Freaking Out!!!!!!!

[BrainHats]

I gave 3 applications for Ph.D consideration between the end of December and January first. I checked the results board for some of my schools (NYU, Rutgers) and already see people getting acceptances or interviews D: I am dying! I havent gotten anything!! I started this whole waiting game calm and collected. Now I am just running in circles.

freaking the hell out. If they take longer, does that mean you didn't get in?

Edited January 23, 2017 by BrainHats

[.letmeinplz//]

It isn't over until the dgs sings (emails you a notice to check your decision).

Sometimes if you don't get an interview you won't get in, other times you do. It depends on a lot of different things and the only way you know for sure is when they tell you yes or no. Just relax (aka on gradcafe as "be really anxious") and you will know soon enough.

[DBear]

Though sometimes the dgs doesn't sing! 3 of my friends who applied to English Literature programs last year didn't get any notification yay or nay from one school each. 2 of the friends applied to the same school and neither one of them got a notification of any sort so both assumed it was a rejection when they didn't hear anything. They even emailed the school and got no reply. :/ 

[.letmeinplz//]

2 minutes ago, DBear said:

Though sometimes the dgs doesn't sing! 3 of my friends who applied to English Literature programs last year didn't get any notification yay or nay from one school each. 2 of the friends applied to the same school and neither one of them got a notification of any sort so both assumed it was a rejection when they didn't hear anything. They even emailed the school and got no reply. :/ 

That is pretty unprofessional of those schools. You would think the 100+ USD people spend on an application would at least earn them a decision letter or even an email reply. 

[DBear]

2 minutes ago, .letmeinplz// said:

That is pretty unprofessional of those schools. You would think the 100+ USD people spend on an application would at least earn them a decision letter or even an email reply. 

Right?! Especially since at least one of the friends is an international student who paid extra to apply.  They were all pretty reputable schools, too. Luckily, that was only one out of 10+ schools for each of them. @BrainHats, do you know if interviews are standard for your field? There are many fields where interviews are hardly conducted or conducted only sometimes.

[CoyoteBlue]

Me too

[GunningForGrad]

Even when you know something you'll be anxious. I applied to four programs- I know I have interviews coming up for three and so now I'm anxiously refreshing my email to hear something from the last program and frantically preparing for interviews. 

[kekology4]

FREAKIN OUT

[THS]

Follow these steps after doing w/e you have to do for the day.

 

1. Go for a nice long walk (3+ miles).

 

2. Make yourself a nice dinner.

 

3. Pour yourself a glass of your favorite wine (beer, scotch, tequila, w/e)

 

4. Pour yourself another.

 

5. Don't go near a computer.

 

6. Chocolate and netflix.

 

Repeat til you get news....

[Marshall]

33 minutes ago, montanem said:

3. Pour yourself a glass of your favorite wine (beer, scotch, tequila, w/e)

 

4. Pour yourself another.

This has been somewhat working for me. You should check out the sweet bottle collection I've started. 

[meggied]

Ha yeah running and drinking has been doing the trick for me. Staying away from the computer has been the hardest part. 

[GunningForGrad]

I'm literally always by a computer. It's so easy to "just check real quick". I'll be lucky if I have a job after this experience for how much time I spend checking.

[magicsana]

I like to stay out the house running errands and turning my data and wifi off so I can only check my email when I get home later on in the day. 

 

[GreenEyedTrombonist]

I'm currently out of chocolate and not allowed to drink booze. I'm making tea instead. Tea works, right? 

[avflinsch]

21 hours ago, BrainHats said:

I gave 3 applications for Ph.D consideration between the end of December and January first. I checked the results board for some of my schools (NYU, Rutgers) and already see people getting acceptances or interviews D: I am dying! I havent gotten anything!! I started this whole waiting game calm and collected. Now I am just running in circles.

freaking the hell out. If they take longer, does that mean you didn't get in?

Rutgers has only just started sending out admit notifications - only about 50 so far (I have been a fulltime employee there for 13 years, and wrote part of the system that creates the network IDs, so I see them on a daily basis), most have been for Chem, Bio and Engineering. The application deadline was Jan 15, and it takes the admissions department a few days to start looking at things, so don't sweat about anything yet.

I see that your field is Communications,. so it is the same program I am applying to - Communication, Information and Library Studies. My area is on the info side, and I got an interview request from my POI (phrased as a 'brief chat') late on Sunday evening, so things are just starting to move along. 

 

[BrainHats]

On 1/24/2017 at 8:28 AM, avflinsch said:

Rutgers has only just started sending out admit notifications - only about 50 so far (I have been a fulltime employee there for 13 years, and wrote part of the system that creates the network IDs, so I see them on a daily basis), most have been for Chem, Bio and Engineering. The application deadline was Jan 15, and it takes the admissions department a few days to start looking at things, so don't sweat about anything yet.

I see that your field is Communications,. so it is the same program I am applying to - Communication, Information and Library Studies. My area is on the info side, and I got an interview request from my POI (phrased as a 'brief chat') late on Sunday evening, so things are just starting to move along. 

 

 

Thanks everybody! all your responses are so helpful! avflinsch, yes I applied to this program at Rutgers, mine is on the communication side. Thank you so much for that info!

Definitely calmed my nerves a bit. I gave in and called two of the schools and one of them said they wouldnt send out results until 2 months from now...

[DBear]

20 minutes ago, BrainHats said:

Thanks everybody! all your responses are so helpful! avflinsch, yes I applied to this program at Rutgers, mine is on the communication side. Thank you so much for that info!

Definitely calmed my nerves a bit. I gave in and called two of the schools and one of them said they wouldnt send out results until 2 months from now...

2 months from now, as in March???? well, at least you know! So between @avflinsch's info and your phone call, you have a bit more certainty on the time line, that's better than nothing! Good luck!

[avflinsch]

3 hours ago, BrainHats said:

Thanks everybody! all your responses are so helpful! avflinsch, yes I applied to this program at Rutgers, mine is on the communication side. Thank you so much for that info!

Definitely calmed my nerves a bit. I gave in and called two of the schools and one of them said they wouldnt send out results until 2 months from now...

I have a feeling that things are moving along a bit more quickly for folks on the Information side. Communications seems to be a little more relaxed and laid back, and I verified that with a current and a former coworker in that department.

The email I got from my primary POI was worded a bit strange -
"Would you have time for a brief (15 mins) chat sometime before Wed? Say Tue 5 pm? "

I don't know what the rush was for a meeting before Wednesday, since I could have spoken to him before or after the class I have with him on Thursday (I am currently in the Master's program). Anyway, the meeting went well, and our interests run overlapping and parallel with one another. He also mentioned that he prefers to work with students that did their Master's or Undergrad in the department, since they were in his words 'known quantities',  I did/doing both, so I am very hopeful.

[CuppyCakerton]

If it makes anyone feel better, I applied to 8 clinical psych PhD programs and it would seem that I didn't get a single interview. I got wait listed at one program without interviewing, which means I'm basically bottom of the barrel. Go me. I guess I'm not too surprised, my scores and grades were pretty good but there are plenty of people who are better. I'm more disappointed in myself, and I feel bad for my parents who paid my application fees as their Christmas present to me.

 

But the world keeps moving and we keep moving with it. If anyone is in the same boat, just remember that. Also anyone feel free to PM me if you want someone to vent to / someone to chat with.  

Edited January 25, 2017 by CuppyCakerton

[avflinsch]

On 1/25/2017 at 9:43 AM, BrainHats said:

Thanks everybody! all your responses are so helpful! avflinsch, yes I applied to this program at Rutgers, mine is on the communication side. Thank you so much for that info!

Definitely calmed my nerves a bit. I gave in and called two of the schools and one of them said they wouldnt send out results until 2 months from now...

Rutgers results for Communication, Information and Library Studies started to go out yesterday - I got admitted, but no news on any funding yet.

[ChrisTOEFert]

On 1/25/2017 at 2:07 PM, CuppyCakerton said:

If it makes anyone feel better, I applied to 8 clinical psych PhD programs and it would seem that I didn't get a single interview. I got wait listed at one program without interviewing, which means I'm basically bottom of the barrel. Go me. I guess I'm not too surprised, my scores and grades were pretty good but there are plenty of people who are better. I'm more disappointed in myself, and I feel bad for my parents who paid my application fees as their Christmas present to me.

 

But the world keeps moving and we keep moving with it. If anyone is in the same boat, just remember that. Also anyone feel free to PM me if you want someone to vent to / someone to chat with.  

It's not over yet.  Depending on where you applied the final decision day is April 15th.  While you might not have heard anything back yet, some programs are very slow.  One of the schools I am applying to doesn't send out notifications until JULY for some of its programs.  I was shocked when I saw that on the results board when I was just doing a general search.  I know how hard it can be, but you'll just have to force a smile and take a big breather.  If you have not heard anything by the end of February I don't think it would be impolite to fire off a quick email to the POI whom you applied under if you have a decent relationship, or to the grad co-ordinator of the department if you feel weird about option 1.  Just say that you were wondering the status of your application and was hoping someone could shed some light onto how the process was going.  Worst case they say no new developments, best case they let you know how things are moving.  

Don't tie your self worth to a grad school acceptance/rejection.  It is a minor hurdle.  Yes it will suck immensely if you don't get in because of the time invested and the feeling of disappointment, but literally everything about your application is out of your hands the second you hit submit.  Hell, I did my undergrad thesis with the McMaster prof in my sig, volunteered as a RA in his lab during my MSc, took several of his classes during my undergrad, and was in relatively friendly/frequent email communications with him while doing my MSc elsewhere.....yet I still have no idea how my application is doing because he has gone radio silent since December.  I've sent him two emails about setting up a collaborative project with a huge name in my field that wants to work together with me and him and still nothing.  So even if you know someone well, this time of year blows, it's best just to relax as best you can

Edited February 8, 2017 by ChrisTOEFert

[orphic_mel528]

I guess I'll say this here, since it is a version of "freakin' out" in its own way: Anybody else have days where they feel pretty good about their chances, and then other days, you wake up, look in the mirror and say, "No admissions committee will ever love me."

I'm having one of the latter days today. I've seen a slew of acceptances from one of the programs I applied to, and I've heard nothing. This program wasn't exactly my first choice, but it was pretty high up there. I'm more disturbed by my own superstitions: that if I start out with a rejection, it's just going to be all rejections. 

This is irrational, and so am I!

Anyone know of any data aggregate on cohort sizes/average acceptances per year? I don't know why they make this stuff so mysterious...

[meggied]

20 minutes ago, orphic_mel528 said:

I guess I'll say this here, since it is a version of "freakin' out" in its own way: Anybody else have days where they feel pretty good about their chances, and then other days, you wake up, look in the mirror and say, "No admissions committee will ever love me."

I'm having one of the latter days today. I've seen a slew of acceptances from one of the programs I applied to, and I've heard nothing. This program wasn't exactly my first choice, but it was pretty high up there. I'm more disturbed by my own superstitions: that if I start out with a rejection, it's just going to be all rejections. 

This is irrational, and so am I!

Anyone know of any data aggregate on cohort sizes/average acceptances per year? I don't know why they make this stuff so mysterious...

Have you checked their website? I realize you probably have but I've looked at a few of the schools I applied to and they either have a general size of incoming class in their applicaiton process page or FAQ page. It's worth a try. 

But yes, I definitely feel that way. Some days I just feel like I'm going to get some sort of news and hear absolutely nothing. I feel like not knowing is almost if not harder than getting rejections. 

[orphic_mel528]

9 minutes ago, meggied said:

Have you checked their website? I realize you probably have but I've looked at a few of the schools I applied to and they either have a general size of incoming class in their applicaiton process page or FAQ page. It's worth a try. 

But yes, I definitely feel that way. Some days I just feel like I'm going to get some sort of news and hear absolutely nothing. I feel like not knowing is almost if not harder than getting rejections. 

I have looked at their website, but it must be buried somewhere I'm not looking. I'll have to dig around some more. Hoping the best for you! It's a maddening process, truly! 

[Antebellum]

56 minutes ago, orphic_mel528 said:

I guess I'll say this here, since it is a version of "freakin' out" in its own way: Anybody else have days where they feel pretty good about their chances, and then other days, you wake up, look in the mirror and say, "No admissions committee will ever love me."

I'm having one of the latter days today. I've seen a slew of acceptances from one of the programs I applied to, and I've heard nothing. This program wasn't exactly my first choice, but it was pretty high up there. I'm more disturbed by my own superstitions: that if I start out with a rejection, it's just going to be all rejections. 

This is irrational, and so am I!

Anyone know of any data aggregate on cohort sizes/average acceptances per year? I don't know why they make this stuff so mysterious...

First time posting but I had to because this really resonates with me. The flipping back and forth of feeling confident and then feeling an utter lack of hope each day has been driving me nuts. Sadly, I think it is pretty normal. I got my first rejection two weeks ago from a school I really thought I had a better chance at getting into and ever since then my confidence has been really shaken. They just gave me a three sentence rejection and sent me on my way... 

Still, there's nothing that can be done now that the applications are sent except follow the steps @montanem outlined (particularly 3 and 4!)

Yeah most programs have the data somewhere on their sites but there are a few of the 11 schools I applied to that I never found their stats for...