socialpsychg

Ah, I see. Might want to look up that study then, and disregard my previous advice - everything I know about the subject is based off anecdotal evidence.

My impression (and this is based off what I kind of remember reading on other topics, and my thesis advisor) is that American universities are usually only cognizant of two Canadian universities: McGill and U of Toronto. My advisor told me that if you get a PhD in Canada, you'd probably be staying in Canada. The same might be similar for Masters, to some degree. I say it also depends on how prestigious your specific advisor is (if it matters nearly as much as in Psychology). Lastly, I think greater research experience matters a great deal - it would be best if you got your advice from your past advisors and/or LOR writers.

Gasp - there's still hope! Perhaps I'm on a short/waitlist without knowing it..

I noticed that many people saw their rejection on the UVA website. Where exactly did you guys find it? Here's a picture of what I see when I log in (identifying info blocked out):

Just call them up and see what's happening. Not that big of a deal. Steve Sent from my iPhone.

Looking at results search, rejection letters typical arrive via snail mail between now and the 21st. One guy did say this though: Harvard UniversitySocial Psychology, PhD (F10)Interview via E-mail on 13 Jan 2010A13 Jan 2010Informed of "short list" status. Sort of had an interview already. My best guess is that if he was informed of short list back in January, they're probably (close to being) done with admissions. Accepts also typically happen around the end of February. It's not looking good for me or you, rad.

I actually withdrew my application after being invited, and didn't go - two-body problemed.

Do you mean University of Washington? I was invited for the interview weekend, which was this past weekend.

Ouch. Has your husband talked with the potential advisor/department?

Well first, a good metric might be to look at where graduates of the program in general have gone to. My general impression is that assistant professors are relatively high risk, high reward. On the one hand, they may not get tenure (in which case, you're s*** out of luck), are relatively inexperienced (in advising and publishing), and might not have connections. On the other hand, they'll be motivated to get as much work out there as possible, and they'll certainly be giving you a lot of attention as a result. With a full professor, the risks and rewards tend to be the opposite.

Wow jacib, that puts everything in perspective. Thanks!

Graduate placement is a big one for me - I'm always trying to figure out where graduates from a professor's lab have gone on to (which is what matters, in the end). You can also look up number of publications indirectly by using search engines (such as PsycInfo, PubMed, etc.). Lastly (and leastly), you could simply pull up the program's ranking on U.S. News World Report etc. to get a very vague approximation of the program (and indirectly, the person).

Likewise for letters of rec - could it be that one of your recommenders wrote you a weak (or worse) LOR?

Agreed - if the school has good graduate placement, it probably follows grad students able to produce good work there as well.

I had both of my interview weekends right after big snowstorms, so many applicants couldn't get to the interview. I think one told me it'll be about two weeks, and one told me it'd be about a month (or a little longer).

I would just tell them your situation and ask if you could come in at a later date.

That situation puts even less relevancy of the undergraduate/masters school.

I'm interested in knowing about this as well. I recently got a research fellowship at a program, and I'm unsure if I'm over(or under?)valuing it in making a decision.

Oh, I was talking about U-Mass - Amherst. Are results really out for Wisc? I know that one person posted a result (was that you?), but I haven't heard of anything else. I checked the site, and my application is still under review.

I'm of the opinion that the university you come from isn't necessarily a factor. It's not like they have quotas. Not to let personal experience sway anything, but I actually saw another person from my school at an interview weekend.

She had called me over the phone once before, and their was no formal interview. The acceptance/recruiting weekend is around March 17th(?). I'll send my POI to you guys through PM - if anyone else is curious, just send me a message.

A professor has admitted to me that her social psych program (and others) has unofficial affirmative action for more male recruitment into the program. To what extent does that sway decisions? Probably not much, but she did confirm that there is some special attention paid to males (who are underrepresented in social psych grad cohorts)

Just checked mine - mine updated to denied.

Many of the POIs I've been invited to interview with have repeatedly stressed that they're open to answering questions (via email or phone) before Interview Weekend and after Interview Weekend. In one case, I've been accepted, and haven't been interviewed yet. However, I haven't taken them up on their offers. I prefer to ask questions during the interview in person, which is why I don't ask questions beforehand. I also don't like asking questions after the interview, as it's psychologically more comforting for me to wait, get admits, then ask more questions/make decisions. Could my policy be seen as a disinterest in their program, and possibly affect my admission chances?

If you think it will help you, put it in. The worst case scenario is that they don't look at it, which is not a big deal at all.