juror#1 Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 Such a big help... So I mentioned to my adviser that Michigan was only taking 1 or 2 students this year and he mentioned that the acceptances were probably already decided before they even received the applications... He explained to me that at much larger programs it is not completely uncommon for those acceptances to be more about who you know than anything else. Now I didn't apply to Michigan, but I just wanted to throw this out there and see what yall think. What would you do if you applied to Michigan (or any other program at the top of your list for that matter) and found out that they knew who they were accepting last summer? Do you believe that this happens? I personally do, but I have been told that I am too cynical. I think if I found out that that happend at one of the schools I applied to...well I would be very angry, upset, and jealous to say the least. Do I believe it happens? Absolutely, it is, as socog3 put it, like a job you can get by knowing the right people. I know that some people in my undergrad program started trying to scout potential schools and advisors awhile ago in hopes of impressing them so much their desicion would be made before even applying. Granted, not sure it happened for those people. But really it is also like if you try to get a summer research position at a favored university in hopes that if they know who you are you have a better chance. Either way I guess it is all part of the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
just.tell.me.already Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 I just called Yale's psych dept and asked if all of the invitations for visitors' day have been sent out yet and the woman said that they would all be done by the end of this week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geichat Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 was wondering if anybody has heard back from social psych at Northwestern or UChicago yet? Interviews? Acceptance? Anything? thanks:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geichat Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 I just called Yale's psych dept and asked if all of the invitations for visitors' day have been sent out yet and the woman said that they would all be done by the end of this week. thats good to know. thanks! btw, visitors' day as in interviews? or did they already send out acceptance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlloyd87 Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 was wondering if anybody has heard back from social psych at Northwestern or UChicago yet? Interviews? Acceptance? Anything? thanks:D The results page shows that Northwestern has sent out one interview request and one rejection so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elucidation Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 thats good to know. thanks! btw, visitors' day as in interviews? or did they already send out acceptance? From what I understand, Yale sends out acceptances and has an accepted students day rather than a conventional interview day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geichat Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 The results page shows that Northwestern has sent out one interview request and one rejection so far. thanks! really wish i'd heard something from them... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlloyd87 Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 thanks! really wish i'd heard something from them... Well it is good that you had the courage to even apply.. I was too scared of applying because I email Finkel and the first thing he talked about was how competitive it is. He scared me out of applying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geichat Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 Such a big help... So I mentioned to my adviser that Michigan was only taking 1 or 2 students this year and he mentioned that the acceptances were probably already decided before they even received the applications... He explained to me that at much larger programs it is not completely uncommon for those acceptances to be more about who you know than anything else. Now I didn't apply to Michigan, but I just wanted to throw this out there and see what yall think. What would you do if you applied to Michigan (or any other program at the top of your list for that matter) and found out that they knew who they were accepting last summer? Do you believe that this happens? I personally do, but I have been told that I am too cynical. I believe some profs prob do take people that they knew previously. but i would think (or hope) they still look at other applicants. Why else would they pay to fly people out there for interviews? Am I really too naitve in trusting these programs to look at applicants' credentials?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlloyd87 Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 I believe some profs prob do take people that they knew previously. but i would think (or hope) they still look at other applicants. Why else would they pay to fly people out there for interviews? Am I really too naitve in trusting these programs to look at applicants' credentials?? I'm with you. I send my application to a school expecting them to give it at least a good once over and hopefully more. However, I would not be too surprised if this happened at Michigan/Stanford/Ivy League. I haven't seen any interview requests from Michigan yet. So far all I have seen is a long list of rejections. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eucalyptus Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 I believe some profs prob do take people that they knew previously. but i would think (or hope) they still look at other applicants. Why else would they pay to fly people out there for interviews? Am I really too naitve in trusting these programs to look at applicants' credentials?? Some of those programs with a very small number of spots might be taking people they already know, but they don't all do that. I've been informally told that I'm pretty much accepted into a top Ivy League program that is taking 2-3 students this year, and I have no previous ties to the program or school. I didn't even email profs there until early December, and have never met any of them. And to add to that, I don't have a degree from a prestigious/Ivy League school. So it is definitely not naive to think that super competitive/small programs let in applicants they don't know! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlloyd87 Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 Honestly it is situations like those that make me appreciate professors that tell prospective applicants that they don't talk too much with applicants prior to the application deadlines. My POI from A&M told me that he does not say anymore than that he is taking a student. It kind of frustrated me at the time, but this sort of stuff makes me appreciate that he tries to go in with as little bias as possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhmoss1812 Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 Honestly it is situations like those that make me appreciate professors that tell prospective applicants that they don't talk too much with applicants prior to the application deadlines. My POI from A&M told me that he does not say anymore than that he is taking a student. It kind of frustrated me at the time, but this sort of stuff makes me appreciate that he tries to go in with as little bias as possible. I think the POI should still mention if they are taking a student or not, at the least. Last year, I got rejected from Marquette b/c the person wasn't taking a student but would have been accepted if she was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhmoss1812 Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 Some of those programs with a very small number of spots might be taking people they already know, but they don't all do that. I've been informally told that I'm pretty much accepted into a top Ivy League program that is taking 2-3 students this year, and I have no previous ties to the program or school. I didn't even email profs there until early December, and have never met any of them. And to add to that, I don't have a degree from a prestigious/Ivy League school. So it is definitely not naive to think that super competitive/small programs let in applicants they don't know! Congrats. May I ask which Ivy League school and who your POI is there? I'm only interested because I applied to Yale to work with Margaret Clark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anita Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 Thus far I've dropped at least $300 for 3 schools that took my app fee and my GRE report without even looking at my app. What sort of economic transaction is this? If somebody, anybody at all, spent an hour reviewing my app and then threw it in the trash, they would at least have rendered me an intellectual service that justifies the money I gave them. Here they just take the money and trash my app. This is only one of many things that don't make any sense to me about the workings of academia. It's like you have to sign an implicit agreement to forgo your entitlement to common-sense fairness when you volunteer to join academe, in exchange for the slim chance of one day being on the benefiting side of said lack of fairness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jadie Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 (edited) Thus far I've dropped at least $300 for 3 schools that took my app fee and my GRE report without even looking at my app. What sort of economic transaction is this? If somebody, anybody at all, spent an hour reviewing my app and then threw it in the trash, they would at least have rendered me an intellectual service that justifies the money I gave them. Here they just take the money and trash my app. This is only one of many things that don't make any sense to me about the workings of academia. It's like you have to sign an implicit agreement to forgo your entitlement to common-sense fairness when you volunteer to join academe, in exchange for the slim chance of one day being on the benefiting side of said lack of fairness. How do you find out that they haven't looked at your applications? Edited February 3, 2010 by Jadie repatriate 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
just.tell.me.already Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 From what I understand, Yale sends out acceptances and has an accepted students day rather than a conventional interview day. Yes, i believe that is correct. Yale admits you without an interview. The "visiting day" really is just that--a day to visit the school and check out the program. So one way or another, if you applied to Yale, you'll know by the end of the week whether you got in or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geichat Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 Yes, i believe that is correct. Yale admits you without an interview. The "visiting day" really is just that--a day to visit the school and check out the program. So one way or another, if you applied to Yale, you'll know by the end of the week whether you got in or not. yeah i did apply to yale but havent heard anything whatsoever from POI or the department so im prob out. not too surprised tho. congrats to those that got in!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geichat Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 Some of those programs with a very small number of spots might be taking people they already know, but they don't all do that. I've been informally told that I'm pretty much accepted into a top Ivy League program that is taking 2-3 students this year, and I have no previous ties to the program or school. I didn't even email profs there until early December, and have never met any of them. And to add to that, I don't have a degree from a prestigious/Ivy League school. So it is definitely not naive to think that super competitive/small programs let in applicants they don't know! congrats!!! and thanks for the reply. makes me feel so much better about the whole application process. i was stressed out about my upcoming umich interview and it was just so extremely frustrating to see the prior post. just hope that isnt true about umich... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geichat Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 Well it is good that you had the courage to even apply.. I was too scared of applying because I email Finkel and the first thing he talked about was how competitive it is. He scared me out of applying. yeah...but after a while i kinda got used to everybody telling me about how competitive these programs are so i applied anyways... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geichat Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 I'm with you. I send my application to a school expecting them to give it at least a good once over and hopefully more. However, I would not be too surprised if this happened at Michigan/Stanford/Ivy League. I haven't seen any interview requests from Michigan yet. So far all I have seen is a long list of rejections. well i did get invited to their interview weekend and thats why it was frustrating to see the prior post. but i heard they're only taking a couple students this year....better not get my hopes up too much... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychdork Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 Out of curiousity, has anyone heard anything from Penn State or Indiana? I've gone through the results page (far too many times for my own good) and there has been nothing this year, but I know Penn State's other psych disciplines have started notifying, so I was wondering about their social program. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polipsychstudent Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 Hi everyone! So far I have heard from: UNC Chapel Hill (Interview) - a few weeks ago, interview on Feb 12 NYU (Interview)- earlier this week, interviews on Feb 26 Minnesota (Accepted)- a week and a half ago, visitors day on March 5-6 Ohio State (Accepted)- a week and a half ago, visitors day on March 4-7 UI Urbana Champaign (Accepted) Yale (Accepted)- two days ago, visitors day on March 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychdork Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 Hi everyone! So far I have heard from: UNC Chapel Hill (Interview) - a few weeks ago, interview on Feb 12 NYU (Interview)- earlier this week, interviews on Feb 26 Minnesota (Accepted)- a week and a half ago, visitors day on March 5-6 Ohio State (Accepted)- a week and a half ago, visitors day on March 4-7 UI Urbana Champaign (Accepted) Yale (Accepted)- two days ago, visitors day on March 1 Congrats on all the acceptances! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
repatriate Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 Hi everyone! So far I have heard from: UNC Chapel Hill (Interview) - a few weeks ago, interview on Feb 12 NYU (Interview)- earlier this week, interviews on Feb 26 Minnesota (Accepted)- a week and a half ago, visitors day on March 5-6 Ohio State (Accepted)- a week and a half ago, visitors day on March 4-7 UI Urbana Champaign (Accepted) Yale (Accepted)- two days ago, visitors day on March 1 When did you hear from UIUC and through what channel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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