grad_wannabe Posted December 16, 2014 Posted December 16, 2014 That was me. I spoke to the DGS at NCA (I'm sad I know what that all means). He said they're supposed to report to the university who they want to admit by Jan 30. He was not sure whether or not the early deadline would speed up notification. The admissions rep with him made it sound like the interview weekend would be on the same schedule as always, for what it's worth. thank you!
Roflbot3000 Posted December 16, 2014 Posted December 16, 2014 Wow! They must love you! Congrats again! (such a quick response deserves two) Thanks again!!!
kingsxrocks Posted December 17, 2014 Posted December 17, 2014 In addition to awaiting responses for PhD applications I've submitted a number of articles to journals, 2/3 of which will let me know their deliberation around the same time as schools. Yeah... no stress.......tho
autumn Posted December 17, 2014 Author Posted December 17, 2014 In addition to awaiting responses for PhD applications I've submitted a number of articles to journals, 2/3 of which will let me know their deliberation around the same time as schools. Yeah... no stress.......tho Same. I feel you. Mostly I'm just trying to pretend its all over to preserve my sanity.
kicker Posted December 17, 2014 Posted December 17, 2014 When is the earliest you've heard of schools sending acceptances? Last year a friend got into Ohio U's phd program on Jan. 2, I think.
The Pedanticist Posted December 18, 2014 Posted December 18, 2014 When is the earliest you've heard of schools sending acceptances? Last year a friend got into Ohio U's phd program on Jan. 2, I think. That's strange because their deadline isn't until Feb.
autumn Posted December 18, 2014 Author Posted December 18, 2014 Someone on the English forum suggested unsubscribing to all unnecessary email lists until April. I'm definitely following that advice and thought I should share.
-hermes- Posted December 18, 2014 Posted December 18, 2014 Sooo I got rejected from Washington's iSchool. I'm not really disappointed about the rejection since I realized the program was a pretty terrible fit while writing my SOP and almost didn't apply. But it's made me feel really uncertain about my chances at better and more exclusive programs.
grad_wannabe Posted December 18, 2014 Posted December 18, 2014 Sooo I got rejected from Washington's iSchool. I'm not really disappointed about the rejection since I realized the program was a pretty terrible fit while writing my SOP and almost didn't apply. But it's made me feel really uncertain about my chances at better and more exclusive programs. Keep your head up! I can't count the number of times I've seen people on this thread get rejected from State School X while getting into Harvard.
autumn Posted December 18, 2014 Author Posted December 18, 2014 Sooo I got rejected from Washington's iSchool. I'm not really disappointed about the rejection since I realized the program was a pretty terrible fit while writing my SOP and almost didn't apply. But it's made me feel really uncertain about my chances at better and more exclusive programs. Don't get discouraged! Like grad_wannabe said, lack of fit doesn't reflect poorly on your chances at other schools.
-hermes- Posted December 18, 2014 Posted December 18, 2014 Thanks guys!! I really do hope that the reason was a poor fit. But it's hard not to question every other aspect of my app. My main LOR writer (a prof who I've worked with for almost two years) has been in an awful mood lately with the entire lab and maybe he didn't write me a strong letter. Maybe my master's GPA and awards don't make up for a mediocre undergrad GPA. Or maybe my SOP wasn't good enough. With this news, the wait now seems interminable.
autumn Posted December 18, 2014 Author Posted December 18, 2014 That! That is what freaks me out. Because you don't know. None of us will know WHY. For one school, I plan to ask how I can improve for next year but that doesn't guarantee a response. Bleck.
-hermes- Posted December 18, 2014 Posted December 18, 2014 Maybe I'll ask them. Someone posted a rejection saying they got their master's from the program, had a couple pubs, and had two LOR writers who were on the adcomm. Not sure whether that makes me feel better or worse.
Meanyus Posted December 18, 2014 Posted December 18, 2014 Reasons for rejection always vary year to year. It's not as simple as checking off boxes to make sure you have a certain GPA or GRE score. Everyone who applies to these programs is going to be pretty dang smart and when you get to your program, being smart isn't good enough to succeed. There are plenty of cases every year where qualified candidates are turned down because an oddly good applicant pool emerged or the funding just wasn't sufficient to offer admission to the number of people who would have been a great fit in the program. There's also the huge concerns over whether your POI can realistically take on another student, which you will have trouble getting honest answers about from faculty because they always think they can take on one more. This sounds pessimistic but it's really to say that a rejection in one place has no bearing on any other place. Instead, focus on the intangible qualities you have to offer at the programs you still have a chance to get into! Good luck all.
jujubea Posted December 19, 2014 Posted December 19, 2014 Don't get discouraged! Like grad_wannabe said, lack of fit doesn't reflect poorly on your chances at other schools. This ^^
grad_wannabe Posted December 19, 2014 Posted December 19, 2014 We have to remember too that the adcomms are piecing together a cohort from among the applicants. No matter how good your GPA, GRE, SOP, and LORs (what an alphabet soup!) if your research interests don't match well with the emergent "cohort theme" or don't overlap well with the other applicants and faculty, then that's just too bad. i visited one campus and spoke to some current students and told them my interests, and they said "oh, we haven't had any students focusing on that area in awhile." That could be very good (i.e. the program might be receptive to more representation of those ideas) or very bad (if the program is trending away from those ideas entirely). It bodes well that the program just hired a new faculty member whose interests are really close to mine, so I'm cautiously optimistic, but we just won't know til spring.
jujubea Posted December 19, 2014 Posted December 19, 2014 Boulder is officially "processing" applications...
autumn Posted December 19, 2014 Author Posted December 19, 2014 Oh! Is that earlier than usual or SOP for them?
jujubea Posted December 19, 2014 Posted December 19, 2014 It's on par with what I was told would happen, processing pre-Christmas break, decisions post-Christmas break. According to the database, the earliest decisions will come out in mid-Feb.
beyondaboundary Posted December 19, 2014 Posted December 19, 2014 It's on par with what I was told would happen, processing pre-Christmas break, decisions post-Christmas break. According to the database, the earliest decisions will come out in mid-Feb. End of January for some schools. UMich notified 1/24 this year...a date I'll never forget. Relax everyone, you've done what's been asked of you...enjoy the holidays and BREATHE...it'll be fine
jujubea Posted December 19, 2014 Posted December 19, 2014 Haha thanks. I'll try. I just meant for Boulder, about decisions coming out Feb. Still have one more application to go!
autumn Posted December 19, 2014 Author Posted December 19, 2014 Haha thanks. I'll try. I just meant for Boulder, about decisions coming out Feb. Still have one more application to go! Me too. I shouldn't have waited. I'm out of application mode now.
The Pedanticist Posted December 20, 2014 Posted December 20, 2014 Boulder is officially "processing" applications... Did everyone who is applying to Colorado get the e-mail about "sub-plans?"
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