SocCog

Program of interest: Social Psychology (specifically Social Cognition, but I'm gonna be a LOT more open this year about my programs). I also enjoy Perceptual Development. Schools you have looked at: I have a 59-school spreadsheet from last year of every school I looked at, but I'm trying to start fresh. Last year I applied to UC Riverside, UC Irvine, Washington, Washington State, Texas (Austin), Indiana, Temple, Maryland, Northeastern, NYU, Princeton, and Cornell. I also applied to the post-bac program at Pitt. Number one worry about applying: That I haven't done much to improve since last time around. I've had a horrible year with personal things keeping me busy. All my rejections came very late into rejection season last year, so paid lab positions were already filled for this coming year. I'm back at my job from last summer again, and I'm staying on as a regular employee instead of staying seasonal. It's *kind of* psychological. I'm working with kids and it is based in the Dual Process Theory of Cognition, but it's all just practice. They haven't even promoted me to coding yet. Nothing else has changed from last year, other than being even rustier on all my concepts and math and having even less access to all my old college networks.

So, Indiana snail-mailed the rejection and Cornell finally emailed. But just now I got an offer of financial aid from WSU...even though I haven't been accepted and am 100% sure I'm not accepted because my POI isn't accepting grad students any more. Such a tease.

I am seriously at the verge of tears. So, still nothing from the eight schools I've been waiting on. But I counted them as rejections long ago. Long enough ago that I found two stipended post-bac programs to apply to. I was in a serious depression. I was staying in bed literally all day. But the prospect of these two programs reinvigorated me. I wrote the applications and emailed my professors for letters again. I let them know that one of the programs required physical copies of letters attached to my physical application that I would need to mail before the end of March. They all responded and said they'd be happy to. One professor wrote the letter, sealed it, and left it for me to pick up 2 days later. One professor asked me to double check all the information she had on me and asked if I'd been up to anything new (told her it was all correct and no, nothing new). The professor who flaked on me in November (had to email her almost daily for 2 weeks to get her to submit her letters) replied within the hour and offered to meet up the next week. I told her I was available literally whenever. 100% availability. And then I never heard back. I've emailed almost daily. The professor who doublehecked my new information never got back to me either. Just now I got an email from her lab manager like "Oh, you needed a physical copy? Well it's Spring Break now." I said in the original email, on the form they have to print out (attached to the original email), and on the spreadsheet the lab makes you fill out to get a letter. So THREE places. So now I don't have 2 of the letters and I need them by Wednesday so I can mail them! So thanks for killing my dreams. And it was the post-bac program I was most excited about. I'm sure I can count on them for the other program, which isn't due for weeks. But UGHHHHH! That's half my prospects gone! And while I was moping about this (ok this is going to sound silly), a package came. It was a skirt I'd been waiting to come forever. I open it and it said "ruby red skirt" on the package. But it's a blue sweater. Called to complain and they're sold out of my skirt. Said I could keep the sweater. Which is too small. That was just the last straw and I am crushed.

@milkymamahdf I don't totally feel comfortable giving input, because there are so many factors that I could never be aware of in your life. But I really want to help, so apparently I'm giving input now. It seems that you are very research-focused, based on the factors that you listed as important. So i would think about where you are going to do YOUR best research. Addressing the PI at B, I don't personally find the gap to be that suspicious. Things happen. (I had a major family tragedy last May, followed by another in August, and my life is still a bit derailed.) There might be a very good explanation (e.g. didn't take grad students for a year of two, or maybe was running a very complicated study, tragedy struck, IRB approval lapsed during personal time off and it took a while to get reapproved, possibly had to re-do first stage of study because too much time had passed, and then publishing is a lengthy ordeal.) 2010-2012 is also a fair bit ago. Is the PI at B still underpublishing in the past couple years compared to the PI at A? If not, or if it's only a small difference, I wouldn't personally give publishing as much weight as other factors. Another thing that's important to consider is how self-sufficient you are? Do you need especially supportive faculty I with very specific knowledge and interest in your research to mentor you? Or are you more confident in your personal skill level? If you feel you are going to want more support, a supportive professor could make a world of difference. If you are more self-sufficient, than the level of support may not be as big of a factor in your decision. Not much help, probably. But I figured I'd chime in.

Glad to know that I'm not the only one who still hasn't heard from several schools. I'm guessing a lot of rejections are going to come on the 15th. But maybe acceptances too!

I know I haven't been rejected from the majority of my programs, but it's just seeming like this isn't happening this year. I'm scrambling to figure out what to do with my life that will make me more appealing next time around. Haven't found any local lab manager/paid research assistant jobs yet. Too late to try for any master program I'd actually want (Funny story, EVERY graduate school "crash course" panel that I ever attended made it seem like you heard back from PhD programs in Jan/Feb and then Masters as your backup plan didn't have applications due until April/May. Boy were they wrong. I feel rather lied to.) I got the email about the UCI postbac program, which doesn't sound terrible, apart from having to take out normal loans (instead of student loans) for the $18k is costs, plus living expenses, since it isn't a degree program. But I don't know what else to do. I live at home and I'm unemployed. Nothing I'm doing right now is making me more appealing as a candidate. My old summer job would probably take me back (at least for the summer, if not as a full-time employee), but I kind of hated it. It's slightly psychological (or at least I could spin it that way). But I don't want to be miserable (I cried on multiple lunch breaks over the summer.) Ughh. I don't know what to do next...

Just got my UCI rejection.

Yep. That's the plan. I don't have a backup. Other than next time I'm going to do everything different and I'll apply to a couple MAs too. My Temple rejection came in the mail today. I figured it would be mailed, since the rejection went up on the website so long ago and yet I didn't get an email. I burned it. No, not just burned. I set it on fire. Potentially the most cathartic moment of my life.

@almondicecream Thanks, That does make me feel better about Princeton. Also, we have the same POIs at Cornell. Haha.

Well, there goes Princeton. So all that's left of my "dream" programs is Cornell. And then I have very strong feelings that Wash State and Texas are out (one I got an email from another professor claiming my POI wasn't accepting, even though it clearly says on the website she is; the other, my phone interview was postponed and then they never wanted to reschedule.) Edit: Oh, and there goes Temple. Sighhhh. That is the application that cost the most and took the most time.

Make sure to take a break from feeling bad about holding onto spots to CELEBRATE! I came into this process fully aware that I would probably not ever have to make a decision. Getting into multiple programs isn't common. You must be amazing!

I know. I never said I was in the right. This venting thread HAS, however, been a pretty judgment-free thread thus far. My other thread is filled with applicants panicking and discussing their insomnia, so it is a little rough to see someone come in and say "yeah I got in" and then leave (and not even posting to the admission's board.) I don't have to tell you that this is a stressful time. But it is. I've posted in this venting thread five or six times I think, and this was definitely my most lighthearted post.

Can I just vent about the people who come on here, post in a thread that they got accepted to a school that everyone else in the thread is waiting on, and then never come onto this site ever again? Like thanks. One less spot for me, but you didn't give any information about your specific interests (so I don't know if you legitimately took the spot I wanted), and you didn't give me any information about how exceptional you are (so I don't know where I fell short). Like, I almost feel like they're lying. Especially when their posts don't totally make sense (like talking about getting a phone call from their POI at a school that doesn't have mentorship.) Other than that. I still don't really sleep at night. My sister has mono so I haven't seen her in forever. My car is in the shop with a faulty intake valve for no reason (I've had it 1.5 years and driven about 1500 miles, and I hadn't driven it in a month when the light came on.) Plus they were kind of jerks. I'm under warranty but I still had to sign a waiver that said I understood that it costs $130 for them to even look at my car. Luckily it's just gonna be "a $50 deductible" (is this a car or a human?!) thanks to my warranty. But it should be free! And they weren't nice about it. I sat for like 20 minutes before they even talked to me. This is my baby. I bought it from them! So, yeah. If I have to get a more substantial car for grad school, I'm definitely NOT getting another from the same maker (even though it's a dream to drive). Never got sale Valentines candy since my car's been out of commission. So Hugs and Pink Reese's Hearts are gone for another year. Sigh. Didn't even get hamantaschen at Costco today. Really regretting that. But I'll be back before they're gone probably... Now I'm hungry and it's 5am and I haven't slept...

Nope. Nothing here. I got an email that UCI got my FAFSA and asking me to make a UCInetID. Just form letters I can't reply to. But it's something?

Sigh. I messed up. It could be nothing, or it could be major. So I posted a photo of my cat wearing a hat I knit for her on Facebook, and I made it public so that my friend could share it with all her friends. Well, apparently everything I posted for the rest of that day was public too. Including a status where I complained (slightly childishly) about how I'd gotten a rejection email that started with "I am very pleased to tell you that you have been admitted", and my friends commented justification why it wasn't the school for me. So if anyone looked that my profile, they would have seen that. Sigh. I just hope no one looked me up in the past week...

I haven't heard anything from Washington. Nothing on the application site or Identity.UW. The application does say "they will send you notification of their decision by email or postal mail." So they might be mailed.

@rheya19 Thank you for that. We could all probably use a good laugh.

@Charlsa I know the mailman panic. I usually have a steady mailman, but every once in a while it's a different person. My mom once ordered her arthritis medicine online and put #1 as our apartment address. The site asked if she meant "Apt. 1". Yes. But the post office printed it as "#1-1" for some reason and someone other than our usual mailman delivered it to #11, despite the name not matching. And then #11 didn't give it back for almost a week (opened!). Despite getting a note from my mom and her actually going up to ask in person. People suck when it comes to returning mis-delivered mail. I would hope that someone would return something coming from a university (especially during this time of year), but if people don't even return medicine... Best of luck!

I had to do the exact same thing. I started out emailing her once a week. Then twice a week. Then every 2 days and also emailing her grad students. She just was NEVER responding. I wonder if she even wrote it before the due date. She submitted a week late. And she was definitely my strongest recommender reputation-wise, because she has connections to three of the programs I applied to. But I don't know her very well (I worked in her lab, but dealt only with grad students). I offered to meet up and talk (I even told her days "I would be on campus" and drove over just to sit in the library and hope I'd hear back). But we never talked. Kind of glad I didn't apply to be HER grad student haha. But really, not actually laughing. I'm very concerned that the rec was sub-par.

I really wanted this specific leather messenger bag when I went off to college. Never got it. Finally I convinced my mother to get it for me as a birthday/Chanukkah/surviving applications present this year. I used mostly tote bags in college and I wore my backpack on one shoulder my whole life. So I'm not super concerned with a messenger bag throwing off my balance or messing with my neck.

Sigh. Still nothing here...

Ahh. I hate Maslow. But totally seconding the eating better. Vitamins are important. Brain fuel and all. Nothing wrong with junk food, in my opinion, but it should be a treat/snack, not a meal. Today's vent is just that I, yet again, have not heard anything from any school. Sigh. Also I missed my chance to go to the store while it wasn't raining, so I didn't go at all. Yesterday it rained 4 inches and a sink hold opened up about half a mile from me and sucked in 2 cars.

@angesradieux Just adding in my condolences. I live with my mom as well, and she has been very supportive through all of this. But I get my neuroticism from her, so she's also very involved. (To the point of constantly browsing gradcafe and figuring out my username. Hi Mommy! Privacy, please?) But she's even crazier than me at the moment. I check my email about 20 times a day and yet she is constantly asking me if I've checked my email. I got my first rejection (albeit I thought it was an acceptance and woke her up at 6am only to re-read it and realise it was a rejection) and she immediately started looking into masters programs and figuring out what I'm going to do if I don't get in anywhere. I have 11 more schools (albeit 2 I'm assuming are no's based on my correspondences.) I also can relate with the cat thing, except I can't bring my cat. She's staying with my mom. She is currently my best friend - oh the joys of applying to grad school - and I am going to be heartbroken without her. I am 100% getting a cat within my first year of grad school, no matter what. I'm not sure where the suit thing came from. Having talked to my mentors from undergrad, grad student friends, and my mother's professor friends, none have mentioned a necessity for suits. It's been a lot of "don't be someone you aren't". I'm not the type of person who would ever wear a dress suit. Slacks and sweaters are my thing. I spent WAY too much on grad visit clothes (including an $80 coat!) because a lot of my schools are covered in snow and it's almost impossible to find even sweaters in LA...and I don't even have an email or phone call, let alone a visit. Now I'm venting. Blehhh.

@socialcoffee My Temple status is still "ready for review", which is extremely annoying. But I'm just curious, did you have an INCREDIBLY difficult time applying to Temple? Because they really made it difficult, for me at least. Two applications, with separate fees, plus typing in my full college transcript (and high school APs!) by hand, plus spending like an hour trying to find the proper address for transcripts.

As the silence persists I'm really starting to get nervous I'm not getting in anywhere. There are posts of at least phone interviews, if not visits and acceptances for every single one of my programs. And I've heard nothing apart from my one rejection. I'm going to be really upset if it's my GPA. I was premed until my 3rd year of college. I was depressed and hated my classes. I had like a C+ average from failing a couple and not doing so swell in others. I switched to psych and got nearly straight As thenceforth (even in non-psych courses because I was so happy). So I ended up with a 3.2 overall, but a 3.8 last 2 years. Except, so many of the programs I applied to look at your whole GPA. The couple acceptances that list their GPAs are like 3.7 overall. I got 92nd/85th/82nd percentile on the GRE. I have 3 years of lab experience, including one where I was a study lead. I'm assuming my letters were glowing because I worked for all 3 professors and at least 2 adore me. So that leaves my SOP and my GPA as the sub-par elements. One I can fix. The other is years too late.