

Ask YC: When can we expect to know our YC application status? - Readmore

I know it's supposed to be today but the waiting is starting to drive me crazy. Any ideas?
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hendler
I like National Geographic:

pangolins <http://youtube.com/watch?v=r2cyp8k8uuM>

pygmy seahorse <http://youtube.com/watch?v=k4q3sBuCkRQ>

critter cam, turtles: <http://youtube.com/watch?v=Q_D51Ui_XMI>

These things calm me.

~~~
ChrisRicca
<http://cuteoverload.com>

~~~
hendler
Yeah, exactly. Cute overload. nature does it better.

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pg
Late tonight probably.

~~~
pg
The emails are going out now. Thanks for your patience (and please check your
spam folders).

The applications were really good this time. We invited more groups to
interviews than we have in the past, but we still had to turn down a lot that
are probably good.

~~~
dcurtis
How much do you look at the news.yc username correlation in your decision
making?

~~~
pg
It's hard to quantify, but it definitely helps when you feel like you know
what someone's like from reading their comments.

A text application form is such a low-bandwidth source. Reading the
applications, we feel like we're just starving for information about what the
people are really like. So any additional context helps a lot.

~~~
kryptos
Would it be possible to specifically mail those who were rejected?I do
understand it would be time consuming for you guys, it would be really helpful
to all

~~~
pg
It would be less helpful than you might think. Strange as it sounds, there's
often no answer to the question of why groups are rejected. I tried to explain
it here: <http://ycombinator.com/whynot.html>

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dlytle
My recommendation: go out and get a cool drink from some hippy juice bar,
relax, and then go to bed before midnight. Read a book or watch a movie
instead of checking until tomorrow morning. (I'm not being sarcastic; that's
what I'm planning on doing. Blueberry-orange-pineapple smoothie ahoy!)

Finding out about the results sooner won't alter them, and the
anticipation/worry is almost always worse than the reveal of whatever you're
waiting for. If you resolve not to check until tomorrow morning, you'll have a
more pleasant night, and be well rested to find out what's up in the morning.

~~~
wheels
Or better yet, just assume you're not getting it, because even if you get
invited, you statistically still probably aren't going to be accepted. Keep
building your application, chasing up contacts, figuring out the next step and
planning on taking over the world with or without YC.

~~~
keating
A year ago they kept 2 out of 3 invitees IIRC.

~~~
SwellJoe
Yes, if you make it to the interview, your odds are excellent. In our batch
roughly 50% of interviewees made it, and that number increased in subsequent
batches. I've suspected that the application phase is where all of the
downward pressure comes in--since they get so many, and the interview weekend
only has so many slots available for talking to people. The quality of the
applicants that make it to the interview has probably gone up remarkably. This
time around, pg has enlisted the help of prior founders to get a better feel
for applicants (and give the applicants a chance to ask all the questions they
have about YC of folks who've experienced it), so it seems likely that those
that make it to the interview are even more likely to be accepted.

~~~
wheels
But you still shouldn't bet on it. That was my point. It wouldn't matter if
the odds later on were 90% or 10%, that's still several potentially wasted
weeks. Just keep going.

~~~
SwellJoe
I absolutely agree.

The teams most likely to get in are also the ones most likely to be working on
their startup already. If you're not going to be working on your startup with
or without YC, I suspect your odds of getting in are significantly lower (and
probably moreso as time goes by, given the number of applicants and the number
that are already started on their project--at least two that I talked to had
applied and interviewed previously but not gotten in...they'd been either
working on new ideas since then, or had gone on to launch something, and were
back for another swing at YC with new or evolved ideas). I suspect at least
one of those teams I talked to will get in this time. Stubbornness, self-
confidence, risk-taking, and simple hard work are all things that YC
appreciates...and they appreciate them because they're traits that lead to
successful startups.

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mpc
Go out with your team and eat something tasty or drink a couple of nice beers.
There should be an endless amount of things to talk about regarding your
startup that don't depend on yc.

Come back and check your email around midnight, then decide what your next
step will be.

(this is exactly what I'm doing)

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chrysb
Just put it in the back of your mind and continue executing everything you
wrote about in your application.

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rickrodgers
Shot down in flames a few minutes ago. At least they sent a well crafted
email. I would love to see the specific negative feedback as to why they
rejected us, but I understand that it would add to their workload.

Anyway, for me the best part of the YC process was the exercise of completing
the application. It was much less daunting than sitting down to write a
business plan. It forced me to codify my plans in broad terms, and that has
been very helpful.

Now, back to the races.

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ameilij
Good luck to everyone! I admit, I joined with little hopes of getting picked,
so just the pleasure of learning about start-ups made it worthwhile.

Thanks YC!

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ericwan
Thanks for reminding me. I don't even remember that they will give out the
interviews today. Take it easy.

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jgill
I'm curious what part of this sentence says notifications will be sent by
April 9th. "We'll review applications by April 9 and invite the groups that
seem most promising to meet us in Mountain View on the weekend of April
25-27." I kid, I kid.

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jchor
Don't forget to check your spam filters just in case! =P. I asked my friend
who got accepted and he said that they sent it pretty late and that the email
only goes to the leader on the app. Goodluck to everyone!

~~~
rickrodgers
FWIW our rejection was sent to all founders emails.

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paul_reiners
A watched kettle never boils.

~~~
chasingsparks
While a watched kettle never seems to boil, my ruby script that scanned for a
pg comment did signal.

~~~
hooande
You gotta share that script or give it a web address

~~~
chasingsparks
hooande

<http://pastie.caboo.se/178157>

just replace the to and from number and excuse the lack of any error
correcting. go out, get a beer, and wait.

~~~
nostrademons
You know that you can scan for his replies on any thread by using the
<http://news.ycombinator.com/newcomments> link, right? Just in case someone
starts another "YC e-mails are out!" thread?

~~~
chasingsparks
I did not know about that feature. Thanks.

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mmenchu
Yes, go the Alpha-beta pruning approach. Assume you were rejected and don't
wait till too late to find out how screwed you are. Continue working and
launch 1 day earlier ;)

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ph0rque
To make the waiting easier, I assume it's going to be after midnight. That
way, insanity is held at bay.

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ubudesign
Oh was suppose to be today? slipped my mine

------
xenoterracide
patience is a virtue and a necessity in our trade.

