Its March and I am still waiting to hear back :/ anyone else?

[*Jenny*]

I'm also waiting on a program with a December 1 deadline. The decisions were made the week before last, and I was told that they were waiting for the FGS to approve the decisions before they'll start notifying. Apparently that can take til mid-March!

[lrbrade]

Me, in a nutshell.

Well at least we are not alone ay! Fingers crossed we hear something back. I mean at this point if any are rejections I would just rather know. I really wander how this system works!

[acamp1545]

I'm waiting to hear from the FAU Integrative Biology program. It had a January 15th deadline. The wait is killing me. 

[MoJuiced]

I'm also waiting on my five remaining schools. I've been advised that having not heard yet is a good thing. For some, it's just the programs haven't decided. For others it indicates you're still in the running. My discipline is a bit different from normal academic ones, however. 

 

My philosophy is to view everything as an opportunity to be gained (rather than lost), so that either you get it and it's a plus or you don't get it and you break even. Just keep trying, regardless of what happens, and you'll succeed ultimately. 

 

There's a very real possibility that I will not get accepted by any of the 11! programs I applied to, and I'm prepared to do it all over again next year if needed. I'm terrifically well qualified and still I might not make it this go around. That's just the way it goes sometimes!

[rj16]

I'm also waiting on my five remaining schools. I've been advised that having not heard yet is a good thing. For some, it's just the programs haven't decided. For others it indicates you're still in the running. My discipline is a bit different from normal academic ones, however. 

 

My philosophy is to view everything as an opportunity to be gained (rather than lost), so that either you get it and it's a plus or you don't get it and you break even. Just keep trying, regardless of what happens, and you'll succeed ultimately. 

 

There's a very real possibility that I will not get accepted by any of the 11! programs I applied to, and I'm prepared to do it all over again next year if needed. I'm terrifically well qualified and still I might not make it this go around. That's just the way it goes sometimes!

 

I love your outlook. Teach me!

[MoJuiced]

 It's only when we try to stringently plan and control our lives do we constantly meet with disappointment. When I travel I like to have a number of things I'd enjoy doing and then I take them as it's convenient. Alternately, I have friends who try to micro-manage their vacations to the point of inevitable dissatisfaction.

 

It comes down to a psychological concept of 'loss aversion'. When you think of something as being 'in hand' it's especially tough to deal with not having it, and consequently people behave so as to not lose even the thing they don't yet have. When you view a potentially attainable thing as not being yours, but it could be, then we act freely towards that possibility. 

 

You have a situation where you can go to graduate school. It's not mandatory and you'll have a good life without it, but once you put in all that work and start envisioning yourself getting accepted and going to that school it's hard not to fall into a frame of mind where not getting into the program is a net loss. If on the other hand you assume you won't get in and that your current status of not being in grad school would just be continued pending a rejection, then getting accepted is a bonus. Sadness is still there, of course. I haven't loved being rejected; but I was ready for it. 

 

This is partly why such wisdom as "enjoying the journey" are resonant and powerful -- when you relish the effort towards some goal over the goal itself, then you can't lose. Obviously, it's tricky to strike a balance between thinking positively (I can do this) and having tempered expectations (I might not succeed).

 

For me, I languished in undergrad for a while so actually getting my bachelors was an achievement. I'd feel silly taking that for granted now and being overly disappointed if that's all that I get. I'm also quite a happy and privileged person, so it helps to stay grounded knowing others have much more trying things they deal with.

 

It's hard to translate this from intellectual to instinctual, but I've somewhat trained myself in this regard. Sports have been very helpful in teaching me these lessons too. 

 

I hope any of this helps!

Edited March 3, 2014 by MoJuiced

[PsychGradHopeful14]

Only thing I can say is, don't lose hope, but don't get your hopes up.

 

You have to want it, but be ready for a Plan B if it doesn't work out, which for some means throwing out the entire playbook, others means to hang out and try again with the same application as last year, and some to seek more experience to become more competitive and try again.

 

The way I phrase it is "plan to fail," but really that means "plan for the contingency that it may not work out this year and don't get complacent just because your application deadlines have passed --- that could be 5-6 months that you could have spent building a better application."

 

Until the day you are admitted, there are typically no guarantees in graduate admissions.

[rj16]

@MoJuiced - thank you! I guess i've always known to enjoy the journey but never really had too. I sense I will be coming back to read your post in the next few days. 

 

@PsychGradHopeful14 - I think that's where I am struggling. I've put so much energy towards getting to grad school and I've been telling myself I had to because that was the only option. Having to confront the reality that it may not be for me this year is extremely hard. That being said, it would be an opportunity for growth, and I can see the value of that. 

[deaddog]

I applied to only two schools this fall, both with Dec 1. deadlines. Already been rejected from 1 school and getting nervous seeing people post about the other school and I still haven't heard anything... Can't decide if I should just wait or if I should ask?

[lrbrade]

If you are that nervous just ask. I do think responses are coming through this month. I already got back two rejections over the past two days. 

[kechemukwa]

I've only heard from one school so far, and that was just an email from the prof. I still haven't gotten any formal offers yet.

[Canadianna]

I have only heard from one school so far (of six), and they put me on the waitlist, which is really no better than not hearing.

[gryffindor.hero]

I applied to 4 schools and have not heard back from any of them. I haven't seen any of the schools on the results page so maybe that's a good sign?

[mkt_12]

I'm still waiting on one more school (my top choice). I'm concerned because, according to the results page, other people received decisions two weeks ago. But I guess no news is good news? Is anybody else still waiting to hear from USC- Annenberg?  

[literaryhopeful]

Hey there! I have applied to Purdue, Knoxville,Auburn and Alabama as well. My area is early modern literature and late medieval. I don't think I have a shot in Alabama(Strode program accepts only 5 students). I am not holding out hope for Purdue either. I am hopeful about Auburn.

I spoke with a professor from UTK's English department. The decision meeting was scheduled for 28th February afternoon. I was told that we will be notified by Monday or Tuesday. Let me know if you make it. All the best!

 

 

Hi all. I am new to this forum and haven't been able to pull myself away. I see a wait-list has already begun for WVU. I haven't heard back yet and was wondering if I should get the box of tissues out now or later :/

 

 

Applying to: FAU, FSU, USF, UNC Greensboro, U. of South Carolina, West Virginia U, Vandie, Emory, Brandeis, U of Oregon, U of Washington, U of Mississippi, and UT.

Rejected: 4/12: USC, UT, Emory, Vandie

Wait-listed: 1/12: USF

Accepted: 1/12: FAU (no funding)

 

Still waiting to hear back from seven schools

[Dechunkis3]

Update: I applied to Boston College, University of Pitt, Ohio State higher ed phD programs

University of Maryland phD in Minority and Urban Ed program

Accepted 0/4

Rejected 2/4 Boston and UPitt

Interviews 0\4

[rj16]

I feel like I've been sitting on the edge of my seat for three weeks now! I think it's in part my fault for getting anxious too early... But now it needs to end! 

 

I've gotten one rejection, still waiting on two schools. They haven't released anything for my program and honestly, they seem to have released very little overall. 

 

How much longer do we have to wait??

[dchabs]

I applied to Brandeis for the MA computational linguistics program in January and I still haven't heard anything and Its been almost 9 weeks already. I think I'll hear something this week, but I've been saything that for the past couple weeks now.

[haha90]

I heard back from 3 schools! still waiting for 2 schools... 

[kittythrones]

Still waiting to hear back from 2 schools. One my fault for not including a supplementary questionnaire. The other one, they lied to me about rolling admissions > - >

[GeographyOSU]

I'm still waiting to hear back from Minnesota-Duluth. I turned in my application first week of February, and e-mailed a POI a couple of weeks ago. They told me that they were still trying to work out a date for the admissions committee to meet. Their spring break starts this weekend, so if I don't hear back by Monday or Tuesday, I assume I won't hear back until at least the 31st. Sigh....

[BushSchoolStudent]

Same for Florida State University. They asked me for an electronic copy of my transcripts on 4th February because the admissions committee were meeting, I sent it immediately. 26th March and still not a peep. Emailed them to ask if everything was okay last week, didn't receive a response!

[awkwardsparkle]

Still waiting on UMB. They haven't made decisions yet, as of today!