Anyone else feeling hopeless?

[ThousandsHardships]

@underscore_frosty I've honestly never heard of programs getting as many applications as CS graduate programs tend to get, so if you get rejected, it does not necessarliy have anything to do with your applicant profile and more to do with competition.If you to get rejected from all schools and intend to reapply yet again next year, I would recommend applying to more schools if you can afford it. Sometimes it's all a matter of chance, and three schools sounds risky.

Edited March 14, 2017 by ThousandsHardships

[underscore_frosty]

@ThousandsHardships Oh, I know it's a numbers game, but I just couldn't afford to apply to as many schools as I could. There were 6 or 7 I was going to apply to, but I had to narrow that down to 3 for financial reasons. Not only that, but the CS department at my university is very small in comparison to the number of people taking CS classes or in the CS program, so my letter writers didn't necessarily have the time to submit quite a few letters (I figure there are at least a few more CS undergrads lat my university looking towards grad school).

I think my game plan is going to shift next year and instead of shooting for all PhD programs like I did last year, I'll just aim for MS programs instead. I remember last year when I actually had an interview at one of the universities I applied to the interviewer said it was pretty ambitious to go straight into a PhD from a BS.

But anyways, here's to hoping.

[ThousandsHardships]

@underscore_frosty Good luck, then, in that case! If you don't get in this year, maybe also work and save some money so you can apply to more programs. Don't worry about your recommenders. Most of them don't change the letters much if at all. As long as they've written one letter, they can submit all of them in very little time.

[THS]

I relate to the posts on here so very much...I applied to 13 programs and have recieved 12 nos and 1 waitlist.  I've been told I am "top of the waitlist", but it still feels so precarious.  When I applied to MA's I was accepted to 2 programs and waitlisted at another, rejected from 2.  So it felt like it was so easy the first time.  I know, MA programs are easier in many cases to be accepted to...but the results I've had this application season still came as a little bit of a shock.  I'm playing the waiting game now, but I am already applying to all the jobs (I just finished my MA) and making a list of programs for a potential next cycle if this program doesn't work out.  This program has been my number one choice (tied w/ Stanford) from the beginning because of my topic area so if I get in I'll be over the moon...but if I don't get in I don't know how I'll feel.  I am over being in limbo.  

[SarahBethSortino]

Honestly im feeling pretty hopeless right now. I am on two waitlists and go back and forth between checking my email every five seconds and not caring about anything. I'm not sleeping, I'm not eating... I have no confidence in myself at the moment. I've pretty much given up in the whole idea of getting a positive response. I honestly feel like I am just existing until sometime around April 15th when someone will put me out of my misery and I can just move on and forget about this whole horrible experience. I came into this process with a lot of positivity and high hopes, but right now I wonder if it was all a giant waste of time. And worst, there is not a single person in my life who really understands how awful this feels.

Edited March 30, 2017 by SarahBethSortino

[Moccalatte]

To all you who are depressed and wanting to give up, I was rejected TWICE from medical school and now after applying to PhD programs in Chemical Engineering I was accepted on March 27th!

Don't give up. Failures are the road to success!

[SarahBethSortino]

1 hour ago, Moccalatte said:

To all you who are depressed and wanting to give up, I was rejected TWICE from medical school and now after applying to PhD programs in Chemical Engineering I was accepted on March 27th!

Don't give up. Failures are the road to success!

Good for you. So happy you had your happy ending. Or beginning. For me, this is the last round, so considering how it's going it's definitely the end of this for me

[vstrindberg]

Applied 5 schools. 2 have rejected me.3 have not answered yet. It is about to be April and it appears to be full rejection 

[Ilikekitties]

4 minutes ago, vstrindberg said:

Applied 5 schools. 2 have rejected me.3 have not answered yet. It is about to be April and it appears to be full rejection 

I'm in a similar position. Applied to 6 schools and got 3 rejections, and the other 3 have yet to send decisions.

[SarahBethSortino]

7 hours ago, Peanut said:

I'm in a similar position. Applied to 6 schools and got 3 rejections, and the other 3 have yet to send decisions.

It is entirely possible you are on an undisclosed waitlist for at least one of the schools. It's extremely late to have not received at word. I'd say it's entirely appropriate at this point to reach out to them for a status check.

[Ilikekitties]

1 minute ago, SarahBethSortino said:

It is entirely possible you are on an undisclosed waitlist for at least one of the schools. It's extremely late to have not received at word. I'd say it's entirely appropriate at this point to reach out to them for a status check.

One of the three is an official waitlist. As for the other two, one is an English school with a rolling deadline (I applied in late January) and the other is a Canadian program that, from what I understand, just sends out decisions later than most places in the US.

[Ilikekitties]

Got another rejection yesterday.

[cannonfodder]

Well, I have received only rejections since January and not one acceptance. I don't see how this situation will change. Also, Canadian places send out a few offers late, so it is a really crazy situation. Oh, and I am a little curious about this: if you get an offer for a PhD program from a US school this late, do they still demand that you make a decision by 15th April?

Edited April 8, 2017 by cannonfodder

[cowgirlsdontcry]

I applied to 8 schools for Ph.D. in English (Literature and Culture). Received 5 rejections, 2 waitlists and 1 doesn't return emails about status. I'm in the middle of MA thesis revisions, as well as trying to get other assignments done and teach/grade a freshman comp class. Have had several meltdowns over the last few weeks and my ability to concentrate and write a paper is gone, gone, gone. I thought it would all be over by now, but of the two schools where I'm waitlisted, one states it has a good bit of movement around April 15 and the other won't even send second round admissions out until after April 15. So, I'm still waiting. If I don't get in anywhere, I really don't know if I can put myself through this again. Thinking I will just teach adjunct while I look for a fulltime faculty job.

[ThousandsHardships]

16 hours ago, cannonfodder said:

Well, I have received only rejections since January and not one acceptance. I don't see how this situation will change. Also, Canadian places send out a few offers late, so it is a really crazy situation. Oh, and I am a little curious about this: if you get an offer for a PhD program from a US school this late, do they still demand that you make a decision by 15th April?

Usually they will tell you on the offer when you need to accept by. Would you prefer an American school or a Canadian school? If you want to be in the U.S. for your PhD, the decision shouldn't be difficult even if your offer comes the night of the 15th, considering you don't have any competing offers...

Also, if you want to give PhD programs another try in the event you don't get accepted, have you considered schools in the UK or elsewhere in Europe? Prospective faculty mentors often have much more of a say in admissions in Europe than they do in the Americas, so active communication with faculty members about research/future projects can gain you an edge in a way that it might not in the U.S. All being said, it might be easier to get into a European PhD program even though the schools there are no less prestigious. Best of luck either way!

Edited April 9, 2017 by ThousandsHardships

[anxiousphd]

I'm stuck on a waitlist, and I was rejected from the other 11 programs to which I applied. The program where I am waitlisted only accepts 4 students, and I am 2nd on the waitlist. As of about 10 days ago, when I last spoke to the DGS, 2 of the 4 who were offered admission had accepted, and 2 had not yet decided. Either both of those people, or one of those and the person ahead of me on the waitlist, would have to decline for me to get in. I feel so hopeless. I feel like there's no chance of me getting in, and that I just have to wait around with my perpetual nausea until they finally tell me it's over. Of course, the 15th falls on a Saturday. I might not know anything until Monday. And it's a holiday weekend, so maybe not even until after that. I know a week isn't that long, but after six months of this I am at the end of my rope. I have a few back-up options, but I'm not thrilled with any of them. I feel horrible all the time. I'm embarrassed because I'll have to tell everyone I got rejected from 12 schools; to people outside of academia who don't know how difficult this is, that just sounds like I'm not good enough. Maybe I'm not. 

[vstrindberg]

No reaction from 3 schools BibleThump

[cannonfodder]

On 09/04/2017 at 3:03 PM, ThousandsHardships said:

Usually they will tell you on the offer when you need to accept by. Would you prefer an American school or a Canadian school? If you want to be in the U.S. for your PhD, the decision shouldn't be difficult even if your offer comes the night of the 15th, considering you don't have any competing offers...

Also, if you want to give PhD programs another try in the event you don't get accepted, have you considered schools in the UK or elsewhere in Europe? Prospective faculty mentors often have much more of a say in admissions in Europe than they do in the Americas, so active communication with faculty members about research/future projects can gain you an edge in a way that it might not in the U.S. All being said, it might be easier to get into a European PhD program even though the schools there are no less prestigious. Best of luck either way!

I'd prefer Canadian universities to the US place I have been waitlisted by since I have applied to an M.Sc. at each of these Canadian places and I can do my PhD at a much better place after an M.Sc. from a Canadian place. I am considering applying to German places too. 

[2017]

I was waitlisted at my top choice. I have a few backups but I'm not excited about any of them. I know at least one person accepted to this school has not made a decision yet, so I'm assuming they are waiting on him. My question is: when you've had all of your decisions and visits completed over a month ago (which is the case in his situation), what is taking you so long to make a decision?????

[cannonfodder]

12 hours ago, 2017 said:

I was waitlisted at my top choice. I have a few backups but I'm not excited about any of them. I know at least one person accepted to this school has not made a decision yet, so I'm assuming they are waiting on him. My question is: when you've had all of your decisions and visits completed over a month ago (which is the case in his situation), what is taking you so long to make a decision?????

@2017, people holding on to offers when they have intention of accepting them is extremely annoying and if I may, extremely selfish. I know two people who have got 3 or 4 offers each but do not intend to notify graduate schools about their decision before 15th. One of them received an offer from their dream school in January! 

[patts]

I was accepted for one university. I'm still waiting for notifications from four other universities. I sent e-mails to them but didn't get anything useful from their replies.

My deadline to give an answer is April 15. Should I accept the accepted one if I don't get anymore information from four pending universities by then?

I think I should reject them (to give my self a chance to be accepted at better schools), but if it turns out that all remaining schools reject me, then this year will be a waste for me

 

[Necrovex]

I know that feeling all too well. I applied only locally this cycle due to finances (Peace Corps doesn't give its volunteer much disposable income after all), and I've been rejected by one one of my three schools while I've been wait listed by the other two. Feeling so cynical and down right now as we are in the final week now with no new news. Been told I'm in tier one list for both schools, but sheesh, my life plan is up in the air by this situation. :-( 

[alcandkmk]

The only acceptance I've received so far is from my current institution which I was hoping to leave.  No idea if I'm on a waitlist, and no idea if the schools even have waitlists.  I emailed one school to ask about the status of my app and they didn't address it. "thanks for your inquiry" is all I got.  Another school invited me to visit but hasn't responded to my last two emails.  

I was an NSF GRFP honorable mention.  Didn't get that either.  So close but yet.... so far. 

[cannonfodder]

I just got accepted to one place. Finally, I am relieved! I have 4 other schools in Canada to go.

[nobraintrain]

All I got were two waitlists. Just got an offer from one (although today that school is officially closed) and the other school simply doesn't make offers to the waitlisted till 4/15.

Don't give up!