Who hasn't gotten accepted anywhere yet?

[martizzle]

LOL this is me to a T as well. This roller coaster makes me hysterical.

And then every now and again I have second thoughts abt starting a whole other degree process... but I think that's mostly my mind's way of comforting itself since I've only gotten rejections so far.

All in all, I can't tell which way is up anymore

same here...i feel the exact same way

[ootg]

I hope that we can inject some positivity into this thread. Anyone?

[Jennifer]

here here. in the spirit of the new season we are entering.....anyone feeling a renewed spirit of optimism?

there is a lot to look forward to (in upstate NY where I am, the weather has been beautiful and that's reason alone to smile)

even if I am still waiting on 4 answers.

[skiergirl24]

I got into Rutgers but without funding so basically I cannot go there.

I applied to MAss Comm PhD programs.

EGADS I am so irritated. I still have not heard from Ohio and Syracuse. I thought I stood a good chance of getting in at OU but Syracuse I know is a huge reach. I got two rejections right away (from UMASS and UNC) so if Syracuse and OU were rejecting me then why haven't they just sent me a rejection letter? Does this mean I am likely 'waitlisted'? I've called both schools and they are still 'making decisions' (though I called them in late Feb). Should I call again?

[Jennifer]

it's hard not to assume that it's going to be bad news if you haven't heard by now....for me, scanning the results page every day just makes it worse!

BUT, i emailed an admissions contact @ my dream school friday and was told that the committee there were taking "longer than usual" to read through apps and that they would be working through the w-end to finish reading & ranking and they would be foregoing sending letters and just emailing everyone regardless of outcome so that the wait would not be so long. that school is a DEFINITE reach for me but it still gives me some hope, at least I know they could still be arguing over whether or not I'm a good fit!!

[emilywantstogetin]

To the folks who think/were told that they are too old for a meaningful career, and for the other folks whose life calendars (where you get your ph.D. at age 28, first job at 29, tenured by 40...etc)are thwarted--

Two things-

1. I once read that it takes roughly 10,000 hours of focused hard work, or 10 years of continuous effort, to become a trained expert in one field. That's just the training part.

2. Another thing I heard has to do with class mobility and career.

During the 10 years of training, it's very possible to climb up the ladder or fall flat on your face. We've all heard of people who graduated high school with a 2.0 GPA, but rocked out the dinky college they went to and was offered a full ride to Harvard. Or vice versa.

After that, the first 10 years of working professionally there are still some mobility, but much slower and much harder. Where it used to take only good grades and stellar papers to change where you stand, now you have to publish, win approvals of senior scholars, and come up with something original.

The second 10 years after your 10 years of training, you are basically stuck where you are. So, you work to become the best among second tier ______-ologists, you train students to move towards a higher level, you increase breadth. Or you continue to be the very best and move the field forward when you are shaving. Basically, the introductory paragraphs of the "career" chapter of your memoir are already written; now you make the best out of it and finish that chapter on a good note.

After that, whatever time you have left, you split between wrapping up your life and mentoring young-ins.

The person who said this is a businessman, so the number of years might not match exactly to an academic career. And of course, the desire to be the best of ___________ is different for everyone.

What I took from these are that

A. One can expect to have a meaningful career if they foresee another 30 years of productive life. This is assuming that none of their prior trainings is in their projected field or translatable to that field-- which is rarely the case.

If your field regularly see 70+ folks still kicking around, I would imaging a 40-year-old can and should expect a career.

B. Even if we are not in a formal training environment, there's nothing to stop us from getting started with those 10,000 hours.

C. You wouldn't be reading this if you don't still have 15-20 years of possible career class mobility. So, any more time spent sulking beyond its necessary cathartic functions, can be considered career-damaging.

Edited March 21, 2010 by emilywantstogetin

[ootg]

To the folks who think/were told that they are too old for a meaningful career, and for the other folks whose life calendars (where you get your ph.D. at age 28, first job at 29, tenured by 40...etc)are thwarted--

Two things-

1. I once read that it takes roughly 10,000 hours of focused hard work, or 10 years of continuous effort, to become a trained expert in one field. That's just the training part.

2. Another thing I heard has to do with class mobility and career.

During the 10 years of training, it's very possible to climb up the ladder or fall flat on your face. We've all heard of people who graduated high school with a 2.0 GPA, but rocked out the dinky college they went to and was offered a full ride to Harvard. Or vice versa.

After that, the first 10 years of working professionally there are still some mobility, but much slower and much harder. Where it used to take only good grades and stellar papers to change where you stand, now you have to publish, win approvals of senior scholars, and come up with something original.

The second 10 years after your 10 years of training, you are basically stuck where you are. So, you work to become the best among second tier ______-ologists, you train students to move towards a higher level, you increase breadth. Or you continue to be the very best and move the field forward when you are shaving. Basically, the introductory paragraphs of the "career" chapter of your memoir are already written; now you make the best out of it and finish that chapter on a good note.

After that, whatever time you have left, you split between wrapping up your life and mentoring young-ins.

The person who said this is a businessman, so the number of years might not match exactly to an academic career. And of course, the desire to be the best of ___________ is different for everyone.

What I took from these are that

A. One can expect to have a meaningful career if they foresee another 30 years of productive life. This is assuming that none of their prior trainings is in their projected field or translatable to that field-- which is rarely the case.

If your field regularly see 70+ folks still kicking around, I would imaging a 40-year-old can and should expect a career.

B. Even if we are not in a formal training environment, there's nothing to stop us from getting started with those 10,000 hours.

C. You wouldn't be reading this if you don't still have 15-20 years of possible career class mobility. So, any more time spent sulking beyond its necessary cathartic functions, can be considered career-damaging.

Thanks for the note! At least I know that I should not give up hope. Now to find schools that are not so ageist...

[ootg]

Just received another rejection today. It was UCLA Anderson. Sigh!

[swifteye]

I've gotten 5 rejections from the 6 Ph.D. programs I've applied to. Haven't heard from GW yet.

I figure that I did a poor job in the beginning choosing the schools that truly fit my area and interests. Applying with little research on the programs did me no favors. I'm hoping I'll do better in next year's rounds.

[ootg]

I've gotten 5 rejections from the 6 Ph.D. programs I've applied to. Haven't heard from GW yet.

I figure that I did a poor job in the beginning choosing the schools that truly fit my area and interests. Applying with little research on the programs did me no favors. I'm hoping I'll do better in next year's rounds.

So I assume you are going to reject the offer on hand to try again next year? All the best!

[mares]

I applied for my Masters in Library and Info Science by the priority deadline of Feb 1, got an email Feb 16 stating my application was completed and being forwarded to the adcom and that I should expect an answer by March 15. I didn't hear anything by that date and the school was on spring break last week so I called up yesterday and found out I will know "by early next week" because they are still reviewing apps from people who submitted before Feb 1, though I didn't have everything in until January 31 (LORs were submitted electronically and one prof took a while to post it) which is probably why I am now still waiting. So, no rejections yet, but still waiting for the one program I applied to to let me know whether I am in or not! Best of luck to all of you still waiting.

[martizzle]

I applied for my Masters in Library and Info Science by the priority deadline of Feb 1, got an email Feb 16 stating my application was completed and being forwarded to the adcom and that I should expect an answer by March 15. I didn't hear anything by that date and the school was on spring break last week so I called up yesterday and found out I will know "by early next week" because they are still reviewing apps from people who submitted before Feb 1, though I didn't have everything in until January 31 (LORs were submitted electronically and one prof took a while to post it) which is probably why I am now still waiting. So, no rejections yet, but still waiting for the one program I applied to to let me know whether I am in or not! Best of luck to all of you still waiting.

good luck to u too...to everyone still waiting: i wish u d best, i hope tht u all get in somewhere. (me too lol, me too)

[ootg]

I applied for my Masters in Library and Info Science by the priority deadline of Feb 1, got an email Feb 16 stating my application was completed and being forwarded to the adcom and that I should expect an answer by March 15. I didn't hear anything by that date and the school was on spring break last week so I called up yesterday and found out I will know "by early next week" because they are still reviewing apps from people who submitted before Feb 1, though I didn't have everything in until January 31 (LORs were submitted electronically and one prof took a while to post it) which is probably why I am now still waiting. So, no rejections yet, but still waiting for the one program I applied to to let me know whether I am in or not! Best of luck to all of you still waiting.

All the best to you, mares!

[r.kelley]

misery does love company. i've been rejected by 5 and waiting on 1. sadly this is what happened during my undergraduate application process also. They had me dragging along until the end, but it all worked out and hopefully this round will work out too! stay strong everyone!

[martizzle]

misery does love company. i've been rejected by 5 and waiting on 1. sadly this is what happened during my undergraduate application process also. They had me dragging along until the end, but it all worked out and hopefully this round will work out too! stay strong everyone!

yeah i hope it does for all of us...its weird, all my internships/summer gigs...I always only had one offer. Its like my life has been directed lol, i never had the chance to actually choose which gig or school to go to. Im hoping that's the way it is with this too. If I get in...I will be the happiest man alive

[ootg]

yeah i hope it does for all of us...its weird, all my internships/summer gigs...I always only had one offer. Its like my life has been directed lol, i never had the chance to actually choose which gig or school to go to. Im hoping that's the way it is with this too. If I get in...I will be the happiest man alive

All the best, martizzle! Getting just one offer is sure better than getting none!

[martizzle]

All the best, martizzle! Getting just one offer is sure better than getting none!

i know rite...it will make this all worth it. A year and a half in the making; un-measureable emotional trauma; broken sense of self-worth; issues with family and friends who thought my best bet/dream should be something else...one offer would make it all worthwhile, it would give me something to show for it all. this is my pursuit of happiness

wish u the best mate

[The Pseudo grad student]

i know rite...it will make this all worth it. A year and a half in the making; un-measureable emotional trauma; broken sense of self-worth; issues with family and friends who thought my best bet/dream should be something else...one offer would make it all worthwhile, it would give me something to show for it all. this is my pursuit of happiness

wish u the best mate

Martizzle, I do really admire your strength through this really trying time. I'm so amazed that even after so many rejections that you still have hope! I really wish that I could do the same but I feel that because you still have that burning hope inside of you, you will definitely make it somewhere whether or not it's in grad school or in life!

[ootg]

i know rite...it will make this all worth it. A year and a half in the making; un-measureable emotional trauma; broken sense of self-worth; issues with family and friends who thought my best bet/dream should be something else...one offer would make it all worthwhile, it would give me something to show for it all. this is my pursuit of happiness

wish u the best mate

I'm sure that a few years down the road, we'd be wondering why we made such a fuss out of this. Anyway, all the best, and I hope that you get what your heart desires.

[pizzapie]

I keep on thinking of everyone in here. I'm wishing for the best for everyone and that the acceptance letter is on its way. Don't give up yet!

[ootg]

I keep on thinking of everyone in here. I'm wishing for the best for everyone and that the acceptance letter is on its way. Don't give up yet!

All the best to you too, pizzapie!

[Ling Zhang]

So, who feels they are getting rejected across the board, or just hasn't been accepted anywhere yet?

I personally haven't gotten an acceptance anywhere yet, but I'm hopeful...

I think I might have broken a record in history. So far I've received 16 official rejections, 3 unofficial ones. 0 acceptance. Don't even know how I survived the past five weeks.

[ootg]

I think I might have broken a record in history. So far I've received 16 official rejections, 3 unofficial ones. 0 acceptance. Don't even know how I survived the past five weeks.

I'm sorry to hear about your predicament. Are you still waiting for any other schools?

[martizzle]

Martizzle, I do really admire your strength through this really trying time. I'm so amazed that even after so many rejections that you still have hope! I really wish that I could do the same but I feel that because you still have that burning hope inside of you, you will definitely make it somewhere whether or not it's in grad school or in life!

thnx...

I'm sure that a few years down the road, we'd be wondering why we made such a fuss out of this. Anyway, all the best, and I hope that you get what your heart desires.

we all hope so...

I keep on thinking of everyone in here. I'm wishing for the best for everyone and that the acceptance letter is on its way. Don't give up yet!

we are all wishing u the same pizzapie (ps nice name, i would never have come up with that one )

I think I might have broken a record in history. So far I've received 16 official rejections, 3 unofficial ones. 0 acceptance. Don't even know how I survived the past five weeks.

thats a record no one pursuing graduate studies knowingly tries to break but i know, things just happen...i don't know how you still hang in there...i've about half your rejections, and the only reason i hang in here everyday, check that mail box every afternoon, check emails every 30mins or so, look out for the FedEx trucks ~ 2pm and 6pm (UPS around 5:20pm),... is because I LOVE my field. I can't imagine doing anything else.

I know where I've been and where I need to go (grad skool - to obtain a degree in my field because I do not have a BS in it; and I come from a smaller school) to get to where I know I should be (future career). If I had to do all this over, I wouldn't change it...I may change some of the schools I applied to, to less competitive ones, but overall, things would be the same. i don't know how/why you do it, but i figure like me, your reasons for applying keep you focused on track. i wish you the best, and hope that somehow, things work out. Afterall, the only thing to do when the chips are down and all 'looks' lost, is to HOPE.

[martizzle]

so, since my last post, two weird things happened...

1) George Mason Univ finally emailed me back (after I emailed the dept chair), and told me that my app was missing my transcript. Its almost the end of March; seriously!!! so i mailed my transcript again, this time with three stamps (hopefully that makes it get there faster...idk)

2) i got a call from the dept chair at howard univ saying that i was admitted i'm still unsure exactly how to feel. i've been rejected so much, i don't know how to react now. i was literally jumping up and down when he was talking to me (ok, maybe not literally jumping up and down, but in my mind, i was jumping up and down)...this shows there is still hope guys. it may not be your first choice, but things always have a way of working out.

you all know why you chose to pursue grad studies...be determined to continue with that goal, even in the face of opposition/adversity. hang in there, it will pay off. thnx for all the luv n support... ootg, pizzapie