Fall 2014 Applicants

[catsandscarves]

I hope those schools keep their pattern and give some news soon!!! I am starting to set rules about checking my email!

[New England Nat]

It'll be only a handful of schools that inform next week.  I'm sorry folks but you are in for a while of worry.

[catsandscarves]

Haha sadly, I know this. This is my second time applying. Finishing up my MA and thesis work so much to keep me busy, but it's still always on my mind. Just the constantly wondering when is annoying. I wish all schools had to report on one day! Then no waiting and worrying because then you'd know when they'd come!

Edited January 24, 2014 by catsandscarves

[New England Nat]

My first rejection, from a school I really wanted to go to, came at 10AM one morning and it totally devastated me.  And 2 hours later, while I was at a total low, is when my Princeton acceptance came.  Ups and downs are the nature of the thing.

[catsandscarves]

Well that's a whirlwind day for sure! Awesome results though. I remember 3 rejections on Valentine's day while I was playing board games with my partner.

Edited January 24, 2014 by catsandscarves

[Brisingamen]

Valentine's Day notifications seem to be common. A friend of mine opened his email on Valentine's Day morning to find two rejections. Major bummer. He was discussing them late at night on the phone with one of his classmates, and there was this insistent "call waiting" notification. He was quite annoyed at who was trying him so late... and then, when he finally took the call, it turned out to be one of the schools he'd applied to, calling to congratulate him. (He was living in Asia, so with the time difference, that was during their work day.) 

[ritsos]

No, not Pitt. Toronto.

If you have applied to U of Toronto for History, you may very well get to hear from them by mid-Feb. At least a friend of mine did when they had applied last year.

[ReallyNiceGuy]

There's another U South Carolina admit up. Congratulations.

[levoyous]

A question to perhaps distract us from waiting a bit: anyone who has done interviews or is preparing for them have any thoughts about what are good questions to ask POIs/interviewers in that context? Say you've read the website and graduate handbook 50 times, you know how the program is structured, have a good idea of its job placement, reputation, etc. I don't know about others, but I've at least once found myself at a loss about what a good question would be that isn't obvious and provokes an actually informative answer. Just thought I'd throw it out there, if anyone has advice.

Edited January 24, 2014 by levoyous

[A Finicky Bean]

One from OSU! I guess this means I am rejected though since I don't have an update to my status.  Congrats to the poster!!

[wiewanderlust]

@levoyous, questions about grad student life can actually be really helpful, in my experience, and it probably doesn't hurt to show you are considering the more practical aspects of attending their school. For example, where do most students live, work, spend their summers, etc. Additionally, I've tended to ask about what resources the programs offer for language study, and what collections at the library would be particularly promising for my interests. Hope that helps, thanks for the distraction  

[diazalon]

One from OSU! I guess this means I am rejected though since I don't have an update to my status.  Congrats to the poster!!

 

Same, though perhaps they don't update all of the applications at the same time? I'm holding out hope.

[A Finicky Bean]

Same, though perhaps they don't update all of the applications at the same time? I'm holding out hope.

 

 

Good point. I'll hold out hope, too.

[New England Nat]

OSU is not done folks.  The first batch there are people nominated for fellowships, there will be another batch of people they're going to offer funding through TAships.

[jamc8383]

Last year OSU acceptances were being reported up through the 29th.

[Brisingamen]

If you have applied to U of Toronto for History, you may very well get to hear from them by mid-Feb. At least a friend of mine did when they had applied last year.

That's good to know! They warned me about landing up on the waiting list and hearing late.

Hoping those of you waiting for OSU get news.

[Zephyr99]

This morning, I checked the Grad Cafe results page on my iPhone. I saw that some people were notified of their acceptances to the Ohio State. I rushed to my laptop, opened up the relevant application page, and it still says "pending." .... Bummer. But at least, they send out acceptances in two waves.

[A Finicky Bean]

Ahhh now there is a UNC admittance...and nothing for me. *wah* 

[sankofa]

Ahhh now there is a UNC admittance...and nothing for me. *wah*

Right! My heart sank. Now I know how all the OSU applicants felt. Lol

[Zephyr99]

.... doesn't help that Gmail is down now.

[jamc8383]

I can say this: one of the adcomm members at OSU informed my advisor that they wouldn't be doing a waitlist, so--for better or for worse--those of us who still have applications "pending" should know the deal by the end of next week.  

[Zephyr99]

Thanks for that insider information, jamc8383! But are we sure that they do acceptances in 2 waves or is this just speculation? I was on a wait list last year and it was hard to deal with.

[jamc8383]

 But are we sure that they do acceptances in 2 waves or is this just speculation? 

 

Beyond what's been posted, I haven't heard anything one way or the other; but it's likely.  I mean, last year people were posting acceptances for OSU through Weds of next week.  It looks like what we might call "the second round" came on the 28th last year.

[TakeMyCoffeeBlack]

Beyond what's been posted, I haven't heard anything one way or the other; but it's likely.  I mean, last year people were posting acceptances for OSU through Weds of next week.  It looks like what we might call "the second round" came on the 28th last year.

 

The political science DGS posts in the political science section periodically. Although they updated the website on their end to indicate admits, apparently the system itself is only announcing a few at a time. I don't know if that's happening for all programs or just political science, but in any case I figured it's worth sharing.

[Andean Pat]

A question to perhaps distract us from waiting a bit: anyone who has done interviews or is preparing for them have any thoughts about what are good questions to ask POIs/interviewers in that context? Say you've read the website and graduate handbook 50 times, you know how the program is structured, have a good idea of its job placement, reputation, etc. I don't know about others, but I've at least once found myself at a loss about what a good question would be that isn't obvious and provokes an actually informative answer. Just thought I'd throw it out there, if anyone has advice.

 

I remember I had a little notepad to write down questions and then choose when to ask. I don't remember all of them but I do recall asking what happens next, which is enlightening. My interview was VERY intellectual, they asked about how I thought the work of X had influence my work, or how I understood Y since I mentioned it several times in my writing sample. After being asked those kinds of questions, I was exhausted! 

 

What I can say is the following: do not ask questions you can find in the website, in the handbook, or which another grad student can answer. I cannot stress this enough. 

 

All the best for everyone!!!

 

AP