homonculus

So would you phrase it that you are just wondering if you can get a timeline for when you might hear back? I'm in the same (2+ week wait) position and it's been killing me. I know I was one of the top two or three applicants, so I'm getting really worried.

Along this line, do people ever specify whether or not they were the presenter? I was the third author on a paper presentation, and I was one of two presenters at the actual conference.

Hope everyone is well. Waiting to hear back after interviews is killing me! I was certain I'd hear back last week after an interview the week before, but nothing. What all is in an offer? I assume there is a lot more red tape than just choosing who they want to work with, but getting funding approved, etc. Is that why it takes so long, or do they just take their time because they are busy?

That really depends on the programs you applied to. You can check the admissions results for the schools you applied to. That should give you an idea of which schools have extended interviews/offers, and if there aren't data for this year, perhaps it will show you about when to anticipate hearing back. Link: http://thegradcafe.com/survey/index.php I know how much the waiting game sucks, and I went without interviews last year. Hang in there.

Yeah, I did well on the other two sections, so I think the GRE has benefited me. I feel I'm a pretty good writer, and my UG professors have told me so, but I didn't do well on AW. I know a lot of people who are competent at math, yet get really low scores on the quant section. This showed me a glimpse of how those people feel about being judged by their scores.

UBC was the only place that ever brought up my AW score. My POI contacted a letter writer to ask if my "low" AW score was representative of my writing (I got a 4, or 56th percentile). On practice tests, I fluctuated between 4 and 4.5, which I consider ridiculous because there is no middle ground between 56th and 80th percentiles.

UBC sent out invites at the end of December/start of January, their interview weekend is (I think) the second week in February. I didn't get an invite, and I'm not expecting one anymore. Good to hear, I never saw anything about Toronto on the results page. I'm guessing I can expect a rejection from them as well.

You are in as good a position as any of the people who actually make it. Since you know what you want, you can start participating in research as an undergrad and do all the things most of us wish we had known would help us. As for the 5 years after your undergrad being harder--yes. But if you do well as an undergrad--well enough that your professors recommend you highly and a graduate program is interested in you--you will be fine. It seems intimidating right now because it is far off. You get there slowly without realizing how far you've come, and one day you will be in a PhD program enjoying your research, and it will hit you. My advice for now is to look at what type of psychology program you want to get into eventually (you can even ask questions here or do some Google searching), and find what a competitive applicant looks like. Get involved in research as soon as you can, do an honours program if you can, etc. But most of all, don't stress about grad school yet! You have some of the best years of your life coming up, and enjoy them. Preparing for grad school is great, but leave the obsessing for when you apply (and constantly refresh the results page).

Maybe a spreadsheet in Google docs would be better (like the funding spreadsheet)?

If someone who got an interview at British Columbia sees this, please PM me! I'd love to know who your POI is!

Anyone who got an interview at the University of British Columbia (social psych) please PM me! I'd like to know who your POI is and if I still have a shot at an interview!

Related question: Since submitting my applications I was invited to revise and resubmit a paper to an undergrad journal, and I've completed the revisions and resubmitted. I had it on my CV as submitted for initial review, but would it be appropriate to send my update to the admissions office? I also had a couple presentations accepted (they were also on as submitted), if that makes a difference.

Others are right that your chance is 1 divided by the number of students interviewing, and that everyone interviewing is well qualified for the position. Obviously that assumes all the interviewees are seen as equally deserving and there is a lot of variation between schools. However, remember that top students often get multiple interviews. So if there are, say, 4 students interviewing for a similar POI across institutions, that doesn't mean 4 unique students at each institution--there will be some overlap. One of the books I read about grad admissions basically said you shouldn't freak out if you get an interview, because even if you aren't offered the position, most people who get an interview end up getting another interview and an offer somewhere. I know you should just do your best regardless, but I'm like you and like to think about my chances in one of the most important decisions of my life. Good luck!

That was a very interesting read! Assuming the departments I applied to are anything like this, there are some good signs and some bad signs. I had a suspicion that the GRE is used more than they let on; a textbook I had on social cognition mentioned a study where admissions decisions seemed much more based on GRE than the professors were willing to admit, but I'm surprised how openly they talk about it in this article.

First, it's good she already knows you plan on leaving for grad school at the end of the summer. Really, the only thing you can do is tell her you have interview dates and need time off. You can ask her if you can arrange work other hours outside of the interviews or make some other arrangement, but let her know you have to have those days for interviews. It would be a pretty drastic move by her if she fired you for something like that, especially if you ask as soon as possible and are as tactful as you can be about it. Also, congrats on getting three interviews and good luck!