Foreveronward

I would send them a polite email about it. Tell them that you've had issues in the past and have tried to resolve it. (Or that there aren't any other options). Then I'd reaffirm that you are looking forward to the interview and answering their questions. If I was in their shoes, I'd like to know about technical issues beforehand as opposed to just staring at the screen wondering what happened. Who knows, they might even be able to add a bit of extra time to your interview to account for the delays.

Yeah, the grad housing is plastered on every piece of material they have. Want to know about the building you'll be in? How about grad housing? Professors research interests/program info flyer? Now with extra housing information! To be fair, it's definitely worth bragging about- the housing is slightly less than half the cost of the surrounding area. I really wish more universities adopted that model. I think the housing hunt in undergrad saturated areas and the massive costs are one of the more irksome parts of gradschool. I lived in the bay area in one of those 2k per month apartments and it's super stressful. Some of the students in my cohort do a bit better with it, but only because they have s.o.'s that have good jobs. I tried checking out grad housing in the bay and it was somehow more expensive than my current place and there were very few spots open for new residents. I wish this sort of thing made it into the campus climate and graduate student surveys they do every 5 years or so.

You just inspired me to search some really odd spellings and combinations of university names and I went from four total results over 6 years to over 10! It's still not a lot, but I now have a rough idea of when interviews took place last year! (It was a different concentration but mehh). On another note, I'm shocked by how high the student stipends are in management. The tuition section for my dream program lists 27k as the stipend (combined TA and general stipend) plus a tuition waiver and health/vision/dental insurance. I saw another result from '06 I initially missed because of spelling and they received 24k, even back then. I know TAing is a downer for some people, but my top choice school has a big focus on pedagogy in addition to research which really makes me happy. I should note that the school is in a rather expensive area of the U.S., but PhD students are guaranteed 4 year housing in grad only housing on campus. I visited my friend, and it's actually really nice. So housing shouldn't have been a factor in stipend amount, imo.

It's good that it was mostly literature review. I honestly think the introduction is the most draining part since it's all self motivated and a ton of reading. Once you have that done the actual research and results seem heaps easier (at least for my field). Plus you're already a third or a fourth of the way done, so you're invested! Hey, remote/low adviser contact buddies! I put off my thesis for awhile to work on my GRE studying. I'm starting it back up now, but I'm still working on the lit review. I do have a data set from a professor I do research with, but I'm almost feeling like I want to do something on my own. Hmm To both of you: stay strong and good luck writing- we can do this!

Okay, I just wanted a place to rant for a moment. I know that for Jan 4th applications, I still (likely) have a bit of a wait ahead of me. There are literally no acceptances for my field on gradcafe. There are only early t0 mid March rejections with two late LATE Feb acceptances from '07 and '10 for the same department but an entirely different concentration. Right now I'm working on my thesis from a new state. It's hard to focus without my cohort and with the added stress of waiting to hear back. I moved because the Bay area was way expensive and now I'm also looking for jobs here. For those of you still working on your thesis, how is it going? Is anyone working on a thesis remotely or with limited adviser contact?

I don't think it's misplaced... I think it's a bit easy for me to tell you not to be anxious since I see 6 acceptances and think you must be a stellar applicant. Still, admissions is a crazy enough process that I understand the anxiety. What if the adcomm is having a bad day? What if they don't like your UG school for ~reasons~? So frustrating! Still, I'll be following your saga and hoping for the best.

Anxiety? You've been accepted to SIX schools. You should be excited 24/7. Also, that subreddit is great. It's got a lot of great topics that aren't admissions related and tons of useful advice threads.

I'm trying not to get overly pessimistic, but the longer I wait, the less hopeful I feel. (Ha, and the application was due Jan 4th; it hasn't even been a month.) On one hand, it's cut down the amount i browse thefradcafe and /r/gradschool. On the other, I'm pretty miserable. I'm always excited to see the posts about other people getting in, though!

I remember reading somewhere that 'safety schools'/programs that aren't super highly ranked tend to wait a bit on sending out acceptances. It makes sense, as all the people that got into the programs publishing really high impact factor work will have already accepted the better offers. Still, I totally agree, I wish there was a better system. I know it's the nature of the beast and a bit greedy to expect a reply within two months, but I find myself being greedy nonetheless. I've had friends in my Master's program that are shocked at the wildly varying wait times and departmental policies on decision notifications. I just feel like that a 100$ application fee should at least guarantee 1) An email when all your application components are received and 2) Website updates if any delays occur in the decision process. The advantage of emailing applicants when their package is complete is that (ideally) students wouldn't need to call everyday to verify the receipt of transcripts and scores.

To give a bit of perspective on this, I'm one of those oddballs that only applied to one school. I did have a laundry list of PhD programs and professors I'd love to work with in my field when I started thinking about the application process in mid 2015. I had vetted the list of professors with my PI and the faculty members in my program and I ended up adding a few programs (as well as deleting a few) based on their suggestions. In the end, I only applied to one school because I had an absolutely awful quant GRE score. I didn't study enough and I actually emailed my letter writers to thank them and tell them that I actually wouldn't be applying after all. After reading that email, one of my professors urged me to reach out to a PoI I had been talking to for most of the year. I was very explicit in my email to the PoI and stated my exact percentile score in order to prevent any confusion. They still encouraged me to apply, even with a sub 25th percentile quant GRE score, based on the merit of the rest of my application. While I am rather proud of the rest of my application, I know that most departments won't see past that GRE score. I don't expect them to and I didn't want to set myself up for a bunch of rejection letters. I hate the feeling of having all my eggs in one basket, but I am heartened by the fact that my PoI encouraged me to apply and has had multiple conversations with me throughout the year. I feel like most students who apply to a single school are aware of how limiting it is, even if they are applying to their 'dream school'. I would much rather have applied to 10+ schools like you did.

Two weeks? I wish I could hear back this quickly. I have a feeling most of us will be waiting for a month or more, but good for you!

I'm in the same boat. Late Jan/Early Feb/Mid Feb is the soonest I'll hear back but it's next to impossible to get it off my mind. I met with my adviser today and talking to her helped a bit, but I suspect I'll be back to it tomorrow morning. I'll be here throughout the process to mope/whine/agonize with you!

Yes. This a million times over. My poor friends have been bombarded with admissions statistics and whining. They've been nothing but supportive and encouraging even when I'm in full grinch mode. I have a friend pursuing a PhD at my top school and she's been great at providing all the information she can about the university. I'd be a mess without them.

Since we're all here waiting, I thought it might be nice to submit a thread where we can talk about the things that we are thankful for in the admission process. Focusing on the positives never hurt, right? Personally, I'm thankful for: The fact that my top school sends out a status email to notify you whether they have received a full application from you. (Two weeks after the app deadline, but there's no way to check before that point. Still, it's a nice gesture!) The willingness of my professors to write LoRs during the break when I was waffling about applying Schools that understand official transcripts are hell and let you submit unofficial transcripts with your application in case something goes awry with the official ones Detailed SoP critiques from my friends and professors Having a PoI who communicated me with the spring/fall leading up to the application season. He's been nothing but amazing and spent an hour on the phone with me discussing the application process. He even offered to write letters to profs he knew at a neighboring University so I could work with them over the summer Lastly, I'm thankful for gradcafe and these forums. You all keep me sane, seriously.

Well I've found the perfect way to stop stressing- just look at the newly updated acceptance stats for the year prior. 7 programs in the dept, 290 applicants, 11 admits. So I just have to be the top applicant. I knew the U C Irvine Business dept didn't accept a ton of students but one or two a year for my concentration seems so small. What about the cohort? If I was to miraculously get in, would I be with 4 or 5 other people? My 13 person Master's degree class has spoiled me.

This tool is the best! I'm glad my application website doesn't list acceptance/rejection decisions. I'd be checking it every day. Still, they said the official decision would come in the mail. I'm sort of hoping that I'll get a phone call from my PoI or an email about a potential interview first. I'm leaning more towards the phone call option since the website mentioned that they don't send emails (for privacy concerns??). These stupid apps are always on my mind D:

Ugh, my applications were due Jan 4th and I feel like I'm going to be waiting forever. I checked the grad cafe results page, and acceptances usually go out late February, but I'm totally jealous of programs that have already sent out interview requests. It def doesn't help that there is like, no discussion of my program on the forums. The 'Business' sub-forum is mostly MBA students, with no talk of PhD programs. Is anyone else waiting it out? When do you expect to hear back? How are you handling the (excruciating) wait?

Hey all, I know we're few and far between, but I wanted a place for Business PhD hopefuls to chat about the process before applications are due in Dec/Jan. I'm applying to Management and Organizational Behavior programs at about 10 schools. I'm currently an I/O Psych M.S. student. Looking forward to hearing from you all and commiserating with you.