courtnord

I've received 3...THREE...rejection emails from the same school in a 2 1/2 week period. Like, I get it. I'm rejected. Please no more emails. 

I asked whoever I had the most contact with! Some schools I just a typical mass rejection, so I would respond either to the program coordinator or the DCT. Some schools the POI let me know that they were not extending an interview so I would ask them. This is the message I used: 
I want to first thank you for reviewing my application for Clinical Psychology Ph.D program for the 2017 admission cycle. Even though I was unable to move forward I was told that I could reach out to get feedback about my application. Were there areas of weakness in my application (E.g., GRE scores, personal statement, or my letters of recommendation)? I would appreciate any feedback on how I might be able to improve myself as a candidate for the next submission cycle.    My Application number was: (if applicable).    Thank you so much for your time.   So something like that and I got really nice responses from everyone - so dont be afraid to ask.

I honestly have no idea and I was surprised when they reached out as I had read that FAQ as well and wasn't expecting to hear from them. I haven't heard any updates yet so just keeping my fingers crossed...

The intensity at which we are stalking dates and seeking patterns to understand the chaotic admissions process truly represents the nerds we are. Good luck everyone! 

I applied to the Mental Health program and spoke with a faculty member over the phone about 2-3 weeks ago. It was a general conversation about my research interests and their program structure. I haven't heard anything since then so I assume they are still processing their applicants! 

I recently received a rejection letter immediately following an exhausting but positive day-long interview. Because of that weird juxtaposition, I just wanted to send everyone words of encouragement and support through this long, emotional, seemingly never ending process. There are a lot of ups and downs, excitement and disappointment, and it can be a lot to balance and just let it roll off of you. Reminder to myself (and everyone!) to not be fatalistic about your accomplishments and the hard work everyone's put into their applications and career trajectory. The admissions process is a strange beast for sure. Trying to remind myself that resilience just makes way for growth. 
Good luck everyone! We got this, even when we think we don't. 

I recently received a rejection letter immediately following an exhausting but positive day-long interview. Because of that weird juxtaposition, I just wanted to send everyone words of encouragement and support through this long, emotional, seemingly never ending process. There are a lot of ups and downs, excitement and disappointment, and it can be a lot to balance and just let it roll off of you. Reminder to myself (and everyone!) to not be fatalistic about your accomplishments and the hard work everyone's put into their applications and career trajectory. The admissions process is a strange beast for sure. Trying to remind myself that resilience just makes way for growth. 
Good luck everyone! We got this, even when we think we don't. 

I recently received a rejection letter immediately following an exhausting but positive day-long interview. Because of that weird juxtaposition, I just wanted to send everyone words of encouragement and support through this long, emotional, seemingly never ending process. There are a lot of ups and downs, excitement and disappointment, and it can be a lot to balance and just let it roll off of you. Reminder to myself (and everyone!) to not be fatalistic about your accomplishments and the hard work everyone's put into their applications and career trajectory. The admissions process is a strange beast for sure. Trying to remind myself that resilience just makes way for growth. 
Good luck everyone! We got this, even when we think we don't. 

I recently received a rejection letter immediately following an exhausting but positive day-long interview. Because of that weird juxtaposition, I just wanted to send everyone words of encouragement and support through this long, emotional, seemingly never ending process. There are a lot of ups and downs, excitement and disappointment, and it can be a lot to balance and just let it roll off of you. Reminder to myself (and everyone!) to not be fatalistic about your accomplishments and the hard work everyone's put into their applications and career trajectory. The admissions process is a strange beast for sure. Trying to remind myself that resilience just makes way for growth. 
Good luck everyone! We got this, even when we think we don't. 

I recently received a rejection letter immediately following an exhausting but positive day-long interview. Because of that weird juxtaposition, I just wanted to send everyone words of encouragement and support through this long, emotional, seemingly never ending process. There are a lot of ups and downs, excitement and disappointment, and it can be a lot to balance and just let it roll off of you. Reminder to myself (and everyone!) to not be fatalistic about your accomplishments and the hard work everyone's put into their applications and career trajectory. The admissions process is a strange beast for sure. Trying to remind myself that resilience just makes way for growth. 
Good luck everyone! We got this, even when we think we don't. 

I recently received a rejection letter immediately following an exhausting but positive day-long interview. Because of that weird juxtaposition, I just wanted to send everyone words of encouragement and support through this long, emotional, seemingly never ending process. There are a lot of ups and downs, excitement and disappointment, and it can be a lot to balance and just let it roll off of you. Reminder to myself (and everyone!) to not be fatalistic about your accomplishments and the hard work everyone's put into their applications and career trajectory. The admissions process is a strange beast for sure. Trying to remind myself that resilience just makes way for growth. 
Good luck everyone! We got this, even when we think we don't. 

I recently received a rejection letter immediately following an exhausting but positive day-long interview. Because of that weird juxtaposition, I just wanted to send everyone words of encouragement and support through this long, emotional, seemingly never ending process. There are a lot of ups and downs, excitement and disappointment, and it can be a lot to balance and just let it roll off of you. Reminder to myself (and everyone!) to not be fatalistic about your accomplishments and the hard work everyone's put into their applications and career trajectory. The admissions process is a strange beast for sure. Trying to remind myself that resilience just makes way for growth. 
Good luck everyone! We got this, even when we think we don't. 

I recently received a rejection letter immediately following an exhausting but positive day-long interview. Because of that weird juxtaposition, I just wanted to send everyone words of encouragement and support through this long, emotional, seemingly never ending process. There are a lot of ups and downs, excitement and disappointment, and it can be a lot to balance and just let it roll off of you. Reminder to myself (and everyone!) to not be fatalistic about your accomplishments and the hard work everyone's put into their applications and career trajectory. The admissions process is a strange beast for sure. Trying to remind myself that resilience just makes way for growth. 
Good luck everyone! We got this, even when we think we don't. 

I recently received a rejection letter immediately following an exhausting but positive day-long interview. Because of that weird juxtaposition, I just wanted to send everyone words of encouragement and support through this long, emotional, seemingly never ending process. There are a lot of ups and downs, excitement and disappointment, and it can be a lot to balance and just let it roll off of you. Reminder to myself (and everyone!) to not be fatalistic about your accomplishments and the hard work everyone's put into their applications and career trajectory. The admissions process is a strange beast for sure. Trying to remind myself that resilience just makes way for growth. 
Good luck everyone! We got this, even when we think we don't. 

I recently received a rejection letter immediately following an exhausting but positive day-long interview. Because of that weird juxtaposition, I just wanted to send everyone words of encouragement and support through this long, emotional, seemingly never ending process. There are a lot of ups and downs, excitement and disappointment, and it can be a lot to balance and just let it roll off of you. Reminder to myself (and everyone!) to not be fatalistic about your accomplishments and the hard work everyone's put into their applications and career trajectory. The admissions process is a strange beast for sure. Trying to remind myself that resilience just makes way for growth. 
Good luck everyone! We got this, even when we think we don't. 

I really needed this today. Thanks for your kind words—you’re right, we got this  

I recently received a rejection letter immediately following an exhausting but positive day-long interview. Because of that weird juxtaposition, I just wanted to send everyone words of encouragement and support through this long, emotional, seemingly never ending process. There are a lot of ups and downs, excitement and disappointment, and it can be a lot to balance and just let it roll off of you. Reminder to myself (and everyone!) to not be fatalistic about your accomplishments and the hard work everyone's put into their applications and career trajectory. The admissions process is a strange beast for sure. Trying to remind myself that resilience just makes way for growth. 
Good luck everyone! We got this, even when we think we don't. 

This happens in academia far too often. You could have near-perfect GRE scores, GPA, letters of recommendation, and even fit; yet you're still not selected. Social capital is a powerful thing, I wish there was more research on it. I worry when applying to programs that also have a terminal masters because of how often schools transition (though deserving) students from the masters to PhD program. Faculty of a student that know other faculty. Students finding their POI at a conference and getting face-time...they are playing the game. In IO we learn about how the most random factors like name and handshake can affect your likelihood to receive a job offer, especially when the process is unstructured. The application process is very unstructured: some professors hate the GRE, some love applied experience, some publications, sometimes it's just random in terms of who you apply to. It's hard not to take it personal. Graduate applicants are conscientious; you can tell by the path they've chosen.  However, I've never met someone intrinsically motivated that didn't get in. Keep hope. Learn. Find out what the accepted candidates "had" that you didn't. Objectively you may have been much higher on the list, but the list isn't objective; otherwise, a computer would select who gets in. 
 
 
In reality: I cry and listen to Katy Perry's "The One That Got Away"

I went through 3 application cycles with rejections, and finally got accepted into a clinical PhD program the 4th time around. It's a hard process. It was so hard that the 4th was going to be my last, acceptance or not. I didn't even get any interviews my third time applying. I found that each application cycle with no acceptance continuously fuelled me into improving my application. I got more publications, I learned more advanced statistical techniques, I did some clinical skills workshops. I aimed to make myself as competitive as possible and it paid off for me.  
It's really easy to get obsessed with the process when you're waiting to hear back. My advice is to not constantly check your email or even this forum. Do things that make you happy. If do you get rejected, take some time to be sad, but then pick yourself back up and try again. 

I haven't heard anything from UNC Chapel Hill yet. According to their program website (specifically, clinical), interview notifications are sent through 1/20, with most applicants receiving a response in the first 2 weeks of January. (https://clinicalpsych.unc.edu/application-process/) 

I fixed the "closer look" plot- ordering from Nov to May.
 
Also, all I added a Program Type table on page 2. Be skeptical of all the program/school info due to the lack of clean data. I'm working in a string-matching function now, in hopes that I can get more accurate numbers related to those variables. 
I don't want people to worry if they missed a peak day. I estimate around half of the sample is Clinical Psych, which (to my knowledge) tend to have a few November deadlines, this will skew the data a bit. 
Updated version
Thanks everyone for working on this with me!
 
 

Ugh, I keep telling myself there is no point to checking for status updates and that I'll most likely get an email when anything updates anyways. I am failing at not obsessing about this. It's not like I don't have tons of stuff I need to do instead, either!