Programs Haven't heard anything from my PhD applications: Any chances left?

[petergreat]

Sorry for bringing up a somewhat vacuous question. I've applied for PhD study in particle theory at 9 US graduate schools. 6 of them are among the most prestigious schools, and the remaining 3 schools are Chicago, Rutgers, and Stony Brook. Half of these schools have given out their first wave of offers, starting from one week ago. But I have heard nothing yet, and I'm starting to get seriously worried as it is approaching mid February. On the up side, I come from a top UK university and have high grades and high GRE scores. On the down side, my research experience is weak, and my recommenders all work in areas of physics other than HEP, due to the fact that my department only has a small HEP group. I'm wondering what percent of the offers are typically given out in the first wave? Shall I interpret the lack of responses so far as an indication that I need to adjust my expectations and focus on some plan B instead? Thank you for you opinions.

 

[98whbf]

Don't give up, don't ever give up!

 

[Gib Z]

Did you do an Honours year with your Bachelors degree? Most of the schools you applied to will have First Class Honours as a minimum requirement, High grades in a normal bachelors degree won't be enough =[.

 

[ChemHopeful]

well, the good news is you didnt fall into the first round of eliminations. if all 9 schools kept your application in the pool id say the odds are on your side for getting admitted to at least one :/

good luck

 

[Pengwuino]

Holy hell, don't schools usually just start sending out acceptance letters in March?

 

[story645]

Holy hell, don't schools usually just start sending out acceptance letters in March?

As far as I know, yeah. At least that's what it says on the websites. A friend of mine heard back from one school, but even that was an informal acceptance. He applied to like 8, is a really strong candidate (grades+gre+research+publications), and still hasn't heard back from the rest.

Shall I interpret the lack of responses so far as an indication that I need to adjust my expectations and focus on some plan B instead?

It just means that you're probably not someone they're trying really hard to recruit, but I wouldn't take it as a sign that all hope is lost. Have a plan B, but remember that some of these schools have only been looking at applications for about a month, so you need to step relax a bit.