Meep_Meep

I didn't get in the second year in a row.
 
Fuck American science.  I'm going to Europe.
 
EDIT:  Am I just getting downvotes because you lot think I got rejected for being an idiot?  Here's my stats:
 
I have a 3.69 GPA with honors, 167V/163Q/4.0A GREs, a second-author pub, about three semesters' worth of research experience including at two prominent research stations, two and a half years spent at community college, one first abortive try at college when I was younger before the second time went through, and I'm not sure anymore what my letter writers think of me. I may not have taken enough credits each semester as I was going through undergrad.
My interests are a little niche, probably (evolutionary developmental biology with a focus on neuroscience). Evo-devo bio has only just now set up a professional society in the United States. I don't THINK I'm socially awkward, and everybody I've asked has said I have no problems, but I'm beginning to be doubtful.
I'm twenty pounds overweight, if that makes much of a difference, which according to peer-reviewed research it might. I'm just a little introverted. Not shy. Just more easily exhaustible than average when it comes to social shit.
I got three interviews each year, so the adcom clearly knew all this going in and invited me and then fucked me over.
My undergrad school was somewhere in, like, the top 250. Third-tier shit. Public institution. Yes, this matters: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/03/education/edlife/why-you-cant-catch-up.html?_r=0

Congrats to everyone making their choices! I just finally told my PI, who didn't want me to go to WashU over Columbia that I had accepted the offer at WashU and he was surprisingly supportive! Hooray, the part I was dreading is officially over! Now to just keep dreaming about moving to St. Louis--I can't wait!

Just began declining offers, this is so hard. I know the schools are used to it, but I still feel awful having to do it (especially when I have to do personal emails) 

Just began declining offers, this is so hard. I know the schools are used to it, but I still feel awful having to do it (especially when I have to do personal emails) 

This website is so great, all of you have helped me feel so much more confident in my decision. Now all I have to do is stand up to my PI and tell him that I don't care that he thinks Columbia is better, I want to go to WashU! 

I know that this phase is often the most stressful time, when we might not have any offers, or we have some offers to some of our lower choices but still waiting to hear back from some of our top choices. But that doesn't mean we have to aggressive towards each other about this! 
 
I suggest these guidelines, which can really just be summarized as "don't be a jerk":
 
1. Don't be a jerk and procrastinate on making your decision. Once you do have enough information to make a decision, go ahead and make it. For example, if you know for a fact that you will go to one of your top 3 choices and you got into all 3, it's a good time to decline/withdraw all your other schools. Or, if there is a safety school that you no longer need, go ahead and decline it. Don't rush yourself though and give yourself time to visit the school and think carefully about how you want to spend your next 5-7 years. It's fine to take time if you need it to make the best decision for yourself, but don't be a jerk and just procrastinate until April before you seriously start thinking about your future. That is, don't treat this like a homework assignment--just because the deadline is April 15 does not mean you should wait until then to decide (unless you need the time).
 
2. Don't be a jerk and rush others into making a decision. They deserve your acceptances and have worked hard to get here, just like you. Every accepted applicant deserves the time necessary to make the right decision for them. And sometimes that means waiting for other offers. For example, there might be a 2-body problem so one partner has to wait until the other hears back from the schools in the same area to decide. Or, other information might be missing, such as waiting for the announcement of national fellowships (I believe these get released in early April). It's also important to realise that just because a waitlist exists doesn't mean that if someone declines, someone from the waitlist will get in. A school that wants 20 new students might make offers to 30 students, knowing that usually only, say, 40% of offers are taken. So they might only fill a few spots from the waitlist even though many people will be declining. Or, they might change their mind and just take a smaller class after all. You also don't know if the waitlist is something like 10 students, or all 200 students that met all minimum qualifications. Don't count on waitlist status meaning anything. Don't be a jerk and blame/guilt those with offers for the decision that the school made. We're all in this together.

Shut out of Ivies?  Oh please, I don't feel sorry for you.

Color me cynical, but you got in the first round you tried; I didn't.  GPA is frequently used as a first-round cut.
 
I prefer to help people hedge their bets.  When I got 'go as long as you want!' advice, I came out with nowhere to go this fall, and as I said, Octopus28 does have very good research experience, but Octo's MS GPA is barely better than my undergrad GPA.
 
Let's revisit Octopus28's GPA and GREs, shall we?
 
GPA in Major (undergrad): ~2.8 (struggled when transferring from a small community college)  GPA in Major (Masters): 3.7 (Biotech MS at a small state university) Overall GPA: ~3.0 (unsure how community college fits into this)  Position in Class: Average Type of Student: Domestic Male   GRE Scores (revised version): Q: 167 V: 155 W: not yet available B: Does this look like someone who's going to get admitted to UCSF, University of Washington, Cornell, or UCLA?  Does it?  The answer is no, the 2.8-3.0 undergrad GPA, even though the MS GPA is 3.7, and the low verbal score will work against Octopus28.

its not even late enough in the application season to be waitlisted. Either you're a strong enough applicant that you'll get in, you're strong and you'll get waitlisted, or you don't match what the program wants and you'll get rejected. Until it comes down to waitlist time, other people's decisions aren't having an effect on you. It's only March 1. Several programs haven't even finished interviews yet.

I wouldn't expect anyone to make a decision until ALL offers were on the table. People don't just apply to crappy back up no name state schools--they apply to back up schools that are still highly ranked just not quite as high as the schools they're competing for. And not only that, they wouldn't spend the time and effort if they weren't interested in the research and frankly people change their minds about which school is top choice when they visit and have the info.


So PSA: let people make their decisions in their own time and focus on your own applications. Other applicants aren't whats holding you back and you don't need to be a jerk across the board to people because youre upset.

eteshoe, at least turn down SOME of those acceptances.  It's not polite to hold onto so many when others might want in.

We all want in grad school and we want to save our own hide first.  Is that such a bad thing?

It's hard to turn down an offer before weighing every option, and it's too early for a lot of people. Many programs have not even made funding decisions yet. Choosing a graduate program is a huge decision and I think it's fair for someone to take as much time as necessary deciding.

I think its a bit selfish to suggest this. Considering they worked just as hard as anyone else to get those acceptances, they should have the time they need. 

Hi Jalish-
I think they are in the process of waiting for people to turn down offers before offering more. I was one of those accepted right after the January 16 weekend and was asked to either accept or reject them by March 15. I would assume that another wave of acceptances will go out around March 15 as people turn down the offer. I got an email recently reminding me to tell them of my decision as soon as possible. I think that as much as it stinks, you should wait it out another week or so and then maybe email the coordinator again, by then they should know if they are going to send out more offers.
I hope all goes well for you!

Hi Jalish-
I think they are in the process of waiting for people to turn down offers before offering more. I was one of those accepted right after the January 16 weekend and was asked to either accept or reject them by March 15. I would assume that another wave of acceptances will go out around March 15 as people turn down the offer. I got an email recently reminding me to tell them of my decision as soon as possible. I think that as much as it stinks, you should wait it out another week or so and then maybe email the coordinator again, by then they should know if they are going to send out more offers.
I hope all goes well for you!

I had this same problem (Ivy League vs. WashU), partially because I enjoyed my experience at Dartmouth enough to seriously consider it.
 
I realized that most of the pressure I felt to attend one of the Ivies that had accepted me came from society's perception/name recognition of the schools.  Much of this is based on their undergraduate record.  In the end, what matters most is whether or not you enjoy the environment, will receive a good education, and what people in the field think about the school.
 
There were so many people outside of science who told me I was nuts to attend WashU, a school they hadn't heard of.  Anyone who knows anything knows that WashU, U of Chicago, UNC-Chapel Hill, Scripps, Cold Spring Harbor, UTSW, etc etc etc are all excellent (and often better than some Ivies, for some programs), despite not being as well known.
 
At the end of the day, you'll be able to tell anyone who is stuck on Ivy name recognition that you turned down Columbia for a better school/fit, which will speak both to your ability to get into good schools, as well as to the quality of the program you picked.
 
WashU is a really solid school, more or less on the same level as any top tier program. I wouldn't let name recognition factor into the decision, because employers will know full well that you received a good education.
 
Edit: basically what everyone else has said; this is just my experience to add to the pile

Thank you to everyone for the support, I am 99% sure that I'll be attending WashU, I am so excited

Thank you to everyone for the support, I am 99% sure that I'll be attending WashU, I am so excited

Thank you to everyone for the support, I am 99% sure that I'll be attending WashU, I am so excited

Thank you to everyone for the support, I am 99% sure that I'll be attending WashU, I am so excited

Go with research fit. Plus your stipend will go a hell of a lot farther in St. Louis than Manhattan haha. In all honesty though, WashU is on par ( if not better ) than the ivy league schools . You have to remember too, that what Academia considers to be a "big name" is very different than what a layman does. 

^This. Don't take advice on academia from people who aren't in academia...and sometimes academics aren't sure how the system works.     Some of the best departments are at what some would consider 'not good' state schools. If you liked the city/area of St. Louis, there's no reason not to go.

I agree with everyone else - WashU is definitely on the same level as Columbia. Research fit + finding a place where you could be happy is 100x more important than the name of the school you attend (or whether it is an Ivy or not). It sounds like WashU would be perfect for you!

^^^ For the record, I really wanted to say this as well.

So uh...I'm biased...but I did want to throw in my 2 cents. I turned down several "big" name schools to go to WashU because I felt my training here would be better and more well-rounded than at the other schools. I also felt I had a better general research fit with WashU and I loved St. Louis. 
 
When I brought this question up to my advisors, they all told me that I should go to WashU. When I spoke to people outside my field, they all told me I should pick a school with a bigger name. I struggled with the decision for a while because name recognition is not unimportant but I just felt so at home at WashU and so excited about the science being done. I ended up listening to my gut and my advisors and I'm very happy here. 
 
That said, my experience/interests etc aren't yours. I also haven't tried to get a job after graduating from WashU vs an Ivy league but I've watched the students around me do very well in that respect so I'm not too worried when my time comes. My parents still call me from time to time and ask me if I'm "sure it's not too late to go to Hopkins and switch to an MD program?" but that's the worst problem I have had with my decision. 
 
Anyway, please feel free to message me if you have any questions about WashU or making this decision. Obviously I would love for you to come here, but more importantly you need to find the right place for you and your career. 
 
~glow