Fall 2018 Acceptances/Interviews/Rejections Thread

[manofthehoff]

2 hours ago, 2733amh said:

thank you for this comment! the law degree is one that i think i would certainly use. a lot of nonprofits/think tanks/advocacy groups in the world of criminal justice reform have JD's on their staff, which is why I applied to the law schools when I started all of this. but like you were, i'm straight out of undergrad right now and trying to sort out which path will get me to where i want to ultimately be. i have considered taking the JD acceptance while it is there and seeing where that takes me - say 6 years down the line from now i will still be only 29 years old with a JD and hopefully 3 years of quality professional experience. i guess at that point if i find myself still itching for PhD i would be a much stronger applicant than i am now at least. my GRE is definitely one area that i can improve on, so i am glad to hear you noticed significant improvements after graduate study. i am just struggling to pick a path right now but thankful to at least have these choices despite the PhD not working out 

If you don't want an academic career, then I say go for the JD. I know some people who went to Georgetown Law and are getting amazing jobs in non-profit and government, and Georgetown has a great loan forgiveness program that doesn't rely on the federal one: https://www.law.georgetown.edu/admissions-financial-aid/office-of-financial-aid/lrap/index.cfm

This being said, I got a one-year master's abroad before applying to PhD programs, but mostly because my undergrad was in a totally unrelated field. I made sure my master's thesis was stellar and volunteered with a few professors to get research experience. I've gotten into a couple of top sociology programs so I say this plan was a success (and a lot cheaper than an MA in the U.S.).

[iwearflowers]

15 hours ago, 2733amh said:

my GRE is definitely one area that i can improve on, so i am glad to hear you noticed significant improvements after graduate study. i am just struggling to pick a path right now but thankful to at least have these choices despite the PhD not working out 

It’s a bit unorthodox, but one thing that really helped me boost my GRE score was working as an ACT/SAT tutor part time. A lot of the skills are similar (especially on the math section), and it gives you a better sense of how test makers think overall. It’s also a great way to earn extra money in grad school. I work through a test prep company that handles all the recruitment and provides training and materials, and I started at $20/hr. It’s also a great student gig because you set your own schedule with your students, so you can increase your availability during summer break or blackout the weeks around finals.

ALSO, @pinoysoc, my masters degree is an MPH, and I applied to a mix of public health and sociology programs. I basically chose my schools by doing a lit review on the kind of work I want to do for my dissertation to see who is active in the field. Thinking through why I was applying to such seemingly diverse programs really helped me articulate my goals and research interests in my SOPs. If you have questions or want to chat about public health options, feel free to PM me!

Edited February 18, 2018 by iwearflowers
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[AnnaGG]

I'd love to hear from someone who's visited Notre Dame. Was it this weekend? Anyone who was invited but decided to turn down the offer?

[qeta]

On 2/16/2018 at 7:43 PM, Want_PHD said:

I also sympathize because--unless you're affiliated with a university--I can't imagine that you'll (1) have access to a library of publications to do research and (2)--if you did have publishable material--you won't be associated with a university, so would unlikely get published because of that.  I've never seen any research article from a person not affiliated with either a university or some research institution/think thank place.  I mention this because I'm worrying about the same thing.  Not to mention how many times can you ask the same people to write LORs?

Just wanted to chime in here and post some resources. There are several places where academics with institutional affiliation share resources with independent researchers. I don't want to post the links on a public forum, but please feel free to pm me and I'll connect you. Researchers also upload a lot of material on ResearchGate and Academia.edu. Here is UCSB's list of open access sources: https://www.library.ucsb.edu/scholarly-communication/open-access-repositories. eScholarship is particularly good.

Also posting some *maybe* helpful links for folks trying to publish who don't have supervisors to guide them. It is hard to publish while unaffiliated, but not unheard of perhaps.

* For researching the review process and turnaround time for various journals: http://www.socjobrumors.com/journals.php; http://turnaround.wikidot.com/; https://scirev.org/

* Impact factors are really hard to judge. I tend to look at where my favourite up-and-coming researchers are publishing, make a list of common journals, and then rate them from highest to lowest impact factor using http://www.scimagojr.com/journalrank.php.
 

Edited February 19, 2018 by qeta

[ThePastelCalico]

As if it wasn't already obvious, I got not one but two emails today from Wisconsin informing me I've been rejected. But we've been knew about that rejection! 

Edited February 19, 2018 by ThePastelCalico

[HMcneil]

17 minutes ago, ThePastelCalico said:

As if it wasn't already obvious, I got not one but two emails today from Wisconsin informing me I've been rejected. But we've been knew about that rejection! 

That happened to me last cycle. I got a generic email, then one from the graduate program director THEN a letter in the mail. Like way to rub salt in a wound guys. 

[nandoswitharando]

Rejected by Columbia, which I could see from a mile away. As pompous as it sounds, I've got my hands full when it comes to making a decision, so I'm kind of glad I didn't get in.

(ETA: I get easily overwhelmed by choices, so this decision ended up being best for my mental health.)

 

Edited February 19, 2018 by nandoswitharando

[palabra45]

Too lazy to read all the old posts. Just to make sure, if we haven't heard anything from the universities for which we applied, does that mean that we are probably expecting a rejection? Because then, I will be probably joining the rejection club, too.

[coffeentv]

26 minutes ago, HMcneil said:

That happened to me last cycle. I got a generic email, then one from the graduate program director THEN a letter in the mail. Like way to rub salt in a wound guys. 

Haha, I think one is enough. I don't like it when schools don't send rejections out, though. We paid them to evaluate our applications, so we deserve an official letter/email. Yale didn't email me to check the portal. CUNY didn't bother to send an official rejection even though the professor I interviewed with said I'd hear from them in 2 weeks.

 

17 minutes ago, SkunkStyle77 said:

Too lazy to read all the old posts. Just to make sure, if we haven't heard anything from the universities for which we applied, does that mean that we are probably expecting a rejection? Because then, I will be probably joining the rejection club, too.

I think it depends on school. Which programs did you apply?

[AnnaGG]

18 minutes ago, SkunkStyle77 said:

Too lazy to read all the old posts. Just to make sure, if we haven't heard anything from the universities for which we applied, does that mean that we are probably expecting a rejection? Because then, I will be probably joining the rejection club, too.

Not necessarily. I suggest you check the results page for your univeristies and see if they've notified admits and when. That should give you a better picture

[pinoysoc]

Did anyone hear from Penn State? I'm itching to contact them, but I'm at the point where I'm hesitating. I just want to know if all have been notified since not everyone is on The Grad Café. 

How about Upenn? In the same boat and seems VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY QUIET...

 

IDK if "No news is good news" is applicable at the moment. SWEATING LIKE CRAY!

[Madelene]

1 hour ago, ThePastelCalico said:

I got not one but two emails today from Wisconsin informing me I've been rejected. But we've been knew about that rejection! 

They did this to me, too! What a weird system, updating the portal so long before rejections get send. And then to send two!

[yeez]

On 2/18/2018 at 9:10 AM, AnnaGG said:

I'd love to hear from someone who's visited Notre Dame. Was it this weekend? Anyone who was invited but decided to turn down the offer?

@AnnaGG Yes, it was this weekend. If you mean invited to visit but declined to come, I'm not sure, but I doubt it. ND sent out invites before most other programs sent out acceptances and fully covered travel expenses, so people would have no reason to not check it out if they received an invite. I think one or two people couldn't make it because of weather.

If you mean turned down an acceptance offer, than no. Offers are not out yet. We were told that the adcomm is meeting this week. If I get accepted, I will most likely attend. The funding is excellent and the campus has so many unique resources related to research and funding. The program is the best fit for me as well. 

[AnnaGG]

13 minutes ago, yeez said:

@AnnaGG Yes, it was this weekend. If you mean invited to visit but declined to come, I'm not sure, but I doubt it. ND sent out invites before most other programs sent out acceptances and fully covered travel expenses, so people would have no reason to not check it out if they received an invite. I think one or two people couldn't make it because of weather.

If you mean turned down an acceptance offer, than no. Offers are not out yet. We were told that the adcomm is meeting this week. If I get accepted, I will most likely attend. The funding is excellent and the campus has so many unique resources related to research and funding. The program is the best fit for me as well. 

Thank you for the thorough reply. I had an online interview on February 6th and they said offers would be made two weeks later, so any day now. I'm just jealous of the people who could actually come and am holding my fingers crossed for an offer. Great fit for me as well. Maybe we'll both end up attending. 

[AnnaGG]

@yeez, someone just posted an admit

[AnnaGG]

I got in at Notre Dame!! Woohoo!!! International student from a developing country, applying out if my field. I can't believe it. I'm over the moon!

Edited February 19, 2018 by AnnaGG

[pinoysoc]

8 minutes ago, AnnaGG said:

I got in at Notre Dame!! Woohoo!!! International student from a developing country, applying out if my field. I can't believe it. I'm over the moon!

Congrats, @AnnaGG

 

Edited February 19, 2018 by pinoysoc
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[FutureGames]

@pinoysoc I know, UPenn is sooooooo quiet, I'm so anxious to hear from them. 

Looks like Princeton acceptances are happening, I'm guessing I should prepare for the worst since I haven't heard anything. Also, be sure to check your spam folders everyone, my Davis letter was in there (rejected on the basis of poor fit/not enough faculty to support my specialization).

 

[-0-0-0-0-]

Anyone got in touch with UPenn or goes there? We'd appreciate any info about the decisions.  

[pinoysoc]

1 hour ago, -0-0-0-0- said:

Anyone got in touch with UPenn or goes there? We'd appreciate any info about the decisions.  

I've been wanting to e-mail the graduate assistant, but been really nervous!

[pinoysoc]

3 hours ago, FutureGames said:

@pinoysoc I know, UPenn is sooooooo quiet, I'm so anxious to hear from them. 

Looks like Princeton acceptances are happening, I'm guessing I should prepare for the worst since I haven't heard anything. Also, be sure to check your spam folders everyone, my Davis letter was in there (rejected on the basis of poor fit/not enough faculty to support my specialization).

 

I've been religiously checking! Luckily, the grad director from one program I applied to e-mailed me directly, so that didn't get lost. But someone I spoke to on here said that there were ~200 applications for Penn State... So we'll see.

[HMcneil]

6 hours ago, SkunkStyle77 said:

Too lazy to read all the old posts. Just to make sure, if we haven't heard anything from the universities for which we applied, does that mean that we are probably expecting a rejection? Because then, I will be probably joining the rejection club, too.

Yeah it depends, I have heard nothing from all of programs I applied, so I was getting worried. I reached out to them and they gave me a timeframe of last week in February and early March. It can be nerve racking checking the results page everyday and seeing them come in, but each school is different. 

[Asaid]

I am right in assuming UPenn hasn’t announced yet?

[Baffle]

8 hours ago, pinoysoc said:

Did anyone hear from Penn State? I'm itching to contact them, but I'm at the point where I'm hesitating. I just want to know if all have been notified since not everyone is on The Grad Café. 

How about Upenn? In the same boat and seems VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY QUIET...

 

IDK if "No news is good news" is applicable at the moment. SWEATING LIKE CRAY!

Hi Pinoysoc, 

I got emailed a rejection from Penn State (they said they were concerned about fit) so no news could mean good news. I think they're trickling out replies since they talk to some people by phone. 

[pinoysoc]

29 minutes ago, Baffle said:

Hi Pinoysoc, 

I got emailed a rejection from Penn State (they said they were concerned about fit) so no news could mean good news. I think they're trickling out replies since they talk to some people by phone. 

Sorry to hear that, @Baffle !

I'm just really getting paranoid since Penn State (along with U Penn & Stanford) were the first three schools I applied to back in October...and I got a rejection from Stanford already. It's really mind-boggling how this is going. Penn State is my DREAM SCHOOL, but I haven't heard a peep at all and it's almost the end of February. I've also been told that the end of March is their visit day... Now, I'm also confused if they interview/talk first before making a decision.