masthana

That's brutal...
But their optimism and humility at the end makes me feel nice and warm.

Congrats!
I also received two rejections, back-to-back, very early in the season. I only applied to four places so that scared me. Then I got into my 2nd choice, and a month later (pushing RIGHT up to the 4/15 deadline), got into my top choice!
A professor I know, when I told him I was accepted, said "it's nice to know it's not just in your head, isn't it?" and I think that sums up a lot of how I feel. I thought I would be a good applicant, then I started questioning it, and now I'm happy to realize other people also think I'd be good in grad school. It's very affirming.
Now to figure out housing, with my state on lockdown, but luckily a lot can be done over the internet!

Or more than just brag - what about folks who are passionate, happy, thankful, or resilient, good or bad?? I think we all deserve space to feel however we do after this hell of an application process. 
For me, I applied to 10 places, and got rejected from every single one except my perfect match, which was my 7th decision back. 
I am over the moon to somehow end up at the best place for me feat. collegial faculty, an interdisciplinary department, and a cohort which is queer/trans like me and respects my non-binary pronouns. ❤️ 

Or more than just brag - what about folks who are passionate, happy, thankful, or resilient, good or bad?? I think we all deserve space to feel however we do after this hell of an application process. 
For me, I applied to 10 places, and got rejected from every single one except my perfect match, which was my 7th decision back. 
I am over the moon to somehow end up at the best place for me feat. collegial faculty, an interdisciplinary department, and a cohort which is queer/trans like me and respects my non-binary pronouns. ❤️ 

I received six straight rejections before getting admitted to my dream school for my seventh decision. I stopped what I was doing and started bawling because I was so sure after six out of 10 of my total decisions, that I would not get into school. You only need one to make it work. Don’t lose hope.

I received six straight rejections before getting admitted to my dream school for my seventh decision. I stopped what I was doing and started bawling because I was so sure after six out of 10 of my total decisions, that I would not get into school. You only need one to make it work. Don’t lose hope.

That's brutal...
But their optimism and humility at the end makes me feel nice and warm.

Big thanks to you guys! There is something you all said; it's "we see you". I appreciate that so much and it got me emotional each time. I didn't realize that I needed to be seen until you said that you see me. Your advice is great.  
I got my rejection from Princeton. I hope things end in a good way ....
Thank you so much again guys. I wish you all the best of luck! 

We see you, @lou1234. You can share on here without judgment.
When one door closes, another one opens. When you hit rock bottom, you can only go up. I know that even if this school doesn't work out, there are more opportunities that could be even better for you. We just have to believe in the power of the next day - to keep going, despite the weight of life. I can understand suicidal ideation, having felt it myself because of issues with family. 
But little surprises - like virtual strangers seeing you - can make the next day worth it. And the next day. And then maybe after a few days - you get an acceptance. 
Don't lose hope yet - I promise there are little surprises and eventually, big and positive changes coming your way.
 

I can tell you why they do this. (Insider info.) They only send rejection letters right away to those they flat-out would never accept. If you didn't get rejected yet, it means you're still in the pool. After the committees rank the candidates, they send offers to the top however many (say five). Then they wait to see who accepts and who rejects them. It's a two-way street, both applicants and programs are playing the waiting game and both get accepted and rejected.
So say offers go out to the top five. Of those one is still waiting for their #1 to accept them, so they hold off on committing to #2's offer. Two of them reject the offer because their #1's already accepted them. Now there are two open slots for the cohort and one tentative and two who haven't bothered to respond either way. The committee moves down the list and sends out two more offers. Then waits to see if those two accept or decline.
From having worked on the programs side of things for awhile, I've seen years where programs got their top five right away and didn't go deep into the list, and years where they had to go so deep into the list that they considered reopening applications to allow more people to apply late, so they'd have enough to choose from because they'd made offers to 22 people who declined for various reasons, only had 30 in the pool to begin with, and if the "current" top five assembled after making all those offers didn't all commit, they'd be "short" for the cohort.
In other words, the TL:DNR version is, if you haven't gotten rejected right away, you have a chance up until April 15th. Even if you aren't in the top five first-round, you ARE still of the quality necessary to be considered for admission. Does it really matter if you were on their list at #30, if you got IN?
Still, it sucks to wait.

We see you, @lou1234. You can share on here without judgment.
When one door closes, another one opens. When you hit rock bottom, you can only go up. I know that even if this school doesn't work out, there are more opportunities that could be even better for you. We just have to believe in the power of the next day - to keep going, despite the weight of life. I can understand suicidal ideation, having felt it myself because of issues with family. 
But little surprises - like virtual strangers seeing you - can make the next day worth it. And the next day. And then maybe after a few days - you get an acceptance. 
Don't lose hope yet - I promise there are little surprises and eventually, big and positive changes coming your way.
 

While we may not understand the troubles you're experiencing in your personal life, this is a great space to vent your frustrations to those who understand the absolute and very real heartbreak we have experienced going through these processes. Your feelings are valid and heard. Seeking help is a solid first step. When in times of need, these quotes from JK Rowling give me strength to keep moving, because any progress is progress. You are in our thoughts!
"Life is difficult, and complicated, and beyond anyone’s total control, and the humility to know that will enable you to survive its vicissitudes."
"It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default. The knowledge that you have emerged wiser and stronger from setbacks means that you are, ever after, secure in your ability to survive."

I am sorry to hear you are going through a rough time, but I'm glad to see that you are reaching out for support. It can be really destabilizing and demoralizing to hear bad news (or to be left wondering).  My DMs are open.
Please consider calling a local hot/warm-line or (if in the USA) the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.

You never know what is going to tip the scales. Having to prove how we're the best fit for the program, how much our POIs can help us in our research, how hard we worked as undergrads/MAs, all within a SoP that has a 500 word limit is mindboggling. I fully understand grasping at any straw that might help your chances, because not having control is the absolute worst. 
Our desire to enter academia with such fervor borders on masochism. Yet I cannot imagine being part of any other world. Best of luck and fingers crossed!

I've gotten 4 rejections by now. 
I'm waiting on 2 places that interviewed me for a shortlist
and I have at least 1 implicit rejection (I saw interviews for the schools on the result board but didn't receive anything personally). 
--> All this to say: I am now desperate to get into at least one place. I had people telling me I'd have my pick of the crop to then shifting my opinion to wanting at least a few options, and now I just want 1. 
To my #1 choice that interviewed me, I legit spent 30 minutes writing a thank-you email for the interview. It literally felt like the composition and perfection of that email would determine the next six years of my life. 
As I gave the email my final scan, I let out a whimpering "please don't reject me. pleaseeeee." It feels like the weight of my year worth of effort is all on this one school, even though I know this is a dangerous idea. Even if my POI(s) ADORE ME, the department-wide committee has the final say - sigh - most of which is out of your direct control. 
I've also emailed a place that interviewed and then rejected me and asked the POI for any feedback on my application.
Fingers crossed...idk why I'm doing this - just to make myself feel better? - but at least I'll have something to grasp onto to help explain why my best effort is resulting in only rejections so far ?

I've stopped telling my parents good or bad news. It's too much pressure to have them throwing in their opinions (and we've had a particularly tumultuous relationship as of late). 
I'll say things like "I need the house quiet for an interview at 7pm today" and they'll ask which school and I say things like "it's confidential." or "tell you when this process is done." LOL. 

To everyone who's going crazy during this time, first of all, it's okay to feel what you are feeling. 
I am sure you have put in a lot of effort into submitting your applications, have a strong commitment to the field in which you have applied, and therefore, eagerly want to get in to one of the programs. Not only that, at least the next few years of your life are completely dependent on the decision -- what you will be doing, where you will be, etc. etc. 

It would be unnatural for you to not freak out when so much is out on the line, and you no longer have any control of the process -- all you can do is wait. 

I know that's not a very rosy picture, but its important to not beat yourself for feeling like that or when you are not able to get any work done. However, once you accept that, I can tell you that this time also offers you an opportunity. Since you have little control over what's going to happen next, you are free to try out different things and explore yourself. 

When I was going through this phase, I travelled a lot, saw new places, met old friends. And whenever I was not traveling, I was planning for the next trip. Not only did I make a lot of memories, it also allowed me to intermittently take my mind off the whole admission process.  

Also, I'm not saying give up on your life completely and start traveling. I was also working full-time during this period, but the important thing was that I wasn't waiting to get free time on my hand and then figure out what to do, I was actively going out and finding new things to do and places to try out.  

I just got my second notification - and second rejection. At least it feels easier than the first rejection which really affected me in the subsequent few days...
But it still sucks. Anyone else in the same train of getting rejections first and continuing on with a badddd feeling?

I applied to about 9 anthro programs and 2 religious studies. I applied to UCSD, Stanford, NYU, Boston, Brandeis, Chicago (which I know I stand absolutely no chance with), Penn, Harvard, and UTexas Austin all for cultural anthro. 

For everyone looking at UCLA seriously, this is a tweet about our stipends. 
Actually if you're looking at any of the UCs, this website is an excellent resource to consider. The housing struggle is very real. Please factor it in to your decisions!

I just need one funded offer. One would make me the happiest person on earth.
I feel you. We all share your pain.
BTW one of my programs is sending out decisions but my app status says "complete and ready for review" WTF

Hi all,
Since January has started...interview season is about to commence! I thought it'd be nice to have an easy place to see interview tips for Anthropology students specifically (especially since there are so many threads about interview tips to read through on GradCafe).
Feel free to post questions/tips/your upcoming interviews!
Best of luck to all of us! ❤️
--
Here are the questions I got from my POI from UCSD Anthro. She asked a few questions I didn't anticipate so I thought this would make a great heads-up for folks!
1. Tell me about yourself and your work. How did you become interested in this topic?
2. I can see the continuities between your last research work and your current proposed research, but they're still different. Can you explain your shift and why? 
3. Your work reminded me of X author. How does your work relate to them? How does it contribute to the broader __ studies? 
4. Does this X current event happening in your region of interest change your project? (in my case, intense protests that suddenly erupted in my country of interest.)
5. Why Anthropology? (It seems like you could do well in different fields.) 
6. What's the most inspiring piece of ethnography/anthropology you've ever read?

Don't feel ashamed! That is so specific...
Whatever happens will happen. ❤️
From the Fall 2020 thread, I see we both applied to UCSD (both rejected, /cries) and Stanford! What else did you apply for?

I hope this is satire. It must be, right?
(How do people go out of an interview and think, "If I don't get this, the school must be not only wrong but corrupt"?)
UC San Francisco (UCSF) Biomedical Sciences, PhD (F19) Rejected via E-mail on 18 Feb 2019   3 Apr 2019 report spam Only institution that rejected me after an interview. I was accepted into PhD programs at institutions that sh!t on UCSF's research as reflected by their higher ranking/prestige, so their decision seemed highly political. Therefore I must concur with an earlier post stating that UCSF's selection committee makes decisions based on politics instead of actual merit. #CollegeAdmissionsScandal2.0

?? Poor dude. There's no place like home?
University Of Toronto Computer Science, Masters (F19) Rejected via E-mail on 29 Mar 2019 I 29 Mar 2019 report spam Rejections from CMU, UIUC, UBC, UTA and now UoT. Only 3 colleges left. Decided to go big or go home. Home appears likely.