psych1987

Am I the only one who immediately checks all the applicant portals as soon as they wake up? I wonder if applicant portals are updated throughout the day, or just once a day? Anxiety much! lol

Got my first rejection! Honestly, I am so happy to finally be getting some responses.

I agree the GRE is useless... I think it needs to really be brought to light.

I was almost down 1k just trying to take the GRE, travel for it, get materials, and get an assessment from various doctors to get the disability accommodations. My current documentation through disability services wasn't enough. On top of that, they do not let disabled students register until after the forms are approved for accommodations, which can take even more months. So the whole process for me took almost 8 months, and by that point the registration slots were almost all filled. There was only 1 slot left to take the GRE in time for program deadlines-- I had to travel 2 hours away for the only availability at 7 in the morning. It was the only slot open for the next few months. There's another catch: the forms have to be from within a 12 month period, so by the time the process was done and the test could be scheduled, the 12 month period was almost up. So I'd have to redo the assessments again.
I pulled an all nighter because I had to leave me house by like 4 AM, hardly functioned, and didn't receive my full disability accommodations. ETS skimps on accommodations and calls certain accommodations "standard" to accelerate the review process. Of course it's their pre-determined standard and not my standard from what my doctor determines. I would have missed the program deadlines otherwise because anything more than their "standard" will take longer to review, which is what I qualified for. If anything more than their "standard" is rejected, then you have to redo the process all over again. I was forced to not take the risk and opt for half of the accommodations I've been getting in school for 5+ years because everything took so long, despite me starting the process in the early spring. I most likely would have been accepted for the full if the process wasn't so long. It gets worse and worse the more I describe what happened. And... I was sick during it. I had to stop in the middle to take an antibiotic. ? I had a 3 year long infection that wouldn't go away, so I was very sick. To think I could go into even more examples of how the GRE is nothing but a useless created barrier.

Mind you, I have a 4.0 GPA, 3+ years research, 9 scholarships, a research grant, 3 years teaching college level, and a ton of other things I don't want to go into. My GRE verbal and quant was dreadful. All of this and you look at one day? 
I just think about all the people who have these dreams and worked so hard and long only to face unfair barriers that could get them automatically thrown in a pile where they aren't even considered, and it breaks my heart. It has clear social class, gender, disability, and ethnicity biases. Many programs are indeed discussing this year as a "trial" to see if it will remain optional. We will see how seriously they take their "diversity" claims. They claim they support diversity then weed out more disabled and BIPOC students this way than they seem to care. People may try to claim I am an "outlier" because I am such a strong applicant and did so bad. First, does that mean it's okay to keep doing this knowing it impacts certain oppressed or underrepresented groups because "oh it's just a few people!"?? Second, it is less of an "outlier" problem and more that it literally has processes built in that weeds out certain types of people based on money, disability, accommodations, the set up, etc. regardless of qualifications. It's not "just a few" at all.
The fact that they are suddenly doing something about it during a pandemic and that it took this long is also frustrating. It's like they suddenly cared the moment everyone else had difficulty taking it but didn't when certain groups have always faced barriers like this. If anyone from a program is reading this who can take a stand for underrepresented and oppressed groups, do it. 

Hi all, I too am on the boat of applying to 15 programs and hearing radio silence from all of them. I know anxiety levels are skyrocketing these past few days, so join me in saying these words of affirmation for yourself out loud! We are all qualified and deserving of reaching our goals! ?
 
1. If I do my best throughout this process, I will end up at exactly the school and program where I belong.
2. Setbacks and mistakes are a natural part of this process. I’m taking a big risk by being honest with myself about my dreams and goals—and being willing to go after them!
3. At all moments—right this moment—I am being drawn toward the people, places, and opportunities for my highest good and my highest service to the world.
4. There is enough time, money, energy, and opportunities in life for me to make a difference. There is room at the top for me!
5. I am dedicated to enjoying this journey. Not every part will be fun or easy, but I will not let my life whiz by me in a race to “the next best thing.” I live and enjoy my life today.
6. I’m either winning or learning. Even if things don’t turn out exactly as I’d hoped, I will gain valuable lessons that will be invaluable to me and to others in the future.
7. I give myself permission to go after the opportunities that excite me, to reach out to the people I want to meet, and to apply to the schools that I’d love to attend.
8. I am willing, ready, and going to take one step today toward reaching my goals of getting into my dream school. I know that even just one small action is better than doing nothing.
9. I give myself permission to rest, relax, and take a break from thinking about “grad school stuff” all the time. I know that I don’t have to push myself to exhaustion in order to reach my goals, because my goals want to reach me as much I want to reach them.
10. I surround myself with uplifting people and abundant thoughts that affirm my journey toward the graduate program of my choosing.
 

Just wanted to put it out there that this whole thing really sucks. Good to know that everyone else also feels like crap.

Hello everyone!
I am wondering if anyone has heard anything from Arizona State University?

Hello everyone!
I am wondering if anyone has heard anything from Arizona State University?

Hello everyone!
I am wondering if anyone has heard anything from Arizona State University?

Hello everyone!
I am wondering if anyone has heard anything from Arizona State University?

Has anybody had any experience asking for an extension on the decision date? I don't think I'll hear back from one program before April 15th and I wonder if it would be better to ask for an extension or make my decision hypothetically.