bbobear
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Everything posted by bbobear
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@Willwang I have lol. Got the rejection email this morning. Sucks, but I hope things went well for you
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@Grad-school-freakout123 If I had to guess, I'd say they wanted people with a few years' work experience. That was most definitely the weak area of the application for me.
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Same here. Not really sure what I'm going to do now.
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Interesting development... Maybe this person somehow found out at their interview?
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@marynextdoor So you got an interview too? Congrats! Are you an international student?
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@Willwang Thanks for the info! Much appreciated
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@Willwang Awesome! Hope it went well! What kinds of questions were you asked? I'd love to hear as many details as you can give us!
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@bobilu87 I looked around and I can't find any information about % of candidates on the waitlist. It can't be that many considering that they admit more students than the program would fit, with the anticipation that a lot of accepted students will not attend.
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Pretty sure in these cases, these are automatic rejections based on failing to meet the stated, required minimum scores on the TOEFL. If someone applies without meeting the minimum TOEFL, they will get rejected without having their application go through the standard review process (where 2 ad com members read it, etc).
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@sqa I feel for you! You must be having a mini heart attack every time you get an email XD
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@bobilu87 I thought the MHCID results would be out this week or next week, but given the new information about interviews we've just got, I think it will probably be later. Kinda got my hopes up because the email notifying us of the Visitor's days said "mid to late March" and last year the MHCID results came out on the 14th. HCDE results, however, should come out on the 15th or before, according to the HCDE website (they specifically say they'll notify you by the 15th).
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@123abc @Grad-school-freakout123 I think the interviewing process is a new way of helping to determine a personality fit for the program. With this kind of program that is so heavily focused on group work, I think culture/personality fit is really important. The new director, Michael Smith, comes from a design background and (I think) would make it a really high priority to find students who fit into the culture that he's trying to foster within the program. Considering that last year, 81 students were admitted to the program (https://grad.uw.edu/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/admissions16.pdf), I think we would know much more about the interviewing thing by now if 80+ applicants were being interviewed. Instead, I suspect that the interviews are only for a few students: people who are good applicants on paper, but for whom the question of culture fit isn't fully answered in their SOP and other materials. I spent a lot of time in my SOP focusing on how my interest in the MHCID program is reflected in my beliefs and values, so it would make sense if the ad com felt they had enough information there to make a decision on me one way or the other (with respect to culture fit). But I can easily see how someone's SOP might not be clear on something like that. In short, I don't think we should see a lack of an interview as a definite rejection.
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Also, sidenote, the addition of interviews may mean that our estimates of when we'll hear back are quite wrong. Last year there was no interview process that I'm aware of, so it's quite likely we won't hear back next week. I mean it might move really quickly...some more info on what days interviews were scheduled for would help a ton, but I'm thinking it might be much closer to April than we thought. The only sure thing is that it has to be before the admitted student Visitor's Days on April 3-4.
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@Willwang Thanks for sharing this info! How do you know they're interviewing 29-30 students, if you don't mind my asking? Last year they admitted around 80 students (with 29 choosing to attend) so I'd be very surprised if they were requiring interviews for all candidates. I also haven't received an invitation to interview.
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@hpfanfreak Awesome! It would be pretty cool if some of us ended up in the same programs once all is said and done XD Sadly I don't know much about the Maryland HCIM program...I just had a look at their website and it seems pretty cool! I'd say the quality of the student work there is not quite as good as the UW MHCID program (you can see examples from both on their respective websites). But the projects the Maryland students complete seem fairly similar, so both programs should prepare you for work in UX Research and Design.
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@hpfanfreak It's most likely because there are far fewer acceptances than rejections, so even after they've made all the decisions, the mailing list/arrangements for the accepted candidates doesn't take as long as for the rejected ones. Also, the university presumably has a higher priority to notify accepted applicants, so they will take care of these arrangements first. Of course every institution does things differently, but it does seem pretty consistent for these HCI programs (which are all Master's level programs that don't offer rolling admission) that acceptances go out before rejections. In your case, you may have been waitlisted rather than rejected, so you don't need to completely lose hope. Or alternatively they may have a couple of batches of accepted candidates (although my trawling of the Results page suggests that they usually don't, sadly). Even if you were rejected, I wouldn't stress too much...CMU is the most competitive HCI program out there right now, so getting rejected there doesn't reflect much on your chances at other schools you applied to!
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@123abc Yeah in general it seems like the acceptances go out a day or two before the rejections. I'm sincerely hoping I don't have to feel the awful dread of seeing other people post their acceptances when I haven't got one. And then that gloomy wait in between knowing you weren't in the accepted pile to getting your actual rejection letter...the worst (got rejected my first time applying to UW as a transfer student, so the feels are real lol).
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@123abc Fingers crossed! If we don't hear back by the end of next week I am probably going to start involuntarily waking up at 5am to check my emails. :\
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@123abc You're 100% correct, and I think that's why many of these programs don't consider the GRE, or make their application process GRE-optional. The GRE can help them make decisions on an applicant some of the time...for example, there was one accepted 2015 MHCID applicant in the Results section with a 2.59 GPA, but a 160V and 154Q. I'm sure they must have had a compelling story to explain the low GPA, but the higher GRE scores were probably very helpful for the admissions committee to appreciate their improvement and academic potential. If I had to guess, I'd say this applicant was out of school for several years and had lots of work experience attesting to their perseverance, passion for the field, and collaborative skills, and so ultimately their low GPA was overcome. I mean I don't agree with people who say the GRE has absolutely nothing to do with one's ability to succeed in programs like the MHCID...it is less related than other fields, but I do think there is at least some relationship between critical thinking skills (and other related skills) and your ability to succeed at the GRE. Not to say that any one person who doesn't do well is lacking in these skills, but more as a general trend. I'd say my GRE scores (168V 158Q 6W, before you ask XD) are decently reflective of my relative abilities in these areas: I love literature and writing, and whilst I wouldn't say I struggle with math, it's not my favorite. I think the GRE can help give a very general picture of an applicant's strengths, which might help in terms of ensuring a diverse entering class (although undergraduate major and work experience would play a much larger role). For me personally, I don't think my GRE really adds much new information to my application: my relative strengths are shown pretty well by the subjects I chose to take in college and how well I did. My GPA was 3.65, so it may be a tad lower than what's expected for someone with my GRE scores...but not by much. As you say, whether I'm admitted or not will probably be much more determined by the admissions committee's view on how collaborative, hardworking, and persistent I am, and how passionate I am about the field.
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I think for the most part, the GRE, if it's considered at all, is just used as a kind of sanity check. Basically, a bit of extra information for the admissions committee if it's needed. For example, if you had a fairly low college GPA, a higher GRE score would perhaps make the admissions committee more confident that you were capable of handling the challenge of graduate study. The same would be true if you graduated from an international or less well-known college, where it's harder to gauge what your GPA says about your academic ability. If your GPA and GRE basically line up with what's expected, a few points on your Verbal or Quant are probably neither here nor there. Basically, if you didn't feel that taking the GRE would give you a more compelling case for admission, you're probably fine without it.
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@siitrasn I checked out the UCI Informatics program...seems pretty cool! Looks like it has a pretty strong academic focus, and I can definitely see the appeal of that for a ton of applicants. Congrats on your first acceptance! -
Another psych major here (graduated last year) looking to get into UX Research! I only applied for the UW MHCID program: firstly because it's one of the best ones out there right now IMO, but also because I have family there and it makes the most financial sense. UCI would have worked for me too, but the low-residency format isn't really what I was looking for in my program. UX Research and Design are by nature extremely collaborative, and I think low-residency really robs you of the opportunity to get the most out of the degree. Which is a big shame given how costly the UCI program is! Although I can definitely see how it would be a great fit for someone who couldn't quit their job. I may regret not applying if I don't get into UW though...
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Yeah for sure....I mean it's great for anyone who IS accepted in the end...the more competitive the program gets, the higher the premium on its graduates in the future. I think this is going to turn out a lot like the UW CSE program, with demand growing to absurd levels. Of course all of us here would hope that we're interested in these programs for the right reasons: specifically, a passion for research, UX and design. But the fact is that these programs are a gateway for those with low earning potential in the undergraduate degree (...such as psychology...*ahem*) to HUGELY increase that earning potential by going into tech without a need for math or engineering study.
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Some other info I found: The MHCID website links to the 2015 admission stats to help you get an idea of competitiveness: https://grad.uw.edu/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/admissions15.pdf In 2015 there was a 33% total admit rate for the MHCID (Design Use Build) program. The site does not link to the 2016 admission stats, but they are here: https://grad.uw.edu/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/admissions16.pdf In 2016 the total admit rate for MHCID was only 22%. Those links also have the HCDE admission rates (which decreased from 27% in 2015 to 23% in 2016).
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@bellis the MHCI+D website says "early March" in the FAQs, but "late March" in the Admissions section of the site. It seems to me that the FAQs haven't really been edited much compared to the rest of the site, so I'd say the admissions committee is planning on having stuff ready by mid to late March. If we get very lucky the results may be out this week (in 2015 they were out in late Feb), but it seems very likely it will be closer to the 2016 results, which came out March 14-16 (acceptances 14th, rejections 16th).
