Let's Overanalyze Together

[TXInstrument11]

Right? He was extremely nice but at the same time I just wanted a straight answer!

 

Feeling very

 

The GIF is perfect! I would have upvoted you, but apparently reached the stupid quota. 

[Shep2789]

Ive only gotten 1 interview from the 12 programs I applied. That was this past weekend. It was a top-30 program and I was REALLY impressed. I'd love to go there. The whole weekend they emphasized that if we made it that far, we we're probably in, so long as we weren't crazy, and we had an example to experience of what they meant by crazy. I was feeling good about getting in. Today I got rejected (3rd) by one of my lower-tier programs where I had a pretty solid connection. Its barely top-100. Now I'm wondering if the top-30 school got me mixed up with someone or what? Imposter syndrome is real, but we're supposed to fake it till we make it, right?

[thissiteispoison]

I am also a semi-professional belly dancer, and I left up my belly dance site, in my real name.  It is actually related to the research I'm proposing, and the fact that I belly dance is mentioned in my SOP and my CV, but I worry sometimes that it will hurt my chances.  But then I think, if they look down on that, it's not the kind of program I want to be in.  And then I think I just want to get in.  I agree - ughhhhhh!

 

Probably not totally related as it's not as stigmatized, but I'm a sub-elite runner, and I have a very public internet persona around running, which is linked to my real name. I left all that up, and I mention my elite development club on my CV (at the bottom). It has nothing to do with my research interests. But I know a lot of professors who have also been sub-elite runners at one point or another (including my undergrad advisor, who was actually probably more along the lines of elite), and I figure what will probably happen is the professors who know what I'm talking about will think it's cool or a connection point, while the professors who don't care about running will just ignore it. 

 

My undergrad advisor had all of his running accomplishments on his CV, and that's one reason we clicked so well  

[busybeinganxious]

I get a lot of wrong numbers to my landline, which usually doesn't bother me.  Now however, I've taken to Googling the names on the missed calls I don't recognize.  If it were a school they'd leave a message surely.  Doesn't stop me looking up the name though.  

[Chiqui74]

I get a lot of wrong numbers to my landline, which usually doesn't bother me.  Now however, I've taken to Googling the names on the missed calls I don't recognize.  If it were a school they'd leave a message surely.  Doesn't stop me looking up the name though.  

You still have a land line???

[busybeinganxious]

I'm old and have kids in school!  Don't judge. I do use the new-fangled push button phone instead of the rotary dial though. 

[Chiqui74]

My husband and I got rid of our land line about 6 years ago.  We just didn't use it.  I was only lightly teasing you

[busybeinganxious]

No worries, my immediate family teases us about our landline regularly. Just trying to give as good as I get.

[birchleaf]

It's the history main thread, I believe, which has statistics and graphs posted. I found it on accident today, if you're still interested!

[Crucial BBQ]

Now that many schools notify applicants through an email/website update, when is the most likely time for a decision notification to show up?

Weekdays? Only during business hours? At the end of the week?

 

Feel free to share your experience or simply overanalyze and speculate with me! 

Last year they all came in M-F during the evening.  West Coast schools came in later in the evening because of time zones.  

 

 

 

This 100 million times.  Even "a few people have gotten interviews at X, and I haven't heard anything, so I'm not getting in anywhere."

This is so true in the Biology sub-forum, and you know, because Results said so. 

 

"Someone posted in Results they got an interview at X.  I thought invites were not going out until later in the month.  I didn't get one.  Does that mean I'm screwed?"

 

"Yes"

 

"Well, not really. I called my POI at X and he said they did not send out the invites yet"

 

"Crap!  I saw that in Results, too!  I didn't get one either.  My life is over"

 

"lol guys.  I called my POI at X this morning.  He assures me they did not send out any invites"

 

"He was just being nice.  You got rejected"

 

"Yeah, someone posted in Results they were rejected from X.  Probably because he didn't get an interview"

 

 

 

No worries, my immediate family teases us about our landline regularly. Just trying to give as good as I get.

I have a landline, quite useful with the faxes.  Actually, I have one because of my alarm system.  It's currently cheaper with the landline than it would be to go wireless/wifi.  Plus if power goes out (which has happened 3 times over the last two years, each for roughly 5 days a piece) it still works (both the phone and the alarm). 

Edited January 29, 2015 by Crucial BBQ

[katcherintherye]

This is definitely the thought I keep having. Every time a result goes up on the board...If I had applied there, I would already know! Why didn't I apply there? Did I even consider that program? Should I apply there next cycle after I get rejections from all the schools I applied to this year?

 

LOLLLL I DO THIS, TOO! Oh... I got a recruitment email from them but didn't apply. But if I did, I would have already known about my acceptance.

 

So bad. so so so bad. So many people in X programs have been getting acceptances already. Am I not hearing anything because I'm being rejected? Should I reach out to my POI? Silly, silly, silly.

[agrizz]

Unrelated to the OP except that I enjoy the overanalysis, but:

 

On my very long commute home from work, I often rehearse answers the hypothetical interview questions to ensure I am prepared for anything.  In truth, the only thing I think I'm preparing myself for is to give canned answers to cliche interview questions and how to look stupid and/or insane to passing motorists as I carry on a one-sided conversation with my mirror.  

[jamesy1116]

Right? He was extremely nice but at the same time I just wanted a straight answer!

 

Feeling very

 

"Don't cry for me, I'm already rejected."

[Journey2015]

I can't find the original thread where someone posted a question about status updates. I had another FINALLY change from "Complete" to "Application released to program for their review. All letters of reference have been received. The Graduate College is waiting for the program's recommendation".

 

Probably means very little, but the only other application status that has updated thus far is from the school that invited me to interview. I guess we'll see. 

[nightfarmer]

I can't be the only person who will actually click on the gmail tab on the browser - which I have already seen doesn't have the (1) notification on it - and then on top of that click 'inbox' again so it refreshes right this second. I'm driving myself crazy. I'm turning into David Byrne.

[nightfarmer]

I also finally gave in and emailed a grad admissions coordinator (thinking, at least I won't alienate faculty and hopefully get some kind of information, any information) of the university that had sent out the most acceptance letters of the ones I applied to, and they gave me the standard website response of 'we will notify people in March.'

I wanted to send them this in response:

 

[Meglet]

I can't be the only person who will actually click on the gmail tab on the browser - which I have already seen doesn't have the (1) notification on it - and then on top of that click 'inbox' again so it refreshes right this second. I'm driving myself crazy. I'm turning into David Byrne.

 I totally do that.  Except I have the tabbed inbox, which keeps my phone from dinging every time someone wants me to sign another petition or give them money, but means I DO have to click the gmail tab, because it doesn't show notifications if things end up the 'Updates' box, which is probably where a grad school form email would end up.  And then I refresh the whole thing, just in case.

[owbee]

Not only do I keep checking my inbox, but i keep checking the junk folder too.

And i keep thinking that i shouldv'e retaken the GRE and TOEFL. I should have applied to more colleges too.

[museum_geek]

I had a phone interview with my POI and the Grad Director at one of my top choices this afternoon.  After the interview I sent a quick thank you note via email to both, and my POI replied with "Great talking with you!  More soon : )"

 

HE USED A SMILEY FACE AT THE END OF THE SENTENCE!  WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?!?!?!? I feel like I'm thinking way too hard about this emoticon...

[Zoethor2]

Ive only gotten 1 interview from the 12 programs I applied. That was this past weekend. It was a top-30 program and I was REALLY impressed. I'd love to go there. The whole weekend they emphasized that if we made it that far, we we're probably in, so long as we weren't crazy, and we had an example to experience of what they meant by crazy. I was feeling good about getting in. Today I got rejected (3rd) by one of my lower-tier programs where I had a pretty solid connection. Its barely top-100. Now I'm wondering if the top-30 school got me mixed up with someone or what? Imposter syndrome is real, but we're supposed to fake it till we make it, right?

 

FWIW, Shep, when I applied for my first go-round on the graduate school train, I got rejected by *all* my "safety schools" (3 of them) while getting into 4 schools in the rank 40 to 15 range in the field.  I think it's common (at least in some fields) for schools, if they think you are so overqualified you are sure to get in elsewhere and then turn them down, to sort of pre-emptively reject you.

[grad_wannabe]

I just had a silly one. Let's take a ride to Over-Analysis Land.

 

The story begins thusly: someone on Academia.edu requested one of my papers. No big deal, right? People request stuff all the time.But, something seemed odd about their profile.

 

First, they're categorized as "independent" (meaning no school association) and there's NOTHING on their profile. No followers, no papers, no pic, no cv, nothing.

 

Plus they have exactly 1 view, so the account is brand-new ... almost like they made it up just to request this paper.

 

Even the name is kinda fake-sounding, like "Bobby Desk." I googled the name and nothing came up. 

 

... the only thing on their profile is a list of a half-dozen interests -- PRECISELY matching the interests of one of my POIs and also the interests I listed in my SOP for them. Like, a super-specific and not-obvious set of semi-unrelated fields.

 

Plus, the only city from which I had a visit, the day that they requested the paper? The city where that POI works!!! [dun dun DUNNNN.]

 

So of course I imagined that the prof has made a dummy profile so they could request the paper on the down-low. And yes, I sent it. 

 

Edited January 30, 2015 by grad_wannabe

[agrizz]

My POI just emailed me signing it with his first name only... no "Dr. X"... no last name... just his first name. I mean, that's the name his mother calls him.  

 

That means I'm in, right?

[dr. t]

My POI just emailed me signing it with his first name only... no "Dr. X"... no last name... just his first name. I mean, that's the name his mother calls him.  

 

That means I'm in, right?

 

[grad_wannabe]

My POI just emailed me signing it with his first name only... no "Dr. X"... no last name... just his first name. I mean, that's the name his mother calls him.  

 

That means I'm in, right?

 

I had an email exchange with one of my POIs last fall. I addressed him as "Dr. X" until he wrote "you can call me Joe, all the grad students do. "

 

WHAT?!? First-name basis, "all the grad students" AND a SMILEY FACE?!? All in one email?!

 

I just about lost my mind. 

 

Waiting breathlessly on that application's response ...

[thissiteispoison]

I finally heard from a school! And it was the one school I thought would totally just throw out my application and laugh at me: MIT. I'm supposed to talk to a really cool professor this weekend. By "cool professor" I mean he does awesome research. I don't know anything about him IRL. I'm simultaneously excited and terrified and have had just about every thought mentioned in this thread over the past seven hours. 

 

Good luck, all!