TXInstrument11

Inspired by a sister thread in the Waiting-It-Out forum and after bombing an interview spectacularly just now, I thought the time was ripe to kick this topic up. What are your most notable interview failures?
 
 
 
Naturally, I'll start.
 
That awkward moment when.....
 
You answer the question, "What would be your ideal experiment?", with a crack about the Hunger Games and Lord of the Flies (I study aggression).
 
 
 
---------- As anyone but me would suspect, this was not the ideal response.  

"Where the heck is this person from? Not Harvard, not Princeton, not Columbia, not Cornell.....yet they mark American, so I'm prerplexed.
Really, Bob, that's actually one of the fifty states?
Well, you learn something new every day, I guess.
Did we already accept our token non-Ivy?
Yes?
Well, crap. Reject this no-name then."

"Where the heck is this person from? Not Harvard, not Princeton, not Columbia, not Cornell.....yet they mark American, so I'm prerplexed.
Really, Bob, that's actually one of the fifty states?
Well, you learn something new every day, I guess.
Did we already accept our token non-Ivy?
Yes?
Well, crap. Reject this no-name then."

Here, have an implied upvote because I'm still out of them. Idk why someone downvoted you. I think that someone may be a bit sensitive about having completed a worthless degree...

"Where the heck is this person from? Not Harvard, not Princeton, not Columbia, not Cornell.....yet they mark American, so I'm prerplexed.
Really, Bob, that's actually one of the fifty states?
Well, you learn something new every day, I guess.
Did we already accept our token non-Ivy?
Yes?
Well, crap. Reject this no-name then."

"This applicant was so far down the list she didn't even merit an interview, and so there's no possible way she could be admitted. So, when she calls the department to ask if she's still in the running, we better make sure to tell her "anything can happen.""

Here, have an implied upvote because I'm still out of them. Idk why someone downvoted you. I think that someone may be a bit sensitive about having completed a worthless degree...

I had the same realization last year when I applied to PhD programs in Social Psychology and did not end up getting into any program. Trying to quickly pull myself together, I applied to many lab manager positions in order to get more research experience. I was completely shocked when I was told, by multiple labs, that they would prefer someone with a computer science background. That concept kind of makes me laugh because my boyfriend is a computer engineer and his job prospects and earning potential are so phenomenal that I don't know WHY someone with a computer science background would even look at those jobs. Anyway, it was really shocking because that is probably the only job I can think of that should be looking specifically for people with a bachelors in Psychology and we are still worthless to them. What a waste of four years! I could have had a completely different major and been in a better position going to a career IN PSYCHOLOGY. I ended up completely re-evaluating my goals and decided to forget about social psychology because, as you said, the job pool isn't even worth it.

Spare me. I would not have even considered an academic career in psychology if I were after "money" or "prestige". Living comfortably and actually being able to do a job that I'm trained for (not endlessly adjuncting) is a perfectly reasonable thing to desire.
 
I also paid very little heed to rank. I did not even check the NRC rankings until after I applied this cycle and joined this site.

You think I'd put myself through this if I didn't love the field or, even more doubtful, because I'm after the $$$?
 
But at a certain point you have to be realistic with yourself. Making less than you would on unemployment all for eventually adjuncting at a community college is a crapshoot.

I think Australia might be on that list. Are the ones who only let you in if you have a specific job lined up though?

Take this implied upvote since I reached the stupid quota. I'm totally stealing the superwoman pic too, while I'm at it. 

I love Old Economy Steve! 
 
Favorites:

I may be projecting, but TX's concerns might be more along the lines of this: http://adjunctaction.org/blog/2014/11/15/adjunct-action-report-investigates-faculty-working-conditions-advocates-for-federal-labor-protections-and-accountability-from-employers/or this http://www.npr.org/2014/02/03/268427156/part-time-professors-demand-higher-pay-will-colleges-listen
 
Being an adult with a 'normal' life is hard if your job won't even give you healthcare benefits, and one cannot really raise a family (at least on the east coast) off of 30k/year :/ :/

Now to find out how to beat the system and upvote this post more than once...

Spare me. I would not have even considered an academic career in psychology if I were after "money" or "prestige". Living comfortably and actually being able to do a job that I'm trained for (not endlessly adjuncting) is a perfectly reasonable thing to desire.
 
I also paid very little heed to rank. I did not even check the NRC rankings until after I applied this cycle and joined this site.

I think you're looking at this the wrong way. Perhaps what I say will comfort you, or perhaps not. Social psychology is crowded. It blew up as a field very quickly, is currently facing a lot of methodological criticisms from the sciences, and still is continuing to expand. That means there are a lot of applicants, and a lot of people with PhDs. 
 
As far as applications go, its a mix of luck (in the sense the causal agent was outside of your direct control, no metaphysical luck) and experience. Everything you do will get you a step closer. High GREs, more research experience, more lab experience, high GPA, good letters of recommendation, good fit with the program, good interview abilities. There is also outside variables though. Funding, strength of other applicants, professors moving schools, etc. These things are outside your control and you have to accept that. People are getting accepted places, but you have to be very careful about where you send applications and make sure to send enough. I've seen too many people here focus way too much on ranking (which is somewhat understandable) instead of research fit. 
 
You should not enter a PhD program thinking "I want the best ranked school so I can get the best ranked research program". That's utter crap. You need to go somewhere where you are a good research fit and then get a job (whether it be teaching at a smaller liberal arts school or research at a university in your subject area) that you fit at. We go into PhD programs (mostly) because we want to do research, because we care about the field and our subject areas. If you're in this for the money, you're in the wrong field and should consider the STEM fields. Too many people apply to PhD because they think it's the next step or they want the prestige, this is a wrong way to look at the process.
 
Remember that while you have to be smart to pursue a PhD, it's more about endurance and dedication. Many people, between high school and finally being awarded that doctorate, are going to drop this dream because its a long hard road with few material benefits. (Not that most people with PhD's live as paupers, they just see themselves as that. Most live modestly albeit not expensively.)
 
If you're having doubts, take some time and ask yourself if this is your dream in life and you want to do it no matter what. If so, work hard at it and accept the consequences. Otherwise, this might not be the field for you. There's no shame in stopping now, but be dedicated to whatever you do and commit.

Moreover, I always feel terrible when I talk to current PhD students who tell me that they plan to become a professor! I went straight for my BA into my MA and, upon graduating with my MA, I realized that my degrees really don't mean a whole lot in the workforce... nor does my 3.93 GPA, or being invited by the dean to speak at graduation, having pubs/presentations/etc. 
 
I actually hit a breaking point the other day, in which I said to my sister something to the effect of "I wish I knew from the start that I'd end up in the same place I'm at now if I decided to half ass everything in life, instead."

It's like you looked into my soul!!!! I have been having these thoughts deep down inside, but I feel like I cannot voice them without being accused of being a heretic
 
I didn't know the person, but my colleague did. 
 
In terms of grooming/where to go from here, I am seriously thinking of two paths:
(1) Take calc I-III at a community college (prereqs) and then apply for something like this: http://www1.villanova.edu/content/dam/villanova/artsci/gradstudies/AppliedStatisticsGraduateInformationSheet.pdf
(2) Go into Officer Candidate School so that I can apply for fed jobs and jobs like this: http://careers.boozallen.com/job/Aberdeen-Defense-Research-Analyst-Job-MD-21001/234096700/

....oh my god....

I really don't know. Half of the things grad schools do in this process don't make a lick of sense to me. 
 
Were these other folks waitlisted via official school email or did they receive waitlist notifications from their POIs?
 
I think, for some programs, waitlists are created lackadaisically by profs on an individual basis, so no waitlisted students are notified unless the prof's first choices refuse the offer. Faculty in these cases usually don't bother contacting waitlisted students unless previous contact was established. Some of this may be because they would feel awkward contacting a student to say, "Congrats, you're waitlisted" only to turn around the next day and say, "I'm sorry. You've been rejected", when all of the admitted students decide to go ahead and accept the school's offer. This seems to be the model for many programs who have high matriculation rates and admit no more students than they could handle funding. 
 
I wish admissions practices were more standardized across schools. It's a very unpredictable process.
 
I sympathize because I just saw a wave of rejections for U Oregon, which I had written off a month ago when I realized I hadn't been selected for an interview. Now, I'm filled with (probably false) hope that I'm hiding away on somebody's informal waitlist. 

No,because it is highly dependent on the program, unfortunately. When this happened to me, I simply called the grad admissions coordinator. If they don't pick up, write a very succinct (1-2 line) email. Try calling first though because you don't have to leave your name unless the ask.

I'm sorry because I didn't really answer your question, but I think this is the only definitive way to know. Anything else is just anxious speculation.

Only thing funnier than the rejection responses are the folks arm-chair analyzing the individuals behind them.

Also, guys, I think this comic routine kind of summarizes the applicant-grad school relationship. They rush you and rush you to apply and then immediately go silent once you submit your app. It's right down to the detail that some folks get fed up by how School A treats them and instead opt for 2nd choice School B (in this case, we'll call it "Brian").
 

I understand waiting a bit on acceptances in case interviews go sour or 1st choices turn you down, but for the people who don't even make this invisible "cut", why wait?
 
Keeping up on here and sometimes directly contacting these schools, I already know a good half of the schools I applied to have rejected me [not all though, so I'm not gonna cry a river] and would appreciate it if they could just send the letters now and be done with it.
 
It doesn't even need to be a nice form letter via snail mail. Just "Rejection" or "No" in the subject line of an email would do quite nicely. 
 
 
And on a related note, some transparency on why we were rejected beyond the "many qualified applicants" BS would also be greatly appreciated. I don't need anything beyond simple yes/no checkboxes, but I know that's asking for too much, even if such a simple system does seem easy enough to implement. It's better for them if unqualified fools like me  continue to pay application fees.