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Yeah, I noticed that too. And, this seems to only be sociocultural, not even bio (which is what I applied for). They may just have more funding this year, or wanted to give more candidates a chance since an interview is completely different than what a committee sees on paper. 

Hey everyone,
I figured we should start a thread where we could report interviews and admissions results for 2018. That way, it won’t get buried in the other threads! 

Short answer: yes.
I did this for 5 of the 7 programs I applied to. I had good phone conversations with professors at 4 of these programs and a long email exchange with the DGS at another, so I sent them each an email thanking them for their time and letting them know I chose to apply/my app was submitted. I did not do this for the last two programs because they do not encourage communication with professors before an offer has been made.
It's not necessary, but it can be a nice thing to do if you've made a connection with a prof.

This!

Looking over my spreadsheet from last year, it looks like UC San Diego is due January 3, Rice is due January 15.  Also, Vanderbilt doesn't have an application fee!