Not invited or rejected?

[P5YcH010gy]

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So... some of the schools I applied to are showing up on the Interview Invite list, but haven't shown up yet on the Rejection list. I haven't heard from some of them at all. George Washington University, for example, has been inviting people. My status on its admissions center still says, "Your application is under review." So... is it really, you think? Do they (meaning all the schools) always send a rejection letter, or do I have to at some point just assume I'm not getting an invite?

 

[ILGirl]

Well, if the interview date has not come and gone, you still have a shot. Some of these schools send out invites sporadically. . . .

One of my schools has already had its interview, and I have heard nothing. Yet, it still shows that they are reviewing my application. For that particular school, I would say my chances are low. But, I have been told by others on this website not to lose all hope until I have been rejected.

 

[futureapppsy2]

Often, these are referred to as "informal rejections," especially near/post-interview day.

 

[ILGirl]

One of my programs of interest has not contacted me, and its interview date has come and gone. I completely assume that I am no longer being considered.

Yet, every week, a status update is emailed to me stating that my application is "Under Review." Without this website and thread, I would have been completely in the dark about my real status with the program.

So, I definitely feel your pain in that some programs really tend to leave you in the dark.

 

[deadmau5]

You're still in the applicant pool. People will decline the positions and professors will have to look at a couple of new students.

Hopefully me as I've heard nothing good nor bad.

 

[ILGirl]

You're still in the applicant pool. People will decline the positions and professors will have to look at a couple of new students.

Hopefully me as I've heard nothing good nor bad.

That's a nice thought, but I haven't heard of ANYONE being rejected from the program yet. I could be #59 out of #60. LOL

 

[ClinicalTrainee]

That's a nice thought, but I haven't heard of ANYONE being rejected from the program yet. I could be #59 out of #60. LOL

At my program, it doesn't work that way because individual faculty members are "ranking" applicants, not an entire program.

Also, let me just say that I am one of those "keep the faith!" applicants. I was on this site many years ago and saw that most of the places I'd applied had interview days that had come and gone. I freaked out and cried for a weekend, and figured I would just apply again next year. Lo and behold, the last weekend of March, I got an email from my (current) adviser who said "Are you still in the market for graduate school?" I flew out to interview in early April and got an offer right before the 15th. I'm fairly sure that my adviser gave an offer to someone else who chose to go elsewhere, and that's how I got into the program!

I know that my story is not the norm, but I am proof that you should wait to hear back before assuming you're a lost cause.

That said, I never heard rejections from 2 out of the 10 sites I applied to, so.......

 

[deadmau5]

That's a nice thought, but I haven't heard of ANYONE being rejected from the program yet. I could be #59 out of #60. LOL

There's a thread with rejections?

 

[Kat 22]

There's a thread with rejections?

Here it is: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=687076

 

[deleted176373]

So... some of the schools I applied to are showing up on the Interview Invite list, but haven't shown up yet on the Rejection list. I haven't heard from some of them at all. George Washington University, for example, has been inviting people. My status on its admissions center still says, "Your application is under review." So... is it really, you think? Do they (meaning all the schools) always send a rejection letter, or do I have to at some point just assume I'm not getting an invite?

Yes, and you can still get an offer even without an interview... is it rare? Yes. Did it happen to me? Yes.

Don't make assumptions until April 15th. Yes, getting an interview is a good sign that you have a shot, but it's not the end all be all. If you find yourself out in the cold after April 15th, then start figuring out what went wrong... for now all you can do is wait.

I was "rejected" via email and phone from the program I wanted. Yep, told flat out, sorry.

March 6th, 2007

Dear Mark,

Your application for the Navy position in the Clinical Psychology Program at
the Uniformed University of the Health Sciences was carefully reviewed, but
regrettably, you were not selected. I want to express my sincere
appreciation for your interest in the Navy and the effort you put into
preparing the application. The applicant pool was unusually competitive
this year. Given the small number of students we are able to select, we were
not able to accommodate many well-qualified applicants.

You were among our finalists in a very competitive selection process and,
for that reason, I would like to encourage you to apply for a commission in
the Navy at a later date. The Navy selects interns each year for our two
internship programs and offers active duty positions to licensed Clinical
and Counseling Psychologists. After you have completed your pre-doctoral
studies, please consider the Navy among your career options. I wish you
every success in the near-term and hope to hear from you again in the
future.

Only to be accepted on April 12th, 2007.

Care to guess where I am going to school? 😉

 

[ILGirl]

That said, I never heard rejections from 2 out of the 10 sites I applied to, so.......

I really wish that the other 8 of your programs would have at least done you the courtesy of letting you know their decisions. There are still obviously some bugs to be worked out in the process, IMO. . . . but it is nice to hear from the once in a blue moon people like ClinicalTrainee who still allow us to harbor some hope for our top programs. : )

Yes, and you can still get an offer even without an interview... is it rare? Yes. Did it happen to me? Yes. . . .

I was "rejected" via email and phone from the program I wanted. Yep, told flat out, sorry. . . .

Only to be accepted on April 12th, 2007.

Care to guess where I am going to school? 😉

I'm thrilled for you!!! But, I am really, REALLY glad that doesn't happen all that often. It's great, if you don't have any other offers, but what if you did? It would kill me if I accepted an offer from one of my top programs only to then be offered a position later on from my top one that had rejected me earlier. Ughhh. So glad it worked out for you. : )

 

[deleted176373]

I'm thrilled for you!!! But, I am really, REALLY glad that doesn't happen all that often. It's great, if you don't have any other offers, but what if you did? It would kill me if I accepted an offer from one of my top programs only to then be offered a position later on from my top one that had rejected me earlier. Ughhh. So glad it worked out for you. : )

I did, I had made preparations to attend Texas A&M, I was just about to go... I had to jump through my butt to make it all happen with USUHS, including hoping that my waivers to be allowed to join the Navy would be approved. Strange things happen more often than you think. I was offered a position after April 15th without an interview as well.

Look, my first year applying, my application got 2 interview invites and 0 acceptances... I know how it feels to get rejected by everyone and to wait until April 15th on the waiting list for 1 program. It absolutely sucks.

Had either program been the ONLY program to accept me that year, I
would have gone there and missed out on a much better fit! Some of us have faced some pretty sizable challenges in our pursuit of graduate education.

Mark

 

[phillydave]

Yes, and you can still get an offer even without an interview... is it rare? Yes. Did it happen to me? Yes.

Don't make assumptions until April 15th. Yes, getting an interview is a good sign that you have a shot, but it's not the end all be all. If you find yourself out in the cold after April 15th, then start figuring out what went wrong... for now all you can do is wait.

I was "rejected" via email and phone from the program I wanted. Yep, told flat out, sorry.

March 6th, 2007

Dear Mark,

Your application for the Navy position in the Clinical Psychology Program at
the Uniformed University of the Health Sciences was carefully reviewed, but
regrettably, you were not selected. I want to express my sincere
appreciation for your interest in the Navy and the effort you put into
preparing the application. The applicant pool was unusually competitive
this year. Given the small number of students we are able to select, we were
not able to accommodate many well-qualified applicants.

You were among our finalists in a very competitive selection process and,
for that reason, I would like to encourage you to apply for a commission in
the Navy at a later date. The Navy selects interns each year for our two
internship programs and offers active duty positions to licensed Clinical
and Counseling Psychologists. After you have completed your pre-doctoral
studies, please consider the Navy among your career options. I wish you
every success in the near-term and hope to hear from you again in the
future.

Only to be accepted on April 12th, 2007.

Care to guess where I am going to school? 😉

That's crazy, I wonder how common that is?

 

[ILGirl]

I did, I had made preparations to attend Texas A&M, I was just about to go... I had to jump through my butt to make it all happen with USUHS, including hoping that my waivers to be allowed to join the Navy would be approved. Strange things happen more often than you think. I was offered a position after April 15th without an interview as well.

If you're willing to share, how were you able to get out of your commitment to TAMU? I thought that once a commitment had been made, one was stuck with the choice. How were you able back on TAMU?

 

[NeuroPhD2010]

Programs not even having the courtesy to reply after people have worked so hard to get to the point of even being able to a submit a halfway decent application would be total crap!

 

[deleted176373]

If you're willing to share, how were you able to get out of your commitment to TAMU? I thought that once a commitment had been made, one was stuck with the choice. How were you able back on TAMU?

It was April 12th, I called them up and stated that I had another offer I wanted to accept. It's not binding until April 15th, I was lucky, but I had accepted in writing in March after USUHS told me that I had not made it. Texas A&M was really great, they were very understanding.

Mark

 

[deleted176373]

Programs not even having the courtesy to reply after people have worked so hard to get to the point of even being able to a submit a halfway decent application would be total crap!

Some programs don't respond until after they have all their applicants accepted and April 15th has passed. I was getting rejection letters in June and July from some programs. It was pretty silly.

Mark

 

[katciao]

Yes, and you can still get an offer even without an interview... is it rare? Yes. Did it happen to me? Yes.

Don't make assumptions until April 15th. Yes, getting an interview is a good sign that you have a shot, but it's not the end all be all. If you find yourself out in the cold after April 15th, then start figuring out what went wrong... for now all you can do is wait.

I was "rejected" via email and phone from the program I wanted. Yep, told flat out, sorry.

March 6th, 2007

Dear Mark,

Your application for the Navy position in the Clinical Psychology Program at
the Uniformed University of the Health Sciences was carefully reviewed, but
regrettably, you were not selected. I want to express my sincere
appreciation for your interest in the Navy and the effort you put into
preparing the application. The applicant pool was unusually competitive
this year. Given the small number of students we are able to select, we were
not able to accommodate many well-qualified applicants.

You were among our finalists in a very competitive selection process and,
for that reason, I would like to encourage you to apply for a commission in
the Navy at a later date. The Navy selects interns each year for our two
internship programs and offers active duty positions to licensed Clinical
and Counseling Psychologists. After you have completed your pre-doctoral
studies, please consider the Navy among your career options. I wish you
every success in the near-term and hope to hear from you again in the
future.

Only to be accepted on April 12th, 2007.

Care to guess where I am going to school? 😉

Markp, What do you think made the difference between receiving no offers on your first try and getting two on the next try? higher GRE score, more research, stronger LORs, better interviews, application to more schools, luck, or something else?

 

[RileyG]

the same thing happened to me at the school I am currently attending. I was rejected and therefore I accepted in writing at another school. Unfortunately (but understandably) the school I accepted then rejected was not as understanding as Texas A&M was with Mark...

 

[deleted176373]

Markp, What do you think made the difference between receiving no offers on your first try and getting two on the next try? higher GRE score, more research, stronger LORs, better interviews, application to more schools, luck, or something else?

I've posted about this before, but the brief synopsis was that I felt that the big difference was in a few critical areas. (I had three fully funded offers actually, and 14 interview offers of which I attended 8.)

1. Fit, I was able to define this better for me.
2. My personal statement. Much improved, I wrote a more open and honest statement.
3. Networking, I reached out by visiting programs and attending conventions (APA, SWPA). I believe this was instrumental in getting several interviews at very good programs (Alabama, Baylor, etc.)
4. Asked for feedback from each program that didn't interview me, what was wrong with my application? The answer each time, invariably, was "fit". <- That was frustrating.

I don't think that applying to more schools was the right answer, but I had applied to almost twice as many schools the second time around. After all, I could only attend 1 program, I should have stuck to my top 10 choices but I had some other considerations due to my age and my desire to be in the military again that led me to be more aggressive.

Mark