ashwel11

Also received my rejection email. still glad that I applied

Also received my rejection email. Thinking positive  

I received my rejection email just now. I'm really sad

Hi all! As of about five minutes ago, I received my rejection email. It's unfortunate, but this fellowship is ridiculously competitive. So I can't be too upset. Good luck to those who are still waiting (if there are any)!

Thank you very much. Please share if there are any updates. It is a very hard process of waiting and no news.

No updates on my end! The last email that I received from them says that we should hear back regarding interviews (either way) by January 16th. Not too far from now, but I'm assuming we'll likely start to hear something after the holidays. Glad to see another applicant here!

Hi! So I am not an expert, and don't work at a University or in admissions. But I did take five years between undergrad and my MPA, and it has been 10 years since my MPA for my applications this year for a PhD. First, if you are even thinking about it, reach out to professors you liked. Yes, from 15 years ago. Did you have a favorite professor? Reach out and catch up, have a zoom call. And do this a full year before you are going to apply. I think you can reach out under the frame of "I'm interested in applying for X and I loved Y that we did *remind them who you are, and I'd love to speak with you about Z". If you are changing fields, I would try to get some experience in it. Even just volunteering, or a part-time job, with a supervisor who could be another letter. Last time I have a mix of previous professors and my boss. This time I have previous professors from my masters, and through them I connected with a professor in the field I'm moving into, and developed a relationship over a year+ focusing on my research goals etc. This last letter can speak to how I will do in the new field, the first two can speak to how I think, work and learn.
hope this helps! Congrats on wanting to go back to school, it is a big project and particularly hard when you are bit older and out of the system. 
 

Hi all! Thought I'd start a thread for this year's applicants. The application closes on October 26th. How's everyone feeling? 🙂

Received my first acceptance this weekend! Northwestern's PhD program in African American Studies.

It depends a lot on discipline/dept culture. 
To me, the PhD was a job, so I was comfortable (jeans, shirts) but not in gym clothes. You never know when your advisor will introduce to the dean, take you to lunch with a visiting scholar, etc.

Friends! I got off the waitlist at CUNY. I’m so happy!!

Hello, I found out Monday I was taken off the waitlist at Indiana and I have committed. I never did hear back from Oregon State, but I let them know that I have decided to go to IU. 
I'm super excited about Indiana! I wish everyone else nothing but the best. This was a tough and grueling process. It wasn't my first time applying to PhD programs and I'm certainly glad it's my last. Hope to hear what everyone else decided. Wish you all the best of luck this fall! 

got rejected by rutgers, still without an email, portal just says committe denied, ugh, same for ma, they are so brutal 

Held off on posting this since Wednesday because it feels too surreal and I’m still waiting for them to email again saying “Whoops, wrong person!” But I got into UIUC with 7 years of very good funding ? 
I’ve turned down my offers from 4 out of 5 programs now. Waiting for UIUC to send the official documents before I turn down my last one.
Thank you to everyone on this forum who offered advice and helped me keep a shred of my sanity during this crazy season.

Hi GradCafe frequenters! It has been over 7 months since I last logged in (apologies to anyone who may have messaged me and I didn't respond!). I wanted to let y'all know that the new USNWR rankings have been released, and this year, the Statistics and Biostatistics graduate programs have been ranked SEPARATELY:
 
USNWR rankings in Statistics (101 schools): https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-science-schools/statistics-rankings
USNWR rankings in Biostatistics (65 schools): https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-science-schools/biostatistics-rankings
 
I believe this is more helpful to separate the two, because depending on interests, some prospective PhD students may only want to apply to one type of PhD program or the other.
 

I wouldn't read too much into the letters' wordings. Most of them are generic and are not tailored to specific applicants. If you are really interested in seeking feedback for your application, you can try emailing the department to ask for one. I am not hopeful that they will provide useful feedback though. A remarkable exception is when Alexander Guerrero (Rutgers' Director of Graduate Admissions) personally provided quite comprehensive feedback for rejected applicants.) This was quite a massive effort as he sent out 103 such feedbacks! I doubt most programs will put nearly as much effort into providing feedback as Guerrero did. But hey, who knows, there might be more Guerreros out there, so perhaps worth a shot!

Hey there! I wanted to start a thread where 2022 applicants could list their final decisions for where they will enroll in the fall! 
 
I will kick it off by saying that I've just accepted my offer at University of California - Davis !!!

Hi! Are you starting at WSU in the fall? I am too! My partner and I are currently looking into renting a house in Pullman

Not a WSU student (go cougs, nonetheless!) but I live nearby in Spokane and can offer some neighborly insight if anyone needs it ?

I just want to say that I was on this forum last year, and many (many!) talented people were shutout. This year, the positivity has been overwhelming, and it’s been great seeing so many active people on here get good news! You’re all clearly very talented, and I’m sure that you’ll produce stellar work and go on to distinguished careers!
 
And, for those who are receiving (or have already received) the unfortunate shutout: I’ve been there before; this is my third cycle. My first year, I was completely shutout. My second year was the first pandemic cycle, where offers were scarce and hard to come by. I had an offer, but I turned it down because I knew it wasn’t right for me. This year, I’ve so far received one acceptance, and I’m on the waitlist for my top choice. I’m also still waiting on two decisions. I suppose what I’m saying is that good things will come to you—I’m sure of it! Don’t look at this cycle as failure; look at it as a means of bettering yourself and coming back stronger than ever!

I was just checking my Kentucky portal and I got rejected (it was posted on the portal today). They didn't even send an e-mail. Is that too much to ask for after we put so much into these apps? As we know, Rutgers didn't either. I don't think we can blame the departments though b/c it's the Graduate Schools that send most of these rejections. 
I just have York and UCSB to hear from now.

Hello, I just got waitlisted at Indiana! I'm totally shocked and ecstatic!!! Indiana has always been a top choice. I thought they already had their recruitment event (but maybe I was wrong) and someone posted in here that Indiana already gave out all their acceptances/waitlists. 
Nothing is a for sure thing until you receive that e-mail or portal notification. 
Also I would like to note that I never had an interview here. 
 
Edit: Thank you @lagom_lagomfor the kind words. 
 

Ah congrats on your acceptance! Great to meet another east coaster! I am originally from NJ, but lived in NYC in midtown east for one year and am currently a little further south down in DC! What're you most nervous/excited about?

I'll be starting my Ph.D. in American Studies and Culture at WSU this fall. So nice to meet you! I'm currently based in NY and I've never been to the west coast, so I'm excited for the change  

HI all! I'll be starting at WSU getting my PhD in Clinical Psych this fall and would love to connect with other incoming students both in clin psych but also other areas too! I'm coming from the east coast, but did my undergrad in Boulder CO so its a big change, but nothing super drastic.