Submitted Applications 2016 Entry

[hippyscientist]

5 minutes ago, onceinalifetime said:

I hate schools that have crappy tracking ability. UCR and USC don't let you send out emails to LoR writers until the app is fully submitted! And even after that you still can't see the status. Most schools have a status thing that will change from pending to received or something along those lines.

USC has a new portal you.usc or something like that which is where the put up their decision status FYI. (Admittedly not all programs have this but thought I'd point you there anyway)

[onceinalifetime]

2 minutes ago, piglet33 said:

USC has a new portal you.usc or something like that which is where the put up their decision status FYI. (Admittedly not all programs have this but thought I'd point you there anyway)

Ok, Ill check. I applied to two programs there at USC, and one was very nice and had all the tracking stuff. But I also applied to the chem dept there and they don't use the same system it seems, and it's a lot crappier. But hey, they don't charge an app fee to that was nice.

[DrZoidberg]

13 hours ago, onceinalifetime said:

Yes I emailed a few after I'd applied. I did feel kinda dumb asking if they were accepting new students after I'd already applied, because if the say 'no'.... But fortunately, I haven't had any of the 4 or 5 ppl I've emailed so far say they weren't gonna take anyone new. Also, I don't know when your deadlines are, but a good thing to do is go to your dept's website and see how much the encourage you to email PoI's. Some emphasize this a lot, and if they do, you should make sure to do it, and then mention that PoI in your SoP. However, some schools of mind have explicitly stated on their sites that acceptance is not based on 'openings' in a particular prof's lab, so for those schools, don't feel as pressured to write emails.

Writing to PoI's was kinda the last thing on my application checklist, that's why I ended up emailing some of the after the app was already submitted.

I already have contact with POIs at most of my programs, it was more in terms of having had initial contact, applying, and then just kind of letting them know? I can't figure out whether it is decent or pushy. I think I am overthinking a lot of the parts of this process. I also have a difficult time judging which programs require that you have an identified POI and funding, and which are more kind of departmental funding. Guess i will find out! 

[hippyscientist]

@DrZoidberg I did drop them a courtesy email to let them know all parts of my application had been submitted, regardless of the university and departments final decision on my application I had enjoyed and was grateful for their expertise and time during the process (as I had been to visit and had many email/skype conversations). Each was happy to hear that my application had been submitted and said they'd keep a keen eye out for it. Since then I have been invited to interview at one program and am still in touch with the POI there. Still waiting to hear from the others. In my opinion, it doesn't hurt if you've already had contact as it reminds them of you (hopefully in a positive light). Just put it in a positive light - thanks for your time communicating with me during this, I look forward to hearing from you/the department in due course sorta thing. Hope that helps. 

[DrZoidberg]

7 minutes ago, piglet33 said:

@DrZoidberg I did drop them a courtesy email to let them know all parts of my application had been submitted, regardless of the university and departments final decision on my application I had enjoyed and was grateful for their expertise and time during the process (as I had been to visit and had many email/skype conversations). Each was happy to hear that my application had been submitted and said they'd keep a keen eye out for it. Since then I have been invited to interview at one program and am still in touch with the POI there. Still waiting to hear from the others. In my opinion, it doesn't hurt if you've already had contact as it reminds them of you (hopefully in a positive light). Just put it in a positive light - thanks for your time communicating with me during this, I look forward to hearing from you/the department in due course sorta thing. Hope that helps. 

It might be a good idea. I have not had as extensive contact as you have, mainly over e-mail, but I am sure I left a positive impression so probably no harm in sending a friendly e-mail. Thank you for your suggestion.

[KingNikolai1]

I finished all of my applications two weeks ago, and almost all of my LoRs have been submitted. Waiting is definitely the hardest part of the process. I am half way done with winter break, and I find myself wanting to relax yet at the same time wanting break to end so that I can begin to hear back.

[MedievalMlle]

Same here--this waiting is so painful. I know I will have so much to do once the semester begins, but I can't wait to hear from my schools. And my first choice is the one I should hear back from first, so I will either be really happy or really disappointed within a couple of weeks.

[Dishsoap]

Applications have been in for awhile, and two days after my app was submitted the U of Nebraska contacted me about visiting, so I'm heading there tomorrow. I'm pretty sure I'll get in SOMEWHERE but still the waiting is driving me crazy! I swear if grad schools were able to know the number of times I've checked the results here or on other forums no one would let me in 

[artsy16]

I though the holiday break would be a good time to relax and get my mind off of applications, but people have been notified of interviews and acceptances almost every day since Christmas Eve! Including 2 schools I applied to, but I am holding out hope that I will hear something positive in the coming weeks  Tomorrow most universities are officially open again, which means more incessant email checking... good luck to everyone!

[xSuperRaquelx]

On 1/1/2016 at 2:40 AM, onceinalifetime said:

Wow, many of you applied so early! Some people finished Fall 2016 apps back in November?? And I think I saw a few who received decisions or interview invitations as early as December - that's unfathomable! I submitted all my apps no more than a few days before deadline. So my last two, which were due Jan 4 and 5, have just been submitted in the past couple days! But now I'm officially done!

Im glad Im not the only one. I had every intention of submitting everything early, but applying to multiple schools makes that a little hard. It also doesnt help that Im a chronic procrastinator. Ive submitted 2 applications THE DAY BEFORE it was due, and I have one more thats due next week. I havent even started writing my SOP for that one. But after writing and rewriting SOPs for 4 other schools, Im not worried about stitching together pieces from the ones I already wrote. I feel that my writing has gotten better too. So suddenly Im concerned that my first few applications werent that great. This process is maddening....

[onceinalifetime]

3 hours ago, xSuperRaquelx said:

Im glad Im not the only one. I had every intention of submitting everything early, but applying to multiple schools makes that a little hard. It also doesnt help that Im a chronic procrastinator. Ive submitted 2 applications THE DAY BEFORE it was due, and I have one more thats due next week. I havent even started writing my SOP for that one. But after writing and rewriting SOPs for 4 other schools, Im not worried about stitching together pieces from the ones I already wrote. I feel that my writing has gotten better too. So suddenly Im concerned that my first few applications werent that great. This process is maddening....

Yea I felt the exact same way as you, which is why I pushed my submissions back to the last few days before deadline. In some cases, I had the apps 95% ready a week or two ahead of time, but I just kept sitting on them because I, too, felt that my writing was getting better with each app. So I always had this feeling that I'd think of some way to improve part of my SoP or pers. history statment. Im pretty sure I submitted my SoP with a spelling error to my first two programs!  Its hard to hit the submit button cus you just want to keep making everything as perfect as possible!

[gingin6789]

16 hours ago, artsy16 said:

I though the holiday break would be a good time to relax and get my mind off of applications, but people have been notified of interviews and acceptances almost every day since Christmas Eve! Including 2 schools I applied to, but I am holding out hope that I will hear something positive in the coming weeks  Tomorrow most universities are officially open again, which means more incessant email checking... good luck to everyone!

I agree!!  around this time last year was when people started hearing back about soc programs... And while I likely won't be hearing back til around the 15th, I'll still be constantly checking @_@

[artsy16]

I wish "hearing back" meant finding out whether I was accepted. Instead, I still have to do in person interviews! I heard back about 1 interview before the holidays and about a prelim phone interview late last night. A few programs I applied to notified applicants this time last week, so I'm nervous but excited. I've waited long enough haha. 

 

I had all my apps submitted in late October, mainly because I couldn't submit any supplemental materials (including recommendations) until apps were submitted. Didn't want to risk it, I worked on my SOP over the summer. Apps were officially complete by mid November. 

[haltheincandescent]

17 hours ago, artsy16 said:

I though the holiday break would be a good time to relax and get my mind off of applications, but people have been notified of interviews and acceptances almost every day since Christmas Eve! Including 2 schools I applied to, but I am holding out hope that I will hear something positive in the coming weeks  Tomorrow most universities are officially open again, which means more incessant email checking... good luck to everyone!

Ugh, yeah--judging from past postings of results, I won't hear back for about a month and a half still (....), but, woke up this morning thinking "Oh, hey, schools are open again, I should check!" anyway. (Nothing, of course. I actually just remembered that today was the deadline for my last app [I had turned in everything early]; so clearly it's going to be a while...)

So frustrating how much this waiting draws out my obsessive tendencies. I mean, I've always leaned in that direction while waiting for grades back, or even college decisions--but those took 2-4 weeks max. This 2-3 months thing is a whole brave new world of anxiousness.

[hippyscientist]

One of the deadlines of my programmes for submitting applications is not until 1st Feb (it's already in but still). Thankfully that's not my top choice, and I could be hearing from them literally any time now. Once exams are done I'll be even more frantically checking emails and application status updates. We just gotta remember to breathe guys!

[Dr. Brains]

Does anyone know the timeline for UT Austin's psych department? I got a promising e-mail from one of the faculty there telling me I was a strong applicant and that they were starting their review process but haven't heard back ... I feel like if I was going to hear back from them, I should have gotten something by now. I'm losing hope

[hippyscientist]

 @Dr. Brains and whomever else feels this way, I understand your frustration, it's a horrible time waiting for applications to be accepted/rejected, but we have to remember that the admin teams and admissions committees have just got back from a break. It always takes a little while to settle back into work, as we all know, so give them time. Try not to stress too much (I know, I know, easier said than done). Try to distract yourself by doing something fun or different that takes you away from emails and being able to check them! 

[Dr. Brains]

53 minutes ago, piglet33 said:

 @Dr. Brains and whomever else feels this way, I understand your frustration, it's a horrible time waiting for applications to be accepted/rejected, but we have to remember that the admin teams and admissions committees have just got back from a break. It always takes a little while to settle back into work, as we all know, so give them time. Try not to stress too much (I know, I know, easier said than done). Try to distract yourself by doing something fun or different that takes you away from emails and being able to check them! 

thanks @piglet33 i'm trying to read his grant and prep for an interview I have tomorrow. Hang in there, everyone!

[pavlovianlove]

Got good and bad news today. Good because I saw an email from a POI from UIC telling me I was "one of the few applications that stood out" to her and she wanted to set up a Skype interview. Bad because the email was from 13 days ago, Dec 22. 

I stopped checking my email on Dec 20 because I assumed schools do not send out invites this early and because I wanted to regain my sanity by staying away from electronic communication for 10 days. Then I got the email on the 22 asking for an interview between then and Jan 1st. Replied the email to get an automatic response stating that POI is travelling until the 8th.

I can't describe how confused and mad at myself I feel right now.

Anyone have any idea how bad this looks? Ignoring an email for a Skype interview for 13 days? Does this hurt my chances?

 

[miss_pony9090]

Hello,

I am new to this forum and I recently applied to UC Berkley Ethnic Studies PhD program, UCSB Sociology PhD program, and UT Austin Latin American PhD program for Fall 2016. I am now very nervous to read all these stories about emails and early admissions. I am working on my Masters at UC Irvine in Criminology and I am nervous about my admission results! 

[DrZoidberg]

@pavlovianlove First of all, congratulations on doing well on your application! It is a unfortunate situation to be in, it is difficult to say what she makes of that - if anything. Personally I think the best approach is just to be honest about the situation, re-state your enthusiasm for the program, and arrange a Skype interview as soon as possible.

[KingNikolai1]

Darn it, I won't start hearing from places until February at the very earliest. Harvard is the only program I applied to that regularly interviews Slavic applicants, all the other schools will send admission letters in March.

[artsy16]

Just had a phone interview, POI said I gave a strong one! And the waiting continues.....

Edited January 4, 2016 by artsy16

[Ancient Artisan]

I am wondering if any of you know if the status of your application for schools like Upenn changes from 'Ready for review' to 'under review' when they actually begin looking at it? Or does it remain the same?

[sociologyapp2016]

Applied to sociology programs. Waiting to hear back!