Is this a good sign or a bad sign?

[pumpk]

On the decision forum, I have seen that some applicants have been accepted or declined to the schools and programs that I have applied to but I have not had any replies yet. Is this is good sign or a bad sign?

[tadaa]

Same here. I don't see how it can be a good sign. On the side note I'm pretty pessimistic towards life in general so maybe other people would find it a good sign?

[DRMF]

When you say others have been "accepted", do you mean actually receiving an offer, or just getting an interview? An actual offer from biology programs at this time point is very rare, usually given out to exceptional applicants who are, literally, the exceptions (or occasionally international applicants who already did Skype interviews).

If you mean others have been invited to interview (i.e. gotten regular interview invites, not the "I know some PIs here so I got a call to interview super early" kind), it's likely that your app has been read and was unfortunately not selected for further review. A lot of programs only send out rejects towards the end of the admissions cycle, but if you email them to ask (at this point you should probably wait till after the New Year), they'll likely tell you what's going on, i.e. whether you're still under consideration.

Also each program's committee works on their own timeline, so someone hearing about a related but different program at the same school tells you nothing about your specific program's review status (e.g. Stanford biosciences has multiple programs and they always say in their interview invite email something like "your classmate or coworker may or may not have heard from us, but no news does not mean bad news").

Also it's a good idea to add "biology" to your post or title, since the "waiting it out" section does not specify fields; things vary a LOT between grad schools in different fields.

[Volodine1]

On 12/24/2019 at 9:55 AM, DRMF said:

When you say others have been "accepted", do you mean actually receiving an offer, or just getting an interview? An actual offer from biology programs at this time point is very rare, usually given out to exceptional applicants who are, literally, the exceptions (or occasionally international applicants who already did Skype interviews).

If you mean others have been invited to interview (i.e. gotten regular interview invites, not the "I know some PIs here so I got a call to interview super early" kind), it's likely that your app has been read and was unfortunately not selected for further review. A lot of programs only send out rejects towards the end of the admissions cycle, but if you email them to ask (at this point you should probably wait till after the New Year), they'll likely tell you what's going on, i.e. whether you're still under consideration.

Also each program's committee works on their own timeline, so someone hearing about a related but different program at the same school tells you nothing about your specific program's review status (e.g. Stanford biosciences has multiple programs and they always say in their interview invite email something like "your classmate or coworker may or may not have heard from us, but no news does not mean bad news").

Also it's a good idea to add "biology" to your post or title, since the "waiting it out" section does not specify fields; things vary a LOT between grad schools in different fields.

are people sure it's a good idea to email and ask about status of app after seeing people post about interview invites on results page? thanks!

[DRMF]

8 hours ago, Volodine1 said:

are people sure it's a good idea to email and ask about status of app after seeing people post about interview invites on results page? thanks!

It surely won't change the outcome of your application, it's just a matter of how soon you get to know it. You will find plenty of people on TGC posting "I emailed them and they said all invites were sent out" or "they said they're still reviewing my application". Whether it's a good idea for your mental health to chase down every school that didn't let you know your app status, that's for you to decide.

Unless you say something rude or unprofessional in your email, they're not gonna go "Meh, this guy sends us too many emails / sounds too desperate so we'll reject him". I can't think of anything else happening as a result of such inquiries - did you have something specific in mind?

[Volodine1]

22 hours ago, DRMF said:

It surely won't change the outcome of your application, it's just a matter of how soon you get to know it. You will find plenty of people on TGC posting "I emailed them and they said all invites were sent out" or "they said they're still reviewing my application". Whether it's a good idea for your mental health to chase down every school that didn't let you know your app status, that's for you to decide.

Unless you say something rude or unprofessional in your email, they're not gonna go "Meh, this guy sends us too many emails / sounds too desperate so we'll reject him". I can't think of anything else happening as a result of such inquiries - did you have something specific in mind?

Thanks, I took your advice and sent three emails checking in....