toolkitsocio

any more updates regarding Toronto? saw some rejections on the results page. but I haven't any mail yet, status still shows under review? should I be hopeful ?

I meant - I applied for the PhD programme and yes I had received a mail from the department that the decisions are being sent now, but not at once. I have not received any acceptance.

PhD. Yes I got the mail from the department. They are sending it in different rounds.

I applied to UofT and McGill! Haven't heard back ! Do they send out decisions in bulk ? My status still shows under review and submitted respectively!

Thank you! I had given up and stopped checking the application status given the set of initial rejections. And above this I had the world telling me about the GREs. So this was an emotional moment for me. That being said , the process is brutal! I got a sense of security but not happiness as I expected. I expected I would be proud but I have no clue why I was rejected somewhere and accepted elsewhere.

I think that was odd too, and I felt for a moment I might get mail saying please disregard the previous mail. I asked him about a part of my application and an update I received regarding a document of my application. So while explaining he notified me that the ad comm had recommended my application so I need not worry about the update. (Update was regarding some missing items which I had already submitted )

I had mailed my POI and was informed about my acceptance, the decisions will be out in a couple of weeks.

Portal shows nothing! Got an email from the department.

I am not totally sure! Anyone claiming it? The status on the portal hasn't changed!

There is a tendency outside US. Since the number of students getting into US is increasing, as foolish as it can be, faculty often use rankings as eliminators. This is done to show that they have recruited candidates who are in the top colleges ranked by XYZ org. Based on this they receive better rankings and fundings from their respective governments.

I appreciate your comment and I understand the usnews ranks it that way. But given the employment trends in countries beyond US, there are colleges that stick to QS often. I totally understand the issue with this. But its not me who is constructing this, thats how it is seen outside. Hence I wrote "even UNC". Some colleges may have a rapport based on a niche area of research but its quite difficult in terms of employment. I am not comparing any colleges. Just an observation!

So true! And I admit I did this. As an international student I tend to see northeastern, Vanderbilt even UNC as safety schools! I know this is crazy but thats true. We won't stand a chance ahead if we don't have a Columbia or Berkeley on our bag! So there is this conditioning that makes you not focus on the fit on what assume as safety schools. It is backwards. You prepare a SOP for lets say Columbia or NYU and then try to modify that one paragraph for these safety schools and the lack of interest becomes obvious. And on another note shout out to all those who think their GREs are going to kill them. It might not. I am betting my money on this after speaking to current students in Berkeley, Michigan, NYU, Columbia who have around mean GREs but their SOP and fit of interests was impeccable! Along with this If your application shows a clear indication of research experience there is a lot to look forward to. Be hopeful!

I did retake them, just a minor increase. I was told colleges like NYU, Columbia, Michigan, Berkeley are focussing more on fit instead of GREs. Though while applying I thought the GREs might play foul but I worked out my SOP and Writing Samples with the POIs. I do no have any joint publications with them. But our areas are same theoretically and geographically. I don't know now what to expect. All rejections or a miracle!

Cannot go another cycle! I think I have exhausted the patience of my referees. Only way I can do another cycle is if I get into one and then ask them to write another LOR as I would mention I want to transfer somewhere else. The bottom line of my situation is Go big or Go home! Oh the horror! I am an international student. Anticipating calls I changed my network, set up a voicemail! Lol!

I appreciate your what you have written! Thanks a lot for lifting up my spirits. I had applied a couple of years back but I only to a limited number of colleges. For this cycle I had a pretty decent profile with 5 publications, 3 years of work ex as RA. The common link between these rejection is I had no prior contact with any POIs in these colleges. Can that be an issue? If it is then there might be little hope ahead or may be not. Because now I am waiting for Berkeley, Toronto, McGill and Michigan. And I have maintained a correspondence with POIs for a year now! Only downside is my GRE , they are just a bit above 55 percentile! So