I didn't apply last year, but heard about whogotin at the forums...
from what i heard i think yuster has a lot of features like whogotin, so I thought I'd share it with you guys. Looks like there's a good amount of information there.
I'm applying to a couple PhD programs in Economics, and am anxiously awaiting the results. Good luck to everyone else on their applications!
Date: February 22nd, 2006 12:09 PM Author: angry irradiated locale coldplay fan
thegradcafe.com had their results stolen by yuster, actually. most people were reporting to both, so yuster has many duplicated reports. thegradcafe also changed things so you can sort by program and school, which is very convenient.
Date: February 23rd, 2006 2:08 AM Author: canary indecent stage Subject: Getting a head start on sounding like a stodgy old codger
This whole conflict with notification websites is such bullshit. It works everyone up into a neurotic frenzy and really becomes more trouble than it's worth, to the departments and applicants alike!
I regret every decision I posted on those sites and am no longer adding more. Ugh. What happened to pleasant surprises and celebrating with people who actually care about your acceptances, instead of splattering the internet with rumors and gratuitous ego feeds?
And yanow, none of this MY-data-MY-site-is-better tug of war would be happening if THIS site had its act together and had actually taken care of the old whogotin site like it said it would.
Date: February 23rd, 2006 9:55 AM Author: Sadistic crusty indian lodge round eye
I agree that none of this would have happened if xoxo had gotten their shit together, but I think that these are still good resources. The real people that would "suffer" from the boycott are prospective applicants and others waiting for responses.
I actually respect the gradcafe's stand. I think their point is that its not cool to use results that you didn't actually obtain yourself. I tend to agree. I know some people who have gotten results without posting to either of these sites, but I wouldn't report their results because they aren't mine to report (unless I could preface with "a friend of mine...").
Date: February 22nd, 2006 10:10 AM Author: Self-absorbed chrome gaming laptop garrison
looks like yuster.com 'borrowed' the results from thegradcafe.com, which would explain why they have more results. That also means there is some duplication though.
Date: February 22nd, 2006 8:15 AM Author: Diverse zippy nursing home partner
Both those websites are not as good as lawschoolnumbers where members can post there stats and extracurriculars. Without Sstats/extra curriculars its hard to guage where you are in an applicant pool.
Date: February 22nd, 2006 10:59 AM Author: Sadistic crusty indian lodge round eye
That's the difference between law school and graduate school. Stats/ECs don't play as significant a role in grad admissions as in LS so that info would be virtually useless.
The accepted pool is much smaller (most programs accept only 10-15 people) so schools are looking for the best fit. This is mostly determined by LORs, SOPs, research and coursework.
1. LORs are arguably the most important part of your application and no one has a way of knowing how good their letters are compared to the other applicants. There are plenty of near 2.5/1000/4.5 who get accepted to "top" programs because a well-regarded prof says "take him, he's good."
2. Your research area could differ from the "needs" of the department. In particular, two people could be identical on paper and have comparable LORs but want to join different research groups. Person A could easily get rejected (no active faculty in this area, current faculty member already has 20 students, current faculty wants someone else, etc.) while Person B is accepted.
3. Your SOP can break you. There are thousands of near 4.0/1600/6.0 students that get rejected (or accepted w/o funding) from "mid-ranked" programs because their SOPs suggest that they probably wouldn't graduate with a PhD.
4. Coursework is more important than stats. A 4.0 who took the bare minimum is always inferior to a 3.3 who took a ton of advanced and graduate courses.
Date: February 22nd, 2006 11:21 AM Author: Diverse zippy nursing home partner
Thank you for the information. That gives me hope for getting into a decent grad school program. I was under the assumption grad school was just like law school in that it was purely a numbers game. Thanks once again, and if you happen to know of any website with decent information pertaining to grad school please post.
Date: February 23rd, 2006 9:36 AM Author: Sadistic crusty indian lodge round eye
Well, phds.org has a lot of good resources, and Princeton Review's website has (at least in 2003) some pretty good articles. But the best information is found offline.
There is a book called "Getting what you came for" by Robert Peters which is quite good.
There is another book for mathematicians that's also quite good.