antecedent

Rejected at Stanford! Still waiting to hear from 5 more...

Out at Arizona.

I just got my second rejection from UMass. Thanks guys, I wasn't sure how rejected I was

Right? We're on our way up! Fingers crossed for some good news soon, for both of us.

I just got a rejection, and no where in the email or the subject line did it say what university it was from! I spent about 90 seconds rereading the email and frantically searching for some identifying information before figuring out who it was from! That is so mean! It was UMass, which isn't a huge surprise. Still a bummer though. I should have specified that what I wanted this week was good news!

Is it only a day long? They may have not invited people outside of the U.S. in that case. Who knows! Watch me rationalize away my anxiety! Well Friday Feb 7th is my birthday so I'll just drink extra on that day.

There's an open house this week for UCSD? FML. Guess that's a rejection.

Aaaah this is the week a couple of my top choice schools started notifying last year and I'm trying to keep it cool but I'm not doing a very good job of that. Also, I still haven't heard back from the prof who said I 'should' be getting a call from my POI over a week ago. This is madness, you guys, madness!

Me neither, don't worry! We've still got a lot of horses in the race!

Haha at first I was like "Damn, Fuzz is grumpy today!" but then I read more of Loric's responses and like...don't you have ANYTHING better to do than antagonize one of the best mods in this community? Like, really? Where on earth did this troll come from?

I think it's very rare that the graduate school rejects someone that the department recommends. If you're really unsure, you could reply and say thank you and ask if the graduate school often refuses candidates, or something like that. I think responding with a thank you is always a good way to sneak in follow-up questions

I was so bummed about Northwestern! I was having a really nice chat with my POI, and one of the collaborators from the project my dissertation grew out of was moving to the department, and it was looking really positive. And then boom! My POI found out they couldn't accept any students for this cycle. Sad days. For a different program I had a DGS tell me I was going to get an interview call from another prof and I haven't heard from them and I'm getting all kinds of crazy doubts now. I wish we could just know!

Backward salivating, eh?

My supervisor used the phrasing "less competitive" to describe those schools, which I think is fair. Even though your fit might be the same for Harvard and SmallState University, and both may have very good programs for your field, Harvard is likely going to be 'more competitive' in that they were probably get more applications than SSU and will also probably have better funding and support. It doesn't mean SSU isn't a good school and that you couldn't do good work there, it's just like shortstack said, you are statistically more likely to get in to SSU than Harvard, though you still might not get in to either. FUN!

Welp, Berkeley is sending out rejections!

I also just want to say how much this comment has helped keep me calm in the past few days. Not only because schools on my list have done interviews and I didn't get one, but also because it underscores how it is possible that this process will be different for every applicant, sometimes even within schools! Also it reminds me to try not to make any snap judgments on other people's experience, and it isn't over until i'ts over. As always, Fuzzy, you are a godsend to this community!

That is a huge relief. I hope your interview went well!

I know that transcripts are some of the last things to get matched up, but I submitted all of my materials early for UMD and my transcripts are still marked as missing, three weeks after the deadline. Is anyone else having this problem? I'm trying really hard to stay calm and not freak out about this. I emailed the DGS as they suggest on the website. All I can do is hope they made it somehow and the website is just really out of date. *Breathing*

AHA! I knew I wasn't ever safe. Thanks for fueling my paranoia

My HP Folio 13 got me through my masters degree just fine. It's light, fast, the hard drive is solid state, and the battery lasts for 6+ hours. The only problem was when it came to dissertation writing the screen was a bit too small/low, which I could have just fixed by plugging it in to one of the lab monitors. Which I just realized now 8 months later. I guess being a Master doesn't always mean your smart

For you: Congrats you guys! Go celebrate in the acceptance thread!

I feel a bit silly because I'm actually trying to GET a job right now, cause I have 7-8 months before I move if I even get in anywhere and 7-8 months with no job and no money coming in is stressful as hell. Anyone else applying to Whole Foods? No? Just me? Awesome...

MASTERCARD. Man, advertising credit cards to grad students is cruel.

I looked at my tab count just now and realized I had 6 grad cafe tabs open. Looks like someone has a problem...

Yeah man, 14 schools is enough. Any more and you'll be throwing money down a hole. Yes, there is a certain extent to which applications can be seen as a numbers game, but I think there's also a point at which, if a person doesn't get into 14 schools, they're not going to magically get in to #15, #16, etc.