The Waitlist Struggle

[wootar]

I don't know about anyone else on here, but I'm definitely struggling through the wait to get off the waitlist. I was feeling really great about having several interviews this year, after having none last year. Unfortunately, I was waitlisted at three schools I interviewed at in-person. I am still waiting to hear back from a school I did a phone interview at last week and holding out hope that at least one of them comes through! I had this idea in my head that by this time, I would be able to think about the possibility of moving and when my last day at work would be, and all the other exciting things that come along with an acceptance. Instead I'm going back and forth between feeling hopeful that something will work out, and wondering what is wrong with me to get on three waitlists.

I thought I would post this in case anyone else wanted to talk about the struggle of being on the waitlist, or the excitement of getting off of one! Good luck to everyone!

[Tahlain]

The best thing you can do now is just push forward and hope for the best! (:

You've accomplished a lot to make it this far, and it'll all work out in the end. 

[mind_reader]

Ugh I can totally identify. I'm on a wait list at a program I  absolutely love and it is so freaking hard to not be able to plan for whatever it is I'll be doing next. Although honestly waiting to hear something back post interview (wait list/rejection/acceptance) is probably the most stressful part of the whole process for me. Here's to hoping we get (good) news soon! 

[psychologue]

Did you hear directly from the program/PI that you are waitlisted or did you inquire? I've been trying to figure out when would be a reasonable time to inquire... Once March hits all the interviews are over so they should have an answer, right?

[gengrad]

On February 26, 2016 at 0:02 PM, mind_reader said:

I'm on a wait list at a program I  absolutely love and it is so freaking hard to not be able to plan for whatever it is I'll be doing next. Although honestly waiting to hear something back post interview (wait list/rejection/acceptance) is probably the most stressful part of the whole process for me.

This is so very relevant to my situation. I fell in love with one of my top choices at interview day, only to find out I'm wait listed. They don't appear terribly organized in terms of communicating wait list status, etc and I'm not sure if I should find that worrisome. The waiting is definitely the worst part of all. I almost wonder if a rejection would've been easier to deal with. 

 

So glad we have this forum! Here's hoping for good news for everyone, and soon!

[wootar]

17 hours ago, psychologue said:

Did you hear directly from the program/PI that you are waitlisted or did you inquire? I've been trying to figure out when would be a reasonable time to inquire... Once March hits all the interviews are over so they should have an answer, right?

I did hear directly from all of the schools, in a very timely fashion. One came directly from the POI, and three came from other program officials. The only school I actually had to inquire with post-interview turned out to be a rejection. Even though that stung a little, I think I was actually less stressed/upset about the rejection that I was the waitlists. It was nice to at least know!

I'm hoping that now that we are getting into March, most people have their offers on the table and will start making decisions soon!

[WillComeTrue]

I have a question for anyone who knows about waitlists-- does it mean anything to receive the notification earlier than others?

For example, someone receiving a sort of generic email notifying that he/she was waitlisted a day or two before someone else did, does this speak to the order of the waitlists? or is this usually completely random/sent by alphabetical order? By the way, the school held only one 2-day interview session.

Do you think it means that someone who received the waitlist email before some others is more likely to come off the waitlist than others, in other words, a better alternate for that particular school?

Edited February 29, 2016 by WillComeTrue

[gradzz]

My answer to this is no. I think rejections/ wait even acceptance come at strange intervals. The factors all being specific to discipline, school & some other random subset ? (How's that for scientific?). So my advice is don't sweat it until you know. Which is blatantly easier said than done. 

[St0chastic]

Hi everyone.  To those of you who are on a waitlist, could you post which schools and programs you are waitlisted for?  I am currently holding onto a few offers as I consider my options, but it would be helpful for me to know who is waitlisted at these programs and whether they would attend if they receive an admissions offer.  

[flowers]

43 minutes ago, St0chastic said:

Hi everyone.  To those of you who are on a waitlist, could you post which schools and programs you are waitlisted for?  I am currently holding onto a few offers as I consider my options, but it would be helpful for me to know who is waitlisted at these programs and whether they would attend if they receive an admissions offer.  

@St0chastic are all the programs you've been accepted to cognitive neuroscience? (I saw that's you're program type). Congrats on the acceptances!

[St0chastic]

47 minutes ago, flowers said:

@St0chastic are all the programs you've been accepted to cognitive neuroscience? (I saw that's you're program type). Congrats on the acceptances!

Yes, all cogneuro.  Clinical programs are so intensely competitive that I seriously doubt I would have been admitted to more than one (at most) had I applied to those!  

[Jest]

I was waitlisted at my top choice (University of Toledo, experimental.) Didn't get offers anywhere else. It's killing me, but if I don't get in this will be a chance to pick up more experience I suppose. I am so young, I have tons of time to get into a program. This is totally okay.

*head explodes*

Jokes aside, boy is the uncertainty a killer! Am eager to get off the waitlist, even a rejection would be better than Uncertainty Hell. Grad apps certainly are a process. I never would have imagined the interview would be the best part of it all (it was surprisingly fun) and the doing nothing/waiting part would be the worst of it.

Do people ever get off waitlists? Like is that common, or is this basically the end of the line?

Edited March 6, 2016 by Jest

[wootar]

I have searched past waitlist threads on both gradcafe and SDN, and people definitely have gotten off waitlists. In one case I recall someone getting off the waitlist to their top choice on April 14, and in another someone had been accepted to two of four waitlist schools. It seems impossible at this point to come off of a waitlist, but it is somewhat comforting to know that it has happened for others.

The uncertainty is definitely terrible! It is just so hard to think about how seriously I should plan/pursue a 'Plan B' right now. In case it helps down the line at all, or anyone is interested, I'm waitlisted at Univ of Georgia, IUPUI, Univ of Kansas, UMBC, and UMKC. Fingers crossed one of them will work out!

[WillComeTrue]

On 3/7/2016 at 10:04 PM, wootar said:

I have searched past waitlist threads on both gradcafe and SDN, and people definitely have gotten off waitlists. In one case I recall someone getting off the waitlist to their top choice on April 14, and in another someone had been accepted to two of four waitlist schools. It seems impossible at this point to come off of a waitlist, but it is somewhat comforting to know that it has happened for others.

The uncertainty is definitely terrible! It is just so hard to think about how seriously I should plan/pursue a 'Plan B' right now. In case it helps down the line at all, or anyone is interested, I'm waitlisted at Univ of Georgia, IUPUI, Univ of Kansas, UMBC, and UMKC. Fingers crossed one of them will work out!

Yes, my favorite search words on grad cafe right now are "waitlist" and "possible". It did say in my email from my top school notifying me of my waitlist status that they historically had been taking some people off the waitlists and offered positions in the past. Also one of my lab mates who currently are at a wonderful program other than this school was waitlisted at the same school that I am waitlisted, and she was offered a position on 4/11 (which she deferred). So it is very possible that the offer could come very near to the APA deadline (4/15). So I am trying to not let my self feel like a failure just yet and gather positive energy.

Yet, I am definitely thinking about my Plan B. Being an international student staying in the US, it makes it really difficult to not know what you would do if you don't get accepted anywhere, and when I have to leave the country if you don't get an offer from a school.

I have not completely lost hope and I still think that I can get into this program. I wish every 'waitlisters' the best. Let's hope that the people who got admitted to our top waitlisted programs got a better offer elsewhere and will turn down the offers from our schools:)

Edited March 10, 2016 by WillComeTrue

[louielouie]

Don't lose hope! I just got in to my top-choice a few days ago and literally had zero expectations.  It happens a lot more than you think!

[hd397]

12 hours ago, louielouie said:

Don't lose hope! I just got in to my top-choice a few days ago and literally had zero expectations.  It happens a lot more than you think!

Thanks for this! It's nice to hear positive outcomes from the waitlist. One of my friends who got into a relatively competitive school last year told me that everyone in her cohort but her got in through the waitlist!

[didion10]

waitlisted at U of Florida (my first choice) and struggling maintaining any hope. Wonder if anyone has gotten in here off the waitlist in previous years. Seems like most people are accepting the offer though.

[louielouie]

No problem!  If you think about it, a lot of people who get one offer end up getting multiple offers, so inevitably those are being declined and people on the waitlist are getting accepted.  I hope everyone with offers makes their decisions as quickly as possible.  The process is so stressful and sometimes feels hopeless, but just know if you are on the waitlist anywhere it means you definitely belong in grad school and have a good shot of getting an acceptance.

Also, if you have an offer somewhere else while waiting for another school, I really recommend emailing the other school with this information to see where you stand.  I did that, and maybe it was mostly really good timing, but I was notified I was first on the waitlist & accepted off the waitlist a couple of days later.

Edited March 11, 2016 by louielouie

[artsy16]

Popping in with a positive waitlist story and to give some encouragement and compassion to those waiting. I was waitlisted at 5 programs and people started accepting their offers. I became really depressed and isolated myself over the past couple of weeks, feeling like a failure (not getting accepted =/= failure, but feelings aren't logical!). Then, yesterday I got a call from my POI at my top choice offering me a spot! The person who was initially accepted *and* the person ahead of me on the waitlist both declined their offers to go elsewhere. I thought that would be unlikely to happen, so I pretty much resigned myself to looking at post-grad jobs (amid bouts of crying haha). 

Waitlists don't always have happy endings. But it's possible. Try to be kind to yourself while you're waiting, and especially after you receive bad news that you won't be getting an offer (if that happens---happened to me). 

[WillComeTrue]

How are my fellow waitlisters doing? Hanging in there? April is approaching and I am yet to hear back from my school! I really do hope that the people who got admitted to my program turn down their offer for a better program.  For the people who are still holding on to several offers, I understand that it is not an easy decision to make, but please, please let the schools know about your decision as soon as possible when you make the decision.

 

[flowers]

1 hour ago, WillComeTrue said:

How are my fellow waitlisters doing? Hanging in there? April is approaching and I am yet to hear back from my school! I really do hope that the people who got admitted to my program turn down their offer for a better program.  For the people who are still holding on to several offers, I understand that it is not an easy decision to make, but please, please let the schools know about your decision as soon as possible when you make the decision.

 

Hang in there!! I was recently admitted off the wait list at a place that I'm really excited about, so it could happen to you too!

Edited March 18, 2016 by flowers

[WillComeTrue]

12 minutes ago, flowers said:

Hang in there!! I was recently admitted off the wait list at a place that I'm really excited about, so it could happen to you too!

Wow, Congratulations! That is great news!

It is certainly wonderful and always encouraging to hear that waitlists can lead to admissions.

I hope I could deliver the same news soon:)

Thanks!!!

[flowers]

32 minutes ago, WillComeTrue said:

Wow, Congratulations! That is great news!

It is certainly wonderful and always encouraging to hear that waitlists can lead to admissions.

I hope I could deliver the same news soon:)

Thanks!!!

Thanks!  Best of luck to you!  

[wootar]

I'm hanging in there...but it is so difficult some days. I am so relieved for all of you who have recieved offers off the waitlist. Thank you so much for sharing with all of and providing a little bit of hope!! At this point, I'm not quite as upset or sad as I was a month ago, but I'm trying not to get my hopes up too terribly much either. I got an e-mail from a school this week (my top choice) and got so excited, but opened it just to hear that they "just wanted to update me that I still remain on the waitlist"...which is nice, but not exactly what I was hoping for.

Fingers crossed for everyone!!! We're getting towards the end of March and lists will start becoming more active each day I imagine.

[WillComeTrue]

30 minutes ago, wootar said:

I'm hanging in there...but it is so difficult some days. I am so relieved for all of you who have recieved offers off the waitlist. Thank you so much for sharing with all of and providing a little bit of hope!! At this point, I'm not quite as upset or sad as I was a month ago, but I'm trying not to get my hopes up too terribly much either. I got an e-mail from a school this week (my top choice) and got so excited, but opened it just to hear that they "just wanted to update me that I still remain on the waitlist"...which is nice, but not exactly what I was hoping for.

Fingers crossed for everyone!!! We're getting towards the end of March and lists will start becoming more active each day I imagine.

Oh, so close...!!! I am sure that the update is a good sign. They may still want you to hold off in accepting any other offers, probably because you are a high alternate. I am doing okay for most days now, but I experience acute feeling of panic/anxiety about the elongated uncertainty time to time. I truly wish you the best. I know we can get off the waitlist and get accepted any day now. Fingers crossed, knock on woods (and all other superstitious rituals that would make our wishes come true!).