bikefarm

My situation is very similar to OnceAndFutureGrad's, this is my 2nd/3rd time depending on who you ask. My first round I applied to 5 programs and was waitlisted at 1 but ultimately rejected. I reapplied the following year (two years ago from the present day) this time to 8 phd programs and 1 masters program. I was waitlisted at 2 phd programs (including my first choice) but in the end I had to "settle" for the masters program. Now I'm going through my third round of applications, this time applying to 14 (I'm not messing around this time!).

With this all being said, it's not that there is something majorly "wrong" with my application. I have a great gpa, good gre's, excellent letters (or so I've been told), tons of research experience (including numerous presentations and publications) but it just hasn't been my year(s). It also doesn't help that due to the way everything is right now (and for the past few years) the schools that would usually take 5-7 students are taking 1 or 2.

It has not always been easy. I went to a really dark place halfway through the second round of apps when it became clear that I was not getting in anywhere (unlike my friends). I don't tell many people but I almost gave up on this twice, but in the end I realized that this is what I love and I'm going to work hard to get there. In some ways I really think that this has been a good thing. I am so much more confident in who I am and what I want as a career and getting rejected and having to reevaluate "the plan" is a big reason for that.

I've been much calmer this time around, however, at the same time I am really worried about what I'm going to do if I don't get in this time. I know I'll figure something out if this turns out to be the case, but right now I'm really hoping I will never have to have that talk with my advisor.

You're a braver soul than I. It's not that I'm superstitious, but there's something about this whole process that scares me, and I don't want to offend it.

When I got the "your application is complete" email from each school I applied to, I just assumed that it was and they'd call me if they needed anything...

For those who got terse or no responses, make sure to check the application websites carefully, often the school asks that you please not call about your application status (for exactly the reason Athenrein stated). A high volume of calls will only slow down their ability to process incoming mail. Most schools say they will call you if anything is missing, obviously this will happen after the deadline, but if they are calling to get the missing parts then they aren't just throwing out your app because it wasn't complete, so relax! They know transcripts and scores arriving on time is often out of our hands. And you don't want to get on the wrong food with Dept administrators by annoying them to death, you'll need them once you're in! Best of luck y'all.

Last year at this time I was working in a university's Registrar's office, and let me tell you all, January and February (and probably December too, but I wasn't there then) are COMPLETELY INSANE. I've seen the mailroom and I've seen the process of getting everyone's official transcripts processed. It was actually kind of reassuring when it came to sending in my transcripts, because I know pretty much what's going to happen to them. For the most part, our office had a 1-day turnaround time when it came to processing incoming graduate application materials. But the sheer VOLUME of them was amazing.

So rest assured, those people are working really hard to get all your materials where they're supposed to be. I also know people who work in various departments, and they're good people too. They're ridiculously busy right now, but they're on your (and now my) side. (:

Tell me you guys are kidding with these threads? Not to be a jerk, and Im saying this with all the smiles and rose petals I can send out to the internet but, is this board full of twenty somethings? I won't give a definite answer but I will say that most if not all grad schools are full of really cool people, not a bunch of punitive ivory tower dwellers.

March it definitely is!!!

March is a scant four days away. THIS will be the month that most of those of us who are waiting will finally find out what's what. And I know that's what we said about January. And February. But it pretty much has to be March, right? ...Right?!

Congratulations on surviving the waiting so far. Only... theoretically... perhaps... maybe... one more month of application anxiety. Good luck!

everyone sounds like they deserve and are very well qualified for a PhD program -- if it doesn't happen now, it'll happen next year (that's what I keep telling myself). Good luck!

I feel for you. Think of it from training in what publishing will be like. Lots and lots of rejections from journals and critiques that can be quite harsh. Perseverance is certainly a job skill in academia.

Start working on alternatives. get a busy life or get a busy death .

In the immortal words of the great poet Frankie Goes to Hollywood: "Relax."

It's still so early. Don't panic yet, and just enjoy the fact that - while you were waitlisted - you weren't rejected. That's a good sign!

Agreed, you're pretty much in! Congratulations!

Love this!

Hello all. This process is full of so many crazy twists and turns, usually involving minor panic attacks. I want to share a story about a happy panic attack!

So this weekend my fiance bought me plane tickets for me to visit him at MIT (where he is a PhD student in compsci and I'm applying for science writing) for Valentine's Day (a week late because apparently it's more expensive to fly at real Valentine's Day...go figure). While I was packing Thursday evening I checked my email one last time. I had an email from the science writing program director. I thought "oh no, I'm going to be rejected right before going out there? That's sad." The email was asking me if I would be available for a phone interview in the next couple of days.

1. I had seriously given up on the possibility of being accepted into this program.
2. I was certain I wasn't going to hear anything, good or bad or neutral, for at least another two weeks
3. By crazy random happenstance, I can do the interview in person.

I practically started hyperventilating. I could hardly write the response email my hands were shaking so much. Best panic attack ever.

Whether I ultimately get accepted or not, at least now I feel like my effort is validated. Plus this is an awesome example of my stars aligning for once!!

NO!!!!!!!!!

Adjuncts are usually part-time, supplementary professors to the program, and generally teach at several universities in proximity to one another in order to make ends meet.

Only graduate faculty are allowed to advise graduate students. To be graduate faculty, you must be a full-time professor with an appropriate PhD and in good standing. Professors who are in phase-out retirement standing cannot serve as advisors, nor can "junior professors" (MA, ABD holders), and certainly not adjunct faculty members, who may or may not be rehired from one semester to the next dependent upon financial and course-related exigencies.

The website for a university, or the graduate catalog of the university or department, should have a list of faculty members you can approach as graduate advisors.

You CAN have an adjunct professor on your thesis or dissertation committee; in fact, for the dissertation, you must have at least one outside scholar as a member of your committee. But only if the professor has a PhD. MAs are usually not permitted to serve as graduate faculty or on graduate/thesis committees except under exceptional circumstances and with department approval ahead of time (that would be the blind leading the blind, yes? Or like being reviewed by a coworker instead of your supervisor). But they absolutely can't be thesis or dissertation advisors.

FYI, because it doesn't hurt to know, the order is:

Assistant Professor (junior faculty/ pre-tenure - can advise undergrads and sit on committees for graduate faculty; with appropriate degree, can serve as a graduate advisor (PhD only))
Associate Professor (usually awarded with tenure, must have a book)
Professor (highest full-time position in a department; often an endowed chair, but not always)
Emeritus (retired, but can still teach an occasional course and/or sit on a committee)

Hope that helps - good luck!

My friend reminded me that at this time last year he was sitting on a mound of implicit rejections and a few official ones. One of those implicits turned out to be an acceptance. Right now he's at his top choice school. I don't mean to give anyone false hopes, maybe just to avoid false despair.

I feel like I have been getting paid for checking thegradcafe.com. For the past 2 months I have spent a significant amount of my work time here. At least I have an acceptance right now, still... all I do is think about grad school, read about grad shool, and check this forum. I feel like this is now an integral part of my job.

I think...you...misused ellipses...or...at least maybe...overused...them....

How in...the world am I...supposed...to read...that...?...

-William Shatner

Is it really necessary to leave bitter and childish remarks on the results page when you find out you've been rejected?

I seriously want to know why people do this. Are these people who believe they are such hot shots that they deserve admission to every top program? You're going to get rejects, so deal with it like an adult,

Good question, but I think this varies. I know in my field some schools require interviews before offering any acceptances. But at other schools that I applied to, the interview seems to be optional. These schools want to ask for interviews from people they are not sure about, and want to clarify questions. A professor that I am working with at a school I applied for said "it depends".........pretty much an optional interview. I did not get an interview from that school, and he told me that I have a solid chance of acceptance after he got contacted by the head of the admissions committee about me.
The school I got into ended up being 2 interviews. One before I applied, and another one after the committee initially reviewed my full application. And they were both phone interviews....

I hope I have given you some relief, but not sure if I have gotten all of your worries put to rest. I am in the same boat at one school that did not ask for any interviews. I am very worried because that is my top school.

Before I start, let me just say that I'm not judging anyone, and I certainly understand the draw to gradcafe. I stumbled across gradcafe looking for acceptance stats for the schools I was applying too, and I was excited to find a place where I could discuss grad schools with so many people who are in the same boat.

But as a 2nd-round applicant, I can say that my perspective of the entire process was much healthier last year when I worried about my applications in the context of my life, rather than allowing myself to get caught up in the gradcafe environment where, due to stress and emotions, people blow things WAY out of proportion.

Know what I did last year after sending applications? Forgot about them, because I knew I'd have to wait 2 months. And I didn't check my email every half hour, and I didn't read the results board to check if anyone from my program got accepted, and I didn't have a panic attack every time the phone rang. From what I read on this site, there are very few people on this site that have achieved that level of calm.

I know there is a catharsis that occurs when you are able to discuss your fears and hopes with people in the same boat, but having constant access to a bunch of neurotic applicants only breeds more neuroticism.

I have always known I wanted to go to grad school- I've worked extremely hard, and I was devastated last year when I wasn't accepted to the schools I wanted to attend. But last year I got through the application process through talking with a few friends in similar boats, and focusing on my work, friends, and family. After my rejections, it was much easier to realize it wasn't the end of the world, because I hadn't invested my entire self to the responses of the schools.

A few people on this site have already realized that they need to take a few weeks off. All I'm saying is, maybe all of us should really consider how healthy it is for us to constantly ruminate with people when, at this point, it is out of our control.