2019 Applicants

[barshmie]

Friends-- was Columbia a form acceptance? I.e. all acceptances sent out at the same time?

I'm becoming depressed. I had a POI there who literally proofed my writing sample and I have corresponded with occasionally since May. Not that I ever expect an acceptance-- but still, it hurts. ?

 

[3131]

7 minutes ago, barshmie said:

Friends-- was Columbia a form acceptance? I.e. all acceptances sent out at the same time?

I'm becoming depressed. I had a POI there who literally proofed my writing sample and I have corresponded with occasionally since May. Not that I ever expect an acceptance-- but still, it hurts. ?

 

Unfortunately, I believe it was. I am one of the accepted students and have already received the email providing more detail about the program, listing dates for the accepted students day, etc. I'm sorry that you didn't receive better news! If it's any consolation, they accepted fewer than 3.5% of applicants this year, so it's like winning the lottery / a complete crapshoot.

[barshmie]

2 minutes ago, 3131 said:

Unfortunately, I believe it was. I am one of the accepted students and have already received the email providing more detail about the program, listing dates for the accepted students day, etc. I'm sorry that you didn't receive better news! If it's any consolation, they accepted fewer than 3.5% of applicants this year, so it's like winning the lottery / a complete crapshoot.

You don't give yourself enough credit. I'm sure you're an amazing candidate.  I am so happy for you, I know you've had a good run this cycle. 

Thank you for responding, the limbo is worse than the pain of rejection. 

[dangermouse]

congrats @3131 and the other columbia admits!! and @trytostay getting waitlisted is a very exciting outcome itself just on a numerical level, and you have offers from both NYU and UVA so as much as i know how disappointing it can be to not be straight out admitted to schools you have your heart set on, there is so much to be positive & excited about !!! 

[3131]

@dangermouse and @barshmie Oh my god, thank you so much for your kindness. Really. I wish you all the best of luck, and many good options at the end of the cycle! ❤️

[trytostay]

12 minutes ago, 3131 said:

If it's any consolation, they accepted fewer than 3.5% of applicants this year, so it's like winning the lottery / a complete crapshoot.

Seconding what @barshmie said: give yourself more credit. Own your awesomeness! 

[havemybloodchild]

Just wanted to say thank you to everyone here. It seems like a lot of other boards are distinctly unsupportive and sometimes downright hostile. I’m proud of all of us for creating a supportive as hell community in a very trying time. Y’all rock!

[Anonymouse124]

Hey everyone! Longtime lurker here. I only just found out about the forum and I honestly wish I'd been here from the beginning. Chatting with people in a similar purgatory state seems far more productive than refreshing the results page over and over.

Received an acceptance and my first rejection yesterday. I know I should be thrilled at the acceptance, but the rejection has honestly left me quite disappointed. Ugh. I wish we could learn why we were turned down though, though I'm sure that would not be of most emotional help either haha.

[santraash]

6 hours ago, 3131 said:

Unfortunately, I believe it was. I am one of the accepted students and have already received the email providing more detail about the program, listing dates for the accepted students day, etc. I'm sorry that you didn't receive better news! If it's any consolation, they accepted fewer than 3.5% of applicants this year, so it's like winning the lottery / a complete crapshoot.

Hey, congrats! What a cycle for you. I read your post and the first thing that crossed my mind was, “Which one is s/he gonna choose?” I thought I might as well just ask. 

[havemybloodchild]

19 minutes ago, Anonymouse124 said:

Hey everyone! Longtime lurker here. I only just found out about the forum and I honestly wish I'd been here from the beginning. Chatting with people in a similar purgatory state seems far more productive than refreshing the results page over and over.

Received an acceptance and my first rejection yesterday. I know I should be thrilled at the acceptance, but the rejection has honestly left me quite disappointed. Ugh. I wish we could learn why we were turned down though, though I'm sure that would not be of most emotional help either haha.

Welcome!

I think it would help because the truth is your app was clearly EXCEPTIONAL based on your acceptance. The margins are stacked against us, you should be proud as hell!

[ArcaMajora]

24 minutes ago, Anonymouse124 said:

Hey everyone! Longtime lurker here. I only just found out about the forum and I honestly wish I'd been here from the beginning. Chatting with people in a similar purgatory state seems far more productive than refreshing the results page over and over.

Received an acceptance and my first rejection yesterday. I know I should be thrilled at the acceptance, but the rejection has honestly left me quite disappointed. Ugh. I wish we could learn why we were turned down though, though I'm sure that would not be of most emotional help either haha.

Mood tbh. Welcome to the forums! Congrats on your first acceptance and commiserations on your rejection. It's weird to be juggling both, but celebrate that acceptance though You've earned it, but don't deny the need to let the emotions pour through on that rejection either. Even with an acceptance (that helps with peace of mind), the sting is still there.

I've been having an up and down cycle tbh, so this sort of yo-yo has been hitting me since the 1st of Feb. I started February with an acceptance, then a rejection, then a waitlist, then a second rejection, and now woke up today to an implied third rejection that's turning more and more official. It's a strange feeling, and it's definitely hard to keep reign on the emotions and the imposter syndrome that rises out of it (atm, my last two chances are programs that... are my top 2 choices this cycle lol, of which both are dream schools of mine).

Tbh so much of admissions can be such a crapshoot that sometimes being accepted/denied can be a matter of 'we think you're an incredibly strong candidate, but we don't know if our department's future trajectory can help support your project/interests/etc.' We only know one side of fit, and as someone said here, it is a shot in the dark and we don't really know if we hit the target or not. I know people have asked adcomms for feedback before. Now for sure isn't the most optimal time (since committees and admins are probably neck-deep in managing administrative overhead and communicating decisions, alongside the myriad of other duties). But I think it's possible and probably safer to later on (March and April), when the craze around decisions isn't as intense and if the university holds on to your file. With an acceptance at hand, you've very much hit the mark for one program

Edited February 16, 2019 by Ranmaag

[Anonymouse124]

4 minutes ago, kendalldinniene said:

Welcome!

I think it would help because the truth is your app was clearly EXCEPTIONAL based on your acceptance. The margins are stacked against us, you should be proud as hell!

Thank you so much for the kind words! CONGRATULATIONS on your own acceptances as well! It looks like we're both waiting to hear back from Berkeley and UPenn now, ugh. ?

[havemybloodchild]

Just now, Anonymouse124 said:

Thank you so much for the kind words! CONGRATULATIONS on your own acceptances as well! It looks like we're both waiting to hear back from Berkeley and UPenn now, ugh. ?

Historically Berkeley notifiers rejections in March so personally I’m planning for that

but UPenn- who knows??!! I’m rooting for you!

[Anonymouse124]

3 minutes ago, Ranmaag said:

Mood tbh. Welcome to the forums! Congrats on your first acceptance and commiserations on your rejection. It's weird to be juggling both, but celebrate that acceptance though You've earned it, but don't deny the need to let the emotions pour through on that rejection either. Even with an acceptance (that helps with peace of mind), the sting is still there.

I've been having an up and down cycle tbh, so this sort of yo-yo has been hitting me since the 1st of Feb. I started February with an acceptance, then a rejection, then a waitlist, then a second rejection, and now woke up today to an implied third rejection that's turning more and more official. It's a strange feeling, and it's definitely hard to keep reign on the emotions and the imposter syndrome that rises out of it (atm, my last two chances are programs that... are my top 2 choices this cycle lol, of which both are dream schools of mine).

Tbh so much of admissions can be such a crapshoot that sometimes being accepted/denied can be a matter of 'we think you're an incredibly strong candidate, but we don't know if our department's future trajectory can help support your project/interests/etc.' We only know one side of fit, and as someone said here, it is a shot in the dark and we don't really know if we hit the target or not. I know people have askrf adcomms for feedback before. Now for sure isn't the most optimal time (since committees and admins are probably neck-deep in managing administrative overhead and communicating decisions, alongside the myriad of other duties). But I think it's possible and probably safer to later on (March and April), when the craze around decisions isn't as intense and if the university holds on to your file. With an acceptance at hand, you've very much hit the mark for one program

Thanks for the warm welcome! It's definitely been tough trying to focus on the acceptances over the rejections. I definitely feel you on the imposter syndrome bit (ditto on the last two schools as well) and it's so tough to keep the confidence in my application that I once (kinda) had. 

Ugh, thanks for your wisdom re: adcomms and decisions; it honestly made me feel a lot better about it. I've been hearing from my recommenders and friends currently in PhD programs and most of my former profs have said similar things. Apparently most of them didn't believe the school was a good fit anyway, but I suppose I was so caught up in the prestige of it that I couldn't see it. Not sure if I'll reach out to ask for feedback, but I'm genuinely curious as to how that would go. Might give it a shot in the next couple of months and report back haha.

You too! I know it's tough, but "thank u, next" has been a mantra on here that maybe we should all try and embody haha. 

[Anonymouse124]

4 minutes ago, kendalldinniene said:

Historically Berkeley notifiers rejections in March so personally I’m planning for that

but UPenn- who knows??!! I’m rooting for you!

I'll keep my fingers and toes crossed for you!!

[kitties]

On 2/15/2019 at 3:07 AM, kendalldinniene said:

I'm holding out hope I actually get to enroll this year, and, if so, I'm going to get them like a pen or something from my new school, along with a nice card...and a case of cheetos for my advisor because she is the one who told me she hoped I would be her colleague one day and inspired me to go to grad school in the first place.  And that's her favorite snack, haha.

I had letters from someone who went to grad school at UCSB and another at Stanford (who is highly published and very well known in her field) and I didn't get in to either school.  Obviously this isn't the same as current faculty, though.  I feel (and who the heck knows if this is true, but it's my opinion) that LOR are basically whatever UNLESS they are not particularly good or contain red flags about the student.  But then who would write those letters?  This is just my guess.

Sorry you're feeling gutted right now, but I'm rooting for you!

Thanks ? I think your theory about the LOR being not that important unless bad is probably right, sad as that may be.

I think I was hoping that my letter writers would throw in a good word for me, or maybe be able to sway the decision, seeing as I listed both of them as professors I would be interested in working with (and both said they would be interested in working with me). But I have no idea if they even got to look at my application (or if they even know I was rejected?). Just shows how little I actually know about what goes on with the application decisions!

[trytostay]

Okay Rutgers...any time now... 2018 phone call acceptances happened between February 15-17th (Thursday-Saturday), and 2017 phone call acceptances happened February 18th-19th (Saturday-Sunday) so I'm curious to see if anything happens this weekend. Looks like Yale's phone calls are around then too, but aside from it being Yale, I don't think I was the best fit there. I was really excited about Rutgers as a department, so I'm sort of hoping it's a yes from them, but I won't be shocked if they pass on me. 

Anyone else have that one school they're getting anxious about?

Edited February 16, 2019 by trytostay

[fortschritt22]

12 minutes ago, trytostay said:

Okay Rutgers...any time now... 2018 phone call acceptances happened between February 15-17th (Thursday-Saturday), and 2017 phone call acceptances happened February 18th-19th (Saturday-Sunday) so I'm curious to see if anything happens this weekend. Looks like Yale's phone calls are around then too, but aside from it being Yale, I don't think I was the best fit there. I was really excited about Rutgers as a department, so I'm sort of hoping it's a yes from them, but I won't be shocked if they pass on me. 

Anyone else have that one school they're getting anxious about?

I was expecting that UPENN would release this week. It's my number one school and a great fit. Not getting my hopes up by any means, but the extra time waiting is excruciating!

[WildeThing]

I had both Rutgers and Penn for next week for what it’s worth (but also had Brown for last week and Columbia for next).

[Anonymouse124]

Am currently abroad and have been unable to receive any calls! I’ve been obsessively checking my voicemails. Ugh. Please just let us know already. Based on previous years, UNC Chapel Hill releases decisions oddly late in the game. 

 

Oh well. The waiting game continues. 

Edited February 17, 2019 by Anonymouse124
Typo

[beardedlady]

22 hours ago, kendalldinniene said:

Just wanted to say thank you to everyone here. It seems like a lot of other boards are distinctly unsupportive and sometimes downright hostile. I’m proud of all of us for creating a supportive as hell community in a very trying time. Y’all rock!

I wholeheartedly agree with this, and I think it speaks volumes about the level of maturity and empathy of the people on here. Keep being awesome, everyone!

[Fedallah]

6 hours ago, trytostay said:

Anyone else have that one school they're getting anxious about?

Upenn, Brown, and Yale are my last 3, but I really only feel anxious about Penn because the fit feels pretty good for me. 

 

Also, as a fellow UVA admit, are you planning to go to the visiting days (which are, strangely, a Monday-Tuesday)?

[trytostay]

11 minutes ago, Fedallah said:

Also, as a fellow UVA admit, are you planning to go to the visiting days (which are, strangely, a Monday-Tuesday)?

I am! It's not convenient for my schedule by any means, but I made it work. (Note to self: don't schedule a vacation in Miami for the middle of visiting season...) You're further than I am though. Are you going to be able to make it? 

[havemybloodchild]

6 hours ago, trytostay said:

 

Anyone else have that one school they're getting anxious about?

While I still have UConn, UPenn, UW, and UOregon left to hear back from, all my anxiety and hope are channeled right now into my waitlist sitch at Loyola and my interview at SMU. I think UConn and UofO are already implied rejections anyway.

[mwils15]

7 hours ago, trytostay said:

Okay Rutgers...any time now... 2018 phone call acceptances happened between February 15-17th (Thursday-Saturday), and 2017 phone call acceptances happened February 18th-19th (Saturday-Sunday) so I'm curious to see if anything happens this weekend. Looks like Yale's phone calls are around then too, but aside from it being Yale, I don't think I was the best fit there. I was really excited about Rutgers as a department, so I'm sort of hoping it's a yes from them, but I won't be shocked if they pass on me. 

Anyone else have that one school they're getting anxious about?

I feel you! I’m really invested in my Rutgers application, so I’ve been pretty antsy