Fall 2016 - Phd Thread

[fall2016applicant]

Anyone else going to visit Northeastern at the end of the month?  I was convinced that it was gonna be this big formal interview, but if it's only an hour of 1-on-1 meetings and we get to choose who we meet with, I'm thinking it's probably not gonna be that big of a deal? This is the only school I've heard good news from so I'm starting to get pretty nervous already.

[Kylie_]

6 minutes ago, fall2016applicant said:

Anyone else going to visit Northeastern at the end of the month?  I was convinced that it was gonna be this big formal interview, but if it's only an hour of 1-on-1 meetings and we get to choose who we meet with, I'm thinking it's probably not gonna be that big of a deal? This is the only school I've heard good news from so I'm starting to get pretty nervous already.

When and how did you hear from northeastern?

[Kylie_]

On January 30, 2016 at 3:38 PM, liesandfish said:

Also, I am sure I am freaking out for no reason, but I just checked my GM portal and the status went from decision made back to complete? I have the email letter of acceptance but I was wondering if any of you others that received acceptance did this? Or have you heard anymore from them? Thanks! 

Mine did the same! And I have not heard anything from them with the exception of the original acceptance email. 

[Kylie_]

Has anyone heard back from u Illinois at Chicago or psu?

[KnowVac]

7 minutes ago, Kylie_ said:

When and how did you hear from northeastern?

Probably around the 24th, there are two entries regarding NE on the results page and both of them are dated the 24th... I guess they sent out invitations to interview and visit the campus through email. 

[fall2016applicant]

11 minutes ago, KnowVac said:

Probably around the 24th, there are two entries regarding NE on the results page and both of them are dated the 24th... I guess they sent out invitations to interview and visit the campus through email. 

Bingo. One of those was me, received an initial email last sunday and got all the info today.

[liesandfish]

2 hours ago, Kylie_ said:

Has anyone heard back from u Illinois at Chicago or psu?

Kylie_ First off, thanks for the info about GM it is a relief to know that all of us are in the same boat.  I did send them an email asking about more information, if I hear I will be sure to post here. 

 

PSU (I am assuming you mean Penn State?), while I did not apply, I know they have notified Soc people about interviews and the person I know currently in their crime program found out late February with an "Skype interview". I say this because they were notified of an interview but the interview was just an informative Skype with acceptance and detailing funding. Fingers crossed for you! 

[judiths]

Hi, I have been waitlisted at rutgers phd program. Do you guys know how many people are usually on such a list? I am kinda sad because I really wanted to go to rutgers. I applied for Maryland too, so I will wait for their response. 

[judiths]

since finding this forum, it makes me more worried about my competition!

[phdincrim2016]

32 minutes ago, judiths said:

since finding this forum, it makes me more worried about my competition!

Don't be worried!

If this is like other fields - and based on what I am seeing so far - a few people are getting admitted at multiple places. Those people can attend only one school each, which means that spots are going to start opening up as soon as those individuals make a decision and turn down offers. Plus, many people are applying to sociology, social psychology, and/or public policy programs alongside criminology, and I suspect we'll see some attrition from people deciding to go for other fields.

So, being on a waitlist is not bad at all! I wouldn't be surprised if Rutgers ultimately has to go to its waitlist to fill out its class. All of this is just going to require patience (which has never been my strong suit, personally! :-) )

34 minutes ago, judiths said:

Hi, I have been waitlisted at rutgers phd program. Do you guys know how many people are usually on such a list? 

2

Rutgers is bringing in 15 finalists, so I would be surprised if there were more than 10-15 on the waitlist. Completely a guess, but why wailist more than that?

Edited February 2, 2016 by phdincrim2016

[zephiwho]

Hello everyone,

I was hoping I could share my two-cents on this forum, as I think it could help some people. I have been a lurker on this forum for this application season.  I wanted to post my results, but I want also conclude it with a helpful (hopefully!) piece of advice.

I applied to: Northeastern, Penn State, U of Cincinnati, U of Illinois at Chicago, U of Maryland, U of Missouri at St. Louis, Old Dominion University,and  U of Delaware

I have been accepted at (so far): Penn State, U of Cincinnati, and UIC. I am also going to the campus event at Northeastern.

GRE: 161 V, 157 Q 4.5AW

Grad GPA: 4.0 / Undergrad GPA (Major): 4.0 / Undergrad Cum: ~3.6

Experience: Conferences presentations (posters & papers); RA, TA, internship mentor, and one year of co-teaching experience; internship and extensive volunteer work in my field of interest (~1 year)

Interests: Violent crimes (Intimate partner violence, sexual assault)

Now, as a lurker in these forums, I feel like knowing where you stand in terms of competitiveness (I'll tell you why shortly) can be important. Clearly, the most up-to-date news about this application season is desirable. However, before I received acceptances, I made a promise to myself to not visit this site because I became too wrapped up in finding out if people were accepted. For instance, UDel has already sent out its first wave...this killed me because I had only heard from one school at the time (NE). Taking a break from this site until you receive news (GOOD NEWS, which you will) will help you come to terms with one thing: When all the dust settles in March/April, you will know where you have been accepted, waitlisted, and rejected (and I think you will have a few schools in each category). Much like the caucus in Iowa, only the final results are important. I think knowing that you did not belong to the "illustrious first-wave" of acceptances is detrimental to your psyche. This "first-wave" only indicates that graduate committees have begun the process of recruiting and competing with other colleges for students who have relevant research interests and demonstrate promise (on paper). It does not indicate that you are an inadequate applicant! Average enrollment rates (people offered, then subsequently accepted) for admissions, using 2013-2015 ADPCCJ data, is around 50%!!!! As my girlfriend stated so eloquently, "What's done is done. You can't change your application." There will be other waves of acceptances, and it only hurts to hold your breath during this time.

That being said, I think the kind of discussion we are having is undoubtedly important...for people who are applying next year. Delineating between our scores, our experiences, and our research interests in terms of the schools we applied to will help future applicants determine if grad school is right for them. Even more, it might help aspiring grad students understand what they need to do to be accepted in one of these great programs. I say we focus on developing this thread along the lines of those goals, instead of debating if any of us will "get in" based off of the recruiting practices of the departments we applied to!

[liesandfish]

Congrats on all your acceptances @zephiwho ! Your record sounds impeccable. 

I agree that it is best to not stress over something out of our control, but I do think this thread is valuable to this year and, of course, future years. I don't think discussing stresses/concerns/acceptances and excitement is bad. The thread has been nothing but uplifting, positive and friendly. No one is cutting anyone else down and there is no appearance of hard feelings when rejections or no responses are given from schools and others hear good news. 

I think as this season continues the thread will be what past years is for us, informative. I think continuing to share information of all sorts here is great! I, for one, would be disappointed if this thread lost its candidness and became a thread only focused on possibly helping next year and only directing information in that way. Perhaps a new forum thread for that specific target? 

 

Either way, I'm glad you've chimed in!! It's nice to hear a new persons perspective and to hear your good news! 

[phdincrim2016]

I agree with the most part with @zephiwho. I know that the boards cause a lot of anxiety, but there's already a lot of anxiety out there about the process. For me, I like knowing when schools send out first acceptances. For example, now I know that I'm not in the first round at Penn State or Delaware, two schools to which I applied. I'm not standing on top of my building about to jump, but actually comforted to know that it's going to be weeks before I hear from either of them, if at all, with good news. It settles my nerves.

I agree completely with @zephiwho that we can't let these things get us down. I've been on admissions committees before as a student representative, and it's like watching sausage get made. One year we had an applicant with excellent test scores and grades who matched up with a professor and had research experience - a dream applicant. But the professor with whom he wished to work already had three students working with him, so the committee rejected the applicant. There wasn't "space" for someone with his interests. I mention this not to stoke additional anxiety, but just to point out that it's all so random that you can take it personally when you're not admitted somewhere. You have no idea why the committee decided as it did.

I will continue to post on here as I hear back from schools, positive or negative, assuming others would rather have the information than not. If anybody prefers another approach, I'm all for it, but I tend to think more information is better than less information. 

Good luck to everybody!

[altikr25]

My updates:

Received acceptance from U of Cincinnati Friday.

Called UPenn today and was told that decisions will go out within the next two weeks. According to threads from the past, UPenn does interviews for their candidates (some of?) so I'm not optimistic about my chances there since I haven't heard a peep from them.

[altikr25]

On 1/29/2016 at 11:43 PM, Partinrn said:

I am quite worried about funding with FSU, however. I know they a fund a majority of their students, but this is stressing me out. 

Someone mentioned to me at least year's asc that Dr. Beaver is great at helping his students obtain funding. Good luck!

[1428 Elm St]

I actually would like to thank @zephiwho for your post yesterday.  It was extremely thoughtful of you and it was nice to hear such kind words for those of us who have not received good news yet (but may still ).

Also, I agree with @liesandfish ... I believe the hope/aim/goal of this board is to remain positive, encouraging, and supportive [not only for those of us going through this extremely stressful process now but for future ph d applicants].

I am very grateful for @phdincrim2016's post about Rutgers because it let some of us [me] process the coming news sooner.

Also, best of luck to @judiths ... I know that you may be down about being wait listed.. but stay strong for those of us who were not even considered.

I can't say that I am not super bummed out about Rutgers, but I am still hoping to hear from John Jay.  I unfortunately have extremely limited options of schools to apply to since I am not able to move.  

Lastly, I just want to say I am proud to be a part of this field because with all of these posts it would seem as though we have extremely qualified candidates, applying to amazing schools, who are very passionate and will go on to expand the field in positive ways.

[Partinrn]

5 hours ago, altikr25 said:

Someone mentioned to me at least year's asc that Dr. Beaver is great at helping his students obtain funding. Good luck!

That's what Dr. Nedelec, the professor I worth with now, said as well. It's definitely a relief hearing it from you too. What Dr. Beaver studies is pretty exclusive in comparison to something as large as policing, so it does make some sense.  Thanks!

[ThesisTerror724]

On 2/1/2016 at 0:20 PM, KnowVac said:

When and how did you hear from Delaware?

All of the acceptances I've gotten have been by phone and Rutgers emailed me regarding the interview! 

[nerdyjilly]

@1428 Elm St @phdincrim2016 John Jay should be sending out first round invites in about 2 weeks... My friend called yesterday

[nerdyjilly]

@1428 Elm St We are in the same boat, I can't move either! 

Did you attend John Jay's information session? I did. 

[judiths]

On 2 February 2016 at 1:31 AM, phdincrim2016 said:

Don't be worried!

If this is like other fields - and based on what I am seeing so far - a few people are getting admitted at multiple places. Those people can attend only one school each, which means that spots are going to start opening up as soon as those individuals make a decision and turn down offers. Plus, many people are applying to sociology, social psychology, and/or public policy programs alongside criminology, and I suspect we'll see some attrition from people deciding to go for other fields.

So, being on a waitlist is not bad at all! I wouldn't be surprised if Rutgers ultimately has to go to its waitlist to fill out its class. All of this is just going to require patience (which has never been my strong suit, personally! :-) )

Rutgers is bringing in 15 finalists, so I would be surprised if there were more than 10-15 on the waitlist. Completely a guess, but why wailist more than that?

thank you guys. Fingers crossed!!! It was my first time applying in the US and I have to say it was very expensive. If anyone doesn't get into a PhD in the US, England offers funded phD positions, plus application doesn't cost you a penny. 

 

[liesandfish]

Anxious about USF. I'm surprised that a few apps of mine that I haven't heard on HAD emailed me that they met mid Jan.....maybe means rejection or wait list. 

 

[nerdyjilly]

I called and was told that the first round for John Jay is being sent out now, or was already sent out via email. I haven't heard anything.  Too bad there aren't any emojis with tears lol

Edited February 3, 2016 by nerdyjilly

[nerdyjilly]

@1428 Elm St @phdincrim2016 have you guys heard anything? 

[Partinrn]

A tad off topic ladies and gents, I apologize: I've never been to a graduate "open house" where they essentially try to sell you the school. They are paying for everything (flight, hotel, food, etc.). Is an open house the same as an interview?? To me it would seem odd to invite someone down, all expenses paid, unless they were pretty much all but accepted.