KreacherKeeper

I am in the same boat. I applied initially to one school, fortunately panicked before February 1st deadline hits and applied more broadly (but with little hope) 1. Admitted one with half funding (too old to get that much debt) 2. Admitted one with tuition remission, but yet to get official letter. 3. Still waiting to hear on a 3rd. I think age does matter. People in their early 20's (I am in my 30's), I thought would fare worse than I did with my work experience but I literally heard that they wanted people who were trainable (and I was trained). I think it also varies by program, cohort and general luck. My GRE's were not stellar (high 1200's), my GPA was great for me (3.9), and I had good recommendations. It was probably the best I could do given right now I am working, going to school, and commute over 20 hours a week. I think the other part of this is that we have a healthy fear of debt. So we aren't thrilled by partial tuition. We simply require more financial aid then young persons who can rely in part on their parents.

I did exactly the same thing (signed up but now not sure). Here was my thinking at the time: 1. Give it one last shot to make sure you do not want to make the investment 2. Have a chance to see if it might be worth trying again later (for another degree, more money). Ultimately, what happened was that I realized that HDS was not really right for me financially and that it probably was not that good of an idea to go up there (why tempt yourself, when you know you can't have it). So for me, I had to draw a firm money line and just say no. If you really think it may be an option (or can combine it with an ANTS visit to make it worth it, then why not?) If it is a financial burden and you are not sure then maybe visiting ANTS and taking one last look at Harvard (even if it is not Open House day) may be a better option. But my real word of wisdom is you are not alone in the Harvard dream school/if I were rich struggle!

This is the best advice ever. I plan to use it!

Tahud, I think you made a fine choice. Good luck at Yale!

Check on Chronicle of Higher Ed. A PhD is pretty standard even for jobs that are in CC and for freshman labs. I guess it is a buyer market.

Ok, so I do not get the glamourous package that would allow me not to work. I am considering 2 options 1. Reapply next year and work this year 2. Go to the school with tuition remission and realize I need to work and go part-time (also an option) So I have started to apply for jobs. How many do folks usually apply to before they start to get some bites? I have spent 2 weekends of overzealous job applications and no bites yet. Any advice on strategies? Should I apply for lots, apply in waves, or what?

Well if it helps, before I entered my current program I was rejected from Hunter too, and I got into Harvard. hmmmm..... But you are right, it is all a numbers game in some weird way. I have been looking at schools in the UK and I love how upfront they are about who they are after. One school listed scholarships for PhD programs that said people who have research interests in XXX and XXX should apply. I love it! But oh well... Good luck at Columbia or wherever life may take you. Right now, I am starting a list of my Plan B's including jobs and a school that gave me money. But if anything this process has told me that there is no sure thing. It is an audition process that is largely out of our control.

I actually got very similar advice from one of my prof's when I was deciding if I should 'pay up'. I am not, in any way, shape or form, an uber-feminist, in fact I err more on the traditional side of things. I was told that I need to really talk to folk (like you, so thanks!) that are in the game and see if I would be the 'quiet kid in the back of the room' rather than someone who was participating in in the leading conversations. I always wonder though who truly decides fit. Is it the professors, really, or is it some mystical adcom? I say this because at my current school, there seem to be a lot of disagreement between who is admitted and what the professors are looking to teach..oh and my current school has lots of uber-everything!

First, congrats on YDS. I was in the same boat with HDS, but not quite as generous (or nearly as generous), and sigh, I ended up saying no. One thing to consider though is that you can get money for working during the summer (a slight cut down on expenses). 36 K is a lot of money, but considering the value of the degree, it may not be the end of the world, if it gets you a fully funded PhD. 36 k over 7 years MA + PhD is not as substantial. Just something to think about. I am at an entirely different place in my life (I am older, working etc), so my choices have to reflect that. But trust me I hear ya, and that is far more responsible than racking up too much debt and not even thinking about it. Darn eating and having a place to live! It ruins everything!

Agreed and you are not alone. I got into my Ivy, but I did not get money to go. So sigh. I was upset, pouted, ate McDonald's french fries and then bought a sweatshirt for the other (back-up) school and wore it around the house with my pajamas. Funny thing, the more I got to like the sweatshirt, the more I liked the school. In fact, it is nice cosy and I have it on today! Its ok to be upset. I felt like I was breaking up with my dream. Cheer up Charlie!

I actually thought of going and I am 99.9% sure I won't be there in the Fall. But it is not a financial thing for me, since I am closer and if I knew I was going, I am not sure I would go. I was thinking of it more of a 'go for the day to make sure you are making the right choice not to go day'.

Honestly, I don't think we can look at a sample size as small as what is represented on GradCafe and come up with a conclusion at all except that there are a lot of people who applied and were extraordinarily talented, some got in, some did not get in. And likely there is a misfire who got in who people will say, 'really?" (Kind of like on American Idol)...It is also fair to say that those who got in and have the money to go are happy, those who didn't aren't. But guessing and trying to play a worthy group against an unworthy group or saying that one person failed to do something right, I am not sure will get us anywhere. But that is just my 2 cents....

So, it happened to me. I got the dream invite. The thing was, it is a really expensive school and well, I can't afford it. Sure, I could take out massive loans, but in actuality that doesn't make a lot of sense for me. So now, I am re-thinking my plans. (This is for a Masters,). In a moment of panic, I applied to a closer school before their Mar 1 deadline, and as it turns out, I can afford to go there without a lot of debt. It is a good private school, but not Mr. Dreamy. I was accepted the same day Mr. Dreamy went dutch with my tuition bill. I have spent my last few months convinced it was dream school or bust. Only at the last minute did I think about finances, moving and the cost of having Mr. Dreamy in my life. So, I think I am going to work hard at Mr. Tier 2 and try again. But, I am not giving up. So in the midst of all the folk thrilled to get Mr. Dreamy, and those devastated by the break-up, there are some of us learning to be happy with the school next door. Anyone else, deciding to go with Mr/Mrs. Tier 2 this go around?

Hey, Good luck with Candler. I am really praying for you tomorrow with YDS and wherever life takes you. Your hurt was palpable on Friday and I am hoping for healing soon. Good luck to you and your wife! You deserve great things. God began a great work in you.... kreacher

I think part of it is that Harvard wants to build their type of scholar, so persons with graduate degrees or hardcore experience that to an outsider may seem like it would be good for a elite school to consider, may actually be a hinderance. For example, would you rather work with fresh clay or clay that has already been molded a bit by another person? It may be that whatever rubric they use to make decisions reflects the desire of a person to be fresh and 'teachable' (this according to the rubric and not according to actuality). In any event, I have to admit I was disappointed with this cycle and questioned their decision as well. At one point, reading some of the rejected stats and looking at fellow applicants that clearly would be a benefit to HDS, I had to wonder if it was backwards day. From this forum it is clear that people that were rejected (or not given enough money to attend) were very smart, capable and theologically minded. It may be perhaps that there were just too many theologically minded people and some people did not fit in a needed box. But I agree, happiness cannot be tied up solely with a particular school. This is a lesson I am slowly coming to terms with!

Sorry Kuriakos! Great stats, sorry it didn't work out for you.

Good for everyone! Good luck finding funding, scholarships and success. You all deserve it! And congrats all who got great offers!

Yeah, I am wallowing a bit myself. First of all, I am not married so any changes really only matter to my cat and me. So I cannot really help you with that. I knew going into this cycle that being older would be a hard sell, and I also have another graduate degree (MA) as well. I noticed someone else was not admitted to HDS who had a grad degree. It could be that they want to train people in their own ways and we are, in some ways' pre-trained', which is not what they are looking for in a 2 or 3 year program. Who knows, they have lots of applicants and can choose who they want and decide to not be fair, but it certainly seems being older or having a MA going into it was not a good way to get fully funded/get accepted based on the results we have seen so far. At some point, age and experience seems like baggage that needs explaining and/or reasons for rejection! I am not quite sure what I will be doing next at this point myself, but I also have to have full funding or bust, so it will not be HDS. I don't know how old you are, but it seems like it has been like this since I got out of college, that I graduated, there were no jobs, I struggled and then people who just graduated got jobs (even though I worked and struggled), I went back to school, got an MA, and struggled and it seems I graduated (early 00's) with the MA and people with BA's straight out of college got good jobs and I was overqualified! So, I feel your pain with the come up next's grabbing all the funding! So allow yourself your anger for a while, it does not seem entirely fair...

Yeah, sad here too and feel that I worked really hard, except that I am just too old to take out huge loans for an MTS. There is a chance perhaps when people turn down offers more financial aid may come available? It never hurts to ask, and the worst you can be left with is where you are right now, with an offer you can't take because it is not enough money or worse will put you with tons more debt. For me, I am thinking it over entirely at least for right now...I may appeal as well, but for the time being, I think I am going to simply going to think of other options. .

Trin, I am in the same boat, I thought that I would get more too. Oh well!

Don't be so hard on yourself, I was admitted but won't be going because I did not get the funding I needed and I thought I had good stats as well. I am not going to tell you that things worked out for the better ,but sometimes when you are older/non traditional right out of BA/etc, etc, it is harder to get exactly what you need funding wise/they greet the application with suspicion, etc, etc.. I still have my dreams intact, but I am not sure how to get there right now with them. I am sad too, and I think Trin is as well. If I could reboot life and know what I wanted when I was 20, I would not be having these troubles. But I am 31, have done lots of things in my life and can't hit reboot. So, I just have to accept that it will take longer to get to work out my dreams in some form or another.

I think I am more stressed that I may have to wait until Monday or worse Tuesday! In any event, it is now 4:13 and I have decided that if no decision is made by 5 pm, then I need to go back to work on my current school work. In the meantime, I popped back in to stress with everyone else!

Agreed. I am trying to focus on paper writing, and I just keep checking. Hang in there everyone!

No word on my end. I have decided that I have been about as crazy as I am willing to be over the decision and I am going to the library to finish my thesis. Besides, if I don't graduate, getting accepted will not matter. Good luck all, sending good vibes!

So, I am anxiously waiting for results and it occured to me (this morning, pre-coffee). Maybe this web page is a great big experiment to see how otherwise normal people react to admissions stress? Perhaps there are omniscent monitors somewhere laughing at our neurosis, all the while correlating our neurotic tendencies with admission results they already know (INSERT DEMONIC LAUGHTER HERE)..... Any insane conspiracy theory you would like to share (or validate my own or others with spurious facts?)