Gene Parmesan

I'd say at the very least it gives them a sense that it'll be a competitive process to get you. It might help for funding, for example, knowing they'd have to offer you a competitive package and give you first class treatment. Don't necessarily think it will hurt you, but that's my sense.

Maybe email them in a day thanking the person you interview with for the interview and suggesting that you're happy you are being considered at school ranked high among your list (if they are).

Congrats!!

Ok, University of Washington! Come out with your decisions already!

"C'MON!"

Its about time...after that Cal rejection, I was beginning to wonder if you had passed your prime...

congrats...and have fun in Boston next fall!

I've always considered buster's desire for juice similar to our desire for funding...



C'mon!

Gene Parmesan, your username is almost as good as my THREE THOUSAND DOLLAR SUIT, C'MON.

No seriously, love it.

Grad Cafe meet ups at local pubs wherever AHA is!

So as we approach another new week that I'm sure will be as eventful as the last, I want to wish everyone the best of luck. I started off this week with a rejection from the lowest ranked school I applied to, and I was so sure that meant definite rejections from the rest. By mid-week I was thinking about a plan B, and kicking myself for aiming too high by not being realistic with my applications. Then I received the email from UPenn just before class on Wednesday afternoon, and by Thursday morning I had five acceptances. So stay patient and optimistic, and don't question yourself, your abilities or your worth as a candidate! Also keep in mind that it's still early in the process, and interpret silence as a sign that you're still in the running.

Good luck folks! I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I haven't heard from my top choice yet, so I'm waiting for news this week too

So maybe here is the time to tell a story...

I have a masters from an institution with a program in a very specific set of related subfields. The department in general largely existed to give masters degrees to teachers, but had for at least twenty five years been trying to turn itself into a place that also was a stepping stone between undergrads and top level PhD programs. It was not Miami of Ohio but that is a good example of such a place. They did this by hiring a bunch of young interesting historians as professors and hoping they hit big. In fact they did and than they would get poached away to somewhere better. Harvard is very pleased to take credit for employing someone with big impressive prizes for her work and letting people think she did that work for them when she did it in my corner of the woods. As the most prominant example.

They'd been getting people into very respectable very good PhD programs here and there during that time but they'd never gotten anyone into an Ivy. There were eight or so students in the department on the PhD market last year which was more than they normally had but I don't think the professors had thought about the idea that nearly all of them would get accepted somewhere. It was a case of we all had different mentors and so the shear number wasn't obvious to the entire department until about this time.

I was the first one to get an acceptence. I got into an Ivy. I got into an Ivy not far from them geographically. The faculty basically lost their shit on the department list serve. They said really lovely things about me that I wish they had said to my face or to each other but not to a list serve that included those 7 other people. It was unseemly. Two days later before my next class I get an email from one of the people who had done this, asking me to "play it cool" because there were other people waiting. As if I had been the one to loose my shit on the list serve.

I bought the grad students a round of beer and privately apologized. Almost all of them had acceptences within a week or two. Those that didn't had waitlists. Many schools have not said anything yet. It will come in time. I know it's hard. But i don't know that the people with acceptences have been gloating from what I've seen. Most advise for those of you with choices between good places is going on in PM. At least i know I've been talking over some with people who aren't asking me what living in Princeton is like.

I'm perfectly happy to talk over Princeton specific things with people. But there is more going on in the PM universer above this thread than I think people realize. There is a lot of consideration going on to appear not to be gloating.

YMMV

to anyone publicly fretting about which big-name school they should pick or making up wild fantasies about having their offers revoked, that's a super shitty thing to do in front of a bunch of people with no acceptances at all. just... keep that in mind. by all means, celebrate your acceptances, but try not to publicly lament the "difficult" choice you have between 2 or 3 or 10 acceptances.

can the stress of not knowing when schools will give news affect your health and well-being? sure. any stressful situation can. but one of the good things about this place is that you can go back to older threads and deduce when, roughly, you should be receiving info. if your school didn't notify people until the last week of february last year, don't call them until you've received no news by the first week of march. take the information available to you through this (wonderful/terrible) website and make rational decisions.

and to think, once you're on the job market, some of those job searches NEVER notify you that you didn't get the position. even if you end up being in the top 10 selected for phone interviews or the top 3 invited to campus interviews, they just never bother to tell you that you didn't get it. ugh.

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!

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!

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!

Hmm. I really don't know why I got a negative vote for something so innocuous. I'm going to quit trying to be nice I guess and return to straight up lurking.

I do think this list is a cool idea though- Thanks H-n-P.

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.

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.