crazypoligirl

Rejected from Yale... even though it wasn't even in my top three, I still feel like crying to my mommy. Whhhhy?????? :cry:

Thanks so much, I think I misinterpreted what was said earlier. I thought there was a seperate PIN @ Stony Brook. I think Columbia sends a separate PIN once you have submitted-- I just assumed it to be along the same lines. Well, I guess I am still just waiting then. Crisis diverted

I sure hope so. I don't want to jinx myself, so I am just working on being patient... and improving my karma, lol.

I see two more people received acceptances from Yale, congrats~ What are your stats? I have yet to hear back from them... (insert anxious stomach grumble)

.....

thanks so much, that was really helpful! Oh, and I am realizing I never received a PIN Code, just an email thanking me for my application. Doesn't sound promising. I am trying to figure out how much I want to pursue it because, at this point, Stony Brook's program is not even on my radar. I was excited... now :| ...not so much.

thanks guys! I am still waiting to hear back from all of my programs; I swear my nerves are killing me! BTW, did anyone else apply to Stony Brook? I submitted my application, and sent a couple of emails inquiring about the status of my supplemental materials and they just never replied. NOT COOL, especially when I have to pay the application fee despite their lack of organizational skills!

Hey all, When you all reference "checking the website", do you mean the browser where you submitted your application? When you have been rejected or accepted, does the application status change from "date submitted" to "rejected" or "accepted"? Thus far, I have just been checking and re-checking this part of the application, but if there is some unearthed space for obsessive app status checking, please clue me in! Thanks!

I just want to know! Don't these people realize that I only have so much hair to pull out? So much laundry to do? So much craigslist apartment trolling?? Why, WHY, WHY? I just want to know! Put me out of my misery (only with acceptances of course), PLEASE!!!! Okay, sorry folks, I just needed to unload. I am now returning to my saner side, lol.

Are you serious?!? He, along with Nobles, was one of the reasons I applied! Man! I mean, what's done is done, but 70 bucks...... oh well.......

I applied to Columbia, Yale, UPenn, Brown, UChicago, Boston University, Stony Brook, American, WUSTL, New School, and MIT. My top choice would either be Columbia or Brown, but hey, I am probably on the same page with a couple hundred other people! Sorry if you have posted elsewhere, but what about you?

Hi All, So I was on yuster and I saw that someone was informed of their acceptance into UC-Davis's political science program. Ummm... well... now I am jumping out of my skin! Has anybody else heard anything? It is freaking driving me nuts ALREADY!

Yea me too. I felt the same way about preserving my voice. With so many hands in the pot, it is so easy for that voice to get muffled. In the end I just stuck with the one prof that knew me best. Luckily I also have a good friend who is an editor, so she helped me proof. Seriously, I found out so much more than I ever wanted to know about commas...

figuring out the SOP was such a tough part of the process for me. Like many of you have commented, people's opinions were often conflicting. I sent my statement to the career development office at my alma mater (there is a special person to help with grad school apps) after getting feedback from several different professors, and he absolutely ripped it to shreds! I think I came out with a better statement in the end because of it, but man was it stressful! I would adopt changes that one professor thought would be better only to find that another professor hated it! In the end, I just had to trust my gut and the gist of advice offered because I think that it is pretty impossible to "inspire" everybody; particularly those that are going to be reviewing our apps. They are going to be looking at hundreds of apps.... I don't need them to fall in love with me, I just need them to like me well enough to let me in, teehee!

Agreed. that makes me feel better also. But for my top choice there are still only 10-12 spots... so I am not sure how much better; that's still pretty darn competitive!

It's hard to tell sometimes. I am new to the forum and, hey, people get touchy about these things. I couldn't really see how being called a fish would be insulting but better to be on the safe side. I don't know what field you are in, but I may have to do some research with you at some point. Better yet, you could be a family member, lol. Gotta love the anonymity of the net!

Well I read a brilliant theory, I can't help myself! I just hope that Friday doesn't go the other way too. Like "Geesh, I wanna get out of here already, let's just get it over with". That wouldn't make me smile.

Not a personal attack dude. It's just a saying. I like it because I think its true; we are all fishes when it comes to academia...

I agree that there are people who abuse diversity statements, and feel "entitled" because of historic wrongs committed against them and whatever group they may identify with. My point is that, once you get to the point of applying for doctorate programs, the caliber of an applicant is much different than say, undergraduate admissions. The person who just threw together their application at the last minute, hoping to just coast through on their URM status, in my opinion, just isn't an overwhelming presence . I think all of us on here understand that doctorate study is not for the faint of heart. Really I just don't believe there are hordes of unqualified people applying to these programs in the first place. For the most part, we are all amazing applicants, but the adcomm has got to make distinctions somehow. I just think someone coming from a background in which no one has a college degree, let alone an advanced degree (among other circumstances) should not be made to feel bad about saying so. Information about how to be successful in academia is not as easily attained as most people would like to think. If it were just about what grades you made and how hard you worked, I would totally be there with you. But it is not. It is just as much who you know as what you know. And this is not even isolated to class, race, etc. either. I went to an elite college, where we learned about networking and were encouraged to gain life experience via travel, etc. Heck, I had the opportunity to work directly under a member of Congress, just because someone in her office had an aunt that went to my school. That was an AMAZING experience; but one that I had just because I could afford to go to a college that holds some weight. In contrast, I have friends that went to mediocre state school because they didn't know any other way. And yea, they graduated a year early but with no real experience under their belt. Should they be boxed in forever because they were not privy to those experiences that make our applications look so great? In no way am I saying that a lesser qualified applicant if coming from a "problematic" background should be accepted over one that comes from one of more privilege. What I am saying is that people should be judged based on how well they performed in the situation that was offered to them. If you are in a small pond, you best be the big fish. If you come from a more competitive program, it is understandable why you weren't number one in your class. It works both ways.

I agree that some sort of leveling component is necessary in the admission process. I just don't think a test that has been proven to be flawed should hold as much weight as it does (in some, NOT ALL departments). One of the programs that I am applying to pretty much stated that if you don't have a 1250+, you might as well keep walking. I just don't think that is right. I am guessing several otherwise well qualified students didn't even bother applying because they thought they would get canned off the bat. I also agree that a strong grasp of the English language is important, but this ability is easily distinguished in an applicant's SOP and writing sample. In fact, I think it is better measured via these avenues. The Verbal section on the GRE is pretty much a vocabulary test, in my opinion. And you're right, the GRE is one of the more straightforward standardized tests out there (once upon a time, I wanted to go to law school so I have taken both the LSAT and GRE). If you have enough time (and money) you can get the study aids and coach yourself into a 1200+, but some people don't have that luxury. Applying to graduate school is expensive enough before you even begin considering test preparation costs. Kaplan, PR and Testmasters are not equally accessible, so how can the test truly be? Furthermore, diversity statements are an important component of the application. I'm sorry if you think its only function is a whining competition. There are people out there that have overcome real adversity to get where they are, and that should be taken under consideration. I think that people with different backgrounds, values, upbringings contribute immensely to the academic atmosphere; particularly in a field like mine, political science. Let's just get it straight, when a school is selecting a student for admission, they are making an investment just like we are. The whole applicant should be represented in the process, and diversity statements are just providing a space. And the saddest story ever isn't going to get an unqualified applicant in the door, i'm sorry. And your assertion that the only people that critique standardized testing are those that don't do well on them: I am laughing at you right now, because obviously you did do well and you are trying to make yourself feel more important than you really are.

Heads up to the Poli Sci people that applied to UT Austin. I have been emailing with the department secretary and apparently the committee will start reviewing apps referred from GIAC on 1/22. Doesn't it feel crazy to know the actual day that we will all begin to be "reviewed"? Since the 22nd is on a Wednesday, heres hoping they hold off on mine until the 24th, lol!

I don't think that is the case at all. The GRE is completely arbitrary. The fact that they decided to totally revamp the test because it was deemed inadequate... only to find that the updated version wouldn't suffice either is telling. I think it is kind of ridiculous that we are subjected to the test in the first place. I have taken it twice myself. The first time I tanked. I took it again and improved immensely. SOP and LORs are much more telling of an applicants promise.

Hi All, I am new to the forum. I told myself that I was not going to become "THE" OCD grad applicant, that I have a ton of other things to do besides obsessing over this... but really, I don't . I almost fainted when I got an email from UChicago two weeks back. I was scared to open it even though it obviously couldn't have been a rejection THAT early. Anyways, just turned out to be an email "officially" letting me know that my application had been forwarded to the admissions committee. THE ADMISSIONS COMMITTEE! I just about died! I mean, obviously it has to be reviewed, but there was something about reading that I am "being taken under consideration". This process can make even the most qualified candidate self conscious. I don't even want to tell people that I am applying so I won't "jinx" it. AND I keep compulsively looking up living costs, etc. for the various schools that I am applying to....but I just don't know where I am going to be! Did I mention I live in Japan!?! I keep obsessing over things getting lost in the mail. One thing for sure, I am ecstatic about the Japanese emphasis on perfection... I am scared of postal workers in the US, but the Japanese... they make me feel safe, lol! Okay, enough ranting... I guess I am letting it all hang out on my first post! :wink: