CUNY Update

[Summerbreeze]

ok, so despite my last post I decided to go against sending an email. I decided to simply call my dept. directly. The women I spoke to (graduate program coordinator, i believe) was extremely nice! She stated no decisions have been made for anyone in my program. She said CUNY schools are majorly understaffed, and every app. has to have a second reader. She also stated the original deadline of 3/1 was extended to 3/31. She told me not to worry and to call her back on Monday and hopefully she'll have some sort of update for me. Lastly, she verified that my app was indeed there (26 on the list out of 76 ). Hope this helps anyone still waiting for a CUNY decision

[ed_psy]

ok, so despite my last post I decided to go against sending an email. I decided to simply call my dept. directly. The women I spoke to (graduate program coordinator, i believe) was extremely nice! She stated no decisions have been made for anyone in my program. She said CUNY schools are majorly understaffed, and every app. has to have a second reader. She also stated the original deadline of 3/1 was extended to 3/31. She told me not to worry and to call her back on Monday and hopefully she'll have some sort of update for me. Lastly, she verified that my app was indeed there (26 on the list out of 76 ). Hope this helps anyone still waiting for a CUNY decision

that's some good news. thanks for the information. I'm a bit relieved for now....

[clueless]

ok, so despite my last post I decided to go against sending an email. I decided to simply call my dept. directly. The women I spoke to (graduate program coordinator, i believe) was extremely nice! She stated no decisions have been made for anyone in my program. She said CUNY schools are majorly understaffed, and every app. has to have a second reader. She also stated the original deadline of 3/1 was extended to 3/31. She told me not to worry and to call her back on Monday and hopefully she'll have some sort of update for me. Lastly, she verified that my app was indeed there (26 on the list out of 76 ). Hope this helps anyone still waiting for a CUNY decision

Which department?

[clueless]

ok, so despite my last post I decided to go against sending an email. I decided to simply call my dept. directly. The women I spoke to (graduate program coordinator, i believe) was extremely nice! She stated no decisions have been made for anyone in my program. She said CUNY schools are majorly understaffed, and every app. has to have a second reader. She also stated the original deadline of 3/1 was extended to 3/31. She told me not to worry and to call her back on Monday and hopefully she'll have some sort of update for me. Lastly, she verified that my app was indeed there (26 on the list out of 76 ). Hope this helps anyone still waiting for a CUNY decision

Which department?

[kent shakespeare]

A friend of mine was just accepted at CUNY Brooklyn (within the last 2 days).

He said their admissions were delayed because a key officer had been stuck in Europe during the volcano incident. Not sure if that was just Brooklyn, or CUNY-wide.

[Summerbreeze]

psychology dept.... My program: I/O psychology

[lily_]

That's good news, I might try calling them on Monday if I haven't heard today!

Does anyone know if you get a rejection at Hunter if you can apply for the non-matriculated status for fall 2010?

[robinsparkles]

Just got an acceptance call from Queens today... I am so relieved, I've been waiting since January and I graduate in 2 days!

[lily_]

Congrats Robin!

[ed_psy]

I feel like my hope is getting grim. It's been 1.5 months and I never got emails/calls about on-site interview for the program.

[Summerbreeze]

Ok so today was my follow up call. I was told applications are still being reviewed, that I should hear something early June. I know graduation is May 26 &27 so hopefully once graduation is complete there will be more time to  designate to grad apps

[lily_]

thanks for the info Summerbreeze!

[Summerbreeze]

No problem:)

I wonder how many available spaces CUNY graduate programs have (on average). I know it varies greatly depending on the program, however 76 applicants doesn't seem like alot compared to the hundreds some programs receive. PLUS the I/O program has 2 tracks(concentration) to choice from. I wonder if that makes my  chances any better?Maybe I'll call back and ask for a guesstimate of open spaces for Fall 2010. I spoke to a new woman this go round, nice.... But not as welcoming as the program coordinator 

[Summerbreeze]

No problem:)

I wonder how many available spaces CUNY graduate programs have (on average). I know it varies greatly depending on the program, however 76 applicants doesn't seem like alot compared to the hundreds some programs receive. PLUS the I/O program has 2 tracks(concentration) to choice from. I wonder if that makes my chances any better?Maybe I'll call back and ask for a guesstimate of open spaces for Fall 2010. I spoke to a new woman this go round, nice.... But not as welcoming as the program coordinator

*choose from

sorry for the typo, if you havent noticed Im horrible at spelling/tenses/etc. clearly I was not an english major (lol)

[Summerbreeze]

I feel like my hope is getting grim. It's been 1.5 months and I never got emails/calls about on-site interview for the program.

Hi Ed,

hold tight there is still hope:) Graduation is next week for BC and June 3 for Hunter. So after graduation that should free up alot of time to make decisions. Also alot of applicants more than likely have accepted other offers this late in the game, which will work out in your favor

[lily_]

Yeah, keep in mind most PhD programs deadlines were in mid to late December and they didn't announce acceptances until late Feb/early March, which is about 3 months wait. So 1 and 1/2 months isn't that long of a wait. Don't give up hope ed!

[ed_psy]

Yeah, keep in mind most PhD programs deadlines were in mid to late December and they didn't announce acceptances until late Feb/early March, which is about 3 months wait. So 1 and 1/2 months isn't that long of a wait. Don't give up hope ed!

OMG Everyone I got an email about admission interview from Hunter today!! Emailed was 8am EST!!! So excited. Now I just gotta do well in the interview to get a spot.........>_<......I'm gonna go in for an interview tomorrow............

[lily_]

congrats ed! I'm still waiting sigh...

[Summerbreeze]

Congrats Ed sooo happy for you!!! Wish you all the best today. You've got it in the bag

[ed_psy]

Congrats Ed sooo happy for you!!! Wish you all the best today. You've got it in the bag

Ok I just came back from the interview. It actually lasted only about half an hour. It's like a group interview. I don't know if I stood out. One of the question kinda got me eh.....blanked out for a bit...... (It was something about how I think of the education department right now and how I think there need to be an educational psychologist to help....I think it was something like this).....I think I didn't do so well cuz I was kind of straight to the point meanwhile other people are so detailed and kept on elaborating more. =l I don't know if it'll be frowned upon. But the professor did say that there's more interviews next week to be done before they make a final decision and earliest time they can give a decision through the website will probably be by middle of June......but unless I can't wait, I can always email the coordinator to ask her about it.

[lily_]

Still no word from Hunter for me...am starting to get depressed about it.

[ed_psy]

I got accepted to Hunter. Will be going to orientation next week. Good Luck everyone else! I heard they're still making decisions.

[lily_]

I finally got my results. I was invited to be a non-matriculated student for a semester. I don't know if that is what they send to everyone who was rejected, but it read like a probationary acceptance. I'm not in a position to be picky, and since Hunter is affordable I'm going to try my luck, take classes, work hard, and then hopefully become matriculated in the spring. I just hope I can finish the degree in two years, but I feel like there is nothing else I can do to go on with a degree in anthropology unless I get an MA and raise my overall GPA. It's my life dream to get a PhD and my backup is law school, both of which require a more competitive record than the one I have now.

Here's hoping for the future, and I am pressing on. Good luck to everyone else.

[Summerbreeze]

Hi guys

I've been MIA, sorry lol. I was accepted Monday into my program @ CUNY Brooklyn. Long wait, but well worth it with such a positive out come. Now the really work begins..... have to find a apt. and new job all in a month:( . I might have to commute from Philly to NYC for class the first semester if Im unable to find anything, but that is ok with me just thankful for the opportunity:D . I really fell in love with the campus and even as an out -state student for the 1st year I cant beat the price of tuition. My undergrad was private and cost was through the roof. thank goodness for my partial scholarship. Anyways Im happy to read all of the positive results. Good Luck to everyone this Fall

[fuzzylogician]

This post is for the benefit of anyone who finds themselves on a waiting list.

The key thing is to stand out. Teach yourself some foreign languages. I say teach yourself because you want to prove that you are the type of active learner colleges with research functions seek.

What you want to do is be self taught. Buy Rosetta Stones of at least 3 languages spoken by major trading partners. We buy alot of things from Japan, China, etc, so it makes scense to be fluent in those languages.

Rosetta Stone is out of anyone's budget. At $400 for only 2 levels, you must necessarily have a job to pay for this. Save your money and buy Rosettas, and grammar rulebooks to compliment the Rosettas. The whole idea is to show an admissions board that you are the type of person who will pay through the nose and work your behind off to learn much needed skills.

On the other hand, waiting lists are filled with the opposite types of people: those who will take out , student loans, etc and learn things like basketweaving, Liberal arts, music, dance, and all other skills that are in such low need, that there is no hope of ever repaying the State's/College's investment.

I find this post misinformed and stereotypical on so many levels.

I don't know why you think that people who got on waiting lists are ones who slacked off in ug and took basket-weaving or dancing instead of classes that could strengthen their applications. I also don't understand why you put liberal arts in the same category as basket-weaving, but I'm not going to dignify that with an explanation of why you're wrong. People who get onto waiting lists are usually very good applicants who the department would love to accept, if it had more funding. They are not anything like what you describe.

As for the advice to prove to the adcom that you would do anything for a place in their program, including spending hundreds and hundreds of dollars, I'd be very weary of doing that. There are so many reasons not to be the person who wants things too badly. You want to be appreciated and well payed for your trouble; you don't want to be the person who everybody knows can be offered less and will still do more. Stay within reason. I also wouldn't be surprised if professors don't want to work with people who seem too invested in their work, it's a bit uncomfortable, and can give off an impression of naivete.

As for learning languages in general - that could be good advice for some people in some disciplines, and useless for others. If what you do has nothing to do with languages and you find an awkward way to work the fact that you taught yourself 3 languages into your SOP - it's going to be just that: awkward. Not to mention that it'll take up space you need for more pertinent things. [case in point: I am doing a PhD in linguistics and have in fact taught myself and learned several languages, but none of that made into my SOP. My CV mentions my language skills, but no one really cares about how I obtained them. If anything, language courses have documentation and as a result receive more recognition than self-teaching].

As for Rosetta: I don't understand why you would spend so much money on a resource that can be replaced by much cheaper resources that will give similar results. There are online sites for beginners in many languages, there are books and tapes, there are language exchange programs at most universities. Why not start there? Your money will probably be better spent on summer courses and immersion camps after you acquire some basic skills.

It is good advice to try to boost your profile as much as you can - both before you apply and once you're on a waiting list. Take the time to figure out if there is some important skill that you don't have: it could be a language, stats, math, programming skills, advanced classes in your major, writing skills, experience writing a large paper or working on a research project, or something else. Do what you can to first of all acknowledge that there is something missing, which the program might be worried about in terms of abilities and fit, and try to do what you can to fix it. Take a summer course, for instance (and mention that you plan to do so somewhere on your application). Teach yourself, take private lessons, work one on one with a professor. There are many options for improving deficiencies. Consult your mentors - there is no one quick solution like the one in the post I quoted. But there certainly are things you can do.