No interview yet (Slavic) - rejections?

[cokitty]

Hi all,

It's now the end of January and I haven't heard anything from any grad programs that I applied to.  Should I be worried at this point/accepting that I haven't gotten into any programs this cycle?

For clarification my programs are:

• Yale
• Berkeley
• USC (Southern California)
• UCLA
• UIUC
• Northwestern

Thanks!

[ishouldbeworking]

Hi! I just heard back from the first two of 6 programs I applied to...rejected to both! I have the same concern as you... if I haven't heard back from other schools- is that a rejection too? I heard some people got interview invites to Berkeley today.. :/ 

[cokitty]

6 hours ago, ishouldbeworking said:

Hi! I just heard back from the first two of 6 programs I applied to...rejected to both! I have the same concern as you... if I haven't heard back from other schools- is that a rejection too? I heard some people got interview invites to Berkeley today.. :/ 

 

All of my programs have a Feb-March notification window, so while I'm not expecting to hear back definitively quite yet (although I would love to...), I'm getting anxious about this interview situation.  It's possible our departments haven't sent out interview invites?  I am honestly kind of tempted to email and check but also afraid of what the answer might be.  I just don't know if the lack of an interview is a definite rejection or just, well, a lack of an interview and nothing more.  I wasn't stressed about this until yesterday when I discovered that I potentially "should" have received invites.

[ishouldbeworking]

8 hours ago, cokitty said:

All of my programs have a Feb-March notification window, so while I'm not expecting to hear back definitively quite yet (although I would love to...), I'm getting anxious about this interview situation.  It's possible our departments haven't sent out interview invites?  I am honestly kind of tempted to email and check but also afraid of what the answer might be.  I just don't know if the lack of an interview is a definite rejection or just, well, a lack of an interview and nothing more.  I wasn't stressed about this until yesterday when I discovered that I potentially "should" have received invites.

We are in the same boat, then. My program (Anthro) is 'supposed' to have a feb/march notification window, but I've received swift rejections. Definitely sharing the same concern about interview invites right now :/

[Bernard87]

I don't think there is anything to be worried about. There haven't been any posts in the admissions forum about slavic programs except, I think, for rejections from Princeton (and they have particularly early deadlines). I think Berkeley has the earliest deadline (mid December versus early January), so they are likely the first people you'll hear from. And from looking into the admissions announcements from past years, people usually don't hear anything until late january at the earliest (around now, to be fair) and only from Berkeley. The rest of the notifications, at least for the programs I follow, come throughout february and march.

I can say that I received request for an interview last week from Yale (and posted about this in the admissions forum). I'm not sure if they are doing those one off, or if there were a whole bunch sent out. The problem, really, is that people applying to slavic programs don't seem to be very active on grad cafe, and that makes for difficult predictions for people in our situation.

 

Best of luck, and keep us all posted if you hear anything.

[Bernard87]

Also, cokitty, where is it that you heard you should have received invites from? Who has sent already?

[cokitty]

1 hour ago, Bernard87 said:

Also, cokitty, where is it that you heard you should have received invites from? Who has sent already?

Allegedly Berkeley has sent out invites, as well as Yale (but like you said, I don't know if these are being released one at a time or as a batch - if it's as a batch, I guess I'm out of luck!). I was just going to post, in fact, and ask who could claim the Yale invite - and here you are! 

I agree that because Slavic folks aren't very active/present on this site, it makes predicting these things difficult.  It's even hard to get a feel for how many people might be applying in any given cycle.

If I can ask, where else are you applying?

[Bernard87]

57 minutes ago, cokitty said:

If I can ask, where else are you applying?

Yale, Harvard, Columbia, Berkeley. Sounds like I may be out of luck on Berkeley, though.Their program certainly did strike me as the most difficult to get into.

 

But yeah, I have no idea how many applications these programs get, nor do I have any sense of what it takes to get in. It's difficult information to find for either specific programs, or even the field of Slavic studies in general.

[cokitty]

3 minutes ago, Bernard87 said:

Yale, Harvard, Columbia, Berkeley. Sounds like I may be out of luck on Berkeley, though.Their program certainly did strike me as the most difficult to get into.

 

But yeah, I have no idea how many applications these programs get, nor do I have any sense of what it takes to get in. It's difficult information to find for either specific programs, or even the field of Slavic studies in general.

 

Yes, Berkeley does seem like one of the (if not the) most competitive Slavic programs.  There's always a chance that we are wrong and still have a chance.  I guess only time will tell.  What's your specialty/area of interest?

The fact that I have no sense of what it takes to get in is extremely frustrating.  I feel like with other, more popular programs, there are really clear guidelines on what stats and supplements you need to get it - not so with our field.  It's so scary.

[Bernard87]

Where did you hear Berkeley sent out an interview? Just from a friend?

 

Are of interest is early/mid 19th century, I suppose, something connected with crossover between literature and intellectual history, slavophile v Westernizer stuff. One thing I can say for certain is literature track as opposed to linguistic. 

Doesn't do any good being worried about decisions. We can't change them. I do not, however, ever think it is necessary to contact the program directly about your status. That is just going to aggravate them, although I'm sure it would not have any bearing on decision-making. 

 

Are there no other slavs out there?

[cokitty]

Yeah, just through the grapevine.  But I'm anxious enough that even rumors make me nervous at a time like this...

Well, I mostly agree with you - unless it is, for example, the end of March.  Then it's fair to contact them, I think.  Otherwise I believe that the answer could only really be "Soon", which might not make you feel better.

There are maybe 3-4 active on thegradcafe this cycle.  

[fialta]

Does anyone have any updates on Slavic programs (interviews or otherwise)? Can anyone claim the acceptance at UC Berkeley? I applied there but haven't received any notification of rejection or waitlist. 

[cokitty]

On 1/24/2017 at 11:47 PM, Bernard87 said:

 

Doesn't do any good being worried about decisions. We can't change them. I do not, however, ever think it is necessary to contact the program directly about your status. That is just going to aggravate them, although I'm sure it would not have any bearing on decision-making. 

 

 

Rejection from Yale! An email to check the web portal - just a form letter, not even from the department itself. You should be hearing back soon if you haven't already.

[A_Dude]

Hello!

I have applied to PhD programs at UC Berkeley, Northwestern and Washington.

I have not heard anything from UC or Washington, but I have a phone interview with Northwestern. I got an e-mail to set it up yesterday.

Good luck, dear Slavicists!

[Bernard87]

On 2/2/2017 at 2:05 PM, fialta said:

Does anyone have any updates on Slavic programs (interviews or otherwise)? Can anyone claim the acceptance at UC Berkeley? I applied there but haven't received any notification of rejection or waitlist. 

I believe that Berkeley and Yale decisions have gone out. Not sure about any other programs, though. Anyone know about Harvard or Columbia? Interviews???

[bmack813]

I have not received any information from Yale or Northwestern, applied to Stats PhD programs. Still waiting on any responses. 

[cinnamonchai]

On 08/02/2017 at 7:49 PM, Bernard87 said:

I believe that Berkeley and Yale decisions have gone out. Not sure about any other programs, though. Anyone know about Harvard or Columbia? Interviews???

hey did you hear anything from Harvard?