Fall 2021 Social & Personality PhD

[phdwannabequeen]

Hi all!

I saw a few updates on the results pages and I am intrigued. I saw others post invites to an interview for Tulane and CU-Boulder for their social programs. Initials of who you applied to (if willing ofc) and any news on the timeline for applications? Am I out for those programs? Im so anxious!! Thanks!

[gradapp2021]

Has anyone heard anything from Columbia? Or know when they typically reach out? Would professors reach out with pre interviews with the formal interview or does Columbia first do formal interviews?

[appliedpsyc]

3 hours ago, sksamra said:

Hey just and update: I applied to CUNY and got an interview from one of the faculty I applied to today. So keep an eye on your email because you might hear back soon if I was able to get one. Wishing you luck!

Did you apply to basic or critical? 

[sksamra]

44 minutes ago, appliedpsyc said:

Did you apply to basic or critical? 

Basic

[appliedpsyc]

9 hours ago, sksamra said:

Basic

Thanks for letting me know! And congrats on the interview!

 

Has anyone heard anything from the critical social program at CUNY?

[Stumbling_My_Way_Through]

15 hours ago, psyched4socialpsych said:

hey there! what's the guidance on reaching out to professors for updates? would that come off as desperate/rude or as eager/very interested? patience is a virtue but certainly not one that i have ?

LMAO I considered making a new email just to ask....but yeah I think if it is nearing the end of January and you haven't heard anything, it's fair game to ask.

[gradapp2021]

28 minutes ago, Stumbling_My_Way_Through said:

LMAO I considered making a new email just to ask....but yeah I think if it is nearing the end of January and you haven't heard anything, it's fair game to ask.

Would it be weird to ask faculty who haven't interviewed you what the status is? Basically I would be asking faculty who I reached out to before submitting applications and was encouraged to apply, but who haven't reached out to me since. Would it be weird to contact them?

[Monkeybug]

Has anyone heard from UCLA, UCSB, Columbia, Stanford, Umich, and UWashington? 

I noticed that some of them scheduled interviews in early/mid February but I've heard nothing from them...now I'm getting super anxious and crazily checked my emails everyday. Anyone has any updates?

Edited January 15, 2021 by Monkeybug

[Monkeybug]

21 hours ago, psychm00n said:

Hey everyone! I've applied to Social Psychology programs (University of Wisconsin-Madison, WashU in St. Louis, and Temple University) and Developmental Psychology programs (University of Vermont (technically the Experimental Psychology program), Penn State University, and University of Chicago). So far I haven't heard back from any and I'm getting slightly nervous, so I'd love to hear if any of you applied to any of these programs too. I know Penn State has sent out half of their invites already and that they're likely releasing the rest tomorrow, but other than that I'm unsure about the state of the other programs. 

Hi! I applied to developmental psych program at University of Chicago and have heard nothing from them. Probably everything got delayed due to Covid. Understandable but super anxious?

[Stumbling_My_Way_Through]

1 hour ago, gradapp2021 said:

Would it be weird to ask faculty who haven't interviewed you what the status is? Basically I would be asking faculty who I reached out to before submitting applications and was encouraged to apply, but who haven't reached out to me since. Would it be weird to contact them?

I think it depends on the person if they would be willing to reply. A lot of faculty are busy so they might straight-out ignore it. if you phrase it respectfully, you should be fine. Maybe express that you are still really interested and are hoping to gain some clarity on what part of the process the faculty member is in.

[Milou2644]

On 1/13/2021 at 11:52 PM, Mobo8 said:

Has anyone heard back from Princeton?

I applied and never heard back. I did see at least one person get an interview on the results page and a person who said the committee sent out all invites. I was holding out hope but their applications were due so early that I have a feeling it’s true  

[Regression2theMean]

20 hours ago, psyched4socialpsych said:

hey there! what's the guidance on reaching out to professors for updates? would that come off as desperate/rude or as eager/very interested? patience is a virtue but certainly not one that i have ?

I would advise giving faculty another week or 2.

I know it doesn't seem like it, but it is still very early on in the application cycle. In many cases, faculty don't even get access to the applications until end of December or beginning of January due to application processing times and extensions for letters of recommendations. Some programs process a bit earlier than this but not by much. The faculty then have to review many applications (more than 150 for social and more than 80 for personality at my university this cycle). With GREs being dropped or not required by many universities, easy cuts of the pool by those criteria are eliminated, requiring more thorough examinations of all applications (which is a good thing IMO but does take substantially more time). Faculty are also dealing with huge budget cuts that impact graduate student lines and many faculty members are fighting to find funding for new graduate students so they can admit more people (but it takes time to fidget with budgets, inquire for bridge funds, etc. to do that). This is all on top of the letters of recommendations most faculty have already committed to write at this time of year for their current graduate students' fellowship applications, colleague's jobs and tenure applications, etc., plus preparing for courses to begin in the next week or so, continuing to conduct their own research/write papers, and completing service requirements to journals and their department. I don't think emailing a faculty member will hurt your chances of being admitted per se (because most programs have more tangible and streamlined standards than if candidates email them) but it could just exacerbate faculty members already stretched thin schedules and stress. 

If you really feel like you need to follow-up, try emailing a program officer instead of a faculty member. Program officers can give you a specific answer and you don't risk adding more stress to already busy faculty members. 

[aurorma]

2 hours ago, Regression2theMean said:

I would advise giving faculty another week or 2.

I know it doesn't seem like it, but it is still very early on in the application cycle. In many cases, faculty don't even get access to the applications until end of December or beginning of January due to application processing times and extensions for letters of recommendations. Some programs process a bit earlier than this but not by much. The faculty then have to review many applications (more than 150 for social and more than 80 for personality at my university this cycle). With GREs being dropped or not required by many universities, easy cuts of the pool by those criteria are eliminated, requiring more thorough examinations of all applications (which is a good thing IMO but does take substantially more time). Faculty are also dealing with huge budget cuts that impact graduate student lines and many faculty members are fighting to find funding for new graduate students so they can admit more people (but it takes time to fidget with budgets, inquire for bridge funds, etc. to do that). This is all on top of the letters of recommendations most faculty have already committed to write at this time of year for their current graduate students' fellowship applications, colleague's jobs and tenure applications, etc., plus preparing for courses to begin in the next week or so, continuing to conduct their own research/write papers, and completing service requirements to journals and their department. I don't think emailing a faculty member will hurt your chances of being admitted per se (because most programs have more tangible and streamlined standards than if candidates email them) but it could just exacerbate faculty members already stretched thin schedules and stress. 

If you really feel like you need to follow-up, try emailing a program officer instead of a faculty member. Program officers can give you a specific answer and you don't risk adding more stress to already busy faculty members. 

Just want to give a s/o to @Regression2theMean, who went out their way to provide advice/support during these trying times. The waiting game is definitely difficult, and I felt a genuinely sense of alleviation after reading this and taking the perspective of faculties. Wish others can gain a sense of equanimity and get good news in the end

[healthpsych123]

Hi all! I applied to Michigan (social psych program). But I didn't receive either of the interview invite or the rejection letter. Have no idea what it means

[Regression2theMean]

38 minutes ago, socialpsych1234 said:

Hi all! I applied to Michigan (social psych program). But I didn't receive either of the interview invite or the rejection letter. Have no idea what it means

If you haven’t heard either way but others have been rejected from that program, it could mean you are on their waitlist (official or unofficial). However, the delay might also be PI specific (some faculty just take longer than others to contact applicants). After they complete first round interviews, if none of the candidates were a good fit or if candidates they offered positions to declined, some programs will then go into their waitlist group for additional interviews. If you haven’t heard back by February 1, you should follow up with them to ask if they’ve made a decision about your application. If you’re on their waitlist, they would typically tell you in that exchange. 
 

Also, make sure you check your spam folder. Some of the rejection emails are sent as mass emails by the department or university that email servers might flag as spam. I know a handful of people who missed rejection emails because they were sorted into spam. 

[healthpsych123]

1 minute ago, Regression2theMean said:

If you haven’t heard either way but others have been rejected from that program, it could mean you are on their waitlist (official or unofficial). However, the delay might also be PI specific (some faculty just take longer than others to contact applicants). After they complete first round interviews, if none of the candidates were a good fit or if candidates they offered positions to declined, some programs will then go into their waitlist group for additional interviews. If you haven’t heard back by February 1, you should follow up with them to ask if they’ve made a decision about your application. If you’re on their waitlist, they would typically tell you in that exchange. 
 

Also, make sure you check your spam folder. Some of the rejection emails are sent as mass emails by the department or university that email servers might flag as spam. I know a handful of people who missed rejection emails because they were sorted into spam. 

I have checked my spam folder, but there was nothing.

Thank you for this!! It is really helpful

[saltybiscuit]

7 hours ago, healthpsych123 said:

Hi all! I applied to Michigan (social psych program). But I didn't receive either of the interview invite or the rejection letter. Have no idea what it means

I am in the same boat ... I saw someone say they got a rejection email and am hopeful. I emailed my POI from another department and she said that people should hear something "soon" ... I think they are really hesitant to say specific dates because she said no one has made final decisions yet.

[healthpsych123]

17 minutes ago, saltybiscuit said:

I am in the same boat ... I saw someone say they got a rejection email and am hopeful. I emailed my POI from another department and she said that people should hear something "soon" ... I think they are really hesitant to say specific dates because she said no one has made final decisions yet.

Thank you for letting me know this!! Hope we could all hear back from them soon. Finger crossed!? 

[PokePsych]

23 hours ago, Monkeybug said:

Has anyone heard from UCLA, UCSB, Columbia, Stanford, Umich, and UWashington? 

I noticed that some of them scheduled interviews in early/mid February but I've heard nothing from them...now I'm getting super anxious and crazily checked my emails everyday. Anyone has any updates?

I know that two of these places ahvent gone over apps yet. But do keep in mind that because all the interviews will be online, you'll probably know shorter in advance anyway.

Most of these schools also have 2x the number of apps for half the spots - so a lot of uni's have meetings later than normal

[psych2121]

On 1/14/2021 at 1:17 PM, psychm00n said:

Hey everyone! I've applied to Social Psychology programs (University of Wisconsin-Madison, WashU in St. Louis, and Temple University) and Developmental Psychology programs (University of Vermont (technically the Experimental Psychology program), Penn State University, and University of Chicago). So far I haven't heard back from any and I'm getting slightly nervous, so I'd love to hear if any of you applied to any of these programs too. I know Penn State has sent out half of their invites already and that they're likely releasing the rest tomorrow, but other than that I'm unsure about the state of the other programs. 

A professor from Penn State reached out to me this morning to chat tomorrow, so it seems like they’re maybe still making some determinations on formal interviews? 

[dbon2113]

For folks asking about University of Michigan-Ann Arbor-- I was waitlisted for their Psychology & Feminist Studies joint PhD program yesterday. If that program is sending out decisions maybe Social is too?

[mandy39]

Has anyone heard from SFU or UBC?

[healthpsych123]

2 hours ago, mandy39 said:

Has anyone heard from SFU or UBC?

Also applied to UBC (but to health psych). I think there would not be any official invites from the department according to its website. It seems like all the invites would directly be sent out by PI, so I guess it would be very PI specific.

[mandy39]

3 hours ago, healthpsych123 said:

Also applied to UBC (but to health psych). I think there would not be any official invites from the department according to its website. It seems like all the invites would directly be sent out by PI, so I guess it would be very PI specific.

Thank you for sharing the information. It is very helpful!

[elesocial]

Hi everyone! Has anyone heard from UVA? I didn’t hear anything yet and feels like all the invitations have sent out and I’m rejected. It’s my top choice and I saw on the result page that someone reached out to their POI and got their result that way. I wonder if it’s a good idea or not.