PsychGradHopeful14

The school you attended and a pre-existing relationship with faculty at a program can have an impact on the decision to admit you, despite what people may say. These are factors to consider because when multiple applicants are about equal, it can boil down to things like networking and school prestige. That being said, you shouldn't focus solely on that for making a decision between two master's programs. You want to boost your PhD application in more ways than just having a foot-in-the-door in one of these aspects. If it is between these two, you may want to consider where you will have more opportunities to stand out when applying to PhD programs, as well as whether you want to have options or are just trying to go PhD at your current school specifically.

Don't assume anything until you have an official decision. In my experience, feedback & contact, both positive or negative, can be misleading. Just wait and see. It sounds like they are trying to be nice and let you know they are still reviewing applications. Anything other than an admission decision should be taken with a grain of salt.

Generally the advice I see here is send a thank you email, and to generally be excited as well as say that you are still weighing your options and will be in touch with them when you have made a decision. Don't say nothing, that's a bad practice.

I think inconvenience is an understatement when we are talking about people's futures. I think it is reasonable to request that those people are at least making it priority to reach a decision and not just putting it on the backburner until closer to the deadline. I don't think they need pressure from alternates to meet a "time frame for decisions," but if you are still completely gridlocked, you may have to make some more time for yourself to sit down and think about it. Some of us would love to be in that position, but are instead having to engage in distractions while we wait to see if we will even be able to have one option, despite high qualifications.

Ask them to reject you, and I am sure they will. You just told them you are not interested in going there. They are not going to admit someone that is not interested in them. I am sure if you tell them you are not withdrawing your app but are not interested, they will not admit you.

Someone in this thread has the "belief in a perfect world" thing going on to an extreme. Clinical psychology PhD admissions are brutal, much more so than most other psychology programs, and many have argued them to be the most competitive graduate program for admission (what is it, like an average of 5% acceptance rate? But usually you have to name a potential mentor who is probably taking only 1 student). It is not uncommon to see and hear stories about highly qualified applicants getting passed over multiple years and even applicants with less experience get in right out of undergraduate. If it really were the best students, this would not be the case as many people with good grades/GRE scores go out into various settings for a couple years to gain extra experience, present/publish, etc. to help their application stand out more so than a college senior with similar academic credentials. Most clinical psychology PhD programs are just like other PhD programs, based on mentorship models and the biggest weight in the decision of whether or not to admit you is based on the potential mentor you selected and his/her decision. A faculty member may invite 4+ of the top applicants for his/her lab to interview, and from there, as they always say, it boils down to who is the best "fit." Over the years, I have begun to question what that means and have gradually seen that it generally is an umbrella term used to broadly define the subjective criteria desired by the individual who is evaluating an applicant; what he/she values most in a graduate student and which student most closely emulates that. This can be a number of things, such as overlapping research experience/research goals, career goals, grades/GRE scores, it can even be based on things like the professor's impression of your undergraduate institution, letter writers are his/her close colleagues, your personality, or pre-existing relationship with person of interest (it's naïve to think that these things do not get people admitted over others). Despite what some may think, so much is out of the applicants' control, and because of the way the process works, there are highly qualified students that do not get admission offers at all during multiple application cycles, and less qualified students who luck out on the "fit" aspect or a wait list works out in their favor the first time they apply. If it were just based on the best students, there would be no interviews or personal statements. You would just send in your transcripts/GRE scores, letters of recommendation and a resume/CV and they would just admit the people with the highest grades, test scores, most publications and presentations and base it off that. Domino's assessment above is spot on. And of course, there are easier ways out to get a degree to practice, like masters programs or PsyD's but I suppose if one is so concerned about trusting a health professional for getting into grad/med school not being an uber-student, you could always ask to see their transcripts from their undergraduate degree before consenting to anything if it concerns you that much.

Wait, that's the best strategy and all you can do. Many programs have wait lists because of a limited number of offers of admission able to be made. If offers are turned down by their first round picks, they can send them out to people on the wait list. In this case, don't petition for them to change their mind, don't start LOR campaigns, don't casually contact them to list a new accomplishment since you turned in your application, don't email the entire admissions committee to put your name out there, don't send additional materials/gifts, just leave them alone and wait it out; they already made an official decision and they are not able to just retract an offer to another individual because you did these things. The most you can do is contact your POI or an admissions contact to restate your interest in attending and thank them for considering you. If you receive an offer from another school that has an upcoming deadline, you may be able to mention this to get information to help you make an informed decision such as a general idea of how close or far away they are from getting to you on the list. Otherwise, wait it out.

^ It could not hurt, but I would be careful about mentioning you are wait listed so as not to put her on the spot. Just tell her you applied to work with her and are extremely interested in seeing her recent findings, check out the poster, and mention you are presenting as well.... if the conversation goes well who knows, she may dig up your application to take a closer look. However, wait lists in PhD programs often are due to limited spots and once you are on, it is completely contingent on whether or not someone else takes the offer, so it is likely that it is completely out of her hands and probably out of the admissions committee's hands too so avoid anything that comes off as petitioning/campaigning for admission. Really, any mention of your application should be brief. Also, it sounds like she has never met you. Were you wait listed after interviewing? Does that program have interviews? If the program has interviews and you were not invited you may be way back there, and being a top 10 would make it virtually impossible for them to get to you on that wait list

I'm not sure this should be considered a safe strategy for all graduate programs indiscriminately, unless the condition of being wait listed mentioned in the blog really IS the case at that individual program (which for any I have applied to, it is not). In many instances, things like that CAN actually hurt. Proceed with caution.

A lot of people would probably say to wait and not email. Did "by March" mean by the beginning or end of March is one question you may want to see if you can find clarification of on their website or other notifications otherwise you may be asking them when they are just starting to consider who to admit. I personally think it shows interest and eagerness if you contact to see where you stand but it's not universally interpreted that way. I think we all understand wanting to see where you stand even if its not the answer for which you were hoping. If the information is too ambiguous to figure out a solid time frame you could at least just ask if decisions have been made without pushing for your status... sometimes they will volunteer it in the response.

Year after year I'm Still not admitted. Plan B.... Is Wal-Mart hiring?

Only thing I can say is, don't lose hope, but don't get your hopes up. You have to want it, but be ready for a Plan B if it doesn't work out, which for some means throwing out the entire playbook, others means to hang out and try again with the same application as last year, and some to seek more experience to become more competitive and try again. The way I phrase it is "plan to fail," but really that means "plan for the contingency that it may not work out this year and don't get complacent just because your application deadlines have passed --- that could be 5-6 months that you could have spent building a better application." Until the day you are admitted, there are typically no guarantees in graduate admissions.

Let it go... it's usually bad policy to ask to supplement/update application materials after submission has been finalized or deadline has passed/application is under review. It may be possible to bring it up in an interview if that is part of your process but that's about it.

I refresh email Compulsively, but now my F5 key's broken

Well, we all have ideal programs and top choices, but when you accept another offer, you essentially are making the decision to move on from that as a possibility as you have committed to completing a PhD in a different program/institution. It is generally perceived very negatively in the community and can make it even harder to get in a second time than it was the first time. I would just let it go. Usually when people say extreme circumstances I have heard the most acceptable ones without burning bridges and having to make awkward explanation are things like mentor dies or quits, or other things like program loses accreditation. I would be very careful about your current program finding out you are window shopping other programs after accepting their offer and being in their program. I'm not well versed on the subject, but generally what I have heard is that this is a dangerous move.

I agree with the above. If you are wait listed, the best you can do is write it off and start considering other schools with which you are still waiting to hear from or have offered you admission. You should not engross yourself with worry over whether or not you will be pulled off of that wait list. Avoid being hung up over one specific school even if it is your top choice; you can hold on to an offer and wait to see what happens with your top choice but be ready to go elsewhere if it seems like it will not work out. Generally, if you are an alternate, it does mean that the program is still very interested in you and considers you someone they would be happy to admit, but due to spot limitations they make offers to their top choice candidates first. If they were not willing to admit you, you wouldn't be an alternate (people do get rejected post-interview often). That being said, this is something to remember while you are forced to sit on your hands. If you are offered admission somewhere, it is nothing to shake a stick at and you should be excited about this. However, I am no stranger to wait lists and have been globally wait listed in two application cycles. Last year the number of wait lists I was on was half of what I am on this year but the real question is does that increase your chances? It's hard to say. Each one is mutually exclusive and you would have better luck asking a Magic 8-ball about your chances since it is based on the decisions of those with the offers. I think ultimately it is best to hold out to see if you get any first-round offers but as you are informed that you are listed as an alternate, just thank them for the update, restate your interest should an opportunity present itself, and find something to do to occupy your time. Last year I had one school tell me the spot was filled within a week of informing me of my status as an alternate, and another one dragged out for six weeks. Find a hobby, stop checking your email after 5 and on weekends so you don't drive yourself crazy meticulously seeking updates, and consider it a break from the stress of the admissions process. Last year, I just found distractions after work to take my mind off of it and I gradually shifted out of freak-out mode by doing so. People do frequently get accepted off of wait lists. I have yet to experience it but I think all of us in this situation will still have our fingers crossed. *None of this is accusatory or assuming any reaction/response/behaviors, just general advice on the subject at large for anyone reading.

Last year I applied to a school in Texas, and apparently there was a law or something that students under 30 had to submit bacterial meningitis vaccination records before attending in that state (I had not even been admitted yet and it was not required for the application to be considered), and I frequently got emails from that university, would have a mini-heart attack and then see the subject line was reminding me of the vaccination requirement..... 10-12 times during the application cycle I received this email, sometimes at 3 in the morning. Finally got a letter in the mail in April (informing me of the obvious as I did not interview) and the emails stopped.

I have heard a bit about this subject, and even some faculty have talked about this at the end of interview days. An important thing to remember is that for each offer you have, someone else is waiting to hear from the school who may be able to be offered admission if you make your decision to attend somewhere else (the school you turn down could be their top choice, or even only chance at an offer). Of course, I think it is important to hang on to an offer if you are still more interested in another program, but when having more than one and holding out for a third school, you may need to go ahead and make decisions in the meantime. In other words, if you get offers from school B and C, but really want to go to school A and are waiting to hear back, you can and probably should sit down and decide between B and C should A not work out, and let the one you are least interested in know you are declining the offer. Additionally, if you have a D, E, and F school that you are less interested in than the offer you have but have not heard back, you can go ahead and withdraw yourself from consideration at those places. I think it would be appreciated by the program to expedite their admissions process and other candidates who are eagerly waiting for updates on their status. I have even heard faculty suggest to only hang on to one offer at a time that would be your "top offer" should it be the best you get, but don't leave other schools on the line who could instead be reaching out to their alternates. Of course, it is best to finish your interviews before making such decisions as that part of the process can be very taxing and you never know how your "rankings" may change as you wrap up the last couple you have. I think at the end of the day, programs who offer you admission understand you applied to other schools and need to figure it out and as long as you are in contact with them as you make decisions they should understand; it's a big decision.

I think there was a "magic 8-ball" thread on this board where people were using one to gauge their chances and posting what it said. I think that is about as reliable of an estimate as trying to quantitatively calculate your chances. A lot of the variables you would use are subjective, and may be viewed differently on the admissions committee side of the process, and you have no idea who else is applying. Grad admissions really can be a "roll of the dice" for most people from what I have seen/heard.

I am surprised there hasn't been anything on here about Feb 14 rejections. A lot of decisions go out around that time, I would imagine a few laments about a top-choice program "dumping them on valentine's day."

^ Yea, I think invited contact like that can also be grounds to get more information. In my experience so far, I have not had this happen so it would probably be less appropriate without them making the first offer for more information, but that's pretty cool that your POI did that.

In reference to questions of how to contact schools that wait listed you, it is risky to petition for reconsideration or to be told your ranking on the list... I have heard mixed opinions on this but generally what I have heard is that the safest thing you can do to help, but not hurt, your chances, are to go about it the following way: If you have a time frame for when you will hear from a school, and this passes by a week or so with no word, at that point I think it is OK to check in (though some have said that even this is risky and advise against it, so proceed with caution here) to see if decisions have been made. If you get a notification that you are on a wait list, just take what ever information they give you in addition to that from the initial notification (sometimes they will let you know a little more) but trying to press beyond the information they volunteer could make you seem pushy and/or desperate, maybe even less desirable, so it is really just better to thank them for the information, and then state to the program (probably more specifically your POI) that you are still interested in being considered should an opportunity for you arise during the process. That's about all you can do there. Some may appreciate it, some may shrug it off. Once you have another offer that you are willing to take should that be the main option you have, this is where I have heard if there are other programs in which you are more interested, they will be a little more receptive to you contacting them for additional information on your status under these circumstances. You would probably phrase it in a way indicating that you have received another offer that you are considering, are more seriously considering them (or are more interested), and that you would appreciate any information on your status there that may help you make a more informed decision. From what I have heard, the person to contact about this can vary by program, either a program coordinator or POI directly, and they may give you a vague response or give you specifics on where you are. Vague responses would be more along the lines of "you have a good chance, we encourage you to be patient" or "you may be better off taking your current offer." Hope this helps to those of you sitting on wait lists... I, myself, being globally wait listed after multiple interviews, understand how tough this is and really all we can do is at the most restate our interest and then sit on our hands until we get pulled off or get another offer.

I actually do kind of understand those ones where people list having all these crazy qualifications and act surprised at the outcome.... some people really are very qualified to be in graduate school and it can be frustrating when one has worked so hard to prepare for grad school and dumped thousands into application expenses and interview travel expenses only to get globally wait listed and even some rejections, especially if it happens over more than one cycle. I have seen underqualified people get admitted and highly qualified people fall through the cracks. The process can be brutal. Usually when I see those more than anything I feel sorry, as it essentially eludes that they were qualified to be there and still didn't make the cut. A lot of the other ones are pretty funny, though.