The ONLY one out of my peers who hasn't heard ANYTHING from ANYBODY--tearing my hair out

[Vitaminark]

Anyone else having this experience? You have a group of peers in your major who have also applied, so you're sharing the anxiety/celebration/consolations with each other . . . However, I am now officially the ONLY person out of my cohort who has not heard a single thing from any of the 11 programs I've applied to (I know it's early). Everyone else has received either interviews, acceptances, or rejections at the very least EXCEPT ME!!! Some of which were the same schools/programs in which I applied. Please just fast forward me to April 15th so I can at least concentrate on my final undergraduate semester!!!

Edited February 5, 2011 by SocialPsychErin

[megamanatee]

YES! I am in the same boat. Every single one of my friends applying to grad school has at least received an interview by now. I applied 11 places and I've gotten one rejection and no other communication. I keep trying to not psych myself out by obsessively checking the results page and seeing if other folks applying to my programs have heard anything, but it's virtually impossible to avoid.

What really sucks is that all of my friends now exactly what they're doing after we all graduate. I swear everyone I know has a job or got into med/dental/law school.

I'm starting to worry that no news is bad news at this point...someone please disagree with me quick! PLEASE! :/

[JPhoenix]

My professor told me that no news is good news. I have only heard back from Michigan and got rejected. I see three other schools I applied to who have already sent some decisions out and I have not heard from them yet.

[communications13]

My professor told me that no news is good news. I have only heard back from Michigan and got rejected. I see three other schools I applied to who have already sent some decisions out and I have not heard from them yet.

Oh, I surely hope your professor is right!!

[JanuaryHymn]

Did your prof give you any reason why that is? I mean, no news that you're rejected is good, but after the acceptance waves go by for schools to which I applied, I get nervous. Does it mean we are on some sort of unofficial, or unannounced-as-of-yet, waiting list?

My professor told me that no news is good news. I have only heard back from Michigan and got rejected. I see three other schools I applied to who have already sent some decisions out and I have not heard from them yet.

[Vitaminark]

No news is no news!! LOL!

[darjeelingtea16]

My professor told me that no news is good news. I have only heard back from Michigan and got rejected. I see three other schools I applied to who have already sent some decisions out and I have not heard from them yet.

So far, that seems to be the case with me. I know someone who just got rejected from somewhere, and that's the only school she's heard from so far. I haven't heard from any, but I went through the results search and looked up all the schools I applied for, plus the degree I applied for--can you say obsessed?!--and mapped out about when I should hear from the schools, based on results from last year and the year before. And when i say hear back from them, I mean acceptances. Looks like if I hear back from anyone besides Columbia in March, then I'm pretty much screwed. So yeah, so far, no news is pretty good. Means I haven't been rejected (yet)!

[Kathiza]

I haven't heard anything from my schools either.... So you're not alone.

[OnceAndFutureGrad]

I haven't heard anything from any schools yet either.

I would just like to point out, however, that judging yourself on the basis of your peers can backfire. (I know, you're too stressed to take anecdotal advice from a stranger, but...) I psychologically beat myself raw that a friend of mine from the same school got snapped up for a PhD program right out of undergrad while I only managed to get into an MA program by my fingernails. My friend, however, quickly found him/herself way over their head, depressed and angry and completely out of place, and s/he is cutting and running with a terminal MA from the program, never to return to this subject. I truly wish that things had worked out for him/her, of course, but it just goes to show you that comparing yourself to your peers during the application process can be misleading and a waste of valuable head space.

[Raputa]

Man, I know how you feel. I applied to eleven and haven't heard anything yet. I'm strangely fluctuating between nail-biting obsession and a kind of zen-like calm. In the end though, I'm trying to actually enjoy these days when all possibilities are still open--no disappointment yet! Anything could happen at this point, and though it's stressful, it's also exhilarating in its own way.

[ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ]

It really depends on when you should expect to hear back from your schools, as indicated by the Departments (or, more usefully, from the results search.) I haven't heard back from any of my programs either, but with the exception of UCB I don't expect to for another two weeks. (This isn't true for all programs in my field, just the ones I applied to.)

If your friends have applied to some of the same programs as you and heard positive results back, that is indeed a bad sign - just remember that unless you're some sort of golden god (of luck, if nothing else) most of your results will be rejections. Bad news, not catastrophic news (unless, like, people have heard back from all of your programs.)

[SuperPiePie]

So why are you tearing your hair out, this makes no sense.

You said some of your friends have received rejections at the very least... but would you rather have applied to 11 places and received 2 rejections, or applied to 11 and received none...

I don't see why the people who have received rejections and only rejections are part of the group who makes you "tear your hair out"

Regardless, it seems plenty of other people haven't heard anything yet either so don't lose hope! I am positive you will offers soon!

Edited February 5, 2011 by SuperPiePie

[Vitaminark]

So why are you tearing your hair out, this makes no sense.

You said some of your friends have received rejections at the very least... but would you rather have applied to 11 places and received 2 rejections, or applied to 11 and received none...

I don't see why the people who have received rejections are part of the group who makes you "tear your hair out"

Regarding the rejection issue, the ones who received the rejection from the same program had interviews with them. I have not even received an interview, so I'm like "Come on already, just send me the rejection letter and be done with it!"

[SuperPiePie]

I see, well you still have plenty of hair left hahaha so you should be fine!

If you really want to get things off your chest I suggest emailing or calling. I just emailed JHU about my app and was notified I wasn't in the first round of interviews, but they didn't say anything about rejections or anything else. I assume I am waitlisted. But at the very least if you ask you can have some peace of mind.

[Vitaminark]

I see, well you still have plenty of hair left hahaha so you should be fine!

If you really want to get things off your chest I suggest emailing or calling. I just emailed JHU about my app and was notified I wasn't in the first round of interviews, but they didn't say anything about rejections or anything else. I assume I am waitlisted. But at the very least if you ask you can have some peace of mind.

Hey, congratulations on your acceptance so far!!!!!!

[SuperPiePie]

Hey, congratulations on your acceptance so far!!!!!!

Thank you! I was a special case though, I was accepted before even the application deadline passed only because I had a summer research experience with a professor at IU. Since I worked with him for about 10 weeks that was sort of my "interview" so I was somewhat accepted by default (nothing special xD)

I hope to do well at my Duke interview and I know that BME programs do not send notifications out as early as the sciences do so I am still hopeful. I know the recent crazy icestorms have delayed a lot of my materials too... gulp.

Edited February 5, 2011 by SuperPiePie

[kateow]

I think people are right, no news is good news. The rationale is that people getting rejection letters now are in the first cut. If you aren't hearing back, it probably means that the admission committees are still considering your application, which is a good thing! And it is possible that if you hear nothing after others are accepted, you may be on an informal (or formal) waitlist. Until you get the rejection letters, there's no point in giving up hope!

And, my own personal anecdote? Last time I applied, I got only rejections, until I thought it was too late and had given up hope (even after a fairly painful bait-and-switch at Northwestern). UChicago was the only school I hadn't heard from, but I knew they had already had interviews. Then I got a big envelope, inviting me to the MA program. It wasn't a PhD program and it wasn't fully funded, but it was something. (And, in the end, has been worth quite a lot to me.)

[JPhoenix]

I think people are right, no news is good news. The rationale is that people getting rejection letters now are in the first cut. If you aren't hearing back, it probably means that the admission committees are still considering your application, which is a good thing! And it is possible that if you hear nothing after others are accepted, you may be on an informal (or formal) waitlist. Until you get the rejection letters, there's no point in giving up hope!

And, my own personal anecdote? Last time I applied, I got only rejections, until I thought it was too late and had given up hope (even after a fairly painful bait-and-switch at Northwestern). UChicago was the only school I hadn't heard from, but I knew they had already had interviews. Then I got a big envelope, inviting me to the MA program. It wasn't a PhD program and it wasn't fully funded, but it was something. (And, in the end, has been worth quite a lot to me.)

I think that not hearing after there had been decisions made means you have not been rejected. Thats the positive of it. It may mean that the committee is still looking over your application or that they have not gotten to it yet. Wisconsin sent out acceptances and rejections for my program. I have not heard from them yet. This may mean that they have gone through their first round of students. That though Im probably not the perfect candidate, I have probably made it further than those who have been rejected already.

[shemeno]

So the last of my friends in my degree applying to grad schools got emails for an interview weekend. So I;m the last of the group to know. Its really nerve wracking.

[Vitaminark]

Alright, guys, here's some info:

I buckled and wrote to ALL of my POIs to inquire about my application status. I hadn't been contacted for any interviews, so I just wanted to be given the unofficial rejections.

Purdue - Rejected - POI said to retake the GRE, and continue with my valuable research experience (my score was 1010, and my GPA is 3.86)

UC Santa Cruz - Rejected - POI said he wasn't granted a new student for the Fall after all (even though he supposedly was when I wrote to him a few months ago)

U of Washington - Rejected - POI said 150+ applicants, unusually strong pool this year, likely due to recession. "We unfortunately could not bring you in for an interview."

I believe I've been more than likely rejected by UCLA, UCSB and UNC Chapel Hill since they've already held interviews or sent out invites to recruitment weekends. That leaves me with four other possibilities (not including the Master's programs).

Hope this helps! Good luck guys and gals!

[Vitaminark]

Just wanted to say I'm glad you were proactive about finding out your status! Waiting really is the most miserable part of the application process. I checked the results board and someone from my top choice program got an acceptance call today, so I figure if I don't hear back tomorrow it's all over. You've motivated me to call Thursday, though, so thanks best of luck for your other options!

I will think good thoughts for you and good luck!!

[mixolydian]

similar situation with the no responses...........still waiting for MS decisions in ECE to be turned out. I'm climbing up the walls........... too bloody restless.... ..i can attribute my hairloss to tearing them out.....but i think i'm just balding .......

I hope i get some responses from colleges soon.......

[fingers_toes_X]

Alright, guys, here's some info:

I buckled and wrote to ALL of my POIs to inquire about my application status. I hadn't been contacted for any interviews, so I just wanted to be given the unofficial rejections.

SocialPsychErin,

I really admire your braveness! I applied to PhD psychology programs as well. So far, I've only received 2 rejections - one formal and one informal rejection as a response to my email inquiry. I stopped emailing since I feel that I'm emotionally too weak to take all the negative responses. But I think I should do what you did and get this over with ASAP

Hope you will hear good news soon from the other 4 schools! Im waiting on NYU as well - hopefully I can at least have an offer for the MA program.

[CNDSoc]

Ugh.. I'm dying.

Someone was notified by my top choice in mid-Feb, and since then I have been waiting for a response from UT-Austin. I finally gave in today and called the dept, but no one answered. I feel like I'm going to lose it.

Plus I'm super super unproductive and distracted at work. I'm actually considering taking a few of my vacation days over these next two weeks.

Please punch me in the head.

[Vitaminark]

It seems like the economic recession is a HUGE REASON for much of the rejects this year. Funding is practically non-existent and applications are triple-fold. This is why our generation must get more involved with making these changes at a political level--it's unacceptable that we cannot get the education we so need and deserve.