Tiglath-Pileser III

Why would they bother to do this? It is not an abnormal wait until April rolls around. They would just be stirring the bees nest. Trust me, it does not help to know that a decision is coming. I got an email from UCLA saying that decision will be made by March 1st. Has that helped my anxiety in any way? Not even a little bit! In fact, it's made me more anxious. BTW, if you were a clear rejection, you probably would have already received a notification to that effect. Most schools did their summary rejections in early February. You can check the "results search" for individual schools and see scores of preliminary rejections and acceptances. This too shall pass.

Hey, two schools are enough if you get accepted at one of them. If you think you are a good fit at those schools and your applications were quality, then two may be all you need. King David may have had five sling stones in his quvier, but he only needed one to kill Goliath. Of course, those sling stones were the size of small cannon balls. Here's to applications that make an impact like a cannon ball.

inner peace.... inner peace....

Okay, my two cents. I went back to grad school when I was 35. And not only am I leaving with two masters degrees (Magna Cum Laude), now at age 39 I am applying for my PhD. I am much more successful now as a grad student than I ever was in my 20s. A good part of it is that I now am less easily distracted and make much wiser decisions. Sure, I have more obligations than my younger peers, but I am able to out-compete them because I can do more with less.

It depends. You will not find consistency even across the same institution. We all want to know where we're moving to. It is not a good feeling whenever you are not in control. At the institution where I am currently, they are only looking at the PhD applications today. Don't think that they've considered each application with careful attention. They are looking at each application briefly and making snap decisions based upon the impression they got from the application. This is why an application really needs to stand out.

The reason why is that every school is different. Some make all their decisions all at once. These schools know the number of seats available and send out slightly more approvals than they have seats for thinking that some won't accept. This is especially true of smaller schools. If they get one or two people off their target one way or another, not a big deal. Others make them gradually, sending out acceptances gradually, one at a time or in small batches. The idea here is to select the best first. The rest are consigned to languish on a waiting list until all the seats are full. The discipline you are in is also going to make a difference as to timing as well. In Near Eastern Studies, these decisions aren't made until the at lease the end of February with March being normative. This, of course, sucks if you need to apply for fellowships. Rejections will not go out until they are finished deciding. Fear not. They will come soon enough.

I received one email saying that I will receive a decision by March 1. And even though it is only 5 days away, it is driving me nuts not knowing. I'm trying to be upbeat about this, but it is hard when I have received mostly silence.

sports injury

live bait

time lord ( for Dr Who fans)

adrenaline high

Crazy is all a part of being a waiting applicant. It is a sign of the times. We are all insane. And that is why we will win.

power trip

Nexus lexus

I'm actually both a grad student and adjunct faculty. I get $600/credit to teach and no benefits. This is actually a better deal than I got as a TA/RA when I got $8.50/hr (50 cents more than minimum wage). At my school, there are no tuition waivers for TAs and certainly no benefits--not even an upgraded parking pass.

One Ring

kick ball

Oh, rot!

Greeting card

immigrant invasion

I applied to 5 schools and have been rejected by 1. Now, I'm wondering if I didn't apply to enough schools. Now, that I am hearing about people applying to 10 or 12 schools and getting 4 rejects in a row. If I get 4 rejects, I'm out of the game. I really don't want to spend the next year as adjunct faculty.

rejection letter

This is why you occasionally pay to have one official transcript mailed to yourself. It's kind of like a credit report in that you have to make sure everything is accurate. This all a part of career management.

Snow day

Your grades are old enough that consideration might be given, especially given that you are applying for a master's degree. I was in a similar situation as you are. My ugpa was 2.5, and I was able to get into a master's program. However, you might have to do it at a Tier 2 school, especially this year when the competition is so fierce.