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Posted

Perhaps, but it does take quite a bit more Euros to actually travel there.  ;)

 

Honestly, I'm just crossing my fingers and praying that I don't end up being the low-income yokel of my future department!

 

Ah, yes. I was the low income yokel of my study abroad program a couple years ago. My friends would eat out all the time, take out 100 Euro every other day, etc. I survived off of about 30 Euro a week, food and drinks included. :P I don't think I could have afforded to study abroad at all, but got very lucky with some extra income the summer before (I needed to study abroad to graduate, though...). Now I'm drinking wine with the American and German governments' money. ;)

 

The good news is, of course, that depending on your research interests, you can probably tap into some grant resources to do some travel as a graduate student. That's my hope! Of course, travel means scouring books, sitting through conference presentations, etc. but who says you can't enjoy a glass of wine between pages? 

Posted

Emory interview posted for those interested (I didn't apply there). 

 

Thanks, luckyducky... here's hoping they didn't go out in just one wave... Nice start to the poster, though!

Posted

Just learned my POI might not be reviewing my application bcz she is on leave this semester. To what extent does this influence the adcom's decisions? Any ideas? 

Posted

Nice start for the poster indeed! It said the notification was received on Jan 15. My guess, judging by past years, is that their interviews will go out in a couple waves. If the interview weekend is the beginning if February, then the rest of today/next week is likely the last chance for interview offers. From what I've understood, Emory interviews all admitted applicants. I'd be delighted to hear from them soon should it be a possibility!

Posted

Just learned my POI might not be reviewing my application bcz she is on leave this semester. To what extent does this influence the adcom's decisions? Any ideas? 

 

It's my understanding that the composition of the adcom should, in the end, play very little role. If you think about it, most adcoms have what, 6 people? And most faculties are much larger than 6 people. In cases where the adcom reaches out to POIs for opinion, I doubt that she wouldn't be consulted even though she is on leave (it's in her interest to have an opinion on these decisions!).

Posted (edited)

I was concerned about that U of Washington interview on the results page from the 13th (perhaps I was not included in the first wave). However, from the results history of the programs, it Is it normal for them to only interview  one or two students within a week's span. They don't seem to schedule the interviews in distinct waves. A bit relieved.

Edited by sylark
Posted

I was concerned about that U of Washington interview on the results page from the 13th (perhaps I was not included in the first wave). However, from the results history of the programs, it Is it normal for them to only interview  one or two students within a week's span. They don't seem to schedule the interviews in distinct waves. A bit relieved.

 

They also seem to accept students without any distinct pattern. Believe you me, I already had my UW related panic. :)

Posted

They also seem to accept students without any distinct pattern. Believe you me, I already had my UW related panic. :)

Haha. Well, I think it's one of my longshot schools (maybe 25-40% odds), so I am not expecting to be accepted. However, it's nice to keep hope alive, and pehaps I have underestimated factors such as my "fit", SOP, LOR's, and writing sample. Though, my standardized test scores are very, "meh" or "middle of the road" for a top 30.

 

Hopefully we both get in! G'luck!

Posted

By the way, I am deathly afraid of phone interviews. I am just an awful phone person (cannot see the other person's facial expressions), I'd rather just text or meet in person. Can anyone describe a typical phone interview? How long they are? How informal/formal they are?

 

I'd assume they will be most concerned with the applicant's demonstration of fitness for the program, or answering to the POI's reservations upon reading their application.

Posted

Haha. Well, I think it's one of my longshot schools (maybe 25-40% odds), so I am not expecting to be accepted. However, it's nice to keep hope alive, and pehaps I have underestimated factors such as my "fit", SOP, LOR's, and writing sample. Though, my standardized test scores are very, "meh" or "middle of the road" for a top 30.

 

Hopefully we both get in! G'luck!

 

Out of curiosity, how did you come up with your odds? Did you use one of the formulas already discussed on this forum?

Posted (edited)

I ended up taking RWBG's advice for calculating probability. Nothing exciting, really. Just common sense. The probability increases greatly from 5 to 10 schools, but little is gained from 20 to 25 (depending on your assumptions of X). The ideal number is around 15 (assuming X = .1 or .2). 

*I have decided to not post the chart. I do not want to lead someone on to thinking that if they apply to Y number of schools they will be accepted somewhere. There are lots of variables that I cannot account for like Professor Snodgrass being swamped with work already. Also, luckyducky does not want to be cited for years to come on gradcafe. 

Edited by luckyducky
Posted

For the University of Washington, I think that a "wave" of interviews/acceptances would have been much more noticeable on the board. The one could be an aberration, like someone who currently goes to UW and has a great shot of admission.

 

When several people are notified, I think we'll see it on the board.

Posted

For the University of Washington, I think that a "wave" of interviews/acceptances would have been much more noticeable on the board. The one could be an aberration, like someone who currently goes to UW and has a great shot of admission.

 

When several people are notified, I think we'll see it on the board.

The one on 1/13 was me, but I am not (and have never been) a student at the University of Washington. They may just have a smaller number of professors contacting students over a longer period of time than in previous years.

Posted

The one on 1/13 was me, but I am not (and have never been) a student at the University of Washington. They may just have a smaller number of professors contacting students over a longer period of time than in previous years.

Ah I see. That was just some speculation. What's your subfield?

Posted

Oh no! More U of Washington Interviews have appeared on the results page.

Posted

Out of curiosity, how did you come up with your odds? Did you use one of the formulas already discussed on this forum?

Please share with us the formulas you refer to. Thank you.

Posted

Hmm...I could not find a standard way to quantify my odds.

 

Ultimately, I ended up using the "score-grid" method referenced by several articles about graduate admissions. I did this to try to estimate whether I would be considered a viable candidate (e.g. would remain in the top 40% after a cut). The programs in which I believed I would remain even after subsequent cuts became "low risk," those programs which I felt I may remain after further cuts became "medium risk," and those programs for which my odds depended on Divine intervention became "high risk."

 

May you explain which formulas you are referring to? I wish I had known about these three months ago...

Please share with us the articles you refer to. I am only aware of the Harvard Gary King article posted earlier in this thread. Thank you.

Posted

This is the simple one from RWBG... 1 - (1-p)^n with odds generally .1 to .2

 

As was previously mentioned it shows that the ideal number is essentially 15. Big gains from 5-10 and very little value added from 20-25. I am quoting others here and take no credit for this. 

Posted (edited)

This is the simple one from RWBG... 1 - (1-p)^n with odds generally .1 to .2

 

As was previously mentioned it shows that the ideal number is essentially 15. Big gains from 5-10 and very little value added from 20-25. I am quoting others here and take no credit for this. 

 

Remember, you assume the same prior prob. of success for every school. You could otherwise use the poisson binomial: 1- [∏i(1-pi)]

Edited by zudei

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