rejected from both universities (I guess it was stupid of me to apply to those places). If I have to go through another cycle I don't know if I will bother contacting anyone. What I have learned from this cycle so far is that there is no correlation between age and being professional and in conjunction with PSJR I question everything about this field. Only thing that keeps me going is my passion for my area of interest. I realize that professors are busy people, but even if a potential student isn't a perfect fit for your school and/or you then reject them, they may be a colleague in the future! I know I will always remember my experience and will always associate these top scholars with being rude and have lost my respect for them.

So do you think that is all the good news we will be hearing from Northwestern?

Has anyone called Minnesota?