hopefulPhD2017

What a good idea @JeremyWrites! Love this. I have been researching tips for incoming PhD students, I applied to present at two upcoming conferences on areas related to my doctoral research question, and I swear I'm going to get back to the novel I stopped writing when application season fired up this last summer. In conversation I just act nonchalant and shrug my shoulders like, "Meh, we'll see if I get in anywhere and how much funding is provided, and then I'll decide. Maybe I'll even stay at my current job! Who knows?" I don't feel that cool and calm inside though. On the inside I'm questioning my ability to get in anywhere at all, totally regretting the SOP wording in my Harvard app, and roiling from the radio silence from two POI's.

Night goggles

@mjl89 and @day_manderly I figured as much! Thanks for responding. Guess I'm back to waiting!

Just found this nice letter online, written by a HGSE prof to PhD applicants. It illuminates some of the admissions process at HGSE and makes me feel a little better about not hearing back from a potential POI. ? I hope someone else finds this useful!

Front man

That's really good news. Between a missing LOR and GRE scores accidentally sent to the wrong school, I've been freaking out. Whew.

Thanks for sharing this @Espeon Seems pretty small to me. Interesting that only a few who go to the interview weekend don't get in. You must have heard good things if you're also applying! I don't know anyone who's attended. If you feel like sharing any inside info, please do! It'll pass the time while we wait for Jan 12. ?

Good point @Espeon! Looks like interview weekend notices went out Jan 12 last year. Any idea how many apply vs how many accepted? I either did less research on Peabody or there was less information available, or both...

Nasty Women

Foot ache (Tooth brush too) this week of radio silence is just about killing me. Let's go ahead and make exceptions. ??

Wondering who else applied to Vandy? I applied to the K-12 Education Leadership and Policy PhD program. Getting excited and nervous as we approach January!

Tooth brush

I received a happy holidays email from Penn GSE on Dec. 23; I applied for the policy PhD program for fall 2017. I was telling my partner about the email and he wondered if, as it mentioned a date for the Preview Weekend, it meant I was possibly in the pool of those who may possibly be invited. Here is what the email said: Season's Greetings from Penn GSE. The holiday season is upon us, and we are winding down the fall semester. Please note, in observance of the holidays, Penn GSE will be closed from 12 p.m. (EST) Friday, December 23, 2016, until 9 a.m. (EST) Tuesday, January 3, 2017. We will respond to your phone calls and emails upon our return. Looking Forward to 2017 On the road to success, the rule is to always look ahead. Keep an eye out for more information regarding these upcoming events in 2017. Select applicants will be invited to Preview Weekend, February 17-19. Doctoral decision letters will be sent out early March. I'm pretty sure this email has zero significance or meaning in terms of my actual chances of admission, but I wanted to see what you all think. I'm assuming you all got this too? Can anyone confirm that this email means not much at all? Save for the fact that it was very thoughtful of them to send it all all, which goes a long way. Plus this is the first interview weekend date I've seen officially published, which is pretty exciting)! Going a bit crazy waiting to hear back from all the schools!

This is not a very helpful response. I also have a lower quant score and I've taken it twice. I would say that if you don't get in, spend more time studying for the next round. I did this and my quant score rose by 7 percentile points. Good luck!

Wine bottle

Awesome advice! Hoping I get a chance to use it.

First, love the skirt. I'm really glad you brought this up because it is so hard for women. I once had a very qualified friend interview for a job at my org and not get it. Why? She didn't smile enough and was dressed too formally in a black suit. The hiring boss was a great guy and I'm sure he'd be shocked if I mentioned the inherent sexism in those statements. I only mention this because even if no one even realizes it, there is a certain standard we must strike, just so, to come off as both approachable and professional. I think the skirt is appropriate and cute and not stuffy. Good luck and let us know how it goes!

Great questions @Espeon! @Vulpix appreciate the answers and wishing you luck in the job hunt! Wondering if most folks head back "home" wherever that is, or if there are opportunities to stay around the Boston area for work?

I had this issue too, I just wrote about different projects I'd worked on, but I one of the reasons I want to go back to grad school is to do research, so... I get you. Good luck!!

Very cool! Thank you for sharing. I notice there's only one PhD on there yet 25 are admitted every year. Wonder why they don't report out more?

Good point. I also struggled between those two, but ultimately went for CIS because of the people I'm most interested in working with. I still wonder if it was right choice though...

January 21 seems to have been the date in past years...

Oh and I don't know what the secret number is, but my profile just turned from decaf to caffeinated so I guess there's at least a silver lining to my mix-up. Ha!! As a coffee lover, I've been waiting for this to happen.

Thank you all so much for your thoughts and ideas! @Vulpix I did just what you suggested. I called HGSE--my scores are there. Then I called again, and they confirmed that they cannot share them with HGSAS as they are two institutions, separate. I was like, but, um, your faculty are reviewing applications right? Can't you add them? I was told they can't discuss the process. Argh!! HGSAS assured me that applications are reviewed even if there is a missing part, and HGSE said it happens but would not say more. I'm hoping that we still have a chance, @Espeon and @forgetful26, I guess I'm in good company! Just curious--don't know if this is too much info to share online--but what are you each applying to specifically? I struggled to pick between HDLT, CIS, and EPPE but think I made right decision. Not sure. Don't know how detailed we should get in these forums.

This happened to me too. I called a former colleague and mentor, and she had my letter written the next day! Saved me. And yes, some of them were turned in late but so far it does not seem to have affected my applications. I followed up with each school to let them know and tell them my new writer would get it to them, then again to make sure it got in. Several schools told me letters were late. It's a lot of work!