The Waiting List

[Lizzla]

For those of us that don't want to be a downer in the Acceptances thread, and don't want to seem like jerks in the Rejections thread...

Let us celebrate/mourn/commiserate/obsess.

Waitlisted at Wisconsin today!

[houseb]

I'm one of the waitlisted at Wisconsin, too- any idea of how many they are accepting this year?

[Happy to be here]

I once knew a man who was waitlisted at his top choice school. It drove him to...insanity. Think of Harry Potter and the mirror thing. "Best to leave it alone, Harry, and don't go looking for it."

But seriously, for mental health's sake, I would look at a waitlisted status as a rejection. (If it turns out as a late acceptance, then hey, that's cool). That way, you're never disappointed. I've seen many tears shed over the waitlisted status. Like, grown men and everything. I've had to simply leave the room more than once.

[SocCard]

^Good point...but I was waitlisted at my current program and ended up getting in.

Speaking of waitlisted, I was just waitlisted at North Carolina State... two thumbs down...

[Lizzla]

I'm one of the waitlisted at Wisconsin, too- any idea of how many they are accepting this year?

I haven't heard anything, other than what they said in the email: fewer students than usual because they're guaranteeing funding to more incoming students, instead of going year-by-year. But I don't know how many people they accepted per year before.

[Lizzla]

I once knew a man who was waitlisted at his top choice school. It drove him to...insanity. Think of Harry Potter and the mirror thing. "Best to leave it alone, Harry, and don't go looking for it."

Hahahaha So what you're saying is...the sorcerer's stone is hidden somewhere in Madison?

[hopeful1]

Waitlisted at Indiana Pretty upset about it, but at least it's not a straight up rejection.

[barilicious]

Waitlisted at Indiana Pretty upset about it, but at least it's not a straight up rejection.

Did you interview with them?

Edited February 5, 2011 by barilcious

[joops]

Waitlisted at Indiana. Oy vey.

[hopeful1]

did you interview with them?

No, I just received an email from them this morning.

[Bonkers]

Also waitlisted in Indiana... is it appropriate to ask them if there is an order to the list, and if so, where am I in this wait?

[hopeful1]

Also waitlisted in Indiana... is it appropriate to ask them if there is an order to the list, and if so, where am I in this wait?

I would also like to know if this is appropriate.

[faculty]

No, I wouldn't do that now. Later, if you get into another school that you're considering, the deadline is quickly approaching, and it's between the two... or something along those lines, it would be more acceptable. It's too early in the game to risk annoying a department, particularly one that you're wait-listed at.

[Happy to be here]

I've actually thought a lot about this., so here it goes graduate applicant community. If we were to look for all the parallels of the Harry Potter world with the PhD application process, there's a few arguments I'd like to make.

First, I think the sorcerer's stone should definitely be hidden in New England somewhere. I first thought that Stony Brook would be a fitting university, hence stone and everything, but I wanted somewhere more prestigious. Maybe some scandal where some goons from Princeton or Yale pansies took it from there and kept it locked away with some three-headed dog hiding it. I can see some of the Ivy League schools paralleling the house of Slytherin and pulling some Quidditch stunt like that.

Second, I think that if I were to be accepted at Rice University, I should receive said notification via Owl. Their school mascot gives them a leg up in this category.

Third, I thought about which professors resemble Hogwart's faculty. I would go out on a limb here and say that Hagrid probably has the best parallel in Chris Ellison at UT-San Antonio. Both very nice and helpful, but also both thickly bearded. I also see Mark Regnerus at UT-Austin as a kind of young Severus Snape. Just sayin. As for Dumbledore, perhaps Bob Wuthnow at Princeton? Both of them are semi-retirement age and vastly superior to all who stand in their way. I wonder who would be a good parallel for "he-who-shall-not-be-named"? I mean really, who is the ultimate evil-doer out there in Sociology PhD-dom? Can someone help me find a supervillain out there fitting of this title? Surely there's some wicked secretary, or screw-you-out-of-life faculty member out there who when they are not publishing, teaching, and making their grad students lives miserable, are hell bent on destroying the universe as well.

Your advanced statistics class=arithmancy. Seriously, look it up.

D.A.D.A (that's, defense against the dark arts for all you muggles out there) probably parallels any Professionalization Seminar. Think about it.

So, to answer your question Lizzla, I think the sorcerer's stone is probably kept safe somewhere for a reason. DONT go looking for it, seriously. I can definitively say that Wisconsin does not have it though. I look at them as the stupid all boys school with that one guy who disrespected Hermione at the Christmas ball.

Any other Harry Potter-Sociology PhD parallels out there?

-I am Happy to be here, and I really am.

Hahahaha So what you're saying is...the sorcerer's stone is hidden somewhere in Madison?

[Happy to be here]

Oh, and just call the room where you do any prospectus, thesis, dissertation defense--the room of requirement.

[Paul Allen]

I got waitlisted at UC-Irvine today (unfortunately not by Owl, that would've softened the blow), which was supposed to be my safety school (no acceptances yet) so now I'm sweating bullets. Am I boned here? I also applied to UC-Berkeley (which I know I'm not getting into), Princeton, Penn, UCLA, Penn State, and UC-San Diego so I might need to do some scrambling if anyone has recommendations.

Oh, and I don't know, the ad-comms at all the schools I applied to could be dementors. I'm too pissed to be whimsical right now...

[mec100]

I got waitlisted at UC-Irvine today (unfortunately not by Owl, that would've softened the blow), which was supposed to be my safety school (no acceptances yet) so now I'm sweating bullets. Am I boned here? I also applied to UC-Berkeley (which I know I'm not getting into), Princeton, Penn, UCLA, Penn State, and UC-San Diego so I might need to do some scrambling if anyone has recommendations.

Oh, and I don't know, the ad-comms at all the schools I applied to could be dementors. I'm too pissed to be whimsical right now...

I also applied to UC-Irvine as my safety and was notified last night as being waitlisted. Considering I've been admitted to and have interviews coming up at much more competitive schools (at least overall ranking-wise), not sure what it was about my application. I believed the fit was pretty good too. I guess there's no such thing as a safety school for PhD programs, especially with all the recent funding issues!

[davolicious]

I count myself among the few, the proud, the wait-listed at Indiana-Bloomington. You all are going to think me a horrible jerk for saying this, but as I was getting accepted by other schools, I was tempted to leave my name on the list, hoping for an eventual acceptance (if only to boost my acceptance percentage). I know, I'm a jerk. Anyway, I ended up writing them an email today letting them know they didn't need to keep me on the list any more. Somehow it felt like pulling the plug on life support, but I'll get over it. I think.

[going crazy]

Wait-listed at Princeton. Holy Crap! I wanted to post this in the acceptances cuz it made me that excited! Here's what the e-mail said:

Careful review by the Department of Sociology and the Graduate School of the materials you submitted indicates your ability to succeed in the graduate program. Nonetheless, we are not prepared to make a final decision on your application and have placed your name on a waiting list. We will make every effort to provide you with a more definitive response within the next few weeks on the assumption that you must decide about your graduate study very soon.

I know it's in all likelihood going to be a rejection cuz those who got into Princeton will most likely take that offer over other schools. Nevertheless, it felt great that they did not laugh at my application outright.

[socgraduate11]

Congrats going crazy! I received an outright rejection and it was my first choice, so if I were you I would celebrate the crap out of being waitlisted

Wait-listed at Princeton. Holy Crap! I wanted to post this in the acceptances cuz it made me that excited! Here's what the e-mail said:

Careful review by the Department of Sociology and the Graduate School of the materials you submitted indicates your ability to succeed in the graduate program. Nonetheless, we are not prepared to make a final decision on your application and have placed your name on a waiting list. We will make every effort to provide you with a more definitive response within the next few weeks on the assumption that you must decide about your graduate study very soon.

I know it's in all likelihood going to be a rejection cuz those who got into Princeton will most likely take that offer over other schools. Nevertheless, it felt great that they did not laugh at my application outright.

[Paul Allen]

Congrats going crazy! I received an outright rejection and it was my first choice, so if I were you I would celebrate the crap out of being waitlisted

I too got kicked in the nuts by Princeton (the rejection way, not the waitlist way), so hats off to those who were waitlisted.

[apppk]

Wait listed at Purdue

[joops]

Haha when I read this, a flood of emotions came over me. I'm also wait listed at Indiana and it seems likely that the only way I will be getting into a PhD program is off of that wait list. So when I read "I was tempted to leave my name on the list, hoping for an eventual acceptance (if only to boost my acceptance percentage)" I thought, "THE HORROR!"

But then I read the last part and I must say I am very greatful for your act of kindness toward strangers. I hope everyone who gets into a school to which they do not plan on attending (especially at Indiana!) is as thoughtful as you.

Best of luck in all of your endeavors.

I count myself among the few, the proud, the wait-listed at Indiana-Bloomington. You all are going to think me a horrible jerk for saying this, but as I was getting accepted by other schools, I was tempted to leave my name on the list, hoping for an eventual acceptance (if only to boost my acceptance percentage). I know, I'm a jerk. Anyway, I ended up writing them an email today letting them know they didn't need to keep me on the list any more. Somehow it felt like pulling the plug on life support, but I'll get over it. I think.

[pocketcoffee]

Has anyone else been waitlisted at Columbia, Northwestern, or U of Chicago?

Not that I am interested in those schools or anything...

[Paul Allen]

Got my waitlist email from Penn State yesterday (i can't believe it, i mean, I can, but I can't - it being my homestate and all). Said it was a short list and if I get in it's fully funded, but it still stings. The email was very nice and it at least addressed me by my name (unlike those Ivy Leaguers at Princeton). Should I be ok with this or pissed off about it, I can't tell?