floatingmolecule

Thank you Ellies and MidwesternAloha! I hope your funding pulls through, Ellies! It would be so great if everything could just work out for all of us!! Ianpolicy: I don't have specific insight into your program, but I am guessing that they are working through the waitlist - maybe one of these days you'll get an email asking you if you are still interested. Waitlist acceptees seem to get a deadline for accepting too (for me it is May 1st) - so they might be waiting on the first people they took off the list. It is hard to say. I was in your shoes just the other day and my mind was bursting with scenarios. I really, really hope you end up hearing from them! Positively!!!

Although I am only speculating, it certainly sounds like you are on an inofficial waitlist. I was "under review" for quite some time before I was told I was on a waitlist. They might never even tell you that you are on a waitlist and just stall contacting you until they know if they can accept you. When I was accepted off the waitlist, I was given a deadline of May 1st to accept - so I am theorizing that: 1. There might be some people who either requested extensions on the original April 15th deadline and are still deliberating. OR 2. If the school is already working its way down the waitlist and sent out a volley of acceptances, those chosen might have a similar deadline to my own. I hope that if this is the case, everyone makes a speedy decision and gives you enough time to make the right decision. Keeping my fingers crossed for you Hani!

The night before I was accepted, I had been very ill with a stomach flu. I woke up feeling completely empty and wasted, without any desire to move. It was a fitting state to be in, considering I'd had no luck with applications and was struggling to keep myself motivated and optimistic. Waking up feeling sucked dry.... it was as though my body finally agreed with my mind. I wanted to do nothing. I didn't even get up to eat, just lay there, hoping to fall asleep again. And then my phone went beep beep beep. I frowned, thinking: Ugghh, SPAM! Looked down and saw: Congratulations! Followed by an offer of admission. I got up. Oh yeah. I got up.

As I stated in the other wait list thread earlier - I got accepted off of the wait list, much to my utter shock and surprise! Now I am in a haze world of disbelief, housing, VISAs, health insurance - and there is no place I'd rather be! Rose Tyler: Any updates? Mechanician2015: Oh no! I received full funding, but just got accepted today..... Is there some kind of deadline that we have to meet as internationals? As far as I know, my paperwork is still being processed. Are they giving you the run around when it comes to funding?

Zombie400, MidwesternAloha: Thank you so much! And thanks for putting up with my whining for these last few months! Tomorrow, when I wake up, that sinking feeling will be gone. I wish the same for everyone! May all of you get that notification on your phone, glance down and see "Congratulations!" next to the name of your dream university. May you all know what it is like to have your heart skip a beat as you hop the boundaries of purgatory, and one fraction of a second is all it takes to bring you there. Good luck to everyone on here still waiting! And for those who didn't make it - I came close to being in the same boat. I would have tried again! So should you!

I never thought I would be the one writing this but..... I GOT OFF THE WAITLIST!!!! I am still in shock, all systems are currently down...

I only applied to programs that guarantee funding if they accept you (and decline you if they can't afford you). As an international, I cannot work part time to finance myself in the States, unless it is part of my program (ie. TA or RA), so I would not be able to pay for myself during my stay. I would need a mininum of 100 000 US dollars to finance an entire PhD (assuming 5 years at 20 000 a year for all living expenses, tuition and medical), which is impossible for me to save up through my job at .... a gas station. Lol. Even if my country had student loans available for international studies, I would be very hesitant to take out a sum of that magnitude, as past experience has shown me that there is never a guarantee that I will ever land a job lucrative enough to pay off such a sum. The scholarships available in my country require a detailed description of a proposed project... plus the support of a professor willing to mentor you. I have looked into it after suggestions were made regarding independent funding, and it would require me to know exactly what kind of project I was doing and under whom I would be doing it. So funding is very, very important for me, at least for the first year, until I could start applying for scholarships. Even so, the risk of NOT getting a scholarship is high enough that I require a guarantee for full funding for the duration of my studies. A non-funded offer would be equivalent to rejection and in that light, I can fully identify with someone waitlisted for funding who is dependent on it. It is practically the same thing as not being accepted. Good luck to you guys in getting funding! I hope grants come through and there is money available for you! Rose Tyler: It is possible that the professors interested in working with you are still waiting for grant approval. The fact that they informed you of late acceptance as a possibility during the interview is more than I ever got, so you have reason to be far more hopeful. I never had any feedback from my POI, except very generic information. He did not seem very eager to keep my hopes up and never inquired about my continued interest. He merely stated (very late on) that I was a waitlist candidate and that offers might be made to the waitlist if first choice candidates decline. I am assuming he has favorites, even on the waitlist, but judging from his disinterest, I cannot imagine I am one of them. Do you know of others in your program who already got in or were accepted?

I just read an update from someone who was informed by their university that the "waitlist is clearing very slowly" and that they should accept another offer if possible since they are only in the middle of the list and chances are low. That must be what is happening to me. Sad. Since I have no offer to accept.

Have you heard anything from them? Or know if people have gotten rejected or accepted since the 15th?

It is two days past the deadline, so yeah, my head is spinning. Unless everyone asked for an extension, they would know by now if any spots are open so..... I wonder - do they go through the waitlist in waves? If so: The waitlist is longer than the shortlist I thought it was. AND Considering the time that has passed, I must not be a high priority even on a waitlist. Any other theories? Experiences? One can only go crazy from here on.

It is also sadly possible that the waitlist is now being processed in waves, much like the applications often are. I would imagine they extend the first offers post deadline and give those people a couple of days to decide, then work their way down if those people decline. And so on. If that is the case I must be pretty low down, just like I once speculated. Such a depressing theory though. I'd much rather hope it is just taking forever to get my funding package organized. Lol. PS. All this time on Gradcafe is making me play little guessing games... For example: every time I see someone post "let's make a Facebook group!" or "Facebook group linked here:" I am willing to bet money on it that it's someone from a masters program in speech pathology. Watch for it guys. I'm serious. Lol.

At this point I am wondering.... Is it good to not hear anything straight after the deadline? Is it bad? If I was outright reject worthy would I get a quick or a slow notification?

I have the same situation, except that they told me that I was on a waitlist, very late in the game. Up until then I'd been "no decision about your application has been reached yet". I still haven't heard a word and I am hoping it is because a whole crowd of people let the deadline pass without taking offers and now they have some sorting and accepting to do. Sounds like that is what is happening to you as well. I hope so! I hope today will be the day and not in a negative way. Ughhh. Jobs. I still remember back in the day when I applied for those, thinking my masters studies would give me an edge over the bachelor crowd. Until someone came along and told me... You are what they call overqualified. But also underqualified for science. Get a Phd. So now I work in a gas station and volunteer. I am not sure you want to join me, although humor is useful in this field!

Congratulations EBL!!! So glad you got positive news in spite of that ominous phone call! Kesiaro: I hope those last two schools decide to accept you! Us internationals don't have it easy - and for many of us it would be the start of a new life! I started studying with far too much confidence that I would get accepted to a PhD program, choosing a field where a doctoral degree is expected for any realistic shot at a career. But here I am, with only two schools to go, one of them a waitlist, the other still "under review". One acceptance email and my life could change forever in a second. One simple notification and I am on my way! Two more rejections and I face this all over again. Menial, mindless labor, stagnation, waiting, agonizing... I hope you get to come to America! I hope you wake up tomorrow and find that notification that sends you on your way to a new life.

Yes true. I keep forgetting the time zone difference. Some people will probably wait until the very end and perhaps there are even those who don't inform schools at all. Does anyone know if that is a common problem? That people do not bother to decline offers and just let them expire?

I keep telling myself - what are a few more years? I am not really thrilled to continue working in such an intellectually unstimulating environment, but nothing is stopping me from volunteering and taking courses on the side. Perhaps I can go abroad for half a year and teach English, if I find a position with a stipend. I should see it as an adventure - since I am waiting, I am essentially free to do what I want. I am not building up something or committed to anything. In a way, that doesn't seem tooo bad. I just don't want to stay like that forever! Lol. Thanks! Hearing about those TAs just gave me a nice infusion of hope. Maybe by the end of the week guys? I will include you in my internal begging regimen where I sit there and say "Please let me get accepted. Please let me get accepted." over and over again like a mantra. I am not religious, otherwise I'd just send some prayers for us all! Hope!!!! And good luck!!

April 15th and still no decision! Thank you guys for the moral support. It is really helpful to here that others are going through the same thing and that there are so many highly qualified people out there who were forced to struggle and feel the same as we do now. It gives me hope and inspires me not to give up. "We will be where we were meant to be" - well, for me that will hopefully not continue being a gas station!

I agree with the waitlist theory, because that would explain the significance of April 15th. It seems as though they are holding out on your application in both schools, just waiting for the 15th to roll in so that they can see if they will be needing you as an alternate. The only other explanation I can offer is that they have already rejected you, but it was so close to the deadline (and the wave of admits and rejections that would be sent out afterwards anyways) that they decided to hold off on notifying you until they notify all the rest. Unlikely with two schools, however. I am betting waitlist and hoping for an acceptance. Keeping fingers crossed!

From what I have been told here, it is possible to receive a decision days AFTER the deadline as well. So just in case we thought our suffering was at an end, nope..... it isn't. Good luck to you!! I really hope you are one of the lucky ones.

Wow. Just over a month ago, I was so peppy. I am just a shadow of that now. Since then, I got a TA position and completed online classes, informed the schools left of what I've been up to. And heard nothing (of course).

I also have zero acceptances. Hope is starting to dwindle and I am starting to feel tired and worn out. Sometimes I can hardly concentrate on my current studies, or I find myself questioning my own abilities. I know it's stupid, but I actually sit there and suddenly wonder if I'm even capable of what I am doing. It is horrible because I realize that I have placed my own sense of self worth into the hands of others, and they have refused to give me the much coveted stamp of approval. I am getting to the point where I can no longer imagine going through this again next year, that I would rather consign myself to a life without my chosen career than have this happen to me again. But then they would be right about me, no? Ughhh. Keep trodding on.... is all I can do.

Thanks guys. I have just noticed these spurts of updates of people being posted by people who are getting accepted off waitlists. Each time I see one, I think..... that could have been me. It is similar to reading about someone winning the lottery, only watching it happening all around you. I just wonder - what is it like to be one of those people? To see one of those emails in my inbox? Any second now, one could appear.... nope it happened to someone else..... maybe in a hour... And so on. Of course at this point in time I am completely demoralized. Ultimately all these acceptances seem to be happening out there in some kind of alternate reality. It doesn't seem real to me. Just a haze. I'm mostly just sad.

If I am still on a waitlist at this point, does it mean they are just saving up for mass rejections post April 15th? Although I have kept in friendly, brief contact with the admissions coordinator (to notify my continued interest and updates on further achievements), I have never received a message that went beyond "thank you, this will be added to your application". My POI never contacted me after I was notified of my waitlist status. I was never asked if I was still interested, or given a ranking on the list and I am pretty sure I would have heard nothing if I hadn't kept up the contact myself. I honestly never had the feeling that I was a high priority candidate (as far as waitlists go). I have heard of people holding out decisions until the 15th, or simply letting the deadline pass without bothering to decline. But how realistic is it to hope that this might be the case?