Gene Parmesan

At the end of the day, people (even those with acceptances already) will have more rejections than acceptances. These schools don't talk to one another (at least to my knowledge), so someone can get straight rejections and then one acceptance. I got acceptances up front and then came (and are still coming) the rejections. Unless you've heard from your last school, you're hopes for fall 2012 aren't over.

Congrats to all those with acceptances flowing in. As I keep saying, its still early! If you haven't heard anything yet, thats not a bad thing!

I've had a few over the last week or so as well..and they typically include my full first name (that I would put in an app)..interesting. I suppose its not odd for a committee to google someone to see what comes up>..

Big Congrats to the Yale acceptances! Its not over yet, people!

Thanks. You're right, its more appropriate than other letters that I'm sure get sent out. I wasn't too attached to Indiana because my research interests took a bit of a change in the last year, but I still decided to see them out. Nonetheless, my POI there was pretty flaky with emails, making me wonder how he handled advising duties (he would set up phone meetings, then flake, then email 3 weeks later apologizing profusely, reschedule, then flake again).

Received my Indiana rejection email at 6:30am. No big deal considering how competitive the applications were. Good luck to those who haven't heard yet!

Unless you've heard back from the sixth school, there is no reason to think about a second or third round. Its only February 7, and these things round up around early April. Keep your head up. My wise MA advisor explained to me that the floodgates will really open after President's Day.

Thanks. I certainly hope thats the case, particularly because graduate programs want Ford Fellows (it boosts their reputation). It seems silly to have pre-doctoral student applicants list only one school especially when a multitude of schools would be good fits for some people. Irvinchiva10, can I ask how you chose your inevitable one-listed school? I chose mine based on which school would be most competitive for funding.

Another thing to mention is to remain respectful to people trying to make decisions (ie. don't flood them with questions about how and when they'll accept or not).

No, oseirus, I had the same issues. I also wondered, what if the Ford committees like you, but then you are denied admission to your school of interest? Glad I'm not the only one..

Hello All, Curious if anyone else applied for a Ford Fellowship towards a History/Humanities Graduate Program. I applied for one, but the process was oddly confusing. For example, they don't award fellowships until April, after most schools and students have made their decisions. So my question: is anyone familiar with how schools coordinate with Ford Fellowships? As I applied to the fellowship, I was only able to list one school to take the fellowship to. Is the fellowship transferrable? I asked these questions to the Ford people directly, and their responses were vague and standard. Gene P.

How does one go about doing a "PM"?

So Indiana has been sending out rejections today via email. Does this mean its safe to assume that they have already sent out acceptances and waitlists? Or they are just tidying up their inboxes? Congrats to all thus far. Its still early!

Been only on here for a few days now. Avoided this website because I knew it was more stressful than it needed to be. But I figured I'd give my input for whatever its worth about some things I see people writing.. First, I'm really surprised people are emailing so called "POI"s. I don't want to sound like a jerk at all, thats not my intent. But its only February 3. It seems like those emails would be best served in march when deadlines are tighter and you might need to make more decisions. My opinion: you email a POI asking about the status and they think you just can't wait/need your hand held, which is not how Phd programs run. Again, I'm not accusing any of you of this, but thats what I thought of myself if I did that. If the department wants you, won't they find you. I again only say this based off experience. A prof told me that just because people on here are getting acceptances or rejections doesn't mean anything until you get yours..maybe you'll get waitlisted..etc. Just to reiterate..not trying to be a jerk, just trying to advise that profs are busy people and this process needs to just run itself out. Second, I see some people talking about MAs. Going into an MA program before applying to a Phd prog is the best decision I've ever made. I have a CV better than 3rd year Phd students I've met. So don't ever feel bad for entering an MA prog over a PHD. Especially if its funded! It sucks cause we are all vulnerable and fragile after submitting our apps. But lets keep our heads up and let things take their course.