wootar

Thank you so much!!! This thread has been so great for support, and hearing that you are glad you didn't give up gives me hope that I'll feel the same not too long from now

Just wanted to update that I heard back from the last wait list school, and unfortunately I will not be offered admission this year. The professor sent a nice e-mail with the obligatory "it's so hard to make decisions when everyone is so qualified" and said I'm "well on my way" and she encouraged me to re-apply again next year. Although appreciated, there is a part of me that truly feels I should be a little further than "on my way", but alas. Also, one or two schools would not have hurt so bad...but having six interviews I actually felt pretty confident in myself and now I just feel a little blindsided. On the bright side (?), my SO decided last year to go back to school after getting a BA in liberal arts for a AS in computer science...so an extra year gives him time to finish, and hopefully if I get in next year he won't have to worry about transferring and can instead get a good job. Also, I'm finally at a place where I'm saving some money and trying to get my finances in order, so an extra year to work and save more money could be good. And finally, I'm working on becoming more proficient in Spanish. I can take 7 credit hours free each semester as a university employee, so went back this semester to start taking more Spanish classes and think that in one more year I should be fairly fluent. So...it's upsetting. I'm sad. I'm questioning myself and whether or not I'm good enough. This process sure is hard (and expensive!). I'm wondering when it is time to consider a different path (a masters?, a different career?). But for the most part, I gave myself time to be upset and now I'm looking forward to having another year in our home, that we love, with the friends who still live here. I think I'm going to try 1 more time before moving on....so with that, application season begins again in about six months!!! Thanks to everyone who has stuck it out with us, congratulations to those who got off the waitlist!!!! And to those who did not, I'll look forward to seeing you all around here as we enter application season F17!

@WillComeTrue, I just went ahead and sent an e-mail! I really figure that at this point it won't hurt...it is the last day for people to make a decision. It is a little bit of a risk, but I'd rather take that risk and make sure she knows I still want to attend than not take the risk and have a potential offer go to someone else. Here is the e-mail I sent: "I am just following-up about my status on the wait list as I know that today is the deadline for those holding offers to make a decision. Our last correspondence was March 14, so I understand that it is possible you have heard from those already holding offers by now. In the event you have not, I just wanted to let you know that I still remain very interested in the prospect of admission if that is a possibility at this point in time. I realize that either way it is somewhat out of your control, but thought I would just send a brief e-mail to express my interest just in case." After this, it is what it is! I really just want to know one way or the other so I can start thinking about a) registering for classes here in the summer/fall and b)I'm planning on switching houses if I remain here and want to start looking sooner rather than later. Good luck, keep us posted!

It makes sense that you might hear something on Monday or Tuesday rather than tomorrow I guess. At this point I'm about 98% sure that I will not be getting off my last waitlist, but still have 2% hope that it could happen. The last I heard from this professor was just a check-in last month to let me know I was still on the waitlist but that she would keep me posted as she heard anything and to let her know if I did not want to attend anymore. Since then I have not heard anything...so part of me wants to e-mail today and just say "I know tomorrow is the deadline so I just wanted to follow-up briefly and see if I still remained on the waitlist or if you have heard from the candidate with an offer". But, I don't know if 1) That is too pushy considering I'll find out soon enough either way or 2) It would annoy the professor. Blech. Even though I'll be bummed out to hear it's a "no", I'm at the point I just want some certain answer.

@WillComeTrue I replied back to each one just to say "I appreciate you letting me know, at this time I remain very interested in your program and the lab of Prof X and the possibility of admission, I will keep an eye out for further correspondence regarding the decision". None of the schools e-mailed me back after that. Also, I sent that e-mail to 3/4 schools I was waitlisted at. Of those three schools, I have been removed from two of the waitlists and remain on one. So, I don't think it hurt me to e-mail back but also didn't necessarily help me. I'm considering following up with the prof at the last school I'm waitlisted at....but I'm kind of scared/nervous. One on hand, I think "if it's a no, it's a no and it is better to hear sooner rather than later", but on the other hand I'm like "it's only three more days either way". I'm not sure that e-mailing again would help or not, but I'm sure if they were interested in you that they would not discount you based off not responding hopefully!

One more week. Fingers crossed! Preparing for the worst, hoping for the best. Crazier things have happened!

Thanks for the support! @psyched55, I really appreciate the offer for the RA jobs. I'll definitely let you know how things turn out and if that is something I'll be considering. I'm currently a research coordinator at a University hospital, and one perk of working for the University is 7 credit hours of tuition remission each semester, so right now my backup plan may be just to stay in my job (even though the pay is a little low) and start some Master's classes as a non-degree. @FeelTheBern, it truly is mindboggling! I plan on asking for feedback if I don't get accepted at this last school, because I'm truly baffled at where my application is lacking. I have a decent gpa and gre (not great, but not bad), a second author publication, a second author submitted publication, and I'm working on a first author paper right now. I won departmental and university level awards for undergraduate research when I was still in school and, I work with patients in a research setting on a daily basis. And, I generally get along well with everyone, have impressed my bosses, and relate well to our patients...so I can't imagine I have some weird personal quirk keeping me out. Blahhhh....you can think about these things all day! So glad it worked out for your SO though, those programs are also pretty competitive, so that is excellent that they have been able to have a choice of what is the best fit! I'll be sure to update about the last school...at least I know that no matter what it can only last about another week!

Just heard back from the 2nd to last school I am waitlisted at. Both of the people who had been extended offers for the PIs lab accepted yesterday. I only needed one of them to decline for me to get a spot, but unfortunately that is not how it worked out I have one more school I am waiting on. My top choice. The professor had e-mailed a couple of weeks ago just to update that I'm still on the waitlist but she'd let me know some information as soon as possible. I'm trying to decide whether or not I should follow up with her. I applied to twelve schools this year, and had six interview invites...I'm just feeling truly disappointed right now that I have not even been able to get accepted to one. Especially after spending so much money and time on the interview process. *sigh*. One more week, and fingers crossed.

Congratulations!!! So glad it worked out for you. Sometimes it almost feels better when you think there's almost no chance it will happen. So glad that the process has worked out for you this application cycle and that you can now start planning for life beyond July!!!! I e-mailed a school yesterday to see if I was still on the wait list, and was informed that the admin had just recently checked with the POI about that and that I am still on the list. He wants to take two students next year, but neither of them have responded to the offer yet . All in all, I think that is good news more than bad news for me...but, I hope that they respond soon! Same for the other school I am waitlisted at. They are my 1 and 2 choice schools. The admin also said that as we get closer to the April 15 deadline the POIs will likely reach out to people holding offers with a gentle reminder that the deadline is coming, so hopefully the rest of us still waiting on this thread will be hearing something soon!

That is suuuuch wonderful news!!! So thrilled for you that it worked out in the best way possible That really does help give a little hope to everyone else, it really can happen still! We're getting into the final stretch of the process. Two weeks....that will hopefully fly by and result in good news for all. Over the last several weeks I've kind of put it in the back of my head for the most part and haven't been too worried about it, starting to think about plan B's instead. I find myself today though starting to slowly return to that anxious e-mail checking and gradcafe checking behavior. Hopefully at least some will recieve some good news this week, hang in there everyone!

So sorry to hear that However, it's great that you already have a super solid backup plan in place!! I'm just now trying to figure out what my backup should be and wishing I had applied to a couple of Master's programs. Also, glad to hear you let yourself have time to be sad and bummed out about the situation...I think that is so important in this process! Good luck in your Master's program!!!

One week closer to the April 15 deadline, and the last week of March! Hopefully as that deadline looms closer and we get into April more and more people will begin making decisions. Good luck to everyone still waiting, hopefully we'll hear at least one good success story on this thread this week!

Congratulations!!!! That is truly exciting, and each story like this gives everyone else a little more hope. So glad the wait, and re-applying, paid off for you

Sorry to hear that . You do still have one more though! From the looks of what I've seen on here, and other conversations....there are a lot of people who have gotten off a waitlist somewhere that they felt like they didn't even have a chance. It is sooo hard to guess and get a feel for what is happening on the other side of things. The advice from @WillComeTrue is also really good to hear, knowing that other people definitely have gotten in at the very end. April 15 is just over three weeks away, which is so exciting and scary at the same time. I'm having a hard time with just being frustrated at other people for not making their decisions already! I'm sure it can be a really tough decision, and I am trying to understand that and feel for the people making these decisions, but it sure is grueling for those of us on the other side of this.

Yeah, that is tough....but if I were in your shoes, I'd probably hold off on e-mailing at least a little longer. Have you seen this school anywhere on the results page for acceptance/waitlist/rejections? Also, just wanting to post because we've officially entered another week of this grueling application season....here's to hoping this week will bring good news for some!

I'm hanging in there...but it is so difficult some days. I am so relieved for all of you who have recieved offers off the waitlist. Thank you so much for sharing with all of and providing a little bit of hope!! At this point, I'm not quite as upset or sad as I was a month ago, but I'm trying not to get my hopes up too terribly much either. I got an e-mail from a school this week (my top choice) and got so excited, but opened it just to hear that they "just wanted to update me that I still remain on the waitlist"...which is nice, but not exactly what I was hoping for. Fingers crossed for everyone!!! We're getting towards the end of March and lists will start becoming more active each day I imagine.

I have searched past waitlist threads on both gradcafe and SDN, and people definitely have gotten off waitlists. In one case I recall someone getting off the waitlist to their top choice on April 14, and in another someone had been accepted to two of four waitlist schools. It seems impossible at this point to come off of a waitlist, but it is somewhat comforting to know that it has happened for others. The uncertainty is definitely terrible! It is just so hard to think about how seriously I should plan/pursue a 'Plan B' right now. In case it helps down the line at all, or anyone is interested, I'm waitlisted at Univ of Georgia, IUPUI, Univ of Kansas, UMBC, and UMKC. Fingers crossed one of them will work out!

I did hear directly from all of the schools, in a very timely fashion. One came directly from the POI, and three came from other program officials. The only school I actually had to inquire with post-interview turned out to be a rejection. Even though that stung a little, I think I was actually less stressed/upset about the rejection that I was the waitlists. It was nice to at least know! I'm hoping that now that we are getting into March, most people have their offers on the table and will start making decisions soon!

I don't know about anyone else on here, but I'm definitely struggling through the wait to get off the waitlist. I was feeling really great about having several interviews this year, after having none last year. Unfortunately, I was waitlisted at three schools I interviewed at in-person. I am still waiting to hear back from a school I did a phone interview at last week and holding out hope that at least one of them comes through! I had this idea in my head that by this time, I would be able to think about the possibility of moving and when my last day at work would be, and all the other exciting things that come along with an acceptance. Instead I'm going back and forth between feeling hopeful that something will work out, and wondering what is wrong with me to get on three waitlists. I thought I would post this in case anyone else wanted to talk about the struggle of being on the waitlist, or the excitement of getting off of one! Good luck to everyone!

Has anyone who interviewed at University of Iowa heard back about waitlist/rejection post-interview? I've seen a couple of acceptances posted in the results, but haven't heard anything else otherwise. I called this past Friday and someone in the office (sounded like an undergraduate student) said she thought that first round of offers had all went out, but she wasn't 100% certain.

School Name: University of Missouri - Kansas City (UMKC)Date Interview Invite Received: 1/22/16Degree: PhDType: Clinical PsychologyNotified via: EmailFrom: Admissions committeeInterview Date: 2/19 Additional Info: Interview from 9a-3p. If unable to attend, will set up skype/phone interview

I took the GRE 4 times! The first time I took it was after preparing in a GRE course provided by a research program I had participated in. My verbal score was pretty good (85%)....my Q was a super embarrassingly low 18%. I was shocked. I knew I wasn't great at math....but didn't think I was that bad!! I took it again one month later and my V dropped to 81% but my Q came up to 45%. Not great, or even good....but better. I applied to graduate school that year, but in addition to low GRE scores, was really unfocused, immature, and just had no idea where I was going. I only applied to two schools. Obviously, didn't hear back from anyone. I took it again the following summer. Studying only on my own, no programs or anything. My V dropped just a little more to 79%, but my Q finalllly got above 50th, to 54%. I applied to several programs that year (all experimental, as I didn't think I was competitive enough for clinical at that time). I got one interview at UC Davis, it was apparent when I got there that I just wasn't a great fit for his lab. So, no acceptance. I thought, well..I probably would have received more interviews with a better score, so I took it AGAIN in the summer of 2014! Studied only for Quant, but somehow my verbal went up and Q dropped to 37%. Embarrassing. I applied for about eight clinical programs last year, and didn't get an interview to a single one of them. This past year I thought....should I take it again? Or should I just figure that 54% was as high as I could get my quant score? I thought I could possibly do better, but it would take a massive amount of time, energy, and money again. The one thing I did need to do for applications that I knew I could change, was experience. So, I threw myself into my work projects instead of the GRE studying. I applied to twelve schools this year, so far I have five interviews, four rejections, and the last is still reviewing applications. @Timemachines is right. It's kind of a total crapshoot!! My qualifications aren't that much different than they were last year, a little better with a little more experience, but nothing amazing. I had the same recommendation letters and everything. So, taking the GRE again might totally be worth it. Sometimes just walking into something for the second time helps, you know exactly what the environment will be, how the test is presented, etc. and you might do better just because of that. At the end of the day, try to not beat yourself up over it too hard. It's a tough, stupid, and expensive (but unfortunately necessary) test.

Thanks for all of the advice! I definitely should have just been more up-front in the first e-mail, I don't want to come off as uninterested at all. I took the advice, and just e-mailed him back and said I was honored to have been invited, and that an informal phone conversation to learn more about the program (which he had mentioned) sounded like a great opportunity. I then just aid that my ability to travel was only hindered by cost at this time and asked if he knew whether or not the department would be providing any type of assistance with travel expenses. I e-mailed back yesterday evening and still have not heard back, so I hope I didn't say the wrong thing or come off as being too complicated. If so, I do at least have other interviews to look forward to, but don't want to discount any offer at this time. Anyways, thanks for thoughts, comments, and advice. Really helpful!!

I am having a difficult time figuring out how, and if, I should turn down a recent interview invite. I have been fortunate this year to receive four interviews already. I applied to twelve schools, thinking I would be lucky to hear back from three. I have paid for, and made travel arrangements for all of them. I did not think I would hear from anymore schools, except maybe my alma mater, which is local. Over the weekend, I received an additional invite from a school that is relatively far away and the plane ticket is not cheap. There was the possibility of a skype/phone interview mentioned in the initial e-mail. After making other interview plans, and having a completely unexpected car problem that cost a pretty big chunk of change, I am finding myself in a pretty tough spot financially. Furthermore, I will be traveling 14 days over the next three and a half weeks already. So, since I already have four invites, I had e-mailed and mentioned that I was unsure if I would be able to make it to the in-person interview, but remained very interested in the program and should know more about my situation soon (did not mention any reason why), and that if I am unable to make it, I would love the chance for an alternative phone/skype interview. The POI responded and said just to let them know as soon as possible, but also said he'd like the chance to speak over the phone more informally about the program and interview arrangements if that would help me decide whether I'd be able to travel or not. So, now I am thinking even though an alternative interview was mentioned, that they probably do not treat it equally. I'm not sure if I am overthinking the situation or not, but I am feeling a little guilty and don't want to come off as if I am uninterested or 'hurt anyone's feelings' so to speak. But, I don't want to regret taking the 'alternative' interview if that looks bad, especially if I do not get an offer of admission from the other interviews. Has anyone else been in a similar situation? Is it a huge faux pas to decline an in-person interview? I feel like four interviews is enough, but don't want to miss an opportunity either.

School Name: University of Maryland - Baltimore County (UMBC)Date Interview Invite Received: 1/15/16Degree: PhDType: Clinical Psychology (HSSP)Notified via: EmailFrom: POIInterview Date: 2/19/2016Additional Info: Social event the evening before. Also mentioned possibility of phone/Skype interview if travel can not be arranged