HopefulPHD14

I'm in that same boat. I loved my first interview and was ready to accept as soon as I left. The problem is I have more interviews. To make things worse my remaining interview is my fallback school....

I can attest to this! I got interviews/acceptances to most of the smaller departments and didn't get into any of the umbrella programs I applied to. Just make sure when applying to the more specific programs that the research really fits you interests.

I cannot say for sure, but I do think some of those schools are a stretch. But I don't think that is necessarily a bad thing! You have very similar stats to me. I say just make sure to apply to a few stretch schools and a few fallback schools. That's pretty much what I did. The most important thing seems to be experience. Honestly though, you never know what a program is really looking for. If you are a perfect fit you can get into a top program and not get into a lower tier program that isn't a fit. You can see my current results in my signature below. For reference I had a 3.25 GPA, 157/161/4.0 GRE, 1 first author pub, multiple conference presentations, and ~4 years of experience working in labs (2 academic, 2 industry).

I have this same issue. A school I interviewed at a few weeks ago asked that I make my decision by this Friday. I have my last scheduled interview....this Friday. I also have 3 schools I haven't heard back from (although at this point I probably won't hear anything good). But basically I am deciding between two schools I have seen and one school I haven't. It is a very tough decision! I talked to people I respect and they said if you feel like you can make a decision then just go for it. For me I know the school that gave me a deadline is a good school and one I would be happy at. Because of that I am accepting the offer later today. If you cannot make that decision, then maybe wait it out and see if the other pieces fall into line. The one other thing you can do is call the school and explain your situation and ask for an extension. I have heard this often does work and they will give you additional time to think. When I asked my school they were a bit wishy washy. They told me I can take as much time as I need, but I lose the guarantee of my spot. Once they fill up the incoming class my offer will no longer be on the table. They said usually their are some spots open for a few weeks after the deadline as they extend additional offers to more people.

You need to think about what will be best for you long term/career wise. Will getting a masters first be able to further your career in any way that going straight into a Ph.D. wouldn't? For me the answer was no. I knew that a masters would only be a stepping stone and the Ph.D. was the long term goal. There is nothing that a masters would do for me that a Ph.D. doesn't already do. For that reason, I decided to only apply to Ph.D. programs. You need to think about what is best for you. It sounds to me like Davis could be a pretty good deal. Ph.D program, research that is "exactly what you want to do", and California really is beautiful (although Davis does have a lot of cows). I guess for me I don't see why you wouldn't do Davis, but you really need to figure that out for yourself so that you are comfortable with your decision.

I got a rejection today from them so you both are better off than me! Best of luck!

Explore all of your options even if you think you will end up at Brown. This is one of the biggest decisions of your career. There is no reason to rush it. Best case scenario 1) you make your decision to attend Brown with a little more knowledge and confidence or 2) you realize that one of the other schools is a much better fit. I am like 98% sure I know where I am headed. It is the best funded program and the location I ultimately want to end up at. I am still attending my last two interviews just in case. Schools understand they will get turned down by some students just like we students know we might get turned down by schools. It's all part of the process.

My supervisor knows and wrote me a LOR. He is super supportive but also pretty bummed that I am leaving. He knows that since it is what I have wanted to do for awhile it really is time for me to move on. Also my position is very entry level with little room to move up and most people leave right around now... Upper management on the other hand will not be happy. I am dreading telling them. In fact I give it about a 50-50 chance they fire me on the spot when they find out. I actually got a small promotion about 6 months back that was supposed to slowly phase me out of my research position into more of a customer support and training position. I did not want this position but the company told me they want to "invest in me" and that there was nowhere else in the company for me to go to be invested in except for this new department. The problem is that even though my position and pay have changed, I have received little to no training. Although this is another sign that its time for grad school....I know management will not see it that way. Anyways, I plan on telling my company about my plans sometime after I have accepted my final offer. I have even thought about putting it off until as late as April 1st (the last day to accept the offer) even if I do accept an offer before that. At that point if I do get fired I can go move in with mom and dad for a few months and teach myself to surf before I start grad school (they moved out to San Diego recently).

They are not on that list. I already checked. My other school I have an offer from is on that list and told me I had time to decide.

Have any of you received offers yet that are contingent on you accepting by a particular date? I received an offer from a school (which is now my first choice between the two schools I have offers at), but they want to know in the next couple of days.... I still have two schools I am waiting to interview at! I don't know what to do. I really liked the school. The faculty, research, students, and location were all great! It really did feel like a good fit..... But I feel weird giving up on a bunch of schools that I like a lot on paper without ever visiting or actually giving them a chance. What would you guys do? Stick it out for the other schools? Or accept an offer at a school that you like and just be happy to be going there?

All of my programs required official transcripts as part of the application. So I turned in all of my official transcripts by Dec. 1st.

Perfect. I think that is what I needed to hear. I won't worry about being overdressed but I will feel weird about not looked dressed up enough. A suit it is.

All of my professors and people I know with PhDs are telling me to wear a suit for the interview day and business casual for the rest of the weekend (maybe jeans and a nice shirt if its just with grad students). Do you guys really think a suit is too overdressed? Does it depend on the school/program? I would rather be overdressed than underdressed, but I also don't want to be way overdressed. I need some help planning for this weekend. I guess worst case scenerio I can bring the suit and play it by ear....

I finally got my first rejection. Is it weird that I am a little bit glad? Obviously I am not glad to be rejected, I am just glad to know. It lets me focus on my other programs and interviews. Anyways I got my rejection from SCRIPPS La Jolla via email this morning.

So is the general assumption around here that if we don't start hearing back from schools soon we might as well start giving up on them? I have 5 schools I still haven't heard anything from. I am happy to go to any of the 3 I have heard from, but I also want to start planning and thinking ahead. There is no point in continuing to think about the schools I haven't heard from if a rejection is inevitable. I've heard stories of people hearing late in to February about an interview, but should I start just assuming the rejections are coming? Most of the schools left were my reach schools anyways.

These are all great answers! Thanks so much! I will add one more question that is important to ask grad students. My friend in grad school said that this question was the one that helped her actually pick her program last year. Make sure to ask the grad students what they like to do for fun when they are not in the lab (or classes or whatever). She said she asked this at some schools and the students would not be able to answer right away. They would actually have to think about it and they wouldn't come up with good answers. She said that at other schools it would be an easy answer for the students. They already knew what they liked to do once they left the lab. And, there was a sense of community in doing those activities together. The program is great and important and everything, but if you end up at a school where the grad students cannot enjoy themselves outside of the lab and classes, it may not be the best program. Ultimately she picked a program that she knew she would like both in and out of the lab.

Hey! I'll be there that weekend for the CMDB program! Maybe I will see you around.

Bummer.... I liked UCSD.

I thought so. One of my best friends is in the PIBBS program. She didn't hear back from PIBBS her year until like Mid February (Although she said everything seemed to be moved up a few weeks this year). She said usually they wait until after that first interview weekend to get a feel for the students and then send out additional invites to secondary interview weekends.

Those are 2 of the schools I am still waiting on. I know that USC has an interview this weekend and that they usually send out a few more invites to a second weekend after the first weekend. I am still hopeful for that since USC and UCLA are probably my top 2 choices.. I am also waiting on UCSD, UCI, and Scripps. Ultimately I am happy with the interviews I have already, but I hope to hear back from people soon!

One of my best friends from undergrad is on the welcoming committee there. If what she says is true, and I am sure it is, then you have nothing to worry about. They are just planning on spoiling you and convincing you to end up there. Try to enjoy it and have some fun! And hopefully they are getting a little more sun and a little less rain and gloom in LA than we are having up here in the bay!

But aren't you glad they saved your Credit Card!

I noticed a rejection on the survey for Scripps California. Anyone have any info on this? Did anyone else get an email rejection? I haven't heard anything yet and I am just curious.

Isn't that the nicest thing? I have my first acceptance and now I am just so much more relaxed going into other interviews!

I am still hopeful and waiting (however I am expecting a rejection at this point).