2020 FALL APPLICATION VENTING THREAD

[annetod]

Well the difference in time between an acceptance notification and official decision letter is typical. And there are plenty of programs that are known for trickling out acceptances over an extended period; Michigan isn't one of them and it doesn't look like anyone has ever been notified from Michigan before Feb 10 over the past few years according to the results board, hence my surprise--and I also just wasn't aware that you could email professors well ahead of time and potentially learn about your acceptance that way, so now I'm questioning if I should start doing that! 

Editing because I forgot to quote you @passere

Edited January 31, 2020 by annetod

[passere]

2 hours ago, annetod said:

Well the difference in time between an acceptance notification and official decision letter is typical. And there are plenty of programs that are known for trickling out acceptances over an extended period; Michigan isn't one of them and it doesn't look like anyone has ever been notified from Michigan before Feb 10 over the past few years according to the results board, hence my surprise--and I also just wasn't aware that you could email professors well ahead of time and potentially learn about your acceptance that way, so now I'm questioning if I should start doing that! 

Editing because I forgot to quote you @passere

I agree, is it time for us all to start emailing professors? I don’t want to expedite my rejection though XD

[sosososoc]

did anyone else apply to the MA programs at toronto and mcgill and is still waiting to hear? i saw someone reported they were rejected over the phone which seems odd..

[DeadAccount]

6 minutes ago, sosososoc said:

did anyone else apply to the MA programs at toronto and mcgill and is still waiting to hear? i saw someone reported they were rejected over the phone which seems odd..

I did not, but dang, I could not imagine being rejected over the phone. That would be so miserable in my opinion.

[passere]

13 minutes ago, sosososoc said:

did anyone else apply to the MA programs at toronto and mcgill and is still waiting to hear? i saw someone reported they were rejected over the phone which seems odd..

I applied to both and haven’t heard anything. At McGill I applied to the medical sociology MA. 

6 minutes ago, SocAnth_Lou said:

I did not, but dang, I could not imagine being rejected over the phone. That would be so miserable in my opinion.

I know! I was thinking the exact same thing. 

[anxiousgorl]

im just mad that the school I applied to basically ghosted me? Like tell me I'm rejected at least 

[lkaitlyn]

8 minutes ago, anxiousgorl said:

im just mad that the school I applied to basically ghosted me? Like tell me I'm rejected at least 

One of the worst parts of this process In my opinion is being ghosted by schools who don’t bother to release rejections at the same time as acceptances. Sometimes if it’s been a while you can call the department and gently ask if all acceptances have been sent out. 

[ahwithsoc]

41 minutes ago, sosososoc said:

did anyone else apply to the MA programs at toronto and mcgill and is still waiting to hear? i saw someone reported they were rejected over the phone which seems odd..

I apply to uoft but hear nothing yet. I think they are still going through phd applications. Master applications are still under review

[annetod]

Anyone else freaking out waiting for UT-Austin? The last 3 years they sent out acceptances on January 29, 25, and 24...looks like this year won't be until February 3 at the earliest at this point (assuming they don't do it over the weekend). 

[akjbri]

2 hours ago, sosososoc said:

did anyone else apply to the MA programs at toronto and mcgill and is still waiting to hear? i saw someone reported they were rejected over the phone which seems odd..

I was accepted yesterday by email to UofT

[dag17]

6 hours ago, sosososoc said:

did anyone else apply to the MA programs at toronto and mcgill and is still waiting to hear? i saw someone reported they were rejected over the phone which seems odd..

I did but haven't heard anything from them! 

[Maya584]

6 hours ago, ariawithsoc said:

I apply to uoft but hear nothing yet. I think they are still going through phd applications. Master applications are still under review

Its still stays under review for my application too and Im applying for the phd. I don't understand why they don't just send everything out at once. 

[sluggerotoole]

Did anyone see the acceptance on the board for USC on 25th Jan? Seems odd that it's only one acceptance, but historically they have sent out decisions on this date... Has anyone heard anything from USC?

[PoliticalSociology]

Another weird result: It looks like Cornell sent out some rejections? Two people reporting in, but no acceptances reported... I guess it's a good sign if we haven't heard anything.

[AgumonIsAPokemon]

18 minutes ago, PoliticalSociology said:

Another weird result: It looks like Cornell sent out some rejections? Two people reporting in, but no acceptances reported... I guess it's a good sign if we haven't heard anything.

FYI, this is from Cornell's website:

"The Graduate Admissions Committee typically reaches its decision by making two passes through the pool of applicants. In the first pass, the committee rates all applicants on the basis of GRE scores, TOEFL scores, grades, and other “objective” measures of accomplishments. This yields a long list of 60-80 applicants. In the second pass, the committee’s focus shifts to a careful and holistic assessment of writing samples, statements of purpose, and letters of recommendation. Finalists are chosen based the committee’s assessment of their potential for engaging in systematic and rigorous sociological research in one of the areas represented in the Field. Occasionally, the committee will interview applicants via Skype or telephone prior to extending an offer of admission."

My guess is that they had created the long list. So yes, it is probably a "good sign if we haven't heard anything." But expect 60+ rejections as they will start narrowing down the long list to an admissions list.

Edited February 1, 2020 by AgumonIsAPokemon

[HanyeOliver]

51 minutes ago, AgumonIsAPokemon said:

FYI, this is from Cornell's website:

"The Graduate Admissions Committee typically reaches its decision by making two passes through the pool of applicants. In the first pass, the committee rates all applicants on the basis of GRE scores, TOEFL scores, grades, and other “objective” measures of accomplishments. This yields a long list of 60-80 applicants. In the second pass, the committee’s focus shifts to a careful and holistic assessment of writing samples, statements of purpose, and letters of recommendation. Finalists are chosen based the committee’s assessment of their potential for engaging in systematic and rigorous sociological research in one of the areas represented in the Field. Occasionally, the committee will interview applicants via Skype or telephone prior to extending an offer of admission."

My guess is that they had created the long list. So yes, it is probably a "good sign if we haven't heard anything." But expect 60+ rejections as they will start narrowing down the long list to an admissions list.

the information you offer hurts me(sad

I receive the rejection. my GPA is 3.92, IELTS is 7.5, GRE is 162+168.

I never imagine that rejected because of my objective measures...

I hate Jan(sad

[toolkitsocio]

15 hours ago, lkaitlyn said:

Congrats! See? Never give up hope!

Out of curiosity, what did you ask the POI to elicit the admissions decision?

I think that was odd too, and I felt for a moment I might get mail saying please disregard the previous mail. I asked him about a part of my application and an update I received regarding a document of my application. So while explaining he notified me that the ad comm had recommended my application so I need not worry about the update. (Update was regarding some missing items which I had already submitted )

[invalidSyntax]

1 hour ago, AgumonIsAPokemon said:

FYI, this is from Cornell's website:

"The Graduate Admissions Committee typically reaches its decision by making two passes through the pool of applicants. In the first pass, the committee rates all applicants on the basis of GRE scores, TOEFL scores, grades, and other “objective” measures of accomplishments. This yields a long list of 60-80 applicants. In the second pass, the committee’s focus shifts to a careful and holistic assessment of writing samples, statements of purpose, and letters of recommendation. Finalists are chosen based the committee’s assessment of their potential for engaging in systematic and rigorous sociological research in one of the areas represented in the Field. Occasionally, the committee will interview applicants via Skype or telephone prior to extending an offer of admission."

My guess is that they had created the long list. So yes, it is probably a "good sign if we haven't heard anything." But expect 60+ rejections as they will start narrowing down the long list to an admissions list.

Well I am the other rejected person.

GRE 164+170, TOEFL 114, GPA 3.80, decent undergrad & master(UK distinction).

Given the information I am just...sad.

[PoliticalSociology]

It's sad to see a rejection when your application scores were high, but in addition to 'soft' concerns or limited spots for internationals, keep in mind a lot of this process is just random. I've been accepted to a couple schools now, and already got a presumed rejection (the school sent out acceptances and I didn't get one) from a much less competitive university. Nothing I can think of in my application was worse for that school. It could just be the time of day it was looked at, the mood of someone who looked at it on the committee, or random views on what makes for a 'good applicant' that we can't possibly predict in advance. There's only so much we have control over, and academia is a place where you often have control over very little.

[socio1251]

9 hours ago, HanyeOliver said:

the information you offer hurts me(sad

I receive the rejection. my GPA is 3.92, IELTS is 7.5, GRE is 162+168.

I never imagine that rejected because of my objective measures...

I hate Jan(sad

 

8 hours ago, invalidSyntax said:

Well I am the other rejected person.

GRE 164+170, TOEFL 114, GPA 3.80, decent undergrad & master(UK distinction).

Given the information I am just...sad.

I am also the other rejected person that posted on the results page. Now I guess it's because we are all international (?) not based on objective measures...

GRE 162+166+4.0, GPA 3.8, TOEFL 106...

[Brian Jiang]

1 hour ago, ALieNNatioN said:

 

I am also the other rejected person that posted on the results page. Now I guess it's because we are all international (?) not based on objective measures...

GRE 162+166+4.0, GPA 3.8, TOEFL 106...

I’m guessing that since Cornell specifies that it has some cutoff for objective measurements, GRE writing score may also matter in the first round, and a 4 score might be a bit lower than their arbitrary standard. But I also see many applicants who have 4 or even lower writing scores getting admitted to top 10 programs, which state that they have a more wholistic evaluation process. So I think it really depends and you’ll be fine in other programs. (I’m also an international and haven’t heard from any programs... )

[sosososoc]

17 hours ago, akjbri said:

I was accepted yesterday by email to UofT

Do you mind me asking, are you a Canadian student? Or international?

[akjbri]

13 minutes ago, sosososoc said:

Do you mind me asking, are you a Canadian student? Or international?

Canadian student. The admission was really early too; since their website said they'd send admissions to people in late February.  I was only told that I was accepted and that more information (like funding) would be sent to me shortly, so I think they'll send out more acceptances.

[Maya584]

46 minutes ago, akjbri said:

Canadian student. The admission was really early too; since their website said they'd send admissions to people in late February.  I was only told that I was accepted and that more information (like funding) would be sent to me shortly, so I think they'll send out more acceptances.

@akjbri Did you apply for the masters or the phd? 

[lkaitlyn]

12 hours ago, toolkitsocio said:

I think that was odd too, and I felt for a moment I might get mail saying please disregard the previous mail. I asked him about a part of my application and an update I received regarding a document of my application. So while explaining he notified me that the ad comm had recommended my application so I need not worry about the update. (Update was regarding some missing items which I had already submitted )

Nice! I’m really so happy for you. It gives me hope that not getting into a lower ranked school doesn’t mean all hope is lost for others. I know I kept preaching that earlier in the thread but it’s comforting to see that actually happen.