Gates Cambridge 2016-17

[centillion]

Wondering if anyone has heard any updates and knows what we should be expecting in the upcoming months regarding rejections/invites/etc.

[cwr]

Invited for an interview via email as of this morning (11 December). Anyone else started to hear yet?

[centillion]

My friend heard back this morning as well (he goes to a top 10).

I haven't heard back nor have other people that I know from my school (top 5).

Do you know if it's possible that they'll notify people later? 

Edited December 12, 2015 by centillion

[cwr]

I'm at a less well-known school (maybe top 50 depending on field), so I'm one of only two applicants for the Gates this year and I haven't heard from my school's other applicant. 

I really don't know what to expect in terms of notifying applicants later on. Presumably if people don't respond quickly enough, they might give up their spots to others? But they've asked for our information (travel info, availability, etc.) by Tuesday 15th December. 

[ninarat]

 

On 12/16/2015 at 9:21 AM, rinny336 said:

Anyone else heard about interviews? I'm wondering if different subjects are shortlisted by different Gates committees, and might send out invitations at separate times.

I'm in social sciences, so I'm particularly interested to hear if other social science applicants have heard anything.

I also haven't heard anything and I am in the social sciences as well. I spoke to a faculty member from the department (Anthropology) in November, after they went through the October round applications, and he indicated that I had been ranked highly by the department so I had been hopeful that I would get at least an interview for the Gates. I don't suppose anyone has taken a look at older threads to see if/when they send out a rejection email?

 

[cableknitmanatee]

I'm also in social sciences and after getting accepted to my program in early November had been hopeful that I might get shortlisted for an interview. From talking to friends who applied in previous years, my impression is that they don't send out rejection emails, but I'm not sure about that. I'm holding out hope for another week or so that they might not have sent out the invitations for people in social sciences yet.

[cwr]

To those still waiting on mail about an interview, here's what I know:

• Some "Physical Sciences" applicants who are interviewing in Seattle (29-30th of January) received email on 11 December
  • They asked that people confirm their participation and details by 14 December
• Additional emails were sent to "Physical Sciences" applicants interviewing in Seattle (29th-30th of January) on 15 December, presumably to fill spots not taken by the first group
• I haven't heard anything about people interviewing in D.C. for any subjects (which there almost certainly should be, since I think they split half-and-half)
• I also haven't heard anything about people interviewing in Seattle for anything besides "Physical Sciences"

So, based upon this, I think it's very possible that they just haven't sent anything to "Social Sciences" applicants yet and/or that D.C. hasn't notified their finalists yet. (Anyone heard anything to debunk these conjectures?) 

They seem to be showing 20 interview slots for Physical Sciences applicants in Seattle (via the Doodle they sent out), so could it be that all Physical Science applicants interview in the same place with the same committee? Because I dunno if I believe that "Physical Sciences" applicants make up 40% of the overall finalist pool; 20% seems more likely.

[Zigsun]

On 12/18/2015 at 10:27 PM, cableknitmanatee said:

I'm also in social sciences and after getting accepted to my program in early November had been hopeful that I might get shortlisted for an interview. From talking to friends who applied in previous years, my impression is that they don't send out rejection emails, but I'm not sure about that. I'm holding out hope for another week or so that they might not have sent out the invitations for people in social sciences yet.

Hi there, Gates does send out rejection letters but not consistently. In 2012 when I applied for my MPhil I didn't receive one but last year when applying for a PhD at Cambridge, Gates sent me a rejection email sometime in mid-January.

[apg3749]

I'm also a social sciences applicant and haven't heard anything.

Unfortunately, I did come across this today, so I assume the emails on Dec. 14 and 15 were likely the last round of interview invitations. https://twitter.com/Gates_Cambridge/status/676418059872165888

[cwr]

21 hours ago, apg3749 said:

I'm also a social sciences applicant and haven't heard anything.

Unfortunately, I did come across this today, so I assume the emails on Dec. 14 and 15 were likely the last round of interview invitations. https://twitter.com/Gates_Cambridge/status/676418059872165888

Well that is unfortunate. 

[Hockey Diva]

How funny--I was just thinking about the scholarship this morning because I could not remember the timeline for notification. 

When I saw that it was late December (I had been thinking it was early January), I searched for this thread on Grad Cafe, and saw that all invitations had been sent.

When I went back to email just to make sure I hadn't missed anything, there was a brand new email telling me I had NOT been selected.

Very weird coincidence!

My application for admission is still showing that it is under review.

Edited January 6, 2016 by Hockey Diva
typo

[centillion]

I still don't understand why they haven't rejected me yet and why their process isn't more streamlined or centralized. I am not holding any hope for an interview at this point but I am just baffled how unprofessional Gates Cambridge is in handling their applications.

They don't have that many applicants compared to other nationally competitive fellowships, have AMPLE turn around time for interviews, and have a very much centralized admissions/screening process via GRADSAF.

1 hour ago, Hockey Diva said:

How funny--I was just thinking about the scholarship this morning because I could not remember the timeline for notification. 

When I saw that it was late December (I had been thinking it was early January), I searched for this thread on Grad Cafe, and saw that all invitations had been sent.

When I went back to email just to make sure I hadn't missed anything, there was a brand new email telling me I had NOT been selected.

Very weird coincidence!

My application for admission is still showing that it is under review.

Could you post the email you received?

Edited January 6, 2016 by centillion

[Hockey Diva]

Here's what it said:

 

Dear Gates Cambridge applicant,

 

Thank you for your interest in the Gates Cambridge Scholarship.  I am now writing to inform you that unfortunately you have not been selected for interview and therefore will not be made an award.  

 

We appreciate this is disappointing news but our scholarship is extremely competitive and, with the high quality of applications received, our shortlisting committees had to make some difficult decisions.  We regret that the Trust is not able to provide individual feedback on applications.

 

This decision applies only to your application for a Gates Cambridge Scholarship.  If you have applied for any other Cambridge awards, such as those offered by the Cambridge Trust ( https://www.cambridgetrust.org/ ), your application will be considered separately and they may be in touch in the coming months. 

 

Wishing you every success for your future plans,

 

[Hockey Diva]

I'm not as disappointed by this news as I thought I might be. I guess deep down I knew it was a bit of a longshot. I'm sure I'm much older than the average applicant, and I would not be surprised if I were the oldest. While they say they do not have an age limit, I have also heard that they want to fund students who will be making an impact for decades after they complete their degree, and I might work less than 20 years after I finish.

On the other hand, I have a number of accomplishments already that a younger candidate would not have, so I might be starting my post-PhD work at a more senior level than a new Ph.D. without my level of experience. 

I'm a little more worried about what it might suggest about my odds for admission at all. It is true that I could have been at the top of my department's shortlist and still not been invited to interview, but it is more likely that there are others higher on the list. And maybe I wasn't even on the list?

Or, does the email indicate I WAS somewhere on the department's list (so I'm likely to get an offer of admission)?

So many ways to obsess about it!

 

[cableknitmanatee]

I got the same email this morning, though I was accepted into my MPhil program back in November. I know people got accepted to their program before they were rejected by Gates Cambridge and others who got this email in January and then didn't find out they'd been accepted to their programs until February, so I wouldn't read too much into it. 

 

[Zigsun]

On 1/7/2016 at 1:02 AM, Hockey Diva said:

I'm not as disappointed by this news as I thought I might be. I guess deep down I knew it was a bit of a longshot. I'm sure I'm much older than the average applicant, and I would not be surprised if I were the oldest. While they say they do not have an age limit, I have also heard that they want to fund students who will be making an impact for decades after they complete their degree, and I might work less than 20 years after I finish.

On the other hand, I have a number of accomplishments already that a younger candidate would not have, so I might be starting my post-PhD work at a more senior level than a new Ph.D. without my level of experience. 

I'm a little more worried about what it might suggest about my odds for admission at all. It is true that I could have been at the top of my department's shortlist and still not been invited to interview, but it is more likely that there are others higher on the list. And maybe I wasn't even on the list?

Or, does the email indicate I WAS somewhere on the department's list (so I'm likely to get an offer of admission)?

So many ways to obsess about it!

 

I would try not to worry about the Gates rejection. Nobody gets the Gates (of course people do, but that's so rare that it might as well not exist). If obsessing about admission is unavoidable, a better way to do that is to check the status of your application on CamSIS. The rule of thumb is that if your status says your application is being checked by the Board of Graduate Studies, then you can assume you've been admitted. It might also be worth it to join the conversation at the UK forum, The Student Room: http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=3533661

[ChrisT123]

I think invitations for interview for International non US applicants have not been sent, According to their timeline, the shortlisting is in February and they will contact applicants in early March.

Any International non US applicant who received any Gates email?

[torvicnz]

Hi there,

I'm an international applicant and have not heard anything yet. 

[GAPhD]

I saw somewhere else that letters were sent out. I'm in the same no offer boat

[MarieC]

To the poster above: Where did you see that? I was in touch with my department this week and they said that shortlisted candidates will be called for interview next week or the week after. It seems unlikely that they contacted shortlisted candidates yet. Are you sure that what you saw was not for US candidates?

Edited February 27, 2016 by MarieC

[GAPhD]

Someone of StudentRoom commented that they received an offer for interview yesterday.

[cwr]

If there's one thing that people in the international round should takeaway from the US round this year, it's that the process of departmental shortlisting, trust shortlisting, and finalist notification isn't totally transparent (since there are a lot of moving parts), but that the Gates is very helpful via email. (If you email Luisa Clarke, for example, I'm sure she'll let you know whether notifications have been sent out yet.) 

Best of luck to everyone. For those making it to finalist, the information on the Gates site about the interview format/content is accurate. You'd do well to familiarize yourself with that and expect the interview to be along those lines. Unless there is something in the news directly related to your field (e.g. Flint, MI crisis for someone studying water quality, to borrow from an example I know happened in the US round), you likely will not have any current events questions, and the discussion will center on "why Cambridge?", "why your department?", "why the Gates?", etc. 

[GAPhD]

Also, if you take a look at the Gates Cambridge Twitter it seems as though invitations have been sent out.

[MarieC]

Right. It indeed seems like they sent interview letters yesterday and the day before yesterday. However, they did not send every letter yet (see twitter) - maybe it depends on the committee. I know that people classified as doing 'biological sciences' have been contacted. I don't know about 'physical sciences', 'social sciences' and 'art', the other 3 reviewing committees. Do you know anyone in these disciplines who received an invitation yet? Anyway, the torture of waiting will end soon. I assume that if we don't hear about them by Monday evening, that's too bad...

[Feanor]

By the way, they do send rejections emails (I got one last year on the 10th of March).