How soon can I expect to hear from graduate programs?
Have you logged into any of the school’s application websites? They usually send out an email as soon as an admission decision is available. But I’ve found it mildly comforting to log in and check that my applications are indeed complete, and that the decisions are indeed unavailable at this time. I applied to 5 places in early December. So far I’ve received 1 rejection, 1 acceptance (at a UK school, which has really quick decision turnarounds), 1 ‘please-send-us-more-info’ and we’ll decide, and 2 schools that I don’t expect to hear from until March. One of those last two schools will determine my life path. I feel your frustration. But sit tight. As soon as you hear back from at least one place, you won’t feel invisible in the world of academia. Also, one last thing…Don’t call the schools or bug the grad advisers/admins, but do try to find out how competitive the schools are that you applied to. If the the 2-5 advisers have 100+ applications to read, that’s going to take some time.
