RILE Hopeful

I got in!!!! thank you for all of your support!!!!!!!!!!!!!

hi all! i've been watching this forum super closely (as well as the results page) for the last few days as you all have, but wasn't really motivated to create an account and respond until now. it has truly filled my heart watching us get excited as our cyber peers (and tbh friends at this point) find out good news. and it's so comforting to read that we're all feeling the same thing -- anxiety, hope, doubt, excitement. i'm rooting for all of you!

I was emailed by a professor I had mentioned in my essay, but not the primary person I'd been in contact with up to that point.
And yes - luck has a lot to do with who gets admitted each cycle! My current advisor mentioned to me - some years the pool is more/less competitive, some years they don't admit anyone for a subgroup because one of the area professors is going on sabbatical, some years a POI already has a lot of advisees and can't take on more till someone graduates, some years the funding is earmarked for a student studying X or Y specific topic, etc.
Acceptance or rejection doesn't tell you anything absolute about whether you're "qualified" or "ready" or would thrive in a doctoral program - so much of it is luck, and happening to match whatever the context of admissions looks like for that program *that year.* The same person with the same application might be admitted one cycle or not the next. Whatever news you get this year, know that you are worthy of taking on this work and the field needs you. This admission cycle doesn't determine the overall journey. Best of luck! 

I think I will...I told one of my best friends and my partner to be there with me (Zoom) while I open it (because I think I will cry a little bit regardless) but I may just open it as fast as possible to get it over with and then move on. Like ripping off a bandaid.

I can see applicants from other fields (mostly computer science) wondering about anyone being accepted without an interview. I also read my SoP again and wondered if a professor reading it would understand my context. I really want the results to be out so that I can pick up my pieces and move on.

I can't wait to stop thinking about this nonstop since the application was submitted. I really hope the statement that interviews are no indication of increased or decreased chances (though that doesn't seem likely) is true. This has been an emotional rollercoaster, even though it really shouldn't be since it is such a difficult program to get into. Getting rejected is not reflection of one's merit or ability to succeed in that program. I know that so many great candidates that would have flourished get turned away simply due to timing, funding, reasons beyond our control. Time sure is slower now than I have ever experienced it. Praying for success for us all!

I can't wait to stop thinking about this nonstop since the application was submitted. I really hope the statement that interviews are no indication of increased or decreased chances (though that doesn't seem likely) is true. This has been an emotional rollercoaster, even though it really shouldn't be since it is such a difficult program to get into. Getting rejected is not reflection of one's merit or ability to succeed in that program. I know that so many great candidates that would have flourished get turned away simply due to timing, funding, reasons beyond our control. Time sure is slower now than I have ever experienced it. Praying for success for us all!

I can't wait to stop thinking about this nonstop since the application was submitted. I really hope the statement that interviews are no indication of increased or decreased chances (though that doesn't seem likely) is true. This has been an emotional rollercoaster, even though it really shouldn't be since it is such a difficult program to get into. Getting rejected is not reflection of one's merit or ability to succeed in that program. I know that so many great candidates that would have flourished get turned away simply due to timing, funding, reasons beyond our control. Time sure is slower now than I have ever experienced it. Praying for success for us all!

I can't wait to stop thinking about this nonstop since the application was submitted. I really hope the statement that interviews are no indication of increased or decreased chances (though that doesn't seem likely) is true. This has been an emotional rollercoaster, even though it really shouldn't be since it is such a difficult program to get into. Getting rejected is not reflection of one's merit or ability to succeed in that program. I know that so many great candidates that would have flourished get turned away simply due to timing, funding, reasons beyond our control. Time sure is slower now than I have ever experienced it. Praying for success for us all!

Maybe this year carrier pigeons are delivering results. I know Hogwarts uses owls to send out letters of acceptance : )

How many of y'all are re-reading your statement of purpose, writing sample, whole application, reviewing the GSE website multiple times and endlessly looking for trends on admission processes since you submitted your app? I have ? time is going so slow!!
 
And my app has been "complete" since December, which I think the GSE said it would do for the PhD applicants.

I don't think this is a healthy way to look at doing a PhD. Sure, you can be disappointed that you didn't get in, as all of us here would be checking the results. But getting into this program is the rarest of rare opportunities, judging by the comments about how many apps they have received and how many get in, I think we are talking about less than 1%. It's not not reasonable to attach your life goals to such a difficult accomplishment. In fact, I struggle to imagine any specific career goal that simply could never be achieved because you didn't study at Stanford. Even if your dream is to work in Stanford!

In order to even apply for this program, you must feel like you have accomplished quite a lot in your career and studies so far, meaning you are probably an excellent candidate for programs elsewhere. Call me naive, but I really do think that if you get into a solid enough program the sky is still the limit for you. If you have a seminal research idea, and execute it well, then you will have all the same options as a GSE grad. Who knows, maybe you'll get to go there as a postdoc or even a member of staff someday. So please do not give up on your dreams because of this, Stanford would be nice sure, but there are plenty of other ways to get what you want. 

Someone else just got an interview request for the ICE PhD program!

Someone else just got an interview request for the ICE PhD program!

How many of y'all are re-reading your statement of purpose, writing sample, whole application, reviewing the GSE website multiple times and endlessly looking for trends on admission processes since you submitted your app? I have ? time is going so slow!!
 
And my app has been "complete" since December, which I think the GSE said it would do for the PhD applicants.