coffeeandtoast

That is so awful! I'm so sorry!

YESTERDAY WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A BIG DAY, BUT ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!! I'M LOSING MY MIND!!!

Notre Dame is going to keep calling until the end of this week. So no worries!

Oh dear, I wonder if this delay in reviewing applications applies to other schools as well. This sucks.

Wow, that is crazy! I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought it was OK to have supporting documents explaining name changes! Now that you mention it, I couldn't have rescheduled it for another $50, because I missed the 3-days-prior to the exam deadline by 4 hours or so. UGH

Here is mine: So, I signed up to take the GRE early December (my first school had a deadline of Dec. 8--I checked with this school and they said that would be fine as long as I submitted my unofficial scores). I took the test this late, because we moved across the country during the summer and didn't have much time to study then. 1st Try: I was supposed to take the test Dec. 3rd (Thursday), but I had the swine flu that week. I also had to work long hours that week, because I had a client presentation later that week. This was going to be my first time taking the GRE, so I decided to take my chances (lose the $150) , cancel the test, and try to reschedule it for that Saturday (Dec. 5th). I was able to reschedule--no problem. Lost $150 and paid another $150. 2nd Try: So, I show up to take the GRE that Saturday and I have my marriage license, because I registered for the GRE under my maiden name and married name (I know, stupid now that I think about it), since all my schools will have my documentation under both names. Well, they inform me that they can only take a government-issued photo ID (my driver's license), but since I only have my maiden name on it, they tell me that they don't take marriage licenses anymore (as of 5 years ago) and that I can't take the test . Lost another $150. 3rd Try: After having a nervous breakdown, because I thought there was no way I could make the Dec. 8th deadline (for my top choice school), my husband and I call the Testing Centers trying to find a place open that can have me take the test by Dec. 7th. There are none. There are some testing places but they are 6-7 hours away. I couldn't talk on the phone anymore. I was just a complete emotional mess (so many months studying for nothing). My husband got on the phone and pleaded with the person to find a test location. Well, guess what? They found one for Dec. 7th that was only an hour away from us (although it was "VERY" hard, because they were "full") . We get there, I take the test, and there are probably 20 EMPTY SEATS. Ugh. Paid another $150. I took the test and everything was fine. $450 later... Ugh... I set up myself for failure, as you can see, but as some of you can relate, it is hard when you have a full-time job and have to juggle studying/taking the GRE and fill out apps! PS: Did I mention that I can travel on a plane showing my marriage license and driver's license to match the name on my ticket, but I can't take the GRE????????

Yes, I don't know if I would say that the GRE is ethnically biased. English is not my first language, but it isn't either for some international folks, so I have no excuse. I just simply don't like standardized tests (I get very nervous and so on). My full-time job didn't allow me to study as much either. Although my GRE scores are good enough that they're not going to hurt me. They're not going to boost me either. The fact alone that I'm an engineer applying to sociology and theology programs is going to be my biggest weakness

I hope you're right, since this is exactly my case

I agree with this. Although, as a minority, if you don't have the stats that can justify your admission, in the adcom's view, then it would be hard to get in solely based on your ethnicity. I say this because I searched extensively for grad school stats (like GPA, GRE, etc.) and I also saw that many different minorities applied to sociology programs and not all got in. In fact, they either didn't get in at all or only very few (<1%) were accepted. Grad school is a huge investment for these schools. As much as they would want to make some kind of quota, why would they want to invest their money and time in a poor candidate, if they are not sure this person would even be successful in graduate studies?

Very small school in the South that nobody knows It is very well known in the deep South for engineering though or at least regionally. Hey, it got me excellent jobs, but grad school... doubt it

I also see "minorities" more as beneficial in terms of "alternative perspectives" rather than making some kind of quota. Many times I have come across departments or institutions that specialize in Latino studies and they are all white. As a Hispanic, I find that kind of silly. I'm not saying that whites can't specialize in other cultures (same with Hispanics or other races), but rather that we should work together. For a department or a certain institution to be credible in a certain area such as specific races/ethnicities/cultures, you have to have people that intimately understand those ethnicities and bring valuable perspectives that "outsiders" would not have been able to bring otherwise. In the business world, the value of minorities, especially when dealing with international clients, is well understood. In my job, for instance, I'm always put in front of our Latin American clients, not because of how I look like (most people think I'm white), but rather because I'm a native Spanish speaker and that is valuable for our clients: they feel more comfortable; they believe you more. Same with our Asian and Middle Eastern clients... we have different people that can add value to them as well.

Very cool! I'm also changing drastically my direction and going (hopefully) into either sociology or theology.

I agree with the previous posters that this is not going to end well! I'm Hispanic--I put that in the positive threads hehehe. At this point I'm shameless... I just want to get in! Seriously though, as I mentioned in the positive threads, I don't think ethnicity helps you that much when it comes to admission. It can get you a nice diversity fellowship, but that's about it. I know someone who applied to 20+ schools last year (he was Native American) with excellent stats and didn't get in to every single school. He had a normal admission cycle. It's just too competitive! I was also confused by the question "Are you Hispanic/Latino?" Why not just have it as one of the options like the other races?

Yayyy! What program are you applying to?

Don Quijote de la Mancha

My sociology decisions should be finalized between this and next week. My theology decisions may extend all the way to April... I hate that!

For those of us who are still waiting... Good luck!

Based on the results search, it seems that they usually contact their acceptances by phone the first weekday(s) of February. That means they should be calling tomorrow and Tuesday. Has anybody else applied to ND? I think I only saw one other person's signature that said they were applying to ND. Good luck to us! Although I'm losing hope quickly!

Congratulations! That kind of stinks that they don't pay for travel. Those visits can really make it or break it when selecting a program. I remember when we visited Northwestern, when my husband was accepted, and we absolutely loved it: the faculty, Evanston, etc. But then again, we ended up going to a completely different city that we had never visited before and we love it, so things work out in the end. Best of luck in the decision you make!

I was optimistic until the admissions started pouring in for one of the schools I applied to. Now I'm very pessimistic. Oh well.

This explains a lot, my friend!

I'm 27 (going to turn 28 in March) and I'm applying to grad school! My husband is 30 and is in his first year of his doctorate. There actually quite a bit of us old folks in PhD programs

Ok, how old are you? Seriously.

I just read a status of a person who got accepted to UC Davis with a 980 GRE.

I'm a Chemical Engineer with 5 years of experience with a 4.0 GPA undergrad (that means I made straight A's in all my upper math courses) and I still did poorly in quantitative (by poorly I mean 60th percentile). While I'm not a native English speaker and scored in the 90th percentile in Verbal. This was all with a few months worth of preparation (on a daily basis). I have a full-time job and travel extensively, so my studying time was not nearly as much as, say, a full-time grad student (like my husband). My results do not make any sense given my background and I'm sure it doesn't make any sense for a lot of people with low scores who can do very well in grad school and be ultimately successful. I think the GRE is a nice measure--a nice addition to an overall application, but it should not determine your fate in grad school. It may clear any doubts that the adcom may have, or get you a nice fellowship. I, for once, HATE standardized tests and almost had a nervous breakdown in the middle of the GRE, which explains my OK score that I'm actually VERY happy with. Does that say that I'm not fit for grad school? Hardly. It shouldn't be that way for other people either. And I guarantee you that I would not need basic algebra or basic geometry if I were to pursue a PhD in Chemical Engineering. The Analytic writing section, on the other hand, I consider a little bit more important, but the two other scores are a waste of time, in my opinion. I know adcoms may not see it that way, but I think that if you have an overall strong application, you can dispel any doubts they may have of a somewhat weak aspect of your application. So, RollRight, I would try to assemble a very strong application overall and maybe include a short addendum explaining your low GREs, if you wish. My husband submitted addendums explaining his low GPA in undergrad and it got him to half of the schools he was applying too and wait listed in a few more (PhD in Philosophy). Good luck!