nightfarmer

stop motion

I'll echo everyone else to advise you NOT to check in with them, and add that you should take comfort in the thought that you WILL be attending a grad program somewhere. As someone who has thus far heard nothing either way from anyone, don't take that simple knowledge for granted.

Haha, here's a good one from today: Each word in their rejection notification cost me $1.55...

This has been a quiet week for admissions decisions... I blame the blizzard.

I HATE that. Someone put me on the spot in the same way last application season on a skype interview, and I was so blindsided I didn't know how to answer. The problem is that they were the first school to give me any decision, so I obviously didn't want to commit anywhere before hearing back from other schools. Basically, I got all rejections everywhere else, and a partial funding package from one school. By the time I got back to school A, they basically told me I had gotten stuck low on the waitlist and wasn't going to get in. (Hence my reapplying this year) So learn from my horror story: unless you're positive you're a shoo-in with other programs, strongly consider taking them up on it. I've learned that universities will throw applicants under the bus if they don't express undying devotion from the get-go.

The advice I got when I was applying to MAs was not to mention it, but instead to emphasize other strengths. Being careful not to sound like you're making excuses, you might be able to word it in a way that shows an upward trend/improvement that you intend to continue. For example: After studying abroad my junior year, I was inspired to make academia my future, and committed myself to my studies. But again, it's less awkward to just emphasize your strengths instead... This is one elephant in the room that's fine to just not mention.

When I applied to MA programs 3 years ago, I was expecting the usual mid-February to mid-March timeline. I was very happily surprised to hear back from a program (to which I was accepted) in late January. I'm now in the second year of applying to doctoral programs, hoping that I get lucky and one of the programs I applied to gives me the early decision. Obviously that's not incredibly likely, so I almost wish I hadn't seen the promised land a few years ago with the MA, so that I had no reason to realistically expect to hear back so soon... That said, don't worry that you haven't heard back. It's really the exception and not the rule that programs would notify part of the candidate pool so early. As a seasoned grad school applicant, let me tell you this is by far the most excruciating period in the process. I'm applying for History PhD programs. I have a good MA but I'm nervous about a less than stellar undergrad GPA and a concentration that isn't considered sexy or whatever in 21st century America - I study Franco-German history. No decisions whatsoever yet, although it looks like one school did send out a few acceptances last week. I hope that was only the first few shoo-ins and not the whole number.

Yeah, I think they worry that I'd just check it religiously or put too much stock into seeing that a school has accepted someone while I've heard nothing. By the way, speaking of netflix shows, the movie they just put on called Uncle John is really good, I thought. A slow-paced indie film if you're into that kind of thing.

Does anyone else get family/friends who advise you not to check grad cafe? At least for me, I'm going to be losing my mind with worry in the weeks leading up to decision time no matter what, so I might as well have some idea of what schools seem to be sending out letters, and chat with people going through the same thing. I see their point, but grad cafe has made the whole process a little easier in my opinion.

Oh, I'm an NC'ian too. People are losing their Scheiße here as you can imagine. My plan is simple: Park car. Go to Mum's. Sneak beer, go to the Winchester, get on gradcafe forums, and wait for all of this to blow over. How's that for a slice of fried gold?

Ah, yes. The all-too-familiar "if only I had applied to [x] school, I would be finding out today!" feeling when you check the results search. You all know what I mean.

I am applying to doctoral programs after having completed an MA in history. I was concerned about the political climate of my future MA, but ended up in a more conservative school than I had hoped because it checked other important boxes. It's a good idea to try to land in a place with people you enjoy having a dialogue with, which usually comes with being around like-minded people. However, it was incredibly helpful to me to be around educated conservatives. I didn't 'convert' or anything like that, but my ideas and my approach to discourse both matured in very important ways. I am now much better equipped to have constructive debates with the world around me. Additionally, I genuinely understand world events in a more nuanced and realistic way, whereas before I had (I would imagine) stuck to my liberal guns and forced myself to see everything through that lens, no matter what. So I say make the political leaning of schools one of several criteria when choosing a program, but don't place too much emphasis on it. Just my $0.02.

Wow that is even more cruel. The cynical part of me that loves dark comedy imagines like 10 professors crowding around a laptop, passing around a bottle of Jack, laughing their butt off, saying "yeah, hit send again!!!" And then laughing uproariously once more. The only possible explanation.

Jeez, yeah. I mean, the department should have just put them out of their misery after an email or two, but come on. After a while you just gotta realize if you had been accepted they're not going to just 'forget' to let you know you're accepted to a program that starts in like 2 weeks.

I never put this on gradcafe, but when I was going through MA applications a few years ago, UMass Amherst told me to check my status page... Rejection. A few days later they sent me an email with an ambiguous subject line - oh, maybe they made a mistake, I thought? No, rejection. A couple weeks later my parents tell me I got a letter from UMass Amherst. I pretty much know what it is, but still open it. Yep, a rejection. OK I GET IT UMASS I'M NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOUR STUPID SCHOOL. Fortunately I got like 5 other acceptances and then did really well in the one I picked. So take that, UMass Amherst. I don't even care any more. (Yes I do.)

The decision letters will start exponentially increasing starting this week (not necessarily for every individual, but for people in general). It's times like this to remember the words of a great academic adviser, the great Dave D. Eisenhower: You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of this internet forum are upon you. The hopes and prayers of applicants everywhere march with you. In company with our brave allies in other fields you will bring about the destruction anxiety, the elimination of sleepless nights, and peace of mind for ourselves in a graduate program. Good luck!

Get your hands on a copy of the extended versions of the movies. It's something like a 10-12 hour time investment between the 3, but just make it what you do one weekend. By the end you'll forget that life isn't just watching LOTR, which might be a good thing during this period of waiting to hear back from schools.

As someone who's in their third round of doing this (finished MA already, didn't get a funded PhD program last year, reapplied this year) let me assure you this is the most nerve wracking time of year. It's the time right before you can realistically expect any responses, but you know it's coming soon. My only advice for keeping your sanity in the weeks to come is not to say "I hope I hear something today" but instead "I hope to hear something this week."

Yep, exactly. After having been led to believe I was accepted while they worked out the details, they responded to my email of enquiry with a 'no, you're low on the waitlist and most likely not getting in' Sucks how you have to push people to give you decisions they've already made. Why do so many universities use silent/unofficial waitlists?

This is nerve-wracking - I feel like I have an offer in hand, but not entirely...

For all of you accepted to UMD for next fall, you're probably wondering when you'll hear about funding like I am. I've heard that the funding situation at UMD is dire this year due to drastic state budget cuts. They're having to cut funding to some current students and offer it to far fewer new students, so the rumor goes. I want to believe, 3 weeks after getting an acceptance letter, that they are simply working out the size of the funding packages but have already made decisions on who they're funding. My question is this: have the people accepted to UMD without funding already been told so explicitly? All they'll tell me is 'we'll get back to you.' For history, on the results section of gradcafe, there was one a few weeks ago that had the note 'no funding.' If that person is reading this, did that mean that they said you will not have funding, or that there was simply no information on funding?

Aaaaaand, for all those 0 people reading and/or responding to this, UNC is finally a rejection. Thanks for waiting, oh, probably 3 weeks after you could have just gotten it over with and ended my suffering, guys. For all those future grad chairs out there, remember that it's much better to be officially wait-listed than left in 'no news' purgatory only to be rejected later.

The whiny notes are kind of annoying... Just my opinion.