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2015 Rejections


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Officially rejected at Rice. I had a POI personally flagging my application to the adcom, but to no avail it seems. Disappointed, but not shattered. Overall, Rice wasn't a perfect fit -- that POI in particular was a perfect fit, but institutionally it was near the bottom of my list. And hey, I don't have to move to Texas! (Bright sides, right?)

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I'm sorry, WT. :(

 

Thanks. :)

 

It's okay! It's clear that the universe is telling me that the best job for me is to be a cheerleader at Grad Cafe! The universe wants me to get shut out now so that I can do my usual rah-rah for the 2016 cohort. ;)

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On 2/12/2015 at 10:19 AM, lazaria said:

What is the etiquette for getting feedback from departments that reject you? Respectful emails, I assume. Anyone done this before and have any tips they can share? 

 

I waited a few days, thanked the DGS/admissions committee for taking the time to read my application, and asked for some feedback on my application. I think the etiquette is to mirror the politeness of your rejection.  If the department is polite/personal about the rejection (say, sending an email rather than a "check status on website" automated message), or you have been in contact with your POI or the DGS for a while, then writing them back seems like the correct thing to do. I am glad I asked for feedback and may do this at other schools once I receive official rejections. 

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I'm very curious, in a macabre, masochistic sort of way, what the GC record is for the most applications made without an acceptance or waitlist...

 

I was shut out of 11 in 2013... hopefully NOT the record, but it's a possibility.

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I'm very curious, in a macabre, masochistic sort of way, what the GC record is for the most applications made without an acceptance or waitlist...

I saw someone post that they had been rejected from FIFTY programs. I do believe this poster did eventually receive an offer.

 

The learning curve is really steep for this process. It seems like very few get an offer their first go around. I got shut out in 2013 and I have had two more rejections in the past 24 hours. Now I'm probably moving to Texas? 

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I waited a few days, thanked the DGS/admissions committee for taking the time to read my application, and asked for some feedback on my application. I think the etiquette is to mirror the politeness of your rejection.  If the department is polite/personal about the rejection (say, sending an email rather than a "check status on website" automated message), or you have been in contact with your POI or the DGS for a while, then writing them back seems like the correct thing to do. I am glad I asked for feedback and may do this at other schools once I receive official rejections. 

 

This is what I did last year, and the feedback, while hard to hear at the time, resulted in better applications this time around.

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This is what I did last year, and the feedback, while hard to hear at the time, resulted in better applications this time around.

 

 

The funny this is, at least at Berkeley, there wasn't anything wrong. I just wasn't what they needed this year. He told me that I was clearly talented and serious about my work and should just keep going what I'm doing—the implication being that eventually I will get in somewhere....though probably not Berkeley.

 

Anyway, I think it confirmed what everyone has been telling me, that it is a matter of fit + luck, especially with these hot-ticket programs. It was nice to know that I made it to the short list despite having a mediocre undergrad GPA and okay GRE scores. 

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I'm very curious, in a macabre, masochistic sort of way, what the GC record is for the most applications made without an acceptance or waitlist...

 

What's more interesting to me, and this happens every year, are the people who start off something like 0 for 9, lose hope, and then suddenly get accepted to a top program.  This famously occurred on this board like 2 or 3 years ago and the person got into Columbia.  

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For Brown rejects, did you get notified via email or do a random site check? I wasn't accepted so fully expect a rejection but when I logged in just saw the general applyweb menu with the option to view details and then recs listed at the bottom. Nothing in my email or spam folder either :/

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Officially rejected at Rice. I had a POI personally flagging my application to the adcom, but to no avail it seems. Disappointed, but not shattered. Overall, Rice wasn't a perfect fit -- that POI in particular was a perfect fit, but institutionally it was near the bottom of my list. And hey, I don't have to move to Texas! (Bright sides, right?)

 

Sorry, Wyatt's Torch:( Houston is icky, so you dodged a bullet there. Haha but my irrepressible state pride has to put in a positive word for Texas. We're friendly and (aside from some grad admissions committees, I guess) generally really welcoming folks! 

 

And to add to the general woe, I'm one of the multitude of Berkeley rejects. I think I still prefer actually knowing to waiting hopefully though.

 

Query: at what point can we email and ask for an update? I've got one school with a fairly early (mid-March) acceptance deadline, and I'm not sure if I'll have even heard back the other 6 schools on my list by then.  

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For Brown rejects, did you get notified via email or do a random site check? I wasn't accepted so fully expect a rejection but when I logged in just saw the general applyweb menu with the option to view details and then recs listed at the bottom. Nothing in my email or spam folder either :/

 

I got an e-mail saying a decision was available. About twenty minutes later the decision showed up on the front page.

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I got an e-mail saying a decision was available. About twenty minutes later the decision showed up on the front page.

Thanks so much for responding. Still nothing. I'm trying really hard not to be piss-my-pants hopeful for a waitlist but it was my top choice so I shall hold out hope whilst obsessively refreshing my email~*

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Query: at what point can we email and ask for an update? I've got one school with a fairly early (mid-March) acceptance deadline, and I'm not sure if I'll have even heard back the other 6 schools on my list by then.  

If you cannot avoid this deadline (and the school is just ignoring the April 15th agreement), then I would say the end of this month is a fair time to request more info, letting the person you are talking to know that you would not be doing so if not for this deadline's urgency. 

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Thanks so much for responding. Still nothing. I'm trying really hard not to be piss-my-pants hopeful for a waitlist but it was my top choice so I shall hold out hope whilst obsessively refreshing my email~*

NP. What department? I applied to MCM.

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Re Brown: I applied in English and haven't received anything either. There's also nothing on the results board for English, so maybe the rejections for that program haven't been released yet?

Seems logical. Also I was just looking at postings for last year and didn't see a single entry for waitlist. On my phone so could've missed it but I've talked myself out of hoping now.

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