gordyn

I feel you -- I'd much prefer to be rejected than be left in limbo!

No news here... those two new posts are making me nervous.. I'm still showing "Submitted" as my status.

I'm struggling. That said, the most useful tools I've found are: 1. Habitica - Lets you gamify your obligations -- makes checking things off really satisfying! 2. StayFocusd Chrome Addon - Lets you block certain websites during certain times on certain days. Keeps me off reddit -- I should really add thegradcafe to it as well 3. Daily mantra of: "I'm significantly happier on days that I'm productive. It's irrational to be unproductive because it's only going to make me suffer." Good Luck! I'll be checking back for tips from others

I think this is a great idea. I'll likely be completely uprooting and starting my life anew halfway across the country! Having someone who is going through the same thing to talk with would probably make that transition much more bearable. My academic interest is in how emerging technologies (convincing virtual reality, artificial intelligence, etc.) are going to change the fabric of social development and social interaction. More simply, how is having access to a virtual world that is more vibrant than our physical world going to change us. (WARNING: the former is a very narrow slice of my area of interest -- be prepared for text walls if you take me on as a pen-pal ;)). Some of my more casual interests are in technology, politics, personal finance, awesome TV shows and movies, video games, and science fiction! What I'm looking for: someone to ENGAGE with me (it's crazy how hard that is to find!) Someone who will ask questions, challenge me, and share ideas in a safe and non-combative way. What I can offer: I'll ENGAGE with you and your ideas, I'll ask questions, I'll challenge you, and I'll share my ideas in a safe and non-combative way. And cookies.

PM'd you so I don't take this thread too far into the æther!

Thanks! I think it is probably a "fit" thing -- UM doesn't have a specific focus with a crossover between emerging technologies and social theory like UW does. Thinking back to the sticky'd AMA -- it seems like fit really is a very major consideration for programs as tiny as sociology programs tend to be. Even though my stats are fair, the fit wasn't great. Luckily, I elated to attend UW - Madison -- but if I had to do another round of applications, I'd spend a lot more time thinking about fit and a lot less worrying about school ranking.

Claiming a rejection from UM Ann Arbor -- a little surprised I was accepted at UW Madison and rejected at UM Ann Arbor.. oh well! The rejection email went into the "Promotions" tab of my gmail (9:27am PST) -- so I didn't actually get a notification on my phone or anything. So glad I got an acceptance before this flood of rejections -_-.

That is horrible... I'm so sorry to hear that. You've got me worried now too.... Won't be able to stop checking my inbox for the rest of the day...

Just received my Berkeley rejection... can't afford to live in the bay area anyway ;). Happy to have the closure!

One more very important piece of information from Ms. Justice for UW applicants: It appears that those with Gmail addresses who have not added her emails (gradinfo@ssc.wisc.edu & ajustice@ssc.wisc.edu) to their whitelist are not receiving the admissions decision email. If you decision has been made, it has been posted to your my.wisc.edu account. Here is some info on whitelisting on Gmail: https://support.google.com/mail/answer/9008?hl=en That all said, you should receive a physical letter shortly with your decision anyway. For those of you who haven't heard back yet, hopefully this will alleviate some stress :).

@Shamon and other UW Madison folks: I sent a quick email to the Graduate Admissions Coordinator (Ms. Justice) asking about funding information. She confirmed that funding information will be sent out with the physical letters. She also indicated that physical letters should be expected by the end of next week, but will likely arrive before then. Seems like a slow day otherwise. Hope ya'll are keeping a firm grip on your sanity!

Root beer

Practice, practice, practice, but also relax! Make sure you have some downtime to internalize what you are learning. The GRE isn't really testing your intelligence, it's testing your ability to learn a new system. The best resource I've found for GRE study is MAGOOSH (was $99 for 6 months I think.) When I used it, they had over 1000 practice problems, each of which had a written explanation of the solution, a video showing the solution, and links back to resources on skills and methods required to answer the question properly. Drilling questions and practice tests will help you. However, treating the GRE like the game it is and spending time on learning a strategy will ultimately lead to more confidence in yourself and a higher score. To be honest (and I wouldn't recommend this) I slacked pretty hard on GRE study until a few days before my exam but still managed to hit my target scores. If I had taken the time, completed every practice problem on Magoosh, and watched every strategy video/skill video, I know that a perfect score on the Q/V sections would be within my reach. Believe in yourself and Good Luck!

I received an informal email from UW-Madison (it literally started " Please excuse this informal communication...") with very little specific information. I am hoping the promised physical letter will come with more information regarding funding. Further, my.wisc portal status is: "Your program has recommended you for admission. The Graduate School will be reviewing your file. Please refer to this page for updates." I wonder if funding decisions are made after the graduate school reviews the file. While a first admittance was a HUGE relief, I find that I'm still nearly as anxious as I was a couple weeks ago!