scarvesandcardigans

Oh gosh. Now would be the time for some magical information to appear that tells us when different levels of applications are reviewed and when those applicants are notified. I have been frantically searching to find info on whether or not there's a method to the madness that is application reviewing, and I haven't found anything, except for ONE person (8 years ago) saying that MA decisions went out first. Fingers crossed that we all hear some good news!

I applied to Albany for a different PhD program, but their deadline isn't until March 1 for that program, so that could be why they are silent. I feel your pain. When was your deadline?

I just read on the forum that someone posted a rejection from the PhD level of the program that I applied to (for the MA). I'm nervous now that I haven't been accepted. I have no idea what the process is like. Do PhD applications get reviewed first? Do they send rejections as they weed out applicants? I am freaking out.

I had a very realistic dream the other night about getting an interview letter from my top choice school. However, during the dream I had a faint knowledge that it was JUST a dream (people who are no longer in my life made appearances, I was hanging out at a biker bar, the email was written in Comic Sans font and looked like it was sent in 1996, etc.) However when I woke up I was so desperately hoping that it was real.... :/

Oh no they didn't....What did you do? I'm so sorry to hear that! (And kudos on the IPA for your program. )

I completely understand about the government's love of education. Did my undergrad at ASU and now I'm looking at NC State for an MA, living in the capital, etc. It's really a terrible situation to be in and State was just impacted at a really awful time (but I mean, when is a good time??). I'm glad your UNC interview went well and that you have an offer to go somewhere, that's good! But as always, a bummer to hear about other programs not being able to keep their heads above water thanks to NC educational systems.

Yeah. Not a fan at all.

Congratulations! Good news is good news! Some schools yes, may not interview you and will make a decision without that element. Every school operates differently though. Some may wait to notify for certain statuses, my undergrad school notified applicants if they were not selected through the first round of interviews, but maybe they were accepted for the second. I think having in mind that you will contact them should be fine. Good luck with your other schools!

Pass up

Sorry to hear that! That is unfortunate, but it was probably a decision that they were fighting and just now received the bad news. They are probably just as disappointed. But that doesn't change the fact that it's upsetting. Good luck with your other schools!

I'm so glad that it isn't an out of the ordinary thing. A lot of people that I spoke with must have been super over-achievers because most of them had their applications finished by the November timeframe. One girl I already had one finished in September.

Condensing it down to the most hated word ever for grad applicants: Pending. Yeah I've been checking and working with my email tabs open, refreshing and hoping that something will come. My top choice (Penn State, for you HistoryGypsy, I am SO jealous) still hasn't contacted me and I've heard that they do interviews in mid-March. I'm contemplating e-mailing them. That forces me out of the "nothing," right?????

I think that if you are sure that you will go to Ohio State, then you should go ahead and accept their offer and notify your schools. It's helpful to you to settle your mind, for the program to take the next steps and for you to take the next steps in enrollment, and it helps schools that might be waiting on your choice to inform other students. It's beneficial for everyone. However, if you are accepting because it's a guaranteed offer and you still maybe want to go to Iowa, I would wait. This is just my opinion. I completely understand how stressful the process is, and I think in the end you will make a decision that is good for you.

Oh yep every day. Every evening when I talk to my parents they ask me if I have heard anything, and, well no I haven't. When I hear something, they will immediately hear as well. I have told everyone that keeps asking that it doesn't help me that they keep asking because it makes me more nervous than I already am.

I've been to Spain, spent four weeks traveling around (Toledo, Segovia, León, Sevilla, Molinaseca, Málaga) while living in Madrid. Then I spent one week in England (London and Lakenheath). I am itching to travel again!

Congratulations!! I am so excited for you! Thank you.

I've also heard that some people don't hear of rejections. I've been waiting on a school's decision for three months and am beginning to believe it.

I read that you should be hearing by mid-March from most places. If you don't hear by then or a week or so after that, then I am of the mindset that it is acceptable to call the programs to inquire about if their committee has met or if a decision has been reached. I know one of my program deadlines isn't until March 1 even though the application has been done for quite some time.

Interestingly, one of my professors told me to accept the offer with the better funding. She said that you don't want to have to worry about finances on top of being busy with research, TA, whatever it is the program entails. You can always network with the better program, or other programs and if you establish a positive rapport with them, and maybe they can help you further in the future. However, I am of the mindset that if you feel you would be less satisfied in the second program, and you feel that you can make it work with the better one, that you should take that opportunity. If I were to accept the "lesser" program that I have been offered and declined the program that I am most interested in, I would probably regret it. Good luck!

I relate to this post on a spiritual level. I also have that "so right" school. My biggest help in the application process, one of my professors, graduated PhD from this program, it has an amazing offer for grad students, is close to family, combines all of my interests, etc. Of course, I haven't heard a thing from them yet and I keep making up scenarios as to why. But the application process was so easy and I had no questions or confusions about it whatsoever. Part of me also wants to go here because my significant other ALSO wants to go to graduate school in the same state, even though it's a few hours apart, it's still something. We met in our final undergrad semesters and had an amazing whirlwind romance and we are overall very happy, but have been separated due to jobs and living circumstances. It's like the universe was dangling some really good opportunities on a hook here. I hope that you, grad_wannabe, get your fairytale ending that you are hoping for!

I think the most difficult part was getting everything started in a timely manner. I researched what schools I was interested in over the summer and began preliminary (opening application account, GRE, research) actions for applying, but didn't really get into it until around October or November. I know this sounds bad. But I was riding on a low motivational level for graduate school applications because I was in my final undergrad semester and taking a graduate-level course at the same time. Things were pretty packed. The last thing that I wanted to do at the end of the day was open a personal statement draft or perfect my essays/past research for submission. Other than that, the biggest challenge was communicating some needs with my LoR writers. Turns out one of my program deadlines was 2 weeks earlier than what I had thought, so I had to contact my writers and let them know that they kind of had to pick up the pace with writing to submit on time. Of course I worded it differently and KNEW and acknowledged that it was totally my fault if one arrived past-deadline. Mostly it was things that I brought upon myself.

I did that...thankfully it was only one school, and found myself having to send 4 additional reports. Heed these very good words! Good luck!

Bless this response. I also agree that the earlier you ask, the more receptive your professors will be. I asked maybe 2 months before my initial deadlines and, while I could definitely feel that it was a rushed decision on my part, all of the professors that I asked were happy to do it. You can pretty easily tell when you ask what their involvement and openness will be to writing a letter. My $.02 on the "Who," however, is a little different. My suggestion is to check each program website for the schools you are interested in, if not additionally the general Graduate School application requirement page for the school. Some programs very clearly outline that they only want professors within your intended field of study. This is the case for most programs, I believe, but it is always good to double check. Most professors will tell you outright whether or not they feel comfortable writing a letter for you. One thing that I found to be helpful was to ask if they thought they could write a strong/positive letter for me. It's rare, but I have heard of some people (not usually profs) accepting and then writing a negative rec. Just gotta cover the bases. One of my writers said he did not feel that he could speak to my academics, but I asked him on the basis that he knew me socially/conversationally (it's a language program) and he agreed that he could write to that. I hope this helps! Best of luck!!