Pessimist

No, I did not receive an honorable mention. The comments I received were not as helpful as I hoped they would be. It would be great if they can rate each component of my application (essays, LORs, transcript, et cetera) separately so I know what I need to work on. But I do appreciate getting some feedback, as limited as it is.

I've retired from this forum a while ago after being rejected by all the programs I applied to, but I've just viewed my NSF rating sheets online and would like to discuss them here. For everyone who applied, would you mind sharing with us what your percentile ranking was and what ratings you got for intellectual merit and broader impacts? I think it'd be interesting to see how percentile ranking for the NSF fellowship corresponds to acceptances at top programs. I received a 70th percentile ranking and I got a Very Good on intellectual merit and an Excellent on broader impacts on the first rating sheet, and Very Good's on both on the other.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think Harvard has sent out any official rejections yet. By now, I think it's quite safe to conclude that not having heard is equivalent to being rejected...

I think it's time for me to bid farewell to this forum... I've been rejected by all the programs I applied to (not having heard from Harvard definitely means I'm out, and I think I'm out at Princeton too). I may return next year, but I'm not sure. Good luck everyone with the rest of your admission results!

Internationalstudent08: Is Princeton also your last hope? (It definitely is for me!) Good luck everyone! I do hope they send out decisions soon (if they haven't done so already)!

Is the new post on gradcafe real? Can anyone confirm this?

I second that question! I'm in a very similar situation... Is it worth it to re-apply next year or are the rejections an indicator of my unsuitability for the economics profession?

It's sunny today so I made a trip to the campus mailroom... only to receive a heart-breaking rejection from Stanford :(

I applied for NSF but was still rejected (on 3/7). Does that mean there is something really wrong in my application that they're convinced that I won't win the NSF or that they wouldn't want me even if I do? Everything would be over for me on Monday when Princeton sends out its acceptances. 6 rejections, 0 admits. 1 more rejection to come, I'm pretty sure.

I was just wondering if anyone has any insider information regarding Stanford. According to its official website, "the Department receives more than 700 applications per year, and about 50 are admitted. The entering class size usually consists of 25 students." However, only about 15 acceptances (via email) have been posted on gradcafe. About 10 rejections have been delivered via postal service. Is it reasonble to assume then that there would be a second round of offers coming next week? I wish I had gone to check my mailbox today to see if a rejection from Stanford has arrived. It's too stormy outside and it's definitely not worth it to get soaking wet only to receive bad news...

Thanks for the advice. I've actually taken a course on statistical inference (using the textbook by Wackerly, Mendenhall, and Scheaffer) but neglected to mention it in my profile. I don't think doing a Masters sounds like a good idea for my case. Where should I find an RA job? Should I work for the Fed (assuming that they might hire me) or for a professor at a good school? For the latter, how do I go about looking for opportunities? I apologize if there's already a thread on this, I'm too lazy to look ;)

Judging from last year's gradcafe entries, it appears that rejections will be sent via postal mail in mid to late March.

I second that question. I would also really appreciate it if someone can review my profile (posted in the relevant thread) and suggest whether an RA job or a Masters degree (or neither of those options) would make me a more competitive applicant next year. Thanks in advance!

Thanks, little guy! It's almost a relief for me to know that I'll know for sure by Monday if I've been rejected by all the programs I applied to (it's quite safe to assume that I'm out at Harvard and Stanford). Should start considering alternative plans for next year.

Just received rejection email from MIT. Good luck everyone!