Fall 2015 I/O Applicants

[GoBruins]

Buzzin and bcaitlin, thanks for your responses. I just find it perplexing that BG gave me a response two weeks after I applied, and Colo State hasn't said anything and it's been more than two months! Ahh, it's all just aggravating 

[BCB]

I agree! I've heard a lot of places don't even start looking at submitted applications until January, and yet they have December 1st (or close to it) deadlines... Maybe in an attempt to keep application numbers down? Either way, it's annoying to be on the waiting end!

[KW58D]

2nd this   ^

[BuzzinAround]

University of Houston sent out at least some of their formal interview weekend emails a couple of weeks ago. Looking at your signature, Colorado State did as well, at about the same time. These are both interview weekends and not recruitment weekends.

Yep. They're interview weekends, so it's still possible to get rejected after interviewing. After they've broken down their applicant pool post-interview, they start pulling people off the waitlist.

[BuzzinAround]

I agree! I've heard a lot of places don't even start looking at submitted applications until January, and yet they have December 1st (or close to it) deadlines... Maybe in an attempt to keep application numbers down? Either way, it's annoying to be on the waiting end!

I think it's also an issue of the long winter break in the middle, so a lot of professors or members of the admissions committee aren't even in the office. It's also nice because you get to submit some materials late without anyone really noticing 

[TH17]

I agree! I've heard a lot of places don't even start looking at submitted applications until January, and yet they have December 1st (or close to it) deadlines... Maybe in an attempt to keep application numbers down? Either way, it's annoying to be on the waiting end!

Edited February 19, 2015 by TH17

[ioioioio]

I agree that it is annoying to have to wait so long, but my biggest issue is with the programs that don't even bother contacting you at all if you are wait-listed/rejected. We pay money (sending GRE scores, transcripts, application fees) to even be considered by these programs, so I think out of professional courtesy they should at least take the time to let us know the status of our applications. 

[angeladl6007]

Has anyone else applied to the University of Akron and heard anything or have any idea around when they will make contact? Their deadline was January 15, although I sent my application in November (probably why I am starting to get crazy) so I am sure it can't be the time to worry. I've seen reports of responses from their counseling program but nothing so far from I/O. Last year, I got waitlisted for all 7 schools I applied to so I am very nervous about not hearing anything already.

[BCB]

Has anyone else applied to the University of Akron and heard anything or have any idea around when they will make contact? Their deadline was January 15, although I sent my application in November (probably why I am starting to get crazy) so I am sure it can't be the time to worry. I've seen reports of responses from their counseling program but nothing so far from I/O. Last year, I got waitlisted for all 7 schools I applied to so I am very nervous about not hearing anything already.

[GoBruins]

I agree that it is annoying to have to wait so long, but my biggest issue is with the programs that don't even bother contacting you at all if you are wait-listed/rejected. We pay money (sending GRE scores, transcripts, application fees) to even be considered by these programs, so I think out of professional courtesy they should at least take the time to let us know the status of our applications. 

[lilypeng2015IO]

I just received an official rejection letter from Purdue by mail!! BY MAIL!! How ironic..

[I/O Dude]

Just FYI to anyone who applied to Minnesota and hasn't heard back from them, I called them a few weeks ago and all interview invites had gone out and they don't keep a waitlist.

 

They actually don't interview

[BCB]

Oh okay, that's just how I asked the question and the graduate admissions person said "yes" so I guess she knew what I meant. Thanks for clarifying.

[GoBruins]

I just got placed on the short list at Oklahoma

[CompulsiveEmailRefreshing]

I just got placed on the short list at Oklahoma

 

I thought you already declined? I remember your story with them was kind of interesting How did you find out about the shortlist? 

[GoBruins]

I thought you already declined? I remember your story with them was kind of interesting How did you find out about the shortlist? 

 

Yeah I think I arrogantly assumed that they had accepted me to be quite honest haha. But when I had the skype talk with a POI I told her that I was probably going to accept another offer, so they should give someone else a spot. I'm guessing they placed me on the short list in case I changed my mind. And they emailed me this morning about it

[CompulsiveEmailRefreshing]

Yeah I think I arrogantly assumed that they had accepted me to be quite honest haha. But when I had the skype talk with a POI I told her that I was probably going to accept another offer, so they should give someone else a spot. I'm guessing they placed me on the short list in case I changed my mind. And they emailed me this morning about it

oh, okay! Thank you

[setite]

For those of you who got into schools already and are unlikely to need to apply again, what made you choose the schools you did. I created a spreadsheet with data from USNews, the APA grad school book and SIOP to map out everything I could about all the possible schools. It took forever! But there are programs you have applied to that I don't remember hearing about. Particularly I never considered Oklahoma and I have no idea why. It's in my spreadsheet and according to the APA data it's a program that receives only around 50 apps and they have decent stipends, full tuition remission, and I have no idea how they didn't end up on my list.

[GoBruins]

For those of you who got into schools already and are unlikely to need to apply again, what made you choose the schools you did. I created a spreadsheet with data from USNews, the APA grad school book and SIOP to map out everything I could about all the possible schools. It took forever! But there are programs you have applied to that I don't remember hearing about. Particularly I never considered Oklahoma and I have no idea why. It's in my spreadsheet and according to the APA data it's a program that receives only around 50 apps and they have decent stipends, full tuition remission, and I have no idea how they didn't end up on my list.

 

Wow, that's a great idea! One thing I can mention right now is that eventually got tired of hearing all the same names over and over again (Michigan State, Bowling Green (even though it's my top choice!), Minnesota, UCF, etc.), so I just wanted to see what programs even existed in the first place. At first I looked at SIOP's list of accredited schools. Then I looked at all of their ranking indices - student quality of life, program costs, culture, etc. I'm sure you've already looked at those, but that's how I came up with a basic list. Then, I started looking up individual schools on their websites. Those that had bad websites with little to no information, or hard to get information (I'm looking at you, George Mason), I kinda put on the back burner, unless they were ranked really well (which is why I applied to GMU). 

 

So I looked at each school's website, and bookmarked them on my browser. I used to have like 40 bookmarks! Now it's only 9. I'd read up on what info they gave me, and I'd download brochures and stuff. I just tried to get all the info I could. Then, I started looking at the hard stuff: assistantship $$$, research interests, etc. Then, my final list was a combination of schools that were reach schools, target schools, and some "safety" schools (although there's really no such thing in the grad school world). 

 

Hope this helps!

[CompulsiveEmailRefreshing]

For those of you who got into schools already and are unlikely to need to apply again, what made you choose the schools you did. I created a spreadsheet with data from USNews, the APA grad school book and SIOP to map out everything I could about all the possible schools. It took forever! But there are programs you have applied to that I don't remember hearing about. Particularly I never considered Oklahoma and I have no idea why. It's in my spreadsheet and according to the APA data it's a program that receives only around 50 apps and they have decent stipends, full tuition remission, and I have no idea how they didn't end up on my list.

APA has a great book that delineates what each school ranks most important in the context of GPA, letters of rec, etc. Personally, my statistical and computer skills far exceed my GRE quant score, and I have more years of teaching experience than I have research experience. So I hedged my bets, applying to schools that valued my strengths, not necessarily the "Top 5 I/O schools," because that wouldn't be my smartest strategy; does that kinda make sense? I also made spreadsheets upon spreadsheets of POIs, average GRE scores, etc.

 

Also, my most helpful tip I think is to take ALL of your options into consideration. I literally researched every single program on the SIOP website. Every school deserved a fair shot in my opinion, because all I really have to go on are the [often outdated] websites. I went from a shortlist of 53 to a final list of 8 Ph.D. I/O programs, 1 Ph.D. Management program, and 2 M.S. I/O programs. I've hardly gotten decisions back yet, and this might be overkill for someone with perfect scores and insider info, but I hope this is helpful nonetheless

[setite]

Below is the spreadsheet I made. You will see that I spent an insane amount of time making it. The APA book was particularly difficult to sift through to find the info. What I didn't do was go through the school sites to get info, that proved too difficult. I agree about GMU, I applied because of reputation, the city and how the school has Korean classes.

 

Sounds like we did the same things, I did go to the sites and make a lot of bookmarks. For some reason I must have overlooked Oklahoma.

 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AovmJvJBVDlvdFI1Y3E5T0ItLTUwQ25mbFZrVnhkNEE&usp=sharing

[TH17]

For those of you who got into schools already and are unlikely to need to apply again, what made you choose the schools you did. I created a spreadsheet with data from USNews, the APA grad school book and SIOP to map out everything I could about all the possible schools. It took forever! But there are programs you have applied to that I don't remember hearing about. Particularly I never considered Oklahoma and I have no idea why. It's in my spreadsheet and according to the APA data it's a program that receives only around 50 apps and they have decent stipends, full tuition remission, and I have no idea how they didn't end up on my list.

 

This is my 3rd application cycle and I switched up my approach completely this year and it seems to have really paid off (four phone interviews, two acceptances while still waiting on the other two). In previous years, I chose where to apply primarily based off of location/school reputation and tried to match my interests as best I could to those programs. For example, schools with reputable programs that were close to home and/or places I thought could be cool to live for 5 years, I applied to and did my best to stretch my interests without deviating too much from my actual interests to fit at least somewhat what some of the faculty were doing there. 

 

This year I took time to really figure out what it was I wanted to research and what I could see myself being passionate about (not just saying I was passionate about it in my SOP, but actually truly passionate) and then in the summer I took a few weeks and went through the entire graduate database on SIOP, taking the time to visit each program's website to look at the research interests of the faculty. I made a spreadsheet with all of the programs with professors doing research that was similar to or connected to what I wanted to do (having specific research ideas really helped cut the list down to a manageable amount). 

 

From there, in early October, I took the time to send a very professional email to each of my POIs at the different programs, giving them a brief background of myself , briefly explained my interest in their research and asked if they were planning on accepting any students next fall. I think sending the emails early in the fall is a good idea because it lets them know you're being proactive about your applications and aren't waiting until the last minute. Also, I made sure there was nowhere on their websites that stated they were accepting a student before I emailed them. In some cases, I mentioned specific papers they had published, if in the discussion section in their ideas for future research they mentioned anything having to do with my research interests. In most cases, the replies I received were very positive and welcoming. A few let me know they were not going to be accepting a student, which allowed me to drop that program from my list, and I did get a few no replies. 

 

After that process was completed I was left with a list of 13 programs to apply to, all of which there was a strong fit between my research interests and at least one faculty member's research. My approach towards selecting which programs to apply to was not the only difference in my applications this year, but I definitely think it played a major role in why I've seemed to have more success this year than in previous years.

[setite]

I'm glad to hear that this cycle is working out well for you. I did the same thing on the advice of my MUGGSS mentor. CSU has a program for I/O majors, Mentoring UnderGrads to Graduate School Success, where we are paired with a IOP grad student who helps us with various aspects of the application process. As a first generation student it was incredibly helpful as I had no idea what to do, though I picked up much of it on my own via neoacademic.

 

I tailored part of my SOP to most of the schools in October or November like you, though some schools were added to the list last minute so I didn't do that. Also, this cycle I found it very hard to find professors I could really cater to. Your posts make me confident that I did all I could. If I am unlucky this cycle I'll take the GRE again, this time remembering to do the stuff I know first. I never got to the statistics part, the part I know I can do. I'll also try to find more schools with professors doing cross-cultural research, so far I only found one.

 

Are any of your acceptances from past rejects?

[kb5522]

Hey,

 

Still waiting to hear back from UNC, UNCW, U of Toronto and U of Western Ontario. Has anyone heard anything from those 4 schools by any chance?

[setite]

Just got my Colorado State University rejection a few hours ago. I knew that one was coming though, they don't take their own undergrads but I applied anyway.