Welcome to the 2012-2013 cycle

[frankentheory]

Congrats to all of today's admits: UCLA, University Of Connecticut (Storrs), University Of Rochester, University Of Massachusetts Amherst, University Of Virginia!  Apologies if I missed anyone.  I hope everyone on here gets good news soon.

[Wemayet]

On the <anoymous> results pages, we have a segment of our population tilting at windmills when they receive a rejection, and another segment blowing off acceptances as coming from a "safety school".  The forum discussion is quite moderate, those extremes considered.  Sensing a bell curve distribution...

[Mnemonics2]

I'd like to point out that a lot of the reported statistics for accepted people on the results board vary over a big range (the UCLA ones with gpa's between 3.4 and 4.0, for example). So there really is a lot of hope for people who genuinely have a good research fit with a school....even (maybe particularly!) if they don't have 4.0 undergrad scores from an Ivy and perfect GREs!

[news2yous]

Oh man, all the notifications have me really freaked out.  I've heard absolutely nothing from my schools.

 

Does anyone have a list of who's already sent acceptances?  And who's sent out both acceptances and rejections?

 

Have Chicago, Michigan, or Princeton said anything yet?  Has UCLA sent rejections?

[Master of Puppets]

Oh man, all the notifications have me really freaked out. I've heard absolutely nothing from my schools.

Does anyone have a list of who's already sent acceptances? And who's sent out both acceptances and rejections?

Have Chicago, Michigan, or Princeton said anything yet? Has UCLA sent rejections?

Princeton, according to last year will send admissions/rejections in the third week of february. Some people already claimed Chicago admissions, but there is a lingering doubt if they were all sent. Same for UCLA.

Edited February 6, 2013 by Master of Puppets

[news2yous]

I had no idea these things were released so early.  I'm really freaking out now.  Crap.

[news2yous]

A friend of mine who applied to UCLA in IR was accepted today (without being contacted beforehand).  I'm not sure whether that information is helpful to anyone, but at the very least it means you shouldn't lose hope just because a few IR spots were also announced on Monday.

I applied to IR and I didn't get anything, either acceptance or rejection.  No idea what to make of it other than to freak out.

[rkmattson]

Any theorists heard back from UCLA at all?

[lisasimpson]

Am I the only one who finds the occasional "safety school" references on the results board to be kind of a bummer for everyone else? 

I second. To be really frank, I don't understand what people mean by "safety school" : does it mean one thinks s/he has better qualification than those who are expected to be accepted? Or one has the perfect fit? Or....ranking-wise you deserve sth better? We are not applying to undergrad programs so numbers do not determine everything......esp. if your "safety school" rejected you, it was not "safe" program anyway.....don't mean to be mean by any means. just a bit curious.

[news2yous]

Oh god I wish I hadn't checked gradcafe out of boredom today.  I thought they wouldn't release this stuff until February 15th.  I would have been so much happier not knowing they already started, and that each second means an exponential drop in the likelihood I was accepted.

[cthulhu]

I'm also one of the Rochester admits. It is my first acceptance, so yeah, I'm really relieved!!

 

I'm crossing my fingers for all of you, guys!

 

P.S.: Sorry for the late post, I had to celebrate a bit

[dworkable]

Anyone who applied to UT Austin do check the site.

[news2yous]

Princeton, according to last year will send admissions/rejections in the third week of february. Some people already claimed Chicago admissions, but there is a lingering doubt if they were all sent. Same for UCLA.

 

Someone said in the results page that the assistant said if you didn't get notified on the 5th, it means you were rejected.  Also, the mail went to spam for some reason.

[PDCU]

Someone said in the results page that the assistant said if you didn't get notified on the 5th, it means you were rejected.  Also, the mail went to spam for some reason.

I almost had a heart attack thinking that you were referring to UCLA...

[news2yous]

Why can't schools be merciful and just straight up reject us with a notification if they're going to reject us?

[theapolsci]

Why can't schools be merciful and just straight up reject us with a notification if they're going to reject us?

Based on last year at least, I think Chicago takes so long to reject people as they pass on the unsuccessful applicants on to be considered for the Masters program, so it's essentially another admissions committee deliberation worth of time to wait.

[phdhope2013]

Based on last year at least, I think Chicago takes so long to reject people as they pass on the unsuccessful applicants on to be considered for the Masters program, so it's essentially another admissions committee deliberation worth of time to wait.

This is true, but not all unsuccessful applicants are considered for the Masters program, so why lead on everyone? (I am not criticizing the school. I really like the program and am jealous of those who got in. I am just asking a simple question). 

[student90210]

Anyone who applied to UT Austin do check the site.

 

Did you get a letter? 

 

I've been checking the website today all day, nothing. 

[alittlebitofluck]

I second. To be really frank, I don't understand what people mean by "safety school" : does it mean one thinks s/he has better qualification than those who are expected to be accepted? Or one has the perfect fit? Or....ranking-wise you deserve sth better? We are not applying to undergrad programs so numbers do not determine everything......esp. if your "safety school" rejected you, it was not "safe" program anyway.....don't mean to be mean by any means. just a bit curious.

 

I third this. I would be even more critical: I find these remarks rude and distasteful. I generally take them to be based on the school's ranking. As such, they likely stem from the insecurity of the poster. Hey, I understand being insecure. I am at the moment too. But denegrating others, including entire departments, out of frustration leads nowhere. If you are intent on doing that, go visit PSJR.

[dworkable]

Did you get a letter? 

 

I've been checking the website today all day, nothing. 

That's probably a good sign! No, I just checked the site and it said something along the lines of "after careful consideration your application has been denied...this serves as your official notice."

 

Glad they so carefully considered rejecting me

[student90210]

That's probably a good sign! No, I just checked the site and it said something along the lines of "after careful consideration your application has been denied...this serves as your official notice."

 

Glad they so carefully considered rejecting me

 

Sorry to hear about your rejection. I am not too optimistic, but still hopeful.

[Burnt Orange]

Sorry to hear about your rejection. I am not too optimistic, but still hopeful.

 

I know the committee is meeting this week to finalize the list and probably hash out funding offers. Not sure which day this week but after reading @dworkable's post, I'd imagine no news is good news at this point.  

[shavasana]

I third this. I would be even more critical: I find these remarks rude and distasteful. I generally take them to be based on the school's ranking. As such, they likely stem from the insecurity of the poster. Hey, I understand being insecure. I am at the moment too. But denegrating others, including entire departments, out of frustration leads nowhere. If you are intent on doing that, go visit PSJR.

As someone who doesn't have a horse in this race, I really don't believe that people use the phrase "safety school" out of insecurity. Rather, out of a sense of security. While I didn't use that phrase (I don't think) on these boards, I definitely used that phrase when discussing my application chances last year. There were a multitude of reasons:

1. It is a term that is widely understood (even by those not applying for PhD programs), and so one way simply be accustomed to using it.

2. There are some applicants that are very well qualified, and may have applied to lesser-ranked schools knowing with a high degree of certainty that they would be admitted.

3. If someone is insulted by the thought of someone calling the school they like/will attend a "safety", they should grow a thicker skin. People will say much more difficult to hear things about your ideas and you when you're actually in school. But no one made a specifically disparaging comment (as far as I've seen) about any individuals attending such programs.

Sure, it's not a preferred term, but name calling isn't exactly the correct response to the situation.

[brkrgal85]

As someone who doesn't have a horse in this race, I really don't believe that people use the phrase "safety school" out of insecurity. Rather, out of a sense of security. While I didn't use that phrase (I don't think) on these boards, I definitely used that phrase when discussing my application chances last year. There were a multitude of reasons:

1. It is a term that is widely understood (even by those not applying for PhD programs), and so one way simply be accustomed to using it.

2. There are some applicants that are very well qualified, and may have applied to lesser-ranked schools knowing with a high degree of certainty that they would be admitted.

3. If someone is insulted by the thought of someone calling the school they like/will attend a "safety", they should grow a thicker skin. People will say much more difficult to hear things about your ideas and you when you're actually in school. But no one made a specifically disparaging comment (as far as I've seen) about any individuals attending such programs.

Sure, it's not a preferred term, but name calling isn't exactly the correct response to the situation.

I agree with this, but I take issue with those who apply only to top 10 schools.  Probabilities say it isn't likely you'll get into one.  It's good to spread out and take a look everywhere, leave your mind open. 

[brkrgal85]

I saw a comment recently that Duke was someone's safety school.  That is foolish, I think, not taking into consideration the strength of the overall applicant pool and the numbers of people that apply in the first place.