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Anyone heard anything on the master's fellowship (higher education)? It's been 10 days since they sent admissions decisions. I am losing hope.

Rejection letter posted on the website for Hopkins (International Health - Health Systems).

Dear all, Need your help! I was recently contacted by a professor via email to set up a time for a phone interview. The professor was not mentioned in my essay, nor is the prof. the program director/coordinator. In my SOP, I had mentioned broad areas of research without going into much specifics. Three questions: 1) What does it mean when a prof not mentioned in the essay contacts you for a phone interview? Does it mean that the prof is my prospective adviser (which is great because the reason I didn't mention the name earlier was because I thought the prof. was a big shot based on the profile! In retrospect, it seems to me like a silly reason)? 2) Am I taking a risk if I now say that, from among the broader interests mentioned in my essay, my specific interest lies within what the prof. is involved in. Coincidentally, it does! If I do that, what are the chances that the prof. may say, "In that case, why didn't you put my name in the SOP" or think that I don't know what I am talking about? 3) Any other tips? (Things not to say, questions not to ask, etc.) Thanks a lot.

Dear Gradcafe administrator, As is evident from the postings above, too many of us poor souls have suffered tremendously because the results section gets updated too slowly. I suggest that you place some ads on this website, make some money and then pay that money to university officials who can come to this site and post updates such as, "I just made copies of 3 applications and gave them to the Adcom", "the postman is carrying a heavy bag today; looks like all transcripts are coming, "the secretary is typing acceptance emails", "Adcom was heard laughing at an applicant with 2.1 GPA", etc., every minute. Yours most sincerely, Slow-update Victim No. N (where N>1000)

@Public Policy PhD, As far as UMD is concerned, I have not heard anything. The status in the online system (testudo) says, "Decision pending". (I don't know why certain schools make decisions so slow. Is it because: (i) they want to send the decision and funding package, if any, together, or (ii) they are not the best in the field and hope to "pick up" students who have likely been rejected elsewhere? Looking at results from 2011, schools with the same deadline seem to send decisions weeks apart. This might be a good topic for PhD research. )

@undmich, I applied to the Demography PhD (without sociology), but no word on the decision yet. Have you heard anything? The coordinator said decisions would be made in late January/ early February, but I am too nervous to email back and ask if decisions have been made. Re: "incomplete", I was told, also by the coordinator, that it will mention "incomplete" until official transcripts are received, which, by the way, is not a requirement for initial processing. In the application instruction page, it says something along the lines of: send us a scanned copy of your transcripts for now and we will request for official transcripts before admissions if you get accepted.

I threw in* an application to UMD, but haven't heard anything yet. Looking at last year's results, they seem to let the applicants sleep well only after mid-March. Note: "threw in" because this wasn't my top choice (for various reasons) and had to submit my application on the last day because I was on the road for two weeks before that. I am fairly certain that the Adcom is lauging at my SOP as we speak!

Congrats! That's awesome.

Thanks a lot! I am new to gradcafe, and didn't know there was that search place! Looks like the week of Jan 10 is the big week based on results from previous years. For some reasons, the rejections seem to be sent after the acceptances, in some cases weeks later. Cheers.

Applied: Johns Hopkins (Health Systems), U Mich (Health Policy and Organization), Cornell (Policy Analysis and Management), UMD (Policy Studies). All PhD. Not too optimistic about getting in this year though. Low bachelor's GPA (3.2) from a top-tier private college, 3.97 master's degree GPA from a decent public policy school, ok GRE (620V, 790Q, 6 Writing), but very limited (close to none) health-related background. Have 3.5 years of post-master's experience as an economist in a decent organization (as in, the professors would have heard the name of the organization). References are strong (I think), but one professor inadvertantly sent a letter addressed to a different school (to all programs), and there was no time to rectify that. I hope this does not totally ruin my chances. Everyone tells me that the first two programs above are tough to get into. But decided to take a shot based on suggestions from undergrad professors and a bit of gut feeling. Unfortunately, I did not have time to contact professors in specific PhD programs beforehand (not sure if that makes a big difference). ------- Good luck to everyone! Anyone here knows when these programs might be sending decisions? I just finished submitting my applications last week (Jan 15 was the last deadline), and am already checking my emails frequently. My wife tells me that I have obsessive compulsive disorder and that I am making a right decision by applying to health programs!

Hi Decaf, Curious which PhD program you applied to at UMD. (I have applied to Policy Studies.)