Was accepted without any interview or email response from prospective POIs. Email titled "Your UCLA Admission Decision" came early in the morning and said to check my status on the website. They said that funding isn't guaranteed coming in (unlike many other PhD programs) and that I have to reach out to professors myself in order to secure a position. This is one of my dream schools and I'm ecstatic to have gotten in! Having to still get funding is stressful though, especially with having to wait much longer for other decisions but I'm still very thankful!

According to a twitter post by a faculty, this year saw the biggest surge of applicants and thus highest level of competition.

0a 1w 8r 2p

TTPB: Have you received an official offer?

The official decision letter is posted on the main application portal.

Check the portal as other people did. Not really surprised.

Was notified by email to check my admissions status on the application portal.

I haven't heard from the program... Does anyone have the same situation?

For everyone asking, the portal is just where you submitted your application! Seems like they're updating pretty slowly, but the rejection was waiting when I logged in today

Applied 11/29. Not invited for interview. Completing MS in May, high GPA. No GRE, no pubs but second author abstract at AACR. High MS GPA.

They were supposed to offer fewer acceptances than in the previous years. So not surprised. Congrats to those who got in!

Received notice from department. Official letter from Graduate Division to come.