Fall 2023 PhD Applicant Thread

[eduforall]

13 hours ago, 911806a said:

I applied to 5 UCs only for PhD in Education Studies, all educational policy leanings: Davis, Irvine, San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Riverside. 

I had an informal interview with Santa Barbara and Riverside in January. Haven't heard anything from any other school. 

First time applying and over thinking everything! 

@911806a We all overthink! That's why we come here. To vent lol.

Everything is going to be alright. Stay positive and share your frustration with us!

[goodluck2023]

Hey folks, has uc Irvine done with sending decisions or interview invitations? I saw one ad and one rej on this forum. And uci used to announce decisions around last week. Any insider info? 

[911806a]

9 hours ago, goodluck2023 said:

Hey folks, has uc Irvine done with sending decisions or interview invitations? I saw one ad and one rej on this forum. And uci used to announce decisions around last week. Any insider info? 

Same question! I haven't received any correspondence from them and I'm wondering if it's worth emailing them next week or just accepting the negative outlook of non acceptance lol

[francienolan]

How is everyone doing?! It’s been quiet in the education board for the past week! 
I’ve gotten two acceptances and still waiting on 6 more. 
 

how did the interview weekend at UPenn go for those of you who went? I’m crossing my fingers for all of you!!! 

[eduforall]

It's pretty calm, indeed. 

I'm sure I got rejected from UPenn and Harvard.

I am waiting to hear from Stanford (mid-February) and McGill (early March).

 

[911806a]

14 hours ago, francienolan said:

How is everyone doing?! It’s been quiet in the education board for the past week! 
I’ve gotten two acceptances and still waiting on 6 more. 
 

how did the interview weekend at UPenn go for those of you who went? I’m crossing my fingers for all of you!!! 

I haven't heard anything from UC San Diego,  Irvine, or Davis.  As mentioned above just trying to stay positive! Lol

Anxious and refreshing everything every day. 

[Creamsoda]

Got my first rejection yesterday from NYU, and am pretty sure it's a no from me for UPenn based on the interviews, since I listed interest in one professor but it's a different faculty's turn to accept a student in the department that I applied to. Still nothing from Northwestern, and now just hoping something good comes of Harvard or BC! We'll see!

[snuggles]

i applied to R1 university not ivies. Waiting on offical letters.

[DrMutt]

Hey y'all!

Waiting really IS the hardest part, isn't it? Luckily, we should be hearing back from these programs very soon! Sending good vibes to everyone.

I applied to Ph.D. programs at UCI, UCLA, and UCR and haven't heard back from a single program yet. This is my second round of applications and I recall I heard back from UCR around March 3rd during the Fall 2021 cycle. For UCLA, it was something like Feb 9th. This is my first time applying to UCI, but I would assume that those results will be in close to when UCLA releases theirs since they have the same deadline.

[snuggles]

When I went to NYU info session they told us that only 2 position max would be available in each concentration so I didn't waste the money on application fees. Most Ivies have limited spots in education this year.

[eduforall]

I regret applying to so many Ivy schools. My advice for future applicants: unless your profile is exceptionally brilliant (perfect grades, teaching experience and several publications), vary your applications, and aim at reachable programs!

I would definitely do things differently.

[DEV2122]

1 hour ago, snuggles said:

When I went to NYU info session they told us that only 2 position max would be available in each concentration so I didn't waste the money on application fees. Most Ivies have limited spots in education this year.

Same was told at Stanford GSE webinars. Max 2 students per concentration in one admission cycle. Very rarely 3. 

Edited February 1, 2023 by DEV2122

[msjen]

I applied to UCSB, UC Irvine, UCLA (HDP), UCSD, Berkeley (Joint program in SpEd with SFSU) and Stanford (CTE Math).

I had informal discussions with UCSB, UC Irvine and Berkeley in the past few weeks but heard nothing since. No contact from other programs, still waiting it out

[snuggles]

I wanted to apply to TC but even with 4.0 gpa and 10 years teaching experience I only applied to R1 university  tehy have the funding  this year. Good luck to all of us. I am here waiting  to hear back after 3 successful  interview (in my opinion) I got yes from advisors but that still isnt a formal letter. I hope we all get into programs of our choice.

[cuppaon]

It's tough out here... sending all of you good wishes for sure!! I'm definitely trying not to think about it too much but I am still waiting for 4 schools. I saw someone post an acceptance for UW-Madison's Ed Policy Studies program and I haven't heard anything so that kinda sucks as I really liked their program. Has anyone on here heard back by any chance?

[manatee77]

I just got rejected from UW-Madison, I haven't heard from anywhere else, I'm getting very worried.

[snuggles]

20 minutes ago, manatee77 said:

I just got rejected from UW-Madison, I haven't heard from anywhere else, I'm getting very worried.

Sorry to hear, you will get one. what other programs you apply to?

[francienolan]

4 hours ago, snuggles said:

I wanted to apply to TC but even with 4.0 gpa and 10 years teaching experience I only applied to R1 university  tehy have the funding  this year. Good luck to all of us. I am here waiting  to hear back after 3 successful  interview (in my opinion) I got yes from advisors but that still isnt a formal letter. I hope we all get into programs of our choice.

Agree with this! The numbers and luck involved in the top top programs is so competitive! I’m an alum of UPenn and definitely applied, but my research interests were not a great match and I know it- just kind of figured I should shoot for the moon, you know? 
I’ve already heard back from NC State and Ohio - both top 30’s with funding AND big enough programs that there’s many profs I am interested in. 
playing the game of applying to PhD programs is so vastly different than applying to undergrad and even masters programs! 
(Just adding all this here for posterity when newbies join the forum looking for info!) 

also, I’m waiting on 6 more programs, haha! It’s brutal!! 

[whycollege]

3 hours ago, cuppaon said:

It's tough out here... sending all of you good wishes for sure!! I'm definitely trying not to think about it too much but I am still waiting for 4 schools. I saw someone post an acceptance for UW-Madison's Ed Policy Studies program and I haven't heard anything so that kinda sucks as I really liked their program. Has anyone on here heard back by any chance?

That was me! I'm sorry to hear that, and hope that sharing results doesn't cause too much disappointment for others on this thread. After going through this process last year and feeling really frustrated at the lack of transparency, I think this forum is a worthwhile tool for pulling back the curtain on how the process actually works for people who aren't in the know. (I was still holding a candle for some places until late March last year because I didn't know any better.)

For what it's worth, I faced a mountain of rejections last year and being told no was immensely helpful for me to reevaluate why I really wanted to pursue a PhD and clarify my research interests. Had I actually gotten the offers I thought I wanted last year, I don't think I would have been in a position to make the most of them.

I hope that's some consolation, but more than anything I just want to say that I feel you, and it sucks putting yourself and your ideas on the line in way that this process requires. 

[cuppaon]

7 minutes ago, whycollege said:

That was me! I'm sorry to hear that, and hope that sharing results doesn't cause too much disappointment for others on this thread. After going through this process last year and feeling really frustrated at the lack of transparency, I think this forum is a worthwhile tool for pulling back the curtain on how the process actually works for people who aren't in the know. (I was still holding a candle for some places until late March last year because I didn't know any better.)

For what it's worth, I faced a mountain of rejections last year and being told no was immensely helpful for me to reevaluate why I really wanted to pursue a PhD and clarify my research interests. Had I actually gotten the offers I thought I wanted last year, I don't think I would have been in a position to make the most of them.

I hope that's some consolation, but more than anything I just want to say that I feel you, and it sucks putting yourself and your ideas on the line in way that this process requires. 

Hey, congratulations!! Their program seems great. What concentration did you apply for? 

I really appreciate the transparency and agree that although Gradcafe can be stressful it also is helpful in terms of being a source of information (taken with a grain of salt) for people who don't necessarily know the ins and outs of the process. For me, sharing results doesn't cause disappointment, particularly when people are willing to follow up with more information!! 

I also applied for a couple of PhDs last year -- in a different field no less -- so I echo that being told no can be super clarifying (even when it sucks)! I have an acceptance and 4 interviews at other schools this year in a field that is the one that I think I really wanted to be in to begin with. And importantly, I feel much more confident now that if I take one of the offers I will be making a much more informed decision and will be making that decision based on trying to understand which department is really going to support me for the next 5+ years! 

[whycollege]

9 minutes ago, cuppaon said:

Hey, congratulations!! Their program seems great. What concentration did you apply for? 

I really appreciate the transparency and agree that although Gradcafe can be stressful it also is helpful in terms of being a source of information (taken with a grain of salt) for people who don't necessarily know the ins and outs of the process. For me, sharing results doesn't cause disappointment, particularly when people are willing to follow up with more information!! 

I also applied for a couple of PhDs last year -- in a different field no less -- so I echo that being told no can be super clarifying (even when it sucks)! I have an acceptance and 4 interviews at other schools this year in a field that is the one that I think I really wanted to be in to begin with. And importantly, I feel much more confident now that if I take one of the offers I will be making a much more informed decision and will be making that decision based on trying to understand which department is really going to support me for the next 5+ years! 

Thanks so much! I applied for the History and Humanities concentration (with the joint History degree). 

That's really great to hear about your experience this year. It really is about where you're going to be the happiest!

[snuggles]

Waitlisted for UBuffalo bummer 

[911806a]

I'm stoked - this morning I received an email from POI saying I secured admission to the PhD program at UCSB. Mentioned full details and official admit letter to be coming soon. They wanted to also let me know there is an Admit Day for Feb 21st. Planning to go to that of course, but since this is my like, first time experiencing any of this I have no idea what to expect or ask about lol

Any of you have an idea of what one should do next? I'm super excited!

I still haven't heard from any of the other universities I applied to (UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, and UC San Diego). Should I be emailing them too just to be like, "Hey.... I've gotten acceptance from UCSB, are you all doing anything?" or if I should just wait it out or what. 

I don't even know how to reply to the POI yet without coming off hysterically excited with a million "!!"'s lol 

Really hoping for the best outcome for everyone else as well! ❤️ 

[eduforall]

Congratulations!

[911806a]

Just now, eduforall said:

Congratulations!

Tysm!!