paiged2

No one has accepted yet (as Bren mentioned, people are coming in this weekend, so no official offers have been made). We did have one person decline visiting weekend because they decided to commit somewhere else. We were discussing it in our program meeting last week, because it seems like there is a pressure for students to make decisions super early this year and we don't really know where it came from. I know at least when I was in the decision mode (which was 5 years ago at this point), it wasn't until the end of March that schools started harshing my mellow about not making a decision. Don't feel like you need to make a decision right away; visit schools are figure out where you will be happiest. (That being said, once you make a decision, be courteous and let people know as soon as possible).

What the people above have said is accurate; when I saw three I was skeptical, but I asked a faculty about it and he laughed, said it was a good question, and said I wouldn't have to worry about it. If you're talking about who I think you're talking about (lest I be egotistical, at which point ignore me), I've seen students funded into their sixth year, and there's *never* been a problem finding funding. We were actually told at one point that we had too many students on grants and didn't have enough available to teach. So, if you're not on grant funding in your 4th/5th/possibly 6th year, you would teach, but you will get funding. Summer funding is similar, in that they find funding for basically anyone who wants summer funding-- which is really really great.

Oh, I should probably note that some faculty are faster than others for PSU for making calls. I think last year they did it over like the course of a week, and that had nothing to do with applicant rankings or ability or whatever. So just because you haven't received a phone call doesn't mean you're not necessarily going to. Things are just a bit chaotic right now with classes starting, proposals, and travel. I know this can be a stressful time for people. Try to take some time to relax and have fun.

Looking forward to meeting you in a few weeks! If you have any questions let me know.

Don't let things like that intimidate you. A lot of programs (like mine) look for people who fit their baseline criteria in terms of GRE scores and GPA, and then beyond that look at research interests and fit. My overall from undergrad was like a 3.65 and I ended up in Happy Valley. (I took my GREs when the scoring was different, so I have no way of comparing). At this point we make basically all of the final decisions based on P-O and then P-R (person-research) fit. (Hooray new construct!) Keep a positive attitude! I know it's a trying time, but you'll make it through.

Good luck everyone!

I agree with Engali that at this point it depends on your research interests. It's all about fit, because you have good "stats" in terms of what top programs are looking for. It looks like a solid list, but that is a large number of programs to be applying to, in terms of both time and money. Engali is also correct in terms of the spike in applications, at least at PSU. I don't know about other programs.

Penn State does. I mean, it's not technically a "firm" per say, but you do three years of consulting work during your first three years.

I don't think there's any harm in inquiring about your application status, but I would do it next week since we're on break. As I noted above, I think they generally let people know, but I'm not positive....

I believe it's their general policy to let people know, but I'm not positive. I think that more information will be communicated once we have an idea of how the initial set of acceptances goes. Also, yay FutureSchoolPsych! Try to convince him/her to come here

Welp, sorry I missed this. Acceptances have been offered, though I don't know the status on any of them at this point. We're on spring break right now. (And I think there might have initially been some confusion with you thinking I applied this year? I'm a 4th year ABD there)

You should try. I know it's a really trying and difficult position to be in, but you never know what's going to happen. There are so many degrees of freedom in play at this point because multiple schools end up recruiting the same people that a spot could open up anywhere once decisions start being made. Just because you haven't heard now doesn't mean you won't in a month, or even on April 14th.

I would say that's a fair assessment... it went to the wait list last year, too, so being on the wait list doesn't mean you don't have a shot. I think someone in the thread mentioned getting a rejection from PSU? If I'm remembering that correctly, I'm not sure how many have gone out. I do know that we had a *lot* of applicants this year-- similar to last year-- so everyone at the top of the pool is very talented and capable. For us at this point it comes down to fit with the program.

Penn State hasn't sent out any acceptances, no... but visiting weekend is this weekend. We stopped doing flat out acceptances a few years ago.

We were thinking we'd play hookey on Saturday afternoon, but we get in at like 10:45 on Wednesday so that may not be a bad idea either... I'm definitely pro party crashing-- I'll send you our info when I figure it out