doobiebrothers

I actually had something very similar happen to me two years ago with Harvard Divinity School. I had created an account just so I could see what was on the ThD application (which they no longer have, as it has dissolved into the PhD program through the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences). I never even applied. But I got an e-mail, saying that they had received my deposit and they were looking forward to seeing me in September.
 
Since I hadn't applied, and certainly hadn't paid any deposit, I knew it was a mistake, and I e-mailed them immediately. They quickly responded by saying that it had been sent to me in error and that I should disregard it. I didn't hear anything about anyone else having something similar happen, so I guess it was just an isolated e-mail.
 
It's a very good thing that I hadn't really applied because I'm sure I would have been an emotional trainwreck. And I think if I do get accepted somewhere this year, I will be guarded about celebrating too quickly!
 
But, hey, if nothing else, at least I can tell people that I have been accepted into Harvard before! 

It's my understanding that internal offers have been made, but not all external offers.

I used to love my weekends.  Now I find myself waiting for Monday and the possibility of some news... any news.  

Ms. Deadbrainfromanxiety here. It surely depends on people, but one acceptance and one interview invitation have not alleviated my severe inability to focus on the millions tasks I have at hand. 
 
This is wait is ridiculous, particularly to what concerns programs that had deadlines at the beginning of December. Two and a half months are not enough to make up their minds about the randomness of their choices? Give us a break!

I'm ashamed to admit I'm watching netflix instead of doing homework as well.  I can no longer claim to be on the edge of crazy however.  I'm swimming in the warm waters of the Crazypants Sea. 

I'm struggling to make myself want to do anything at all, until the decisions come... I don't know why but I just became so reluctant to use my brain. So I've been playing Pokemon in my free time, racked up about 15 hours of that this week. Aaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!!!! Help.

Once again, its Friday evening.
 
At this point, I've presumed rejections for two programs (NCSU & UNCC), but there are still three other schools I haven't heard from. I was extremely fortunate to have received an invite to interview for an outstanding program, but they won't be making decisions until the first week of March. Patience has NEVER been a virtue of mine, and I become more and more anxious, crazy, irrational, and annoying every day. Aren't there laws against hazing???
 

columbia, harvard, and georgetown are all coming out the last week of february, so next week is a dead week for me unless Penn comes out.
 
And thanks, its ok! I'm sitting on a funded Cambridge acceptance, I'm just being a whiny baby who wants ALL the shiny toys. I'm ashamed at the bad aspects of my character that this application cycle is bringing out! I am glad of the rejection in a way. It reminds me that I will end up in the best place for me, and that no matter what, my friends and family will be by my side. 

I know for a fact Harvard has had at least two meetings. (my POI) as to the timing of the final choices, only God knows. I wish us all the absolute best of luck. I cured my Emory rejection blues with Chipotle carnitas today, and let me tell you: it worked!

yea heard that it would be wednesday with 100% certainty for icivs and wusar, and yet nothing is up! maybe there is hope?

I don't think it's necessarily pompous-- it's a legitimately confusing thing that happens in the admissions process. A lot of people assume that graduate school admissions are similar to undergrad in that "the best" students have the best chance of getting in everywhere they apply, and that logically getting into a more competitive program seems to imply that you are going to be a more coveted applicant at a less competitive program.

But in reality the calculus of determining grad school admissions is much more complicated. Grad departments can only admit so many people, and have to hope that a decent percentage of those students will accept the admissions offer even though they likely have competing offers from other departments. When you look at things from that perspective, it doesn't make sense to admit students that seem highly unlikely to accept the offer. It doesn't necessarily mean that there was some hint in your application, or lack of enthusiasm in an SOP-- the admissions committee may just have to figure it out knowing what they know about the admissions field in general. I've mentioned this elsewhere in the forum, but when I was looking around at schools, a current grad student at Harvard told me that he had been rejected from every grad school he applied to, including several less competitive schools, except for Harvard.

Anyway, the point is that the whole mechanics of "safety schools" are just totally different in PhD programs.

emory icivs has been notified (at least the accepted candidates) 

I just want to know where I'll be in 6 months. I. Just. Want. To. Know.

I prefer to modify my behaviour to the 9 to 5 workday (well more like 9 to 6pm) instead of modifying my workday to match my optimal behaviour. The reasons are mostly practical -- my spouse works a "9 to 5"-like and I cook dinner so it's easier to be home by 6pm ish and then get dinner ready by 6:30. When a deadline is looming, I usually get a lot of work done between 10pm and 2am if necessary. I almost always go back to the office if I need to work extra though because I feel like my mood is really set by the environment. My home environment tells me not to work and I prefer it that way -- I don't want to be working at home or thinking about work at home if I can help it. So on that related note, my other reason to prefer fixed "standard" working hours is so that I feel like I am working a standard X hours per week job and that way I can set limits on how much I work instead of feeling pressured to work until everything possible is done (which will take infinite time).
 
I think if I really worked the hours where my brain functions the best, I would work 1pm to 6pm then 10pm to 2am. But that is very disruptive to the other parts of my life so I prefer to get all of my work done in a solid 9 hour block if possible. But being able to work at night is helpful on occasions where I have to work at night on the telescope!

Grades matter a lot less than people think they do. 

Since I transferred, I was at UCSB for two years so I honestly cannot give any observation about lower-division general classes, but I think there is a good opportunity for the introductory courses. I've had one graduate student teach one of my courses (he is one of my favorite teachers of all-time; now he is a professor at Miami University) and have attended several courses with graduate students.
 
Regarding undergraduate students: interesting question and discussion. I've been to three different colleges in SoCal at the undergrad level and didn't find much of a difference in effort. I think there is a pretty even split among those that care and those that do not. I, obviously since I'm trying to go to grad school in the subject, was always one of the most interested and motivated undergrads (if not the most). Religious studies is particularly interesting because it is a less popular major due to it not being seen as very "practical" so, as a result, you have people that are mildly interested and just trying to coast by and those that feel the decrease in earning potential is worth studying their intellectual passion. In my experience, there are more of the latter than the former.
 
I think it's a great idea to contact some current T.A.'s and grad students. I'll continue to mull this over and post anything else that comes up or send you a PM.
 
Edit: forgot to post info about demographics. There is a lot of diversity at UCSB and, while it is true that the majority of students are well-off white kids, the attitude and curiosity toward different cultures has been really positive. I've especially interacted with many of Middle Eastern descent (often Muslim). The majority of students that I've come across are intelligent, conscientious, and motivated. If there was a faculty member that more specifically fit my interests, I would be very happy to continue at UCSB.

Just want to pop in and say good luck, everyone! I'll be applying next year (unforseen circumstances - the military doesn't give two craps about whether your spouse wants to pursue a PhD or not... and my hubby and I are being PCSed soon - he's career military).
 
Hope everyone gets great news !

o...mg..... I can NOT believe it ..... I was accepted.... and they nominated me for the university-wide fellowship ........ I am BESIDE MYSELF...................... !!!

Hey all - I'm late to the game, I've been hanging out in the Comm Studies forums because I figured there was no way I would get into my dream school/program (UCSB Religious Studies).
 
I just got a call today from a POI there though, who left a generic voicemail and just asked me to call back. No answer when I called back. Freaking out now.
Anyone on here apply to UCSB or heard anything from them?

I wish I could just be put in cryogenic refrigeration until April. 

Glad to hear it. I remember the feeling, and how antsy it can make you.
 
Just remember: you've done all you can do. You put everything you can into your application, and it's almost never the little things - an extra email here, a candle lit there - that make the difference between an acceptance and a rejection. There is a process, and committees are looking for three things: preparation, fit, and opportunity. The last one is key. Many (most) programs would bring in a dozen students, all similarly qualified, if they could. But often departmental and administrative logistics get in the way. Even the most well-funded programs in the world have to be more selective than they'd prefer due to of institutional realities. 
 
And to prove to you that it can be the case, I'll leave you with this: I was accepted to my absolute top choice program after what was supposed to be the "drop-dead date," because money was freed up to bring in a student. It happens, I promise.  
 
Sit tight, don't do anything rash, and put your head in a book until April. 
 
And stop checking GradCafe. 

Something that clearly shows that you're not what you seem to be on paper and/or clearly show that you do not fit in the department (e.g. inappropriate behaviour).

I withdrew several applications once I was accepted to my first two choices and it became clear to me that I would not attend the other schools whose applications were still pending, in case I got accepted. I also made sure to decline offers from schools as soon as I wasn't considering them anymore, in case that could be helpful to anyone. I wasn't entirely sure whether these schools had a waitlist, but anyway I thought the decent thing to do was to save others the uncertainty of being on the waitlist or possibly getting rejected. I understand how it would be nice for one's ego to be able to count those applications as acceptances, but to be honest in the long run I've drawn a lot more satisfaction from knowing that I didn't deprive anyone else of the chance to go to grad school than from knowing that I might have been admitted to these schools (and immediately declined). After all, I got into my top choices and had a great grad school career. Once you're in school, no one really cares what other offers you had. I think it might have been discussed in the beginning of our first year, but it's not really been a topic ever since.
 
As for your second choice, I think you need to sit down and be very honest with yourself. Are you considering this option at all? If you might consider it, then you should give yourself a chance to get the offer and evaluate it then. If you do get the offer, you will have earned it fairly. As long as you are still considering it, I think it's fair to wait and see. However, if you are definitely going to attend your first choice school and you don't see any chance you'll change your mind, then I think the mature thing to do is to let go of it, despite the possible "damage" to your pride. 

What I take from this is that your odds of acceptance are slightly better if you get early news and slightly worse if you hear in March. But the main takeaway should be that acceptances and rejections happen throughout the admissions cycle. Just because you don't have good news going into March doesn't mean you're out of it by any means.