Stanford GSE 2021

[Jeanne A.]

Just now, Toyo said:

No, I think they either just checked their mails recently (after waking up in the morning/noon) or posted hours after having received the information. 

Oh ok ok.

I am checking my inbox every minute now..

[applicant227]

I’ve been watching people post their results so I went back to my application. Guess what??? I didn’t explicitly name the supervisor I wanted. Oh gosh... *facepalm*. 
Anyways, I’ll wait for my rejection gracefully. 

For those that did get in. Congratulations! 

[Toyo]

I explicitly named my advisor and didn’t get invited to an interview. Let’s just peacefully wait for the letters of grief.

3 minutes ago, applicant227 said:

I’ve been watching people post their results so I went back to my application. Guess what??? I didn’t explicitly name the supervisor I wanted. Oh gosh... *facepalm*. 
Anyways, I’ll wait for my rejection gracefully. 

For those that did get in. Congratulations! 

 

[iheartscience]

I see you all stress-refreshing, and that was me last year (and in 2017, and 2016), so I thought I might drop a few details from my own experience in case it helps quell some nerves:

1. I applied 3 times to the Stanford GSE - CTE Ph.D. - waitlisted following an interview (2016), rejected without an interview (2017), and accepted without an interview (2020). My POI told me that different programs have different approaches to interviews, and though my subgroup (Science Education) *often* does interviews, they don't always. Based on my conversations with other doctoral students here, it seems all over the map whether admitted people were interviewed and inconsistent year to year even within program subgroups. 

2. When I got my acceptance, I heard from one of my POIs first by email, and I think the official email from Stanford came later that day (Feb 14). I don't think there's any rule that professors reach out first, but it seems like a frequent - but not uniform - practice. I know when someone posts here that they just got a POI email and you haven't, it can feel like a sign - but I wouldn't read too much into the promptness or not of POI replies.  

3. I hear some nerves about age and parenthood - the current cohort of first-years is maybe ~1/4 parents of little kids, and a number of doctoral students in the cohorts above us are also parents. The ages in the cohort range from just completed undergrad in their early/mid 20s to close to 40 (I might be the oldest this year, but I'm not sure - but starting in your mid-to-upper-30s is not uncommon). 

If you are admitted this year, feel free to reach out - I'm happy to share what my experience has been like through this unusual first year! And if you aren't admitted this time and your heart is set on Stanford, know that people do reapply - successfully - even after not being offered admission multiple times.  

 

Edited February 11, 2021 by iheartscience
minor grammar errors

[Toyo]

5 minutes ago, iheartscience said:

I see you all stress-refreshing, and that was me last year (and in 2017, and 2016), so I thought I might drop a few details from my own experience in case it helps quell some nerves:

1. I applied 3 times to the Stanford GSE - CTE Ph.D. - waitlisted following an interview (2016), rejected without an interview (2017), and accepted without an interview (2020). My POI told me that different programs have different approaches to interviews, and though my subgroup (Science Education) *often* does interviews, they don't always. Based on my conversations with other doctoral students here, it seems all over the map whether admitted people were interviewed and inconsistent year to year even within program subgroups. 

2. When I got my acceptance, I heard from one of my POIs first by email, and I think the official email from Stanford came later that day (Feb 14). I don't think there's any rule that professors reach out first, but it seems like a frequent - but not uniform - practice. I know when someone posts here that they just got a POI email and you haven't, it can feel like a sign - but I wouldn't read too much into the promptness or not of POI replies.  

3. I hear some nerves about age and parenthood - the current cohort of first-years is maybe ~1/4 parents of little kids, and a number of doctoral students in the cohorts above us are also parents. The ages in the cohort range from just completed undergrad in their early/mid 20s to close to 40 (I might be the oldest this year, but I'm not sure - but starting in your mid-to-upper-30s is not uncommon). 

If you are admitted this year, feel free to reach out - I'm happy to share what my experience has been like through this unusual first year! And if you aren't admitted this time and your heart is set on Stanford, know that people do reapply - successfully - even after not being offered admission multiple times.  

 

Thank you @iheartscience for the lovely heartwarming post! This is exactly what we needed right now!

[Jeanne A.]

25 minutes ago, iheartscience said:

I see you all stress-refreshing, and that was me last year (and in 2017, and 2016), so I thought I might drop a few details from my own experience in case it helps quell some nerves:

1. I applied 3 times to the Stanford GSE - CTE Ph.D. - waitlisted following an interview (2016), rejected without an interview (2017), and accepted without an interview (2020). My POI told me that different programs have different approaches to interviews, and though my subgroup (Science Education) *often* does interviews, they don't always. Based on my conversations with other doctoral students here, it seems all over the map whether admitted people were interviewed and inconsistent year to year even within program subgroups. 

2. When I got my acceptance, I heard from one of my POIs first by email, and I think the official email from Stanford came later that day (Feb 14). I don't think there's any rule that professors reach out first, but it seems like a frequent - but not uniform - practice. I know when someone posts here that they just got a POI email and you haven't, it can feel like a sign - but I wouldn't read too much into the promptness or not of POI replies.  

3. I hear some nerves about age and parenthood - the current cohort of first-years is maybe ~1/4 parents of little kids, and a number of doctoral students in the cohorts above us are also parents. The ages in the cohort range from just completed undergrad in their early/mid 20s to close to 40 (I might be the oldest this year, but I'm not sure - but starting in your mid-to-upper-30s is not uncommon). 

If you are admitted this year, feel free to reach out - I'm happy to share what my experience has been like through this unusual first year! And if you aren't admitted this time and your heart is set on Stanford, know that people do reapply - successfully - even after not being offered admission multiple times.  

 

Congratulations and thank you for sharing ☺

So, you were admitted without an interview? (asking with some hope).

Edited February 11, 2021 by Jeanne A.

[iheartscience]

Yes! This time last year I was SO sure that I had been rejected again, based on not having heard anything back since submitting my application. 

 

Edited February 11, 2021 by iheartscience

[Toyo]

2 minutes ago, iheartscience said:

Yes! This time last year I was SO sure that I had been rejected again, based on not having heard anything back since submitting my application. 

 

By any chance, do you know of any candidate whose application status remained incomplete throughout the process? Two of us here have been staring at the incomplete label on the checklist for the last 3 months.

[Jeanne A.]

2 minutes ago, iheartscience said:

Yes! This time last year I was SO sure that I had been rejected again, based on not having heard anything back since submitting my application. 

 

Oh WOW that is sooo great! I envy you! ..thank you for the answer! But were you emailed by a prof you mentioned in your essay as potential adviser??? Or by a random prof?

Thank you again and OMG you are so lucky! 

[iheartscience]

That I don't know anything about - sorry! I remember seeing an "incomplete" on my matriculation to-do checklist for a while and getting stressed about it, but it boiled down to them needing to process a lot of paper documents at the start of the pandemic when folks weren't in the office where the mail was going. I'm not sure if that's a factor with admissions materials, and I'm sure you've reached out to the admissions people already. I'll cross my fingers for you that it's just a stress-inducing nothingburger.   

[Toyo]

Just now, iheartscience said:

That I don't know anything about - sorry! I remember seeing an "incomplete" on my matriculation to-do checklist for a while and getting stressed about it, but it boiled down to them needing to process a lot of paper documents at the start of the pandemic when folks weren't in the office where the mail was going. I'm not sure if that's a factor with admissions materials, and I'm sure you've reached out to the admissions people already. I'll cross my fingers for you that it's just a stress-inducing nothingburger.   

Yes! I mailed GSE admissions but didn’t get a reply. I understand they have been swamped by a record number of applications this year. Thank you for your reply!

[iheartscience]

20 minutes ago, Jeanne A. said:

Oh WOW that is sooo great! I envy you! ..thank you for the answer! But were you emailed by a prof you mentioned in your essay as potential adviser??? Or by a random prof?

Thank you again and OMG you are so lucky! 

I was emailed by a professor I had mentioned in my essay, but not the primary person I'd been in contact with up to that point.

And yes - luck has a lot to do with who gets admitted each cycle! My current advisor mentioned to me - some years the pool is more/less competitive, some years they don't admit anyone for a subgroup because one of the area professors is going on sabbatical, some years a POI already has a lot of advisees and can't take on more till someone graduates, some years the funding is earmarked for a student studying X or Y specific topic, etc.

Acceptance or rejection doesn't tell you anything absolute about whether you're "qualified" or "ready" or would thrive in a doctoral program - so much of it is luck, and happening to match whatever the context of admissions looks like for that program *that year.* The same person with the same application might be admitted one cycle or not the next. Whatever news you get this year, know that you are worthy of taking on this work and the field needs you. This admission cycle doesn't determine the overall journey. Best of luck! 

Edited February 11, 2021 by iheartscience

[Jeanne A.]

6 minutes ago, iheartscience said:

I was emailed by a professor I had mentioned in my essay, but not the primary person I'd been in contact with up to that point.

And yes - luck has a lot to do with who gets admitted each cycle! My current advisor mentioned to me - some years the pool is more/less competitive, some years they don't admit anyone for a subgroup because one of the area professors is going on sabbatical, some years a POI already has a lot of advisees and can't take on more till someone graduates, some years the funding is earmarked for a student studying X or Y specific topic, etc.

Acceptance or rejection doesn't tell you anything absolute about whether you're "qualified" or "ready" or would thrive in a doctoral program - so much of it is luck, and happening to match whatever the context of admissions looks like for that program *that year.* The same person with the same application might be admitted one cycle or not the next. Whatever news you get this year, know that you are worthy of taking on this work and the field needs you. This admission cycle doesn't determine the overall journey. Best of luck! 

Thank you for your reply and for the words of support ?

[Jeanne A.]

1 hour ago, Toyo said:

I explicitly named my advisor and didn’t get invited to an interview. Let’s just peacefully wait for the letters of grief.

 

...letters of grief...?????????????

[Jeanne A.]

1 hour ago, iheartscience said:

I was emailed by a professor I had mentioned in my essay, but not the primary person I'd been in contact with up to that point.

And yes - luck has a lot to do with who gets admitted each cycle! My current advisor mentioned to me - some years the pool is more/less competitive, some years they don't admit anyone for a subgroup because one of the area professors is going on sabbatical, some years a POI already has a lot of advisees and can't take on more till someone graduates, some years the funding is earmarked for a student studying X or Y specific topic, etc.

Acceptance or rejection doesn't tell you anything absolute about whether you're "qualified" or "ready" or would thrive in a doctoral program - so much of it is luck, and happening to match whatever the context of admissions looks like for that program *that year.* The same person with the same application might be admitted one cycle or not the next. Whatever news you get this year, know that you are worthy of taking on this work and the field needs you. This admission cycle doesn't determine the overall journey. Best of luck! 

Sorry may I please ask one more question: in the admission letter do they identify the name of the advisor? Or, is it just an acceptance letter informing about the fact that you are accepted, without any advisor' names and a candidate finds out who the supervisor is only when he/she starts studying?

Thank you in advance for your reply ???‍♀️

[gvjcb1000000]

50 minutes ago, Jeanne A. said:

Sorry may I please ask one more question: in the admission letter do they identify the name of the advisor? Or, is it just an acceptance letter informing about the fact that you are accepted, without any advisor' names and a candidate finds out who the supervisor is only when he/she starts studying?

Thank you in advance for your reply ???‍♀️

Very good question 

 

[applicant227]

4 hours ago, Toyo said:

I explicitly named my advisor and didn’t get invited to an interview. Let’s just peacefully wait for the letters of grief.

 

Letters of grief ???. 
 

I am glad that @iheartscience cleared a few things up though. It’s good to hear from someone with the experience. And it’s nice to know that a rejection is not necessarily a reflection of our application, but rather various other factors that come into play. 

[ngdt]

5 hours ago, iheartscience said:

I see you all stress-refreshing, and that was me last year (and in 2017, and 2016), so I thought I might drop a few details from my own experience in case it helps quell some nerves:

1. I applied 3 times to the Stanford GSE - CTE Ph.D. - waitlisted following an interview (2016), rejected without an interview (2017), and accepted without an interview (2020). My POI told me that different programs have different approaches to interviews, and though my subgroup (Science Education) *often* does interviews, they don't always. Based on my conversations with other doctoral students here, it seems all over the map whether admitted people were interviewed and inconsistent year to year even within program subgroups. 

2. When I got my acceptance, I heard from one of my POIs first by email, and I think the official email from Stanford came later that day (Feb 14). I don't think there's any rule that professors reach out first, but it seems like a frequent - but not uniform - practice. I know when someone posts here that they just got a POI email and you haven't, it can feel like a sign - but I wouldn't read too much into the promptness or not of POI replies.  

3. I hear some nerves about age and parenthood - the current cohort of first-years is maybe ~1/4 parents of little kids, and a number of doctoral students in the cohorts above us are also parents. The ages in the cohort range from just completed undergrad in their early/mid 20s to close to 40 (I might be the oldest this year, but I'm not sure - but starting in your mid-to-upper-30s is not uncommon). 

If you are admitted this year, feel free to reach out - I'm happy to share what my experience has been like through this unusual first year! And if you aren't admitted this time and your heart is set on Stanford, know that people do reapply - successfully - even after not being offered admission multiple times.  

 

You are so kind to hop in here and share your experience with us hopefuls. Thank you for being so generous with your time and advice! 

[Lara-55555]

hi everyone! I spoke to a current PhD student at GSE. She told me that she doesn't think all the acceptances would be sent out on the same day. She was admitted on Feb 14 in her admit year. Just wanted to share that with you all. Also, major congratulations to all who've been accepted!

[gvjcb1000000]

1 hour ago, Lara-55555 said:

hi everyone! I spoke to a current PhD student at GSE. She told me that she doesn't think all the acceptances would be sent out on the same day. She was admitted on Feb 14 in her admit year. Just wanted to share that with you all. Also, major congratulations to all who've been accepted!

good to know 

looks like tomorrow hopefully 

[Jeanne A.]

Hi guys! It's 23.31 here and I am afraid to go to sleep?? i am scared because i do not know what is gonna be in my inbox tomorrow morning when I wake up (it will be a day at Stanford area while it's night here so I suppose more decisions will be released during the daytime in US)....

So, just wanted to share with you?????

 

[Blane]

Anybody know roughly how many get admitted to SHIPS every year? 

[iheartscience]

6 hours ago, Jeanne A. said:

Sorry may I please ask one more question: in the admission letter do they identify the name of the advisor? Or, is it just an acceptance letter informing about the fact that you are accepted, without any advisor' names and a candidate finds out who the supervisor is only when he/she starts studying?

I had to go check - and yes, they did identify the names of my advisors in the acceptance letter. Between the admissions offer and accepting an admission, I had a number of contacts with these advisors and their other graduate students to help admitted folks make their decision, so one would definitely know and have spoken with one's advisors (and their current advisees) before starting the program. Honestly, it would be a big red flag if that wasn't the case. That is a really important part of the process of deciding where you want to spend 5-7 years of your life - getting a strong sense for what it is like to work with your potential advisor(s) and the experiences of other graduate students they work with is probably the most important part of the "post-admissions deciding phase," in terms of ensuring a positive graduate experience. 

FYI, it seems like the Stanford GSE has moved to a 2-advisor system, with a primary advisor one works most closely with and a secondary advisor who provides added perspective and support. Both of my advisors are known among the graduate students for being super supportive, which is an important message to listen for when making matriculation decisions. 

[Jeanne A.]

Just now, iheartscience said:

I had to go check - and yes, they did identify the names of my advisors in the acceptance letter. Between the admissions offer and accepting an admission, I had a number of contacts with these advisors and their other graduate students to help admitted folks make their decision, so one would definitely know and have spoken with one's advisors (and their current advisees) before starting the program. Honestly, it would be a big red flag if that wasn't the case. That is a really important part of the process of deciding where you want to spend 5-7 years of your life - getting a strong sense for what it is like to work with your potential advisor(s) and the experiences of other graduate students they work with is probably the most important part of the "post-admissions deciding phase," in terms of ensuring a positive graduate experience. 

FYI, it seems like the Stanford GSE has moved to a 2-advisor system, with a primary advisor one works most closely with and a secondary advisor who provides added perspective and support. Both of my advisors are known among the graduate students for being super supportive, which is an important message to listen for when making matriculation decisions. 

Thank you very much for the detailed reply...I appreciate this so much???

[jf_cl]

37 minutes ago, Blane said:

Anybody know roughly how many get admitted to SHIPS every year? 

The only numbers I've seen are here https://ed.stanford.edu/admissions/diversity-profile