Is it just me or....

[Srweller]

Is it just me or does it seem that only chemists and psychologists are hearing about interviews and admission results?

Meanwhile the rest of us have to wait in agony....

[Black Beauty]

No, it isn't just you. I look at the results page to see if anyone in my field has be contacted by any schools as yet.

The rest of us just have to wait patiently, but in agony...

[Forest Owlet]

2 hours ago, Srweller said:

Is it just me or does it seem that only chemists and psychologists are hearing about interviews and admission results?

Meanwhile the rest of us have to wait in agony....

Been thinking the same! Also, all those chemists seem to be getting in directly, without any interviews 

[Srweller]

3 hours ago, Forest Owlet said:

Been thinking the same! Also, all those chemists seem to be getting in directly, without any interviews 

I actually think I've seen more chemist get interviews than psychologists (which makes less sense).

I'm really hoping I'll be lucky and avoid interviews, though. I almost would rather not get in!

[eternalwait]

 you're right! I didn't know there were so many different psychology specializations!

[Srweller]

And now it seems that all the biologists are coming out.

[DBear]

I have never been so jealous of science people ever before.

[Forest Owlet]

10 hours ago, Black Beauty said:

No, it isn't just you. I look at the results page to see if anyone in my field has be contacted by any schools as yet.

The rest of us just have to wait patiently, but in agony...

I was all happy and relaxed since none of the schools/programs I've applied for have come up in the results page. Till I saw an interview invite for one of my programs posted in the forums a week ago. Bye bye relaxed new year's eve weekend 

[Black Beauty]

@Forest Owlet Is this school international?

[Forest Owlet]

49 minutes ago, Black Beauty said:

@Forest Owlet Is this school international?

Nopes. UC Berkeley, ESPM program

[Crucial BBQ]

13 hours ago, Black Beauty said:

No, it isn't just you. I look at the results page to see if anyone in my field has be contacted by any schools as yet.

The rest of us just have to wait patiently, but in agony...

I applied Oceanography/Biological Oceanography/Marine Biology and did not hear anything this early regarding interviews or decisions.  Some programs didn't interview at all, and with all, decisions didn't start coming in until March. 

 

For the rest:  applications for most programs are still open.  Sure, some apps closed in Dec. and some have heard back regarding interviews and admits, but that's not the norm for the majority.  Also keep in mind that this is the Internet.  If you do not know the individual personally, take it with a grain of salt.  And as always, if in doubt or just curious you can always contact your program coordinator about anything expect to ask if you've been admitted or not.  

[Black Beauty]

8 hours ago, Crucial BBQ said:

Some programs didn't interview at all, and with all, decisions didn't start coming in until March. 

I wondered about this interview process but did not contact any schools after I submitted my applications. I was just going to be patient about this whole process especially since two of my applications were not due until January.

Previous to applying to programs, I did contact many professors whose research were aligned with my interests and was pleasantly surprised that the majority of them responded. Some by email, two by phone, and one invited me to her lab.

I hope to have some success and am nervous, but keeping it all under control.

[hopefulPhD2017]

I noticed that biology and psych are dominating the results board, too. I just assumed that different programs had different deadlines and notification processes and that, logistically, graduate schools must space out admissions tasks. Certainly a campus couldn't withstand every program having interviews at the same time?

I have no idea whether this assumption has any validity, mind you, but its consideration is passing the time as I REALIZE IT's 2017 and this is the year I may trade in my 72k salary, uproot my family, and go into debt in pursuit of higher knowledge. ??

[Crucial BBQ]

23 hours ago, Black Beauty said:

I wondered about this interview process but did not contact any schools after I submitted my applications. I was just going to be patient about this whole process especially since two of my applications were not due until January.

Previous to applying to programs, I did contact many professors whose research were aligned with my interests and was pleasantly surprised that the majority of them responded. Some by email, two by phone, and one invited me to her lab.

I hope to have some success and am nervous, but keeping it all under control.

It is easy for me to say this now, but it's worth it to now take it easy and relax; assuming you want to attend all programs applied to it only takes one admit to "win". I was also encouraged to visit a lab and had four conversations by phone which I assumed were interviews.  

[Forest Owlet]

4 minutes ago, hopefulPhD2017 said:

I noticed that biology and psych are dominating the results board, too. I just assumed that different programs had different deadlines and notification processes and that, logistically, graduate schools must space out admissions tasks. Certainly a campus couldn't withstand every program having interviews at the same time?

I have no idea whether this assumption has any validity, mind you, but its consideration is passing the time as I REALIZE IT's 2017 and this is the year I may trade in my 72k salary, uproot my family, and go into debt in pursuit of higher knowledge. ??

Also, from what I understand, not all programs have in-person interviews.. and if its a Skype interview with a POI, that gives a lot of flexibility in terms of timelines.

Similar feelings as you about the shift.. scary!

Anyway, I caved in and emailed some of the program coordinators about when the interview dates will be out (and got responses), which means that I can do some focused worrying now, rather a general state of panic 

[hopefulPhD2017]

7 minutes ago, Forest Owlet said:

Also, from what I understand, not all programs have in-person interviews.. and if its a Skype interview with a POI, that gives a lot of flexibility in terms of timelines.

Similar feelings as you about the shift.. scary!

Anyway, I caved in and emailed some of the program coordinators about when the interview dates will be out (and got responses), which means that I can do some focused worrying now, rather a general state of panic 

@Forest Owlet I commend you for your bravery and common sense. ?

Did you ask the admissions folks or faculty directly?

[Forest Owlet]

2 minutes ago, hopefulPhD2017 said:

@Forest Owlet I commend you for your bravery and common sense. ?

Did you ask the admissions folks or faculty directly?

I'd probably describe it as foolhardiness/impatience  The downside of this is that I now know the exact days (within a 3-4 day range) when I should hear something, which means every morning during that period is going to include a tense few seconds while my mailbox refreshes on the phone (due to the time difference). Well, at least I won't be too jumpy at work.

I asked the program coordinator - in 3/4 programs that I applied to, their names and email ids were mentioned on the admissions page. For the last one, I asked a current grad student if there was somebody like that. Basically I wanted email ids of specific people (apart from faculty), whom I could contact in case of any issues with the application process.. which was a good idea since one of my LOR writers sent me a slightly hassled email saying she had been trying to submit it for days but was having issues with the system.

I'm pretty sure I don't want to bug my POIs with stuff like this, at least not yet.. one of them told me that he'd get in touch if there were any developments, so that's that.

[Yanaka]

I won't be hearing anything from "my" programs before two weeks or more I'd say, and I'm still lurking at the result board several times a day! I'm also just fascinated with seeing what's going on in people's lives and with comparing their results vs. GRE scores when given. Honestly it's been giving me hope so far.  

[Forest Owlet]

Just how many people apply to Psychology and Chemistry programs? 

 

[DBear]

@Forest Owlet, seems to be everyone but me o.O I have seen one interview notification in my field (Communication) and that's completely freaking me out. 

[Yanaka]

I thought Linguistics and Women studies were starting to send out results, and then Clinical stuff came back on the board  

[DBear]

@Yanaka this is like watching some sort of sports match lol

[SG_SC]

I haven't heard a peep from anywhere as yet. Though, I don't honestly expect any responses until late February or early March. Theology and Religious Studies departments tend to not be the most efficient. The inefficiency is made all the more frustrating by the knowledge that they (generally speaking) receive far fewer applications than many other fields. 

[Le Chat]

11 hours ago, Forest Owlet said:

Just how many people apply to Psychology and Chemistry programs? 

 

An infinite amount, I think partly because of the very low acceptance rates. Even though I applied to Psychology programs, I'm in Counseling Psych and applied to the geographical region of the South/Deep South where admissions seems to be slow.

It seems to also be regional and based on due dates. Since Clinical Psychology has so many applicants and so few accepted, they begin the process much earlier to whittle down the numbers.

[Forest Owlet]

10 hours ago, barrettnumber5 said:

An infinite amount, I think partly because of the very low acceptance rates. Even though I applied to Psychology programs, I'm in Counseling Psych and applied to the geographical region of the South/Deep South where admissions seems to be slow.

It seems to also be regional and based on due dates. Since Clinical Psychology has so many applicants and so few accepted, they begin the process much earlier to whittle down the numbers.

That makes sense! Thanks!