sansao

Some schools just do interviews in specific departments. It seems pretty rare to hear about someone getting an interview to a geo program unless they're international, though I'm sure it's certainly possible. I've seen lots of interviews to schools I applied to, but very rarely in my programs. But yeah, it doesn't help me worry any less either. On the other hand, the idea of an interview is absolutely terrifying to me. I haven't had an interview even for a job since 2004. I'm sure the world that I inhabited then has completely metamorphosed (ha!) into some new situation which is completely foreign to me. Add to that the general anxiety surrounding an interview that could define one's future. Yeah, yikes.

I can relate, though my condition was psychological and fluctuated quite a bit. It didn't completely smash my GPA, but I know it would have been much better if I'd had the right treatment (I'd probably have 3 majors and and at least one publication too). Also, it gave me a total of about three years worth of withdrawals on my transcript, which can't look pretty, though they're all WP grades (withdrawn-passing). Hang in there, and if you need to, we can vent about bad diagnoses and anticonvulsants together, and hope that the fact that we really had to fight for it - and didn't give up - counts for something. I certainly applaud you. I don't have any publications either. I have a year of mildly-related research. Presumably, worse things could happen. Did you address that in your sop, or ask your instructors how to account for that when applying to American universities? I would hope that by this point, most schools are aware of the grading process in other regions, and take things like that into account.

Most of the schools I've applied to have the role of the graduate school in the admissions process listed on their website. In general these have been to verify that the application is complete, that the basic requirements and credentials are met, issue the official decision, and issue the official offer if it's an acceptance. Presumably, they also conduct a background check, and the kind of things an employer's HR department would do before offering a position, though that's just speculation. It could very easily be different depending on the school, though. The only cases I've heard of at my undergrad school in which the graduate college reversed an admissions committee decision was when someone failed to graduate when expected, or lied on their application.

As previously mentioned, same here. Though the more I move away from it, the better off I feel with the decision. Maybe they liked your application so much that they don't need to interview you?

I read that as [sad Tombstone], which we'll hope isn't equally appropriate.

It certainly motivated me to think about what I would actually do in the event of getting only rejections (let's hope that's not the case for any of us). Now that I've had a day to process it though, I'm a kind of relieved. I saw myself having a particularly tough time working between the programs at this school to make my research come together. I was willing to do it if admitted, but it probably would have been the most stressful of the four. The other three applications are at schools that have programs in one of the specializations I'm looking for, so now I know I won't have to worry about that, at least.

My undergrad research advisor told me, when I proudly announced that I had narrowed my search to 6 schools, that I should cut it down to 3. I cut it down to four, because I felt uncomfortable about such a low number. Somewhat amusingly, the school that I would have cut next was the one that just rejected me, so maybe she was right (would certainly not be the first time). At any rate, if you found programs with a decent fit in 3-7 programs, I'd expect that would be sufficient.

I think I'd wait until March, personally. One acceptance could just be someone that a particular faculty member really wanted, or it could be fake. As much as I hate the waiting part of it, I'd rather wait it out for a while and see what happens.

Well, it's better for both of us to have that out of the way, I guess. I know geoscience programs can be highly specialized and it can be tricky to find a fit if you have specific research in mind. The rest of the programs to which I applied are much stronger in terms of fit and faculty correspondence. This has motivated me to clarify my plan B a little more, though.

So much for silence. The first rejection just arrived, and I'm not nearly as upset as I expected I would be. Probably the worst fit for me, not a lot of response from faculty at the POI, and I'm not shocked at all. Mildly disappointed that I wasn't able to muster a stronger application, but that's about it.

On a side note, my phone just rang when I was posting that, and I about jumped out of my skin. It was my dentist. Sigh.

Given everything that's happened in my life and during my undergrad career, I'll be completely content if I get waitlisted and then get in, or don't get in during the first round of evaluations. As long as I get in, I'll be able to pursue my interests aggressively, and that's sufficient for me. Personally, I don't expect to be the top choice, because I know there are issues with my application. At best, I can show them that while I may not be the top choice, that my admission was still the right choice. I plan on working very hard at wherever I end up, just out of gratitude that they were willing to work with me and all my issues to help me succeed. But this is just personal opinion. I can certainly see where both of you (Starlajane and oseirus) are coming from.

At the rate at which I'm checking things, I will probably know the decision before the adcoms do.

I sent one program the wrong sop (addressed to another school, with other faculty listed ). I tried to be very careful in the whole review process, and I can only figure that I saved over a file during a final edit, or something along those lines. Talk about a frantic, embarrassed, tragic email to the department. The person there was very understanding though, he let me email him the correct files, and while he said the submitted materials had to go into whatever file they made for me, he could control what actually went to the department during the review process. He then sent me a full PDF of everything (excluding lors, of course), that the department would get for admissions, so I could make sure I didn't screw up anything else. I'm still mortified about that.

Haha, no worries. I should have asked which "A." It's good to see acceptances getting posted on the forum. It makes me a little more optimistic (when I'm not being terrified).

I had originally intended to apply to a bunch too. Now that I've reduced it to four, I'm a little terrified. I haven't heard anything from anyone yet, either, except a panic moment the other day when a finaid dept at one of the schools sent me an email. My phone jumbled the subject and sender together, "office of student acknowledgement." Yeah, they just wanted to tell me they got my FAFSA info. And then I had to go back to sleep, which of course did not happen.

I'm pretty sure if my phone vibrates during class and it's one of those area codes, I will leap up and fly from the classroom like a retarded pigeon. At which point it will most certainly be a telemarketer or some such nonsense. Understatement of the century.

Ugh... I've noticed the same in my application. Not saying what it was, but I've been facepalming myself for about a week. I just hope the adcoms realize how stressful the application process can be (and have a decent sense of humor). \dies

You could look at certificate programs. That would not only raise your gpa, but give you an extra credential to put on your apps. In the meantime, let's hope we all get in somewhere. My gpa isn't super either, but I've been told by all the faculty I spoke with that things like lors and program fit can easily outweigh a gpa issue, unless it's lower than the program reqs.

Congratulations! UA is a great place with awesome faculty. Just try not to get cabin fever in Tucson, especially coming from somewhere like London. There's a ton of cool hole-in-the-wall places there, and Phoenix is only 2 hours away.

That was pretty much the point. Though I wouldn't call it fool's hope, even if I don't get in anywhere. It was worth it to apply, and will be worth it to apply again if the unthinkable happens. In the meantime, I plan on staying as optimistic as possible, even if it makes me neurotic and takes away my ability to do simple math.

Wow, 20+... the time that must have gone in to prepping your sops is scary. It was hard enough for me to come up with four and feel remotely confident.

Yes, you are correct, My counting technique was backwards in my morning haze - thank the (not from a grad school) email that woke me up at 3am. As I said though, it wasn't an effort to say anything about the likelihood of anything. It's just a more friendly way to look at it (to me anyway). And 81 outcomes, instead of 64 just makes it even less intimidating. Also thanks for hitting me over the head for bad math.

There's no greed in trying to secure your future. You could see if any schools that fit your interests really well still have an open deadline (assuming you can get your professors to write the additional lors).

I think a new laptop (mine is turning 5 y.o. this year), a couple of decent suits for conferences, professional meetings, etc, a night of drunken debauchery with my partner, and maybe a tablet for reading journals (that seems like it would be really handy). Mostly pragmatic, especially the drinking.