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Here's the Yale Law School Admin blog... parts of it are quite funny, other parts make me cringe http://blogs.law.yale.edu/blogs/admissions/default.aspx

Ok, odd question...but do you send a thank you card or email if: 1) you are rejected after an interview 2) you decide not to apply after all (preemptive rejection of a person/program) 3) you are accepted but decide to go elsewhere 4) you are accepted and that is where you decide to go 5) all of the above?

Well... I am definitely trying harder this year to find a good program/mentor. I feel like I should get a gold star for effort at the very least. Here's my rough tally of effort this time around... Number of prof's emailed: 60+ Potential Prof Phone interviews: 25+ Grad student phone/in person interviews: 14 In person interviews (casual visits): 6 Applications:7 (this year) Acceptances...???

It is looking more like the magic eight ball is pointing towards a "yes" I am unofficially admitted...but my application still has to do the department rounds first so no celebrating or doing a little dance for at least another month! ooohh I am excited...

Here are my wonky stats: The Good: - NSF Fellowship - 2 manuscripts in peer review as first author - 2 awards for science poster (1 international conference, 1 national conference) - Research experience around the globe - 2 salaried + full benefits research positions (three years of experience) - 2 research internships - Multiple merit based scholarships + research grants as a undergrad The Bad?: - College: small obscure school w/o grades that no-one has heard of - GPA (when you can count it...?!?): 3.5ish - Credits: 320+ credits and counting... - Major: um ... self designed mix of sugar and spice and everything nice The Ugly: - GRE - 550 verbal / 600 quantitative / 5 writing (taken five time already! I really really hate exams...) - Pre-req's - never took basic chem, bio, calc, or physics (just talked my way straight into upper level courses in my area of focus...) - eight schools attended... (curiosity to take classes where ever I live...)

I just thought I would share what I did last year at this time.... - For each person who wrote me a LOR I sent them both a card that I made (featuring a photograph I took, plus really nice paper) and I mailed a 8 x 10 signed print of one of my paintings. This combo was sent roughly one month after the last application was submitted. I think I spent $5 per card on supplies, but I think the value was more from the personal effort that went into making them. - For every school that seriously considered me I sent a handmade card to each person (faculty, student, admin) who took the time to interview me or introduce me to the school. - Once I was awarded a rather prestigious fellowship I shared the good news by giving each LOR writer a plant that was in reference to my research goals (as proposed in the fellowship application). I think I ended up spending roughly $20 per plant per person. This seemed well received but I think it made one fellow blush and I would caution giving anyone a houseplant that is easily killed. This year around I think I am going to do a similar thing, general thank you cards for the effort and then a follow up gift/letter when/if I am accepted anywhere. I am planning to spend the next few weekends painting for this year's cards. This years gift is probably going to be a bottle of wine or a really nice microbrew, but I need to check on mailing regulations between states. Other ideas might be a gift certificate to Powell's books for those hard to find academic texts.

Very excited! sooo want to know which prof will adopt me as their grad student!

Biology I actually met the prof this summer while he was traveling in my region. We had lunch and coffee together (and talked for almost five hours!). Not an interview in the normal sense, but enough to know he is a very nice fellow. Yay! I am excited...even if I am confused as to what to make of it. happy!

Ok, I am super excited, yet slightly confused as to if I just received an unofficial acceptance offer or just a really positive heads up email. Basically I just received word from one of the professors directly that he "put a note in my file" saying he wanted me to join his lab. Is this an unofficial way of saying I am in? or just a way of saying he wants me before the application committee judges my application? It sound like I am at least past the first hurdle (grad application office) because my info was passed to the department but am not sure what happens next or how much his vote sways decisions. It is way way too early for any solid letters of acceptance or specifics of money, but I would like to think of this as being good news. Any feedback?

I just posted my odd results...(interviews later than normal). Fill in what ever your experiences have been, either this year or last.

When are folks invited for interviews? What dates tend to be most common? What is generally included?

This year I am applying to nearly twice the number of schools (seven or so) which will hopefully increase my odds a little bit. Thus far I have actually contacted over three dozen profs over the past year trying to figure out who to work with. Having a fellowship helps, but then sometimes there is a bit of awkwardness as to why I am not in a program yet (it really is unheard of). I am not sure if I am in a competitive field or if I have just been contacting some of the most competitive profs out there. One of the more discouraging rejects happened when I met a potential prof at a conference and he pretty much told me that having an NSF really mean nothing special and I was not "ivy league caliber" enough for him. In his case he was pretty clear I had to have published AND have high GRE scores. Ouch. In the past few months I have been having some pretty bad nightmares all having to do with being rejected from every school again. I really hope that I am not coming off as having a "know everything" attitude, if anything I feel like a total academic misfit that needs another two years of regular classes to feel like I am even close to knowing as much as my peers enter other PhD programs. My so-so GRE scores have definitely made me feel worse about myself. I just have a very high level of curiosity about obscure subjects, when I am interested in something I tend to fully immerse myself in what ever that is. I have however been told (by my friends who I love dearly) that I have a rather strong and slightly eccentric personality and I just need to find my odd birds of a feather, sort of like that Blind Melon video with the bee girl.

Here are some of the reasons given to me for the initial rejections... 1. I never made it past the initial "gate keepers" of the grad application process. I was told that it is pretty common to toss a third of the applications if they are below a certain GRE or GPA score before the essays or letters of recommendation are read. 2. I have a non-traditional degree, meaning I do not have an easily categorized major or classes that can be compared to other students. 3. Bureaucracy, concerns of funding even with a fellowship, politics within the department, etc... Here are the reasons I was given after rejection, then in-person interviews, followed by rejection yet again... 1. I came across as "too focused" or "too independent" or "too ambitious" because I actually wanted to do what I proposed in my NSF essay. I was told that having such a clear idea of what I wanted to study was extremely unusual compared to most applicants. 2. The common response was that I had good ideas, extremely knowledgeable about the subjects in my field of study, but didn't think I was "a good fit" (what does that mean exactly?) 3. I was told that I was hard to read, that they felt a lack of social connection, and appeared aloof (ie. I am bad at small talk and I have to consciously remember to mirror facial expressions/gestures/tone). Sometimes I would try to explain the medical history for why I appear that way but generally that would create more issues than solutions. 4. The idea that I should have no problem finding a different grad program (ya, but it is a problem when everyone assumes that)... This year I am trying again, and the pattern seems to be initial excitement followed by asking what my GRE scores are (which leads to awkward response). So here I am terrified that I will be rejected from everywhere yet again. I have taken the GRE five times and I still can't seem to get past the 1200 score. Ugh... This year I am trying to improve my SOP, I have requested five letters of recommendation rather than three, and I just submitted two papers for peer review (not sure how long that will take however). The application process and the counter-intuitive messages that I am receiving just does not make sense to me.

Ya.... that's what I thought last year, but here I am with a NSF trying still trying to find a grad program. I was initially rejected from all the programs where I applied, a few of the places got my hopes up that they could change things but in the end nothing actually materialized. The entire experience was very disappointing and left me feeling even worse about myself than the initial round of rejection. Two professors told me that I was not competitive enough (even with a NSF!) and that in order to have my application even looked at I needed to be in the top 80th GRE percentile AND have published two papers as first author. I am not sure I just have really odd odds or if I am eternally screwed because I can't seem to wrap my brain around this stupid exam.

Ok stupid question, does having a NSF Fellowship outweigh having bad GRE scores (550V/600Q) when applying to a PhD program in the sciences?

anyone else had to deal with being rejected after an in person interview?

Thus far all of my requests for accommodation have been met by letters requesting more paper work and more tests that have zero relevance to my neurological problems. It appears to be especially difficult to deal with accommodation requests if it is a medical condition that doesn't fit in their stupid boxes. I feel like I am continuously smashing head against a glass ceiling when dealing with ETS and grad schools that are somehow convinced that this stupid exam is an indicator of academic success. The exam does not measure your ability to formulate new ideas, to think critically, and is not a representation of your discipline of study. It is a messed up measurement of your ability to conform to a single way of thinking and processing information.

Ouch... turned out to be rejected...then invited for a phone and in-person interview....followed by ambiguous acceptance... then official rejection again. Talk about a blow to the ego.

Long story short I was rejected from every school that I applied. The day after I received the last rejection letter I received word that I had been awarded a very generous fellowship to be used towards any grad program. This created a rather awkward situation for me. I essentially had to swallow my pride and write to every person/school that rejected me to see if they might reconsider. The good news is since then I have had correspondence w/ various faculty who now want me in their lab. Yay! But now I am feeling even more confused emotionally. Both myself, and the profs I talk to, seem to be experiencing an odd guilt complex. To add to the scene I am not sure if I am really "accepted" or not, online my application still says rejected and I have yet to see any paperwork. Also due to confusion between profs and admins I am not even sure if I can be accepted this year due to paperwork rules. This scene reminds me of weird dating dynamics of being dumped and then getting back together out of pity (or money) rather than actual desire to be with each other. In some instances I was rejected from lack of funding, in others I was simply rejected for not being a good enough fit/competitive enough of an applicant. Ugh! I am dealing with weird depression/buyers remorse/impostor syndrome from all of this shifting back and forth. I know that I want to go to grad school, but I am also dealing with an unusually large dose of self doubt right now. What is going on? has anyone else dealt w/ a weird scenario like this?

Any idea how many of the folks who interview at Davis end up being accepted? What was the interview there like?

Ok, I just want to run my scenario by folks to see if I might have missed the obvious (which is quite possible). I was initially rejected by all the schools that I applied to, but I just received word that I was awarded an independent fellowship that will cover a significant chunk of tuition/cost of living for three years at any school. I swallowed my pride and began contacting all the profs that rejected me to see if funding would change their opinion. I had a long phone call with my first choice in prof's and we talked about just about everything related to common areas of interest (research priorities, theory, misc. papers and equations) for the vast majority of the conversation. The end of the call was quite rushed (he was running late), but essentially the parting words were that he wanted me, told me the funding for the other years would be difficult or at the very least uncertain (public school in bad economy), and he needed to talk to the department to find out logistics. Now I am in an awkward limbo wondering where I stand what just happened... did I just have an interview? was I just accepted? should i be worried about the funding for the other years? should I bust out a bottle of champagne and celebrate?

Well, things are looking better but I am still hanging in suspense. I talked to my first choice of prof's that rejected me and it sounds like funding does make a difference. Nothing is official yet, and logistics still need to be worked out with the rest of the department. I'll let you know when I can bust out the champagne and celebrate...

I am in the same boat (rejected by all the schools that I applied for but awarded a NSF Fellowship) and in the process of freaking out. This is actually harder for me to deal with than being rejected in the first place. I am worried that I will loose the award and experience the "so close yet so far" type of regret the rest of my life. From what I have read (in the info packet) it looks like I won't be able to "reserve" or delay the award without first being accepted to a school because the intent of the award is for those who are going to be students next fall (regardless of whether they need the cash now or later). I tried to find out today what happens if the worst case scenario occurs (continuous rejection) and pretty much the response I got was to try harder. Thus far I am contacting the profs/schools that rejected me to see if they might have any new openings (after the initial shuffling of applicants). I was also recommended to talk to the prof who were not accepting this year, but who might be willing to offer a conditional acceptance until they have space in their labs. The stress and uncertainty of this is very hard, I want to rejoice but I am afraid. The deadline is May 1st to figure things out. Less than a month to scramble and plan and hope that things work out for the best knowing that the outcome may dramatically change my life path. Help! What to do? Does anyone know what happens if, despite all your efforts, you simply cannot find a school that will accept you? What then?

has anyone else been rejected from all schools AND received an NSF grant? Any idea if I can defer for a year? AAAAAHH WTF WTF i need some whiskey.

AAAAAHHH!!!! WTF WTF WTF!!?!?! I GOT THE NSF GRANT! WTF?!?! I WAS REJECTED FROM ALL MY SCHOOLS YET I GOT AN NSF GRANT?!?! WTF?